Mold Growth - Kiln Temperature

[Northern Light Up]

My first kiln attempt.

Can mold grow at 125 degrees fahrenheit?

Wondering how much I need to worry about it.

 

[Northern Light Up]

I've gathered mold does not die at 125 but growth is inhibited.
I don't have a moisture meter, is it safe to go by feel of the leaf for moisture content? I'm thinking just a little flexible should be fine.

 

[grgfinney]

I used to use a weather station in my kiln and keep it about 70% rh but now go by feel and use sealed containers Amaxb has posted an excellent thread on klining hows and whys you might want to read

 

[DGBAMA]

Medium case, flexible but not damp, you should have no problems. Mold normally starts on the stems, which can hold a lot of moisture, so if you want an extra measure of "insurance" destem the leaf before kilning.

 

[Chicken]

Mold is a touch and go thing. In a.kiln,I've.gotten it and wondered "how". Because I thought I had the elements dialed.in.but I'm in a high moisture.area.surrounded.by.ocean

This last picking I did I let.air.dry with no sopplement heat and it dried excellent.. We haven't had rain in a while. But when it goes to raining again I'm gonna fire up the heat.

 

[deluxestogie]

At 120-125ºF, mold ceases vegetative growth. Mold spores (which are everywhere anyway) are not killed until you get near--or even above the boiling point.

Bob

 

[FmGrowit]

I think giving mold spores a good shellacking of creosote inhibits growth too (fire cured).

 

[vinconco]

I'm running my fist kiln in a 120 quart Igloo cooler using a small crock pot, computer fan, and RANCO ETC-111000 thermostat with a probe. I have a Meade wireless thermo-hygro in the pile to monitor the humidity and verify the temps. I've kept the temps at between 116 and 127 @ 70%RH for two weeks. Because of sweat in the container I placed the tobacco (approx. 300 leaves) in a cardboard box elevated 1/2" off the bottom of the cooler. I have egg crates in the bottom of the box to be sure the tobacco doesn't come in contact with moisture. SO FAR...(2 weeks) NO MOLD. I break it down every few days to check.

I'm a fan of AmaxB's idea about container kilning and will be setting up to do the remaining 3000 leaves that way.

 

[Northern Light Up]

I'm running my fist kiln in a 120 quart Igloo cooler using a small crock pot, computer fan, and RANCO ETC-111000 thermostat with a probe. I have a Meade wireless thermo-hygro in the pile to monitor the humidity and verify the temps. I've kept the temps at between 116 and 127 @ 70%RH for two weeks. Because of sweat in the container I placed the tobacco (approx. 300 leaves) in a cardboard box elevated 1/2" off the bottom of the cooler. I have egg crates in the bottom of the box to be sure the tobacco doesn't come in contact with moisture. SO FAR...(2 weeks) NO MOLD. I break it down every few days to check.

I'm a fan of AmaxB's idea about container kilning and will be setting up to do the remaining 3000 leaves that way.

That's funny. Almost exactly what I'm doing. Massive igloo cooler. (It holds 250 pounds of salmon with ice, I know because I've done it)

I'm using a hotplate with pot of water, though I don't use much water as the moisture doesn't leak out. I'm just going by feel of the leaf for moisture level.

I have some in brown bags and some in ziplock freezer bags. It's been in the cooler for a couple days now.

The thing I worry about, after reading a lot; won't the chemical reaction stop if I take the tobacco out to check for mold? It seems to me the chemical process takes a couple days to activate and will need to restart if cooled down.

 

[vinconco]

The thing I worry about, after reading a lot; won't the chemical reaction stop if I take the tobacco out to check for mold? It seems to me the chemical process takes a couple days to activate and will need to restart if cooled down.

It may slow down the fermentation for a short while but checking for mold is worth it. Check out AmaxB's post on container kilning. He discusses breaking down the pile to monitor the moisture content as part of the process.

If the brown bags some into contact with the sides or bottom of the cooler they will get wet spots that will transfer to the tobacco. be careful

 

[Northern Light Up]

I did pull all of the tobacco out. It was wet on the bottom. Thanks for the warning.

I'm going to increase air flow.

The ziplock bags are in ideal shape. I'm going to go with all sealed containers. Put spacers on the bottom of the cooler and add a few more computer fans and ducts to assure temperature is equal all around the kiln. Have fans at the top that push air through ducts to underneath the baccy pile.

 

[FmGrowit]

I'll try to figure out where I found this, but I send this with orders going to New Zealand. New Zealand customs heat treats tobacco at a cost to the customer. Sometimes they read this, sometimes they don't.

 

[FmGrowit]

Here's another chart

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Activity[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Temperature and Duration[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Notes[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Hot dry air sterilization[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]170 °C (340 °F), 1 hour 160 °C (320 °F), 2 hours 150 °C (300 °F), 2.5 hours 140 °C (285 °F), 3 hours[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kills virtually all spores[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Wood heat treatment for rot resistance[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]200 °C (392 °F), 24 hours[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Changes structure and color of the wood[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Whole house treatment for termites and/or fungi[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]71°C (160 °F), 4-6 hours[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Penicillium spore death in water[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]54.4 °C (130 °F), 30 minutes[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ascospores activation in grape juice[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]70 °C (158 °F), 30 minutes[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This is higher than the temperature which kills Penicillium in water[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Germination of chlamydospores in Cladosporium-related species stimulated by moist heat[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]75 °C (167 °F), 30 minutes[/FONT]	[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This is higher than the temperature which kills Penicillium in water[/FONT]

 

[vinconco]

I did pull all of the tobacco out. It was wet on the bottom. Thanks for the warning.

I'm going to increase air flow.

The ziplock bags are in ideal shape. I'm going to go with all sealed containers. Put spacers on the bottom of the cooler and add a few more computer fans and ducts to assure temperature is equal all around the kiln. Have fans at the top that push air through ducts to underneath the baccy pile.

I regulate the humidity from my crockpot by using the lid. I have it cracked about 1/4" and that seems to be about right. However there is still excess moisture that condenses on the inside of the cooler. I am experimenting with placing a piece of cotton cloth under the lid to hang half in and half out of the cooler. The moisture inside the cooler wicked out by the cotton towels and evaporates out into the room. So far I have noticed a reduction of the amount of condensation.

Once again.... AmaxB has the solution with the sealed container kilning.

 

[FmGrowit]

AmaxB has the solution with the sealed container kilning.

Link? Name of thread? Keywords?

 

[vinconco]

Link? Name of thread? Keywords?

http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/4256-A-Kiln-Tobacco-the-Process-and-Why?highlight=ziplock

 

[deluxestogie]

...there is still excess moisture that condenses on the inside of the cooler.

That is the result of inadequate insulation. Try throwing a fleece blanket or two over the entire container, and placing it on a wood or Styrofoam board.

Bob