fillers maintenance

[Kikiri]

Hi guys, happy Sunday, I hope you are enjoying a good cigar, I do , I want to comment that I have a few pounds of fillers and I was wondering if it is a good idea to introduce a humidifier from the brand BOVEDA 69% to maintain a humidity relative, I live in the tropics and the risk of dryness is iminent ,, or if you have another solution / idea it would also be great ,,, greetings and thanks in advance.

 

[jclif43]

For filler that is probably a little too much humidity. I try to keep mine in the low 60s. I keep mine in the bags from WLT inside a large Rubbermaid storage bin. I have 1 large Boveda pack in there. Can’t remember if it a 62 or 65.

 

[Kikiri]

very good, thanks ,, then I should look for the ones with the lowest percentages, and what are those WLT bags?

 

[deluxestogie]

wholeleaftobacco.com ships its tobacco in poly-nylon vapor-proof bags. Since you have sourced your leaf locally, you won't have access to the WLT bags. Although you can purchase similar bags, the only distributors of them sell a minimum quantity that typically costs over $100. So, not practical for you.

Bob

 

[Kikiri]

wholeleaftobacco.com ships its tobacco in poly-nylon vapor-proof bags. Since you have sourced your leaf locally, you won't have access to the WLT bags. Although you can purchase similar bags, the only distributors of them sell a minimum quantity that typically costs over $100. So, not practical for you.

Bob

Too bad ,, is it possible for you to show a photo to see what they look like? ,, Thanks Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Uline Poly Nylon Vacuum Bags - 10 x 30

Provide excellent barrier protection and lock out moisture. Transparent poly nylon vacuum pouches. Vacuum bags package food items. FDA and USDA compliant. BPA free. Use with Industrial Vacuum Sealer . ULINE offers over 43,000 boxes, plastic poly bags, mailing tubes, warehouse supplies and bubble...

www.uline.com

They are similar to bags used for vacuum-sealed food.

Ordinary polyethylene is not vapor-proof, but if you nest several bags (one inside the other), then it does a fairly good job of minimizing water vapor loss. So, large Ziplock freezer bags can work, if nested. In the absence of poly-nylon bags, you may find it easier and less expensive to use large, plastic tubs or boxes, either with or without plastic bags.

Bob

 

[Kikiri]

ok, I have the big airtight plastics and I also use the zyplocks, thanks !! I see that it is a good alternative, greetings

 

[Boogeyman81]

To piggyback on this topic, what do you vets do if you open a bag at some point and find its really dry? Do you introduce moisture to the bag or just mist what you plan on using imminently?

 

[deluxestogie]

If it is crumbly dry, I pull out the leaf as a single handful, and mist the outer surfaces of the stack of leaf (not individual leaves) a few times with water, then put it back in the bag, and seal it. It equilibrates after 48 hours or so. The more times you fiddle with leaf case, and misting, the more comfortable you will feel with how much misting is just right for storage of a given quantity of leaf. If there are whole stems in there, and the stems are also bone-dry, then it will absorb more misting than for frog-legged leaf.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

To piggyback on this topic, what do you vets do if you open a bag at some point and find its really dry? Do you introduce moisture to the bag or just mist what you plan on using imminently?

If the leaf is really dry and fragile, I don’t remove it from the bag for fear of shattering (especially high dollar wrapper, not that worried about cigarette varieties I’m going to shred). I try to mist the inside of the bag, rather than directly on the leaf with the purpose of allowing the moisture to transfer to the air inside the bag and then the humid air to migrate to the leaf. I seal the bag with the air inside kind of puffed up so this can happen.

When the leaf is dry, dry (out of case) the aging process stops. All that’s necessary for the aging process to begin again is the introduction of more moisture (regardless of the method you use to do that). Tobacco that I store for years can be dry for months and it’s not a big deal, mist it and the aging resumes. The main thing to avoid is excess moisture and mold.

 

[Boogeyman81]

Thanks for the feedback, gentlemen. I do it as you both described and wanted to make sure there wasn't a better trick or if that would be bad for the leaf. Hasn't been much a problem so far but I hit a couple that turned into cigarette filler so I just missed a bunch and locked them back in the bag with the reat

 

[deluxestogie]

make sure there wasn't a better trick

Without getting too philosophical, I'll assert that there is always a better trick. For any activity, we collectively find some approach that works. Then we are content to be stuck in that rut ["That's the proper way to do it."], until somebody--usually an outsider or novice--discovers a much better way. That's why innovators inevitably end up as the stodgy holdouts. [Einstein never could accept quantum physics.]

I'm usually content with what works and is easy. Sounds like you have things well under control.

Bob

 

[willgodwin]

very good, thanks ,, then I should look for the ones with the lowest percentages, and what are those WLT bags?

I place the larger size of Boveda 62% in each bag of tobacco. (Size 67) its been working well for the past 3 months in about 7 bags of wrapper, binder and filler.

 

[LeftyRighty]

For what it's worth, Don will sell you some of his plastic bags, usually bundles of 10.
I had some burley, even after kilning to age, it was a very harsh smoke. Packed a couple lbs in one of the WLT/FTT bags in low/medium case, forgot about it. After about 8 years, found it, tobacco was bone dry, but I got it back into case and it was a great smoke.
For the last couple years, I put about a couple pounds of shredded/blended home-grown tobacco of that year's crop into a FTT plastic bag, seal it, then double-bag it with a spritz of water between the bags. I call them my Emergency-Supply of smokes.