Anyone try storing tobacco in plastic bail jars? :: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions (2024)

I'm using these for short term storage with success but am wondering if anyone has used plastic bail jars instead of glass for long term cellar storage. I like that they are shatter-proof and they weigh less than glass. They're made of PET plastics, which are food grade used in bottles, peanut butter jars, etc.
Only debit I see in the plastic so far is that the lid is heavy and can cause the jar to tilt or fall over if you don't take care.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23436&catid=604
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_industrial?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=Cumulus&node=16310091

I just picked up 6 plastic Ball jars with screw tops. I got the smaller size that will hold about 2 tins. I don't buy any bulk by the pound so these little guys should be OK for now.

I always feel plastics impart at least some flavor. This might be a problem especially with stored or aging

tobacco. It might have no effect at all, but I certainly experience drinks in plastic bottles as having at least

a faint taste of the bottle.

I use glass only. A lot of people will tell you to avoid plastic because the plastic itself breaks down at a much faster rate overtime. Some people also believe that this will eventually contaminate your cellar if the tobacco is being stored for a prolong period of time say 5-10 years. However I am not a scientist seems like some go green crap that you can't prove, not sure though. Common sense should tell you to take your tobacco out of tins because of the rust factor. Who knows? Go with what you like and what you can afford. Better than letting it dry out and go to waste.

I have been using the plastic bail top for 10 years with no problems. I have 2-3 different sizes with the largest holding a pound. I pick them up at Wallyworld in the kitchen canister area.
When opening the jar you will find that the lid is indeed heavy and care should be taken in the process.
I age tobaccy in Bell canning glass jars with the seal lid.

I use the high quality bail top jars from Walmart as they do not impart any plastic smell to the tobacco and they use silicone gaskets that do not deteriorate after ten plus years. The glass jars with rubber gaskets are fine for short term stuff, but I have seen the rubber gaskets turn to powder and ruin my tobacco.

I can get a dozen Mason jars for $10 so why spend $3 each for those. For your current smoking rotation they would be fine on a desk, etc..

I would have thought that glass would be better over the long term but it seems people have had good experiences with them!
I would personally still stick with glass, I think it feels better and stronger, plus more sturdy as you've mentioned.
I bought some of the Victorian sweet jars from Amazon, very unlike me not to read carefully, they turned out to be plastic and didn't seal - whoops!

Plastic will probably allow air to permeate causing the tobacco to dry out. As stated above, use glass!

+1 mso489 I believe glass makes things taste better. It is my opinion every thing with quality should be kept in glass including coffee grounds, tobacco, beer, wine, even aftershave.

PatioBum

I have been using the plastic bail top for 10 years with no problems. I have 2-3 different sizes with the largest holding a pound. I pick them up at Wallyworld in the kitchen canister area.

Click to expand...

The ones I linked to are foold quality with silicon seals. To be clear, you just use platic jars for short term storage, not for long term cellaring?

I believe that plastic is gas permeable and over time will allow enough air molecules in to dry out your stash. Glass is cheap and reliable as well as regularly available. I'll stick with mason jars.

I've been storing some of my tobaccos in the Stokkebye's and Lane's plastic bail-tops (same type you see in B&M tobacconists), and I can't detect any difference from those I store in glass.

I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and paid $20 for a 5 piece set of containers to keep my open tins and cigars. I think these would work fine for bulk tobacco that you're currently smoking, too. the tallest of these things is a perfect cigar humidor.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/oggi-trade-acrylic-5-piece-canister-set/1013572526?categoryId=12605
I guess this is okay to keep my open tobacco organized and reasonably fresh.
I still think sealable glass jars is the way to go for long term fermentation and storage.

The question really comes down to what you are trying to accomplish -- how long are you hoping to store your tobacco? Keeping tobacco for a decade (or decades) is different than buying a few pounds of bulk and hoping to keep it from drying out over the year it takes you to go through that amount.
Gases of all sorts will permeate through all plastics. That being said, some are better than others: each has it's own characteristics. I haven't done any gas permeation in polymers work in a long, long time, but my recollection is that PET is pretty good. It is always a bit of a balance between how long you wish to store and the losses through the container. Some plastic containers would be fine if you are trying to keep your tobacco from drying out for a year as you smoke your way through your bulk purchase. You probably lose more moisture every time you open the container to fill a pipe than you lose through permeation through the walls of the container.
If you are really cellaring -- storing tobacco for many years -- then it is a bit of a gamble. It is possible that the permeation rate through some plastic containers is low enough that any losses would be negligible over 10 years, but I've not been able to find any serious studies of tobacco storage, though I'm sure there are water vapor permeation studies that have been done. Harris, who is serious about his pipe tobacco, seems to have had good experience with them. But, some caution is in order. It is a short path from "Harris uses certain plastic containers" to "any old plastic container will do" and that is certainly not the case.
If I was storing a lot of tobacco for a long time, I'd take the conservative route, protect my investment, and use glass. Particularly since mason jars are so cheap. If you insist that you wish to use plastic containers for long term storage, then I'd want to find out, exactly, what Harris uses and take my cues from him.

Yep...! They work just fine...

Regarding the comments, that the plastic jars are more gas permeable, you're correct about most if not all plastics. But if I recall, some have mentioned that you don't want an air tight container for tobacco smoke, as you would want in a cigar humidor.
And regarding leaching of flavors, I was very surprised to learn that glass can also leach flavors, according to some industry studies. Leaching glass appears to be limited to colored glass. The coloring agents contain different metals.
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijps/2012/302029/
You almost have to be a chemist to determine which plastics might be suitable for storing tobaccos but there are some types which resist gas permeation and leaching, specifically PET and PTFE plastics, used as food and beverage containers.
See http://homeguides.sfgate.com/permeability-plastic-water-bottles-vs-glass-79401.html and the footnotes for links to industry studies, if you're geeky, like yours truly can be.
Based on Wilson's comments, I'll use the plastic bail jars, which are made of PET plastics for my short term storage of up to a year. I smoke in a Florida room with tiled floors and I don't want to risk the glass shattering from drops of routine handling. It would not only be a waste of tobacco but if glass shatters on tile, I find little shards weeks after a supposedly thorough cleanup.
I'm also going to do an amateur controlled study, splitting a tine or two between glass and plastic containers of the same volume, just for giggles. It will be interesting to see if the difference in humidity control is detectable with the touch test.
At my age, I don't have the time to do ten year long studies, so I'll cellar my tins in their original containers and bulk in mason jars.

Moisture egress isn't the only consideration with long term storage. Many of the flavor and taste molecules, especially with aromatics, are low molecular weight oils, esters and other compounds. Depending on the chemistry of the specific plastics, some of those fugitive materials could work their way out of your tobacco.

hp

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I like the apothecary style glass jars withe ground surface on the bottom of the lid which fits in the collar of the top of the jar. I find these easier to open than the bail top jars and I like their looks. -bw

Brothers, you happen to have a pic link to the apothecary style jars?