Drying Tobacco
There's a number of ways to reduce the moisture content of tobacco. What's working for me is a plastic container with two lids. The lid pictured has most of the plastic cut out. I lay a piece of paper toweling on the top of the container and then snap on the plastic ring. The paper toweling acts as a buffer, keeping the relative humidity (RH) inside the container higher than rooms RH, so that the tobacco will dry out slower and more evenly (it also keeps out potential contaminants that could result in mold). I now use mostly glass jars and have found that a coffee filter, on big and small jars, provides a good buffer.
The thicker the layer of tobacco, the slower and more uneven the drying will be. The lower the rooms RH, the faster and more uneven the tobacco will dry. When the tobacco seems to be getting close to the moisture content I want I leave the container closed until the RH stabilizes. Depending on how fast/uneven the drying, it can take days for the moisture to evenly distribute throughout the tobacco and for a measurement of RH to accurately reflect the tobaccos moisture content.
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- Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Alan on Saturday, 03-Jun-2006
Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere, but I looked around and couldn't find an answer.
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I have been machine injecting for a couple years now and this is an ongoing problem...the humid season is back! How the heck can I properly dry my tobacco?!
It is no problem when I run the A/C, but that isn't necessary all the time where I live, and it would be an expensive overkill to do it just for the tobacco. With the usual humidity around here, I could leave the tobacco out for a week, and if anything, it would be moister.
I have tried to use the microwave, and also the oven, but it is very difficult to get it right and I often ruin a batch that way.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
- Re: Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Dave L on Saturday, 03-Jun-2006
I moved your post here. Down the page Tim Aydt mentions using refrigeration. Using dry humidification beads (Heartfelt) would also be worth a try. In my experience they are not very fast at absorbing moisture but I have never tried using them dry.
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- Re: Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Alan on Saturday, 03-Jun-2006
Thanks, Dave...I read the 'fridge post and that's my next test! I'll let everyone know what happens. I don't think I'll get into the desiccants, as I'm shooting for simplicity and cost-effectiveness here.
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- Re: Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Denny on Saturday, 03-Jun-2006
I can say that the humidity is definitely back. I have been very successful using the microwave to dry out my tobacco. The trick is to only warm it up, and immediately spread it out to dry. if too dry, just let it set out in the air for awhile, or put a wet paper towel on the bottom of your tobacco, and re microwave it with a cover on your dish. Once you find the right microwave time and power setting combo it is very easy to control the humidity of the tobacco.
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- Re: Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Alan on Sunday, 04-Jun-2006
Thanks, Denny...it seems like you have had success with the mic. Me, I have in the past dried it too much! But I will try to do it as you said. BTW, I use a 50/50 Drum/Gambler blend. How does this compare to yours regarding initial moisture content, and if similar, what is your quantity and microwave setting? Thanks!
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- Re: Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Denny on Sunday, 04-Jun-2006
OK I currently am using McClintock menthol, and my wife uses McClintock light. Both are a little too moist for the Top O Matic at this time of the year. What I do is set my Microwave for 1 or 2 min and set the power control for 10 to 20 percent depending on how moist the tobacco is. It would probably be best to set for the least amount of time, and the smallest percentage if not enough, simply just do it again at the same setting, that should be enough. It takes a little trial and error till you get it right. as you need to get the feel of how dry or how moist you need to get the tobacco in order to load properly.
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Also last summer I used to put the tobacco on an old window screen and set in the sun. This is ok and serves two purposes, as you can also screen out the shake dust after drying. The only down side to sun drying is you need to be vigilant with your tobacco, as more than a couple of mins in the sun, and you will have over dried tobacco.
- Re: Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Alan on Sunday, 04-Jun-2006
Thanks for all your help, Denny. I actually put a batch in the 'fridge this morning and it worked pretty good. Will try your microwave suggestions next.
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Great idea on the window screen, btw!
- Re: Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Dimitri on Monday, 13-Aug-2012
thanks for the help, it worked out great. first i lied out some paper towels then prayed mist on it with a normal mist maker like an febrez thingy. then i put it into a bowl then did what you said to dehydrate my tobacco tastes like new!
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- Re: Humidity and drying tobacco
- Posted by Mary on Sunday, 23-Jul-2006
Denny,
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Thanks for the tip on drying tobacco in the microwave. It sure makes it easier to make cigarettes. I was having such trouble I even went and bought a new TOM, thinking something was wrong with the one I had.
Mary
- Dehydrating tobacco
- Posted by Tim Aydt on Tuesday, 31-May-2005
For the first time, I've had to lay out my tobacco and dry it. I opened a new bag of Sagamore Halfzware and the humidity is 78% in the bag. After blending 4oz of it with 8oz of Sagamore Light, it was too moist to stuff. I left it out in my mixing bowl over night, but it was still too moist. I finally grabbed a tub and spread it out in the bottom and let it sit for about four hours. I can now make smokes.
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- Re: Dehydrating tobacco
- Posted by Tim Aydt on Saturday, 03-Sep-2005
Last night, after blending 3/4lb of tobacco, I decided to stick it in the fridge to try and dry it out enough for stuffing. I left it in my mixing bowl and placed it in the fridge for 45 minutes.
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It was nearly perfect when it came out. Most of the minor stuffing problems I encounter on a daily basis were gone. No gaps, no hangs, the tobacco had just enough springiness that my 100's were fully filled with no bunching.
Forty-five minutes in the fridge did what took nearly 24 hours in an air-conditioned room.