China Voodoo's Invertebrate Kiln

[ChinaVoodoo]

@ChinaVoodoo I know this is an older post but I was curious about how much tobacco you can fit in your kiln at a time?

I suppose I could stuff it with more, but since I actually isolate my tobacco to the 5 gallon brew bucket, in bags, it's probably somewhere around 7 or 8 lbs. Although, if I was kilning bricks of tobacco, it would be well into double digits. If used as a flue curing chamber of would maybe be 50 leaves or half a pound because you still need room for air movement.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I'm currently attempting to flue cure in this kiln, for the first time. Previous flue curing I've done was in a big shed which costed 20x more to build than this box. I'll let you know how it goes. This is hour zero of the chart:

View: https://youtu.be/vTaa6ImSvIk

 

[Radagast]

What if you put a coffee can of water in there with a rag hanging out of it to wick moisture?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

What if you put a coffee can of water in there with a rag hanging out of it to wick moisture?

That would be playing it safe and we wouldn't learn as much.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

The inside dimensions of my kiln work out to 0.2 cubic metres.

Air at 100°F (37.8°C) contains about 35g of water per cubic metre at 85% relative humidity.

Therefore, if there's no leakage, the tobacco (and the pie plates) will only lose 35x0.2 = 7g of water to maintain that humidity.

I think we're good.

Edit: there is leakage, as I know if I were to kiln tobacco in there, not in buckets, the tobacco would dry out. It's a question of how fast its leaking.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I checked on the Jaffna today. Tobacco still green and hydrated. Not yellowing very quickly. I moved the sensor probe closer to the tobacco, in case that was the issue.

 

[deluxestogie]

Some varieties require up to 4+ days to yellow. The same is true for higher priming levels.

Bob

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the degree of maturity of the leaf also impacts the yellowing time.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

This post is regarding kilning. I have most of my tobacco I grew this season packaged into reused bags from whole leaf. It is in case and still has mid rib. All nearly at one pound. I don’t know why I do it this way but I did. Anyway, I’m curious if I could use a similar set up and keep my tobacco in these vapor proof bags sealed and maybe in a bucket or something to keep it off floor and walls? Did you experience any mold issues using this to kiln? Did it work well?

 

[deluxestogie]

There will be no mold growth above 122°F. If the leaf is in case, and the bags efficiently sealed, it should kiln well, so long as there is good air recirculation within the kiln, and the bags are kept from contacting the walls and floor.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

There will be no mold growth above 122°F. If the leaf is in case, and the bags efficiently sealed, it should kiln well, so long as there is good air recirculation within the kiln, and the bags are kept from contacting the walls and floor.

Bob

Thank you very much bob!! So the standard is around 125ish for one month correct? Can time be cut off by going hotter? I know there are heats I don’t want to reach due to the destruction of certain aging components not to mention melting of plastic bags etc…would 130 be ok for the month?

 

[deluxestogie]

My kiln is set to maintain a temp between 123°F and 128°F. I run it for two months per batch. Hotter temps seem to impart an undesirable aroma. This is just my own experience and practice.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

My kiln is set to maintain a temp between 123°F and 128°F. I run it for two months per batch. Hotter temps seem to impart an undesirable aroma. This is just my own experience and practice.

Bob

Good to know…thanks! Is the aroma you speak of one of cooking plant material possibly? I think I have experienced that before…

 

[deluxestogie]

It's aroma #7.

I have no familiar analog for the change in aroma. Seriously, I sense a mild, "charred" aroma, even though the temp is way too low to char anything.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

It's aroma #7.

I have no familiar analog for the change in aroma. Seriously, I sense a mild, "charred" aroma, even though the temp is way too low to char anything.

Bob

I see. I was referring to aroma #3.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

@ChinaVoodoo did your kiln work as anticipated? Any issues you encountered? Also curious as to how it did as a flue chamber?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

@ChinaVoodoo did your kiln work as anticipated? Any issues you encountered? Also curious as to how it did as a flue chamber?

As a kiln, it has been working for a couple years. For curing tobacco, I didn't get the chance to attempt flue curing as the tobacco just cured brown. Air curing worked out great with the first run, and I'm currently on my second run. There are a couple pie plates with water in them, and the water lasts about two weeks.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

As a kiln, it has been working for a couple years. For curing tobacco, I didn't get the chance to attempt flue curing as the tobacco just cured brown. Air curing worked out great with the first run, and I'm currently on my second run. There are a couple pie plates with water in them, and the water lasts about two weeks.

Interesting. So an issue with low humidity for flue curing then? Good luck.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Interesting. So an issue with low humidity for flue curing then? Good luck.

I don't think so. It's just that the Jaffna didn't change colour as I would have expected something like VA Gold to.

 

[TwoBackHoes]

Wherever Ive put a crockpot, i put it on fire bricks. The fire bricks can be soaked and will hold water for added rh not to mention the bricks are a heat sink to prevent rapid cooling when the thermostat cycles. Nice job.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

@ChinaVoodoo what car part is the fan you are using? Just out of curiosity