The Tobacco Press That You Already Own

[woodsroad]

Anyone know approximately the amount of pressure used in making Perique?

It's mostly peer pressure, so it seems like a lot, but actually it's mostly just a lack of self-regulation as indicated by a deficit of brain activity in the social-cognitive and social-affective brain systems.

 

[jitterbugdude]

Anyone know approximately the amount of pressure used in making Perique?

Very roughly 15 to 20 psi.

Compare that to Mac Baron's plug pressure of about 430 psi.

 

[fitzy]

Anyone try making a plug out of McClelland's 5100?

 

[woodsroad]

Jitterbug, how did you arrive at the figure of 430 psi?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

...or 15 to 20 psi for perique, for that matter? I don't even think Mark knows the PSI on the perique screwjacks, but it was tons of pounds. It has to be enough pressure to push every last bit of moisture out of the perique, so that it bubbles to the top of the press as a black tar. I've actually watched it bubble and brew.

 

[woodsroad]

You'd have to take the tonnage of the jack and divide by the area of the platen.
Based on the video of Per Jensen here on PM, I arrived at this for Mac Baren:
Per Jensen states that the automated press is 40 tons, 40x40cm

40cm = 15.7”.

15.7x15.7=246 sq"

1 ton = 2000 pounds.

40 ton = 80,000#

80,000 pound ÷ 246 sq" = 325 psi
Now, I'm no math wizard, so correct me if I got this wrong.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

So... "cm" means Cosmic Measurements... and "sq = squirts? "PSI" is obviously a reference to Pipe Scene Investigators.

 

[woodsroad]

Yes.

 

[jitterbugdude]

For the plug, I've watched and listened to the video a dozen times and I hear him say they use a 40cmx40cm blank and press with with 55 tons. So PSI = 55 (2000)/15.7x15.7. I get 110000/246..= 446 psi. The big difference here seems to be is it pressed at 40 ton or 55 ton? Once you get above maybe 10 or 20 ton it probably doesn't really matter
For Perique: A guy on the FairTradeTobacco forum introduced himself as a Perique grower/processor and was looking for a way to expand his product. I communicated with him privately and asked him how much weight does he use ? He said that he uses "about a couple thousand pounds" So, knowing there is no legal definition of "a couple thousands pounds" I assumed he pressed upwards of 4000 pounds. There is also a Burley farmer that makes Perique and he told me he uses 7000 pounds... So, a 50 gallon barrel will have a lid diameter of approximately 20 inches. Doing the math I get PSI= 4000/(3.1414 x 100) which gives me: 12.7psi for the 4000# load and 22.3 psi for the 7000 # load.
Additionally in the book on Tobacco by Killibrew (written in the 1800's) he describes the set up on how Perique is made using a lever press. He gives the dimensions of the moment arm and with that I calculated the psi which IIRC came out to be in the low to upper 20's psi.

 

[woodsroad]

OK, thanks Jitterbug. I'll have to go back and re-listen to that video. I probably heard wrong. But Perique seems to be in the 10-20 psi range. My guess is that since nobody checks the actual pressure, that it varies with that range on any given day, and that it doesn't make much difference.

 

[nevadablue]

Now I will have to cogitate on all of that information. Codgers cogitate well...
I wonder how many tons a 55 gallon drum will actually withstand. If a huge weight is placed on a 'liquid' load in an open top drum, it seems the thing would bulge and maybe split. Hmmm...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

So Nevada, you are going to fill a 55 gallon drum with tobacco and make a plug out of it? ::

 

[nevadablue]

Hmmm... probably not. My friend grew some tobacco a couple of years ago and I was amazed at the size of the plants, but it will take a few years to fill a drum at that rate. I think I will just cogitate...