Ziplock Mylar/Aluminum Foil Ziplock bag performance test

[balkisobrains]

I'm going to guess that whatever moisture you lost just went into the air in the bag / jar. I would have heat-sealed the ziplok bags, but the losses look like nothing to me in either case. If I put some tobacco in a sealed container, I'd probably expect it to lose some moisture to whatever air ends up in there.
"I agree . But to my mind , tight can be improved with a thin coat of lubricant , a microscopic roller bearing , allowing the lid to lock down a bit more . Plus a plumbers strap wrench or oil filter wrench to torque it down good."
The stock rubber lid gasket overhangs the lip of the jar on both sides, 99% chance that whatever you put on there is going to be in there with your tobacco. Also, if I over-tighten by hand, the metal ring starts to flex, and pops off of the jar if I continue. Doubt you need tools to get it tight enough. ::

 

[woodsroad]

I'm going to guess that whatever moisture you lost just went into the air in the bag / jar.

When that happens, then the weight of the bag doesn't change.

 

[bluto]

hmmm..
What I have here are bernardin mason jars , I’m assuming the ball jars are the same . Maybe not if manufactured differently , the mason jar locks down pretty good and can take a wrench .. lightly .. better than hand tight

 

[bluto]

I would have heat-sealed the ziplok bags, but the losses look like nothing to me in either case.

Yah , probably not . The guys are chatting about gas permeability of Mylar and maybe some weird osmotic oxygen exchange under sealed lids , takes years and years .
It could be just simple temperature fluctuation in different materials causes tiny leaks across plastic polyethylene barriers , sorta like how gortex works ...who knows

 

[balkisobrains]

"When that happens, then the weight of the bag doesn't change."

I was thinking he was weighing the tobacco out of the containers. If he saw those differences with everything still sealed up, then it could just be due to the calibration problems he mentioned. But I still wouldn't trust those zip-strip seals. :puffpipe:

 

[woodsroad]

Oooh...Gortex Ziplocs!

 

[bluto]

Same dealeo with beer under crimp sealed caps and corked wine , over time there’s going to be seasonal atmospheric pressure changes , organic processes , things become oxidized , tannins , sugars break down etc
In the wine world , it’s advised to store bottles at a steady temperature , on solid surface , like concrete floor and not move it . Beer on the other hand , peaks and slowly oxidizes and does not improve long term unless it’s high alcohol barley wine or a porter .
I keep my tins squirrelled away in my tool drawer , but if I was serious about cellaring , I think Best bet might be build something in the basement and seal it up .

 

[bluto]

Oooh...Gortex Ziplocs!

Or a double bagger
Sorta like my first girlfriend

 

[darwin]

A proper mylar heat sealer creates an even narrow well sealed strip. If one makes such a seal near the top of the bag it can be cut, opened, and resealed several times. I've been storing bulk tobacco in heavy mylar bags for four years now, along with a number of opened tins. It's anything but a controlled experiment but upon opening the heat-sealed bags I have yet to notice a low moisture problem with either bulk or tins. I also have a number of opened tins in ziplocked only bags and in general they are good for at least six months. The bags I buy from MylarPro have a very robust ziplock mechanism and I haven't had any detachment issues.

 

[bluto]

Whatever is sealed inside is going to equilibrate with the conditions present outside.
Sometimes ambient conditions will work for you , other times not , depends on where you are

 

[jpmcwjr]

I think it's a lot easier to measure moisture loss directly, i.e., hygrometers or moisture meters if you have the money.

OK, so the problems with these methods are that they don't actually measure moisture content directly. A hygrometer measures moisture in the air. There are a multitude of reasons why a given sample will not reach moisture equilibrium with the air surrounding it. Humectants, density of the sample (the outside dries out first, inside stays moist), volume of air...lots of reasons. A moisture meter, as has been mentioned above, measures conductivity between two electrodes. That works OK for lumber, but not too well for shredded tobacco.

But, lo and behold, there is a specialized piece of lab equipment called a moisture analyzer that makes this task pretty darned easy.

Eight easy payments of $.....?
Yes, what you mention is true about the drawbacks to using a hygrometer. But using the same starting tobacco, probably a shag cut with no humectants, same size sample in same volume containers, should minimize variances. All at the same temperature and ambient humidity. I still submit you'll get better results with that until you have serious equipment.

 

[woodsroad]

Eight easy payments of $.....?

$482 for that on ebay

 

[craiginthecorn]

It appears to me that this Ohaus meter essentially works using the same principal I'm using. It dries the contents and determines how much weight was lost in the process.

 

[woodsroad]

Right. Only you are looking for moisture loss over time. This gizmo is for determining moisture content at a given time.