deluxestogie's Trash Can Cozy Flue-cure Chamber

[AmaxB]

I've been too worn out to talk much. It's all gone wrong though, most of that green has turned yellow and orange.

HaHa I'd say it went right!! My days a-commin

 

[DonH]

I loaded some VBL and Big Gem leaves into the trashcan today. Ran into a problem because the VBL are over 2ft long and the trashcan is only 27in. high. The leaves were folded over on the floor. So I had to remove the crockpot and put in the two seed warming mats I had. I then restrung the leaves so the wire went through three inches from the end of the stem instead of 1.5. Now a few are still too long but hopefully they'll shrink a bit in the yellowing phase.

The other problem is that I ordered a remote hygrometer that was supposed to be delivered today. Late in the day I checked the UPS tracking and they said it was delivered at 12:30. But I never got it and the UPS truck never came. I would know if they did because my dogs would have barked like crazy. I'm hoping it was just delivered to the wrong house, but the investigation can take up to two weeks. The vendor may send me another in the meantime. So... long story short, I had to prop up my analog hygrometer on top of the leaves. I put some water in a small bowl on the bottom but so far the humidity is only 75%.

The temps are working fine, though, with the Ranco. Since you can set the Ranco at whatever temp you want, I can use both seed mats at the same time.

Maybe next year I'll get a 55 gallon drum, but those would be a bear to drill through, I'm sure.

 

[BarG]

I use no gauge for humidity. I pretend it's 1867, and I'm working a flue-barn stoked with wood. I've even stopped using the high-tech clothespins. I just crack the lid a bit, and let her fly. I do keep water in the (unpowered) Crockpot during the yellowing phase.

For the recommended values of temp and humidity, check AmaxB's thread on his chamber. Somewhere in that is the graph of dry-bulb/ wet-bulb/ humidity, by day. I simply set the temp, watch the color of the leaf at ~95ºF. When it's yellow (which has been taking ~4 days with the Orientals), I crank it to 120ºF for 24 hours (can't peek any more), 135ºF for 24 hours and finally 165ºF for 24 hours. During that last 24 hours (stem kill), the lid is fully closed. It's crude, but works well enough for me to keep feeding my good leaf into it.

Smell
During yellowing, it should have a warm, grassy smell.
During wilting, a cooked asparagus aroma is recognizable. If you get this during yellowing, the temp is too high.
During drying, it begins to smell like tobacco.
During stem kill, I get a toasty aroma.

Bob

That read like as good as directions as you can get! Its ultimately up to the individual to tweak there own cozy can.

 

[johnlee1933]

Maybe next year I'll get a 55 gallon drum, but those would be a bear to drill through, I'm sure.

They make 55 gal drums with removable tops. Failing that they also make a drum head cutter that looks like a huge canopener and does a really nice gob leaving a pretty smooth rim. Check "Drum Deheaders"

 

[DonH]

They make 55 gal drums with removable tops. Failing that they also make a drum head cutter that looks like a huge canopener and does a really nice gob leaving a pretty smooth rim. Check "Drum Deheaders"

Yeah, I saw some of those with removable tops online. Maybe next year.

Looking forward to seeing how the leaves come out of the flue cure process. It's going to be hard during the phases where I'm not supposed to peek. Also really looking forward to using it as a kiln. I got a round grill grate to suspend above the crockpot, so it should fit a fair amount of tobacco.

 

[Knucklehead]

http://www.mcmaster.com/ Search Drum Heater.

 

[BarG]

Well I'll tell you what!. Who has ever tried Celikhan. This is a real time review.Much more subtle than tobacco candy. One shredded leaf made a cig. the color of shreds is light yellow. I am now firing up. Wow , Smooth. This may be the perfumuy taste Bob was referring. In my opinion , mix this for that aromatic to your mix.

 

[DonH]

Day 3 of my first flue cure. I finally got the remote digital hygrometer (UPS delivered it to a neighbor). Bob's 19th century tech is correct. You shouldn't have to worry about humidity levels. The chamber is holding at 99F and 93-94% humidity. That's just with a bunch of wet leaves and a little bowl of water.

The leaves are starting to yellow today. It's been running for almost 48 hours now. Tomorrow or the next day I should be able to start the wilting phase.

Also, they are shrinking a bit, so the few leaves that are resting on the bottom shouldn't be too big of a problem. There's also not much condensation though there is some. The next challenge will be putting the crockpot in where it doesn't touch too many leaves. I was wondering if putting a towel over the crockpot would be a problem? That might protect the leaves from getting burned. Shouldn't be a fire hazard at 165F but I don't know that.

 

[DonH]

I should also mention that I have the lid completely closed for the yellowing phase.

 

[deluxestogie]

My Crockpot is always inside the Cozy Can. For the yellowing phase, the Crockpot is not plugged in. Since I'm using 2 seedling mats (standing on edge along the sides of the can) for the yellowing heat, I just remove those when the yellowing is complete, and then plug in the Crockpot to the thermostat.

One of the greatest differences between 19[sup]th[/sup] century technology and that of the 20[sup]th[/sup] is the optimization of scale, which requires standardization and often automation. The tiny scale of the Cozy Can allows me to eyeball the process stages. For larger scale production, that would not be practical.

Bob

 

[DonH]

The problem I had was the leaves go down to the bottom of the can, so when the leaves were fresh the crockpot was in the way. Not sure how to keep the leaves from touching the crockpot for the next phase.

 

[deluxestogie]

You could try an inverted metal colander or a bowl-shaped piece of chicken wire.

Bob

 

[DonH]

You could try an inverted metal colander or a bowl-shaped piece of chicken wire.

Bob

I like that idea. Thanks!

 

[skychaser]

Bob, I got your package last week and have been enjoying it ever since. The Celikhan is light and mild and good in a pipe. In a cigarette it is very light. It doesn't have the rather strong and dry flavor mine did when you exhale it. Yours is much nicer.

The Prilep is fantastic! It has a good throat hit in a pipe but is much milder in a cigarette. The smoke if rich and very aromatic. The flavor is medium in strength but rich, and has a spiciness to it like a hint of nutmeg, or perhaps peppermint. It lingers on the lips and tongue for a while similar to menthol, but I wouldn't really call the taste menthol. Anyway, this may be the best tobacco I have ever tasted and I absolutely love it! And I want to order a pound. Just tell me how much and where to send the check.

 

[DonH]

At 72 hours I began the wilting phase. The leaves yellowed up nicely, no problems with the few that touched the bottom of the can. One or two leaves were maybe a little green and one had cooked spots, and the rest looked nice. Yellow with green veins. So I figured it was time for the next phase. I got the crockpot in and put a collander over it. 19th Century genius, Bob! That way I can drape the leaves in the middle over the collander. Hopefully my wife won't ask where it is.

I wish I had two of these cans, I have a bit of a bottleneck coming up with lots of flue cure leaves ripening. May have to air cure some of them, but that will allow me to compare air cured to flue cured for the same variety. And next patch I plan to at least double the leaves from 25 to as much over 50 as I can. I plan to use the leaf stringing method in the YouTube videos and bunch two at a time on each side of the angle iron.

Not done yet, but my hat's off to the two Bobs. Dr. Bob for the crockpot idea and Bob Deluxestogie for this easy flue cure method.

 

[DGBAMA]

Look forward to the results. Topping my first plants this weekend so harvest is coming on fast/soon.

 

[leverhead]

Bob, I got your package last week and have been enjoying it ever since. The Celikhan is light and mild and good in a pipe. In a cigarette it is very light. It doesn't have the rather strong and dry flavor mine did when you exhale it. Yours is much nicer.

The Prilep is fantastic! It has a good throat hit in a pipe but is much milder in a cigarette. The smoke if rich and very aromatic. The flavor is medium in strength but rich, and has a spiciness to it like a hint of nutmeg, or perhaps peppermint. It lingers on the lips and tongue for a while similar to menthol, but I wouldn't really call the taste menthol. Anyway, this may be the best tobacco I have ever tasted and I absolutely love it! And I want to order a pound. Just tell me how much and where to send the check.

I agree with your cigarette observations! For the Prilep the closest I can come is a mint like flavor, it comes on late and sticks around after the cigarette is gone. Nutmeg is the flavor I couldn't put my finger on, it is similar. To me it was interesting that all that flavor (those flavors) came from just one variety of tobacco. It kind of rewrites the rules for making a good tasting cigarette.

 

[Knucklehead]

Bob, I got your package last week and have been enjoying it ever since. The Celikhan is light and mild and good in a pipe. In a cigarette it is very light. It doesn't have the rather strong and dry flavor mine did when you exhale it. Yours is much nicer.

The Prilep is fantastic! It has a good throat hit in a pipe but is much milder in a cigarette. The smoke if rich and very aromatic. The flavor is medium in strength but rich, and has a spiciness to it like a hint of nutmeg, or perhaps peppermint. It lingers on the lips and tongue for a while similar to menthol, but I wouldn't really call the taste menthol. Anyway, this may be the best tobacco I have ever tasted and I absolutely love it! And I want to order a pound. Just tell me how much and where to send the check.

I agree with your cigarette observations! For the Prilep the closest I can come is a mint like flavor, it comes on late and sticks around after the cigarette is gone. Nutmeg is the flavor I couldn't put my finger on, it is similar. To me it was interesting that all that flavor (those flavors) came from just one variety of tobacco. It kind of rewrites the rules for making a good tasting cigarette.

My tobacco reviews are the same as my book reviews, either I liked it or I couldn't finish it. I liked both varieties very much and I think you've found a likely substitute for sun curing. I agree with both statements above and can only add my sincere thanks.

Now I must build a cozy can.

 

[deluxestogie]

This may spur a renaissance in the American steel trash can manufacturing sector.

Bob

 

[leverhead]

This may spur a renaissance in the American steel trash can manufacturing sector.

Bob

Both employees will be back at work on Monday.