My new "waterless" kiln!

[Jitterbugdude]

I tried something new this year. Normally I kiln tobacco in my 3x4x5 kiln. I usually put about 400-500 leaves into it. This year though I have so much tobacco from last year that I do not feel the need to kiln much tobacco, just a small amount. I didn't feel like putting my big kiln together ( it's made to be taken apart after each season) for a small batch of tobacco. So I came up with this idea.



All I did was add 6 mason jars with nicely cased tobacco into an electric cooker. I plugged it into my Ranco thermostat and set it for 120 degrees. I open the bottles once per day to let them off gas. I am fermenting: Monte Calme Yellow, Monte Calme Brun, Copan, Karabaglar, Little Dutch and Yellow Pryor. This little thing works good... so far. No need to add water. I just check it once per day. It's small, but big enough to let me ferment 6 different samples of tobacco.

Randy B

 

[Boboro]

Now that we know what we gonna do with all yhem leaves we have to find somth'into do all winter. just kidd'in. let us know how it works out.

 

[leverhead]

I like it! I've been thinking of recycling my "drum" as a kiln. I've got one drum left over that I didn't do any cutting on.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I failed to mention... The lid was taken off for the pictures

 

[BarG]

Jitterbugdude

Could you puncture a smale hole in the lid for the off gas without losing the case of your tobacco?

 

[Jitterbugdude]

BarG, I thought about puncturing a hole or two but I figured why waste a perfectly good lid. I think it's good that I have to vent them once per day. It makes me look at the system and check everything out on a daily basis. Takes less than a minute to open and close 6 jars!

Randy B

 

[Michibacy]

Jitter, I'm considering doing this since I'm "inheriting" an electric cooker here when my mom moves. How well did this set up work for you? Do you think I could shred the tobacco before kilining?

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Well, it's about day 10 so I'll let you know in about another 3 weeks. So far it's real nice. I open the jars once a day to off-gas. It's nice not having to worry about having to add water or playing around with it to get the humidity right. The downside is that it only holds 3-1/2 gallon and 2 quart jars. I'm not sure about shredded the leaf first but I would guess that it would be OK to do.

Randy B

 

[Aaron]

Hey Jitter I was just wondering how this project is going? I'm anxious to hear how well it worked. I like the simplicity of it.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I'm on my second batch. It works good but here's a few things I've learned. Even though I have it plugged into a Ranco thermostat the temp still goes way higher than I set it for. This is because (I surmise) the heating element is so big that even though it might come on for say 10 seconds at a time the mass is so big that it continues to radiate heat for another few minutes or so. On this second batch I set the temp to 105 and it will occasionally rise to about 120. The other thing I've found out is the moist tobacco in a sealed jar will create water vapor ( as in PRESSURE) and want to explode! So, I put the mason jars in with the lids loosely screwed on for about 24 hours. Then I seal them but once a day I unscrew the lid and screw it right back on to relieve any pressure and to give it an air exchange. The quantity it does is small but its a good way to kiln about 6 different samples at a time.

Randy B

 

[Aaron]

Very nice. I had been telling myself that I wouldn't bother with kilning this year and just wait for it to age. That is until I started sampling some very nice leaf sent to me from BarG that is incredible stuff. Now I'm thinking that I need to study up on the whole process a bit and figure out a system I can build for myself.