Staying Hydrated! What is Your Ideal RH for Non—Aromatics?
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Shew…that’s a can of worms haha. Everyone has their preferred moisture levels for tobacco and that includes types. I personally (note I say personally, others might disagree) find it better to have the aromatics on the dryer side. Less bite, but then it depends on whether you are using a filter and what blend it is and and and and….try both, put an equal amount on a small plate and smoke one immediately and let the other plate dry for an hour and then try it and see what you prefer.
Does it matter if the tobacco in the mason jar is little bit dryer and does not need that much drying before smoking?
I mean dryer than straight after opening the tin.
I got mold in one jar that had SG BBF and it was in 65% humidity.
Thats why I would rather keep my tobacco dryer than too moist.
I mean dryer than straight after opening the tin.
I got mold in one jar that had SG BBF and it was in 65% humidity.
Thats why I would rather keep my tobacco dryer than too moist.
I prefer drier for storage, but temperature and cleanliness are also important to inhibit mold.
Diff levels for diff blends? Sure! But to try to describe them requires -for me at least- hard numbers. I use hygrometers for that, but no one else seems to.
Diff levels for diff blends? Sure! But to try to describe them requires -for me at least- hard numbers. I use hygrometers for that, but no one else seems to.
It's pretty easy: Dry a bit if needed, keep contamination away, load fully (though some will say leave some air at the top), screw on the top, place in cool (at least not hot) dark closest, shelf, drawer.
Yes dryer can always be rehydrated using the various methods mentioned. But any mold means the entire lot must be tossed out.
Mold isn't a function of just moisture— heat, oxygen, and spores need be present to varying degrees.
And I've removed a square inch of mold on some Planta mixture, rejarred, waited six months, and then smoked the rest. I recommend against this.
And I've removed a square inch of mold on some Planta mixture, rejarred, waited six months, and then smoked the rest. I recommend against this.
For what it's worth, I dried some soggy Gawith B.S. flakes over silica gel because ambient humidity was too high here to accomplish drying. I was scientific and weighed before and after. Darn stuff lost 10% weight by the time I removed the desiccant. Anyway, once there (to my personal tastes: dry enough to just start breaking when folded), the R.H. stayed at 60%. Remember, this was a relatively high sugar blend. I suggest putting a small hygrometer beside a pile of perfectly dried tobacco in a tray-type airtight tupperware container and seal it up for a day. The number you get for that tobacco is a suggested boveda value for maintaining it. Never used a boveda, so take this at face value.
Where do you live? At what temp. do you measure RH? (I use 70º)
Please put your location in your Profile, as people are forgetful.
Why: It will save time for others as to where you live when you mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos, wildfires, air quality, etc. In many instances that saves time for those who read your posts, and for you in not having to reply to inquiries. .
How:
Under your avatar, (top right, left most of three symbols) you choose "Account Details", which brings up "My Account". "My Location" is halfway down. Whatever you're comfortable with- town, city, county, state. province, etc.
Please put your location in your Profile, as people are forgetful.
Why: It will save time for others as to where you live when you mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos, wildfires, air quality, etc. In many instances that saves time for those who read your posts, and for you in not having to reply to inquiries. .
How:
Under your avatar, (top right, left most of three symbols) you choose "Account Details", which brings up "My Account". "My Location" is halfway down. Whatever you're comfortable with- town, city, county, state. province, etc.
Haven't had a problem with rehydration so far. Have had maybe two or three tins that were very dry...kind of crispy. I put the tobacco in a tupperware with a small lid of sterilized water a let it sit in the sun for the day. Seems to work well. Tobacco was moist enough to smoke without trying to dry it out. Don't think you could do an entire tin but works well for several pipe loads.
I'm also unsure about the "right" moisture or rather dryness of tobacco. with cigars it's easy, store at 65-70% RH and it's good.
I have a tobacco here now, pure Virginia, which is quite dry to the touch, but when smoked (slow and cool) still leaves a very wet filter - or tongue burn if smoked without a filter.
As an engineer, I'm now investigating this somewhat scientifically. could those who find their tobacco well conditioned place a hygrometer with the tobacco in the jar? I would be interested to know what humidity levels are there. my Virginia is now at 64% - I think that's still too moist. I might then get a feeling of how proper conditioned tobacco feels. Of course this specific RH is then not be given as law
I have a tobacco here now, pure Virginia, which is quite dry to the touch, but when smoked (slow and cool) still leaves a very wet filter - or tongue burn if smoked without a filter.
As an engineer, I'm now investigating this somewhat scientifically. could those who find their tobacco well conditioned place a hygrometer with the tobacco in the jar? I would be interested to know what humidity levels are there. my Virginia is now at 64% - I think that's still too moist. I might then get a feeling of how proper conditioned tobacco feels. Of course this specific RH is then not be given as law
RH 64%- but at what temperature? Makes a big difference.
I'd say that a Virginia @ 60% RH @70º should be close to right.
Good luck!
I'd say that a Virginia @ 60% RH @70º should be close to right.
Good luck!
I just store opened tins in my humidor. Some heartfelt 65% beads, RH is around 60-70%, so even wet tobaccos get pretty close to perfect after 2 weeks in there. Maybe toss in a bowl of water if the humi is getting low on tobacco, since an empty humi can fluctuate wildly compared to a full one due to less tobacco regulating the humidity/acting as a humidity stopre
Unopened tins just go under the counter or wherever I have room; they're airtight, so who cares.
Unopened tins just go under the counter or wherever I have room; they're airtight, so who cares.
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Bleh, can't edit the above post. Wanted to re-word it to make it more clear because I messed up a bit and got some stuff wrong. RH is the humidity at whatever temperature the air is at, "The amount of water vapor in the air, expressed as a percentage of the maximum amount that the air could hold at the given temperature". So 70% at 70 degrees has a different moisture content than 70% at 100 degrees, my bad, but the temperature matter less because we're talking RH instead of AH.
For a longer explanation, I found a reddit post explaining it (it's the internet, so might be real, might not, but still, interesting post):
I think it'd be easier to delete my account at this point than clean up these posts, sorry!
For a longer explanation, I found a reddit post explaining it (it's the internet, so might be real, might not, but still, interesting post):
I think it'd be easier to delete my account at this point than clean up these posts, sorry!
you are absolutely right, I missed that information. I was smoking the pipe while typing the response on my phone and was interrupted by a necessary relight.
my tobaccos are kept in my pantry at a more or less constant temperature of about 20-22°C (which correlates with your 70°F(reedom units)).
I've found an interesting article of GL Pease who also recommends 60% RH at 70°F.
So I will try it with more drying before packing, as the tobacco is still too moist as assumed.
Over a week ago I wrote: "Where do you live? At what temp. do you measure RH? (I use 70º)"
I don't see where the confusion crept in. RH as a proxy for actual moisture content is always dependent on temperature.
I don't see where the confusion crept in. RH as a proxy for actual moisture content is always dependent on temperature.