Clean your shredder!

[mafuss]

Hey all,

Long time lurker here, first actual post in the forum.

I just wanted to remind those who are new to processing tobacco leaf, to clean your shredders occasionally!

This may be common knowledge, but to people who are newer to whole leaf like myself, its important to remember;
I've been packing cigs for about 6 months. Recently I've been using the "RS100 Fine Cut" shredder from the so called "polish guy", with great results. The shred was starting to go way downhill though after 3 or 4 months, my pieces were getting short, dry, tarry, and clumping together/crumbling regardless of case of leaf. But then I realized I had never cleaned this thing, proceeded to squirt some water through the rollers while I ran it, and wipe up all the brown gunk and residue that came out. It worked wonders in my shredding quality!!! So to those newbies like myself who are lazy and spacey, don't forget to clean your shredders!!!

TL;DR finally cleaned my shredder

This is the same blend, same humidity shredded before and after cleaning:

Before:

https://imgur.com/a/C4etqCq

After:

https://imgur.com/a/Ag7jAbh

Night and day difference!! (For those interested, the blend is 17.5% prilep, 17.5% katerini, 15% samsun, 20% brightleaf 20% maryland 609 10% perique)
Like I said, don't know if this is a dumb mistake/common sense, but fellow newbies don't forget to clean your gear!



Thanks to everyone here for all the guidance I've reaped over the months, and happy holidays!! Cheers!
-Matt

 

[MarcL]

Welcome and thanks for all that. More please.

 

[Alpine]

Welcome to FTT

pier

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. Your blend:
17.5% prilep
17.5% katerini
15% samsun
20% brightleaf
20% maryland 609
10% perique

would make a lovely, bright and flavorful pipe blend, with a mild to medium nicotine:

• Oriental 50%
• Bright 20%
• MD 20%
• Perique 10%

Bob

 

[mafuss]

Thanks for the warm welcomes!

Welcome to the forum. Your blend:
17.5% prilep
17.5% katerini
15% samsun
20% brightleaf
20% maryland 609
10% perique

would make a lovely, bright and flavorful pipe blend, with a mild to medium nicotine:

• Oriental 50%
• Bright 20%
• MD 20%
• Perique 10%

Bob

Definitely sounds like a winner through a pipe as well. I've been curious about dabbling with pipe tobacco, thus far have just been making cigarettes. should I cut my tobacco differently for pipe blends? Perhaps cut it by hand?

Matt

 

[LeftyRighty]

I clean my WLT shredder every couple of pounds. But I don't use water. Most of what clogs up the shredder 'blades' is tar, oils, etc. I may run water thru it for 1st wash, and then use denatured alcohol or whiskey (vodka works too). And, use an old toothbrush to scrub around the blades. Alcohol evaporates quickly so there is little down time.
Safety note : Don't smoke while messing with alcohol, fire hazard, and you won't see the flames until way too late.
But this still doesn't get all the gunk out, but the shred is much better.
About once a year, I put my shredder upsidedown is a container of alcohol and soak overnight, (wrap all with plastic wrap as alcohol evaporates quickly), partially disassemble, and scrub.

 

[deluxestogie]

should I cut my tobacco differently for pipe blends? Perhaps cut it by hand?

I am biased with regard to that question.

• I don't own a shredder.
• I always shred by hand.
• Back in the 1970s, most English-style commercial blends were fairly coarsely cut.
• I like the burn quality of coarse shred, as well as that of broken flake and coins.

Bob

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

Aye. to the cleaning. I have a Poland made shredder Don was selling a few yrs ago. I clean it after EVERY use. Old toothbrush, drop of Dawn and hot water. The rollers have not tarnished or rusted. So far so good.

 

[mafuss]

I clean my WLT shredder every couple of pounds. But I don't use water. Most of what clogs up the shredder 'blades' is tar, oils, etc. I may run water thru it for 1st wash, and then use denatured alcohol or whiskey (vodka works too). And, use an old toothbrush to scrub around the blades. Alcohol evaporates quickly so there is little down time.
Safety note : Don't smoke while messing with alcohol, fire hazard, and you won't see the flames until way too late.
But this still doesn't get all the gunk out, but the shred is much better.
About once a year, I put my shredder upsidedown is a container of alcohol and soak overnight, (wrap all with plastic wrap as alcohol evaporates quickly), partially disassemble, and scrub.

Hey, good to know! Never would have guessed seeing as nicotine is so water soluble but that makes sense actually. I'll try giving some everclear or denatured a run through there at some point. Thanks for the tip!

I am biased with regard to that question.

• I don't own a shredder.
• I always shred by hand.
• Back in the 1970s, most English-style commercial blends were fairly coarsely cut.
• I like the burn quality of coarse shred, as well as that of broken flake and coins.

Bob

Interesting. Yes, you can probably tell I am not a heavy pipe smoker, but I've noticed that most of the blends I enjoy from my local smoke shop are quite coarse. Well, I suppose it's time to get sharpening the ol' knife!
On a side note, I like the idea of ditching shredders eventually as well. I've been experimenting with hand cutting my cigarette tobacco a few ways, but have yet to perfect the technique/get fast enough to process at the rate I smoke.

Aye. to the cleaning. I have a Poland made shredder Don was selling a few yrs ago. I clean it after EVERY use. Old toothbrush, drop of Dawn and hot water. The rollers have not tarnished or rusted. So far so good.

Hey, cheers to that! I'll definitely be cleaning mine at least semi-regularly. I'm sure it contributes to the longevity.

-Matt

 

[ZigZagZeppelin]

I used oil to lubricate my first shredder. All seemed fine for about 6-7 months, then my tobacco shreds had little black oiled bits of tarry tobacco.....very small crap impossible to remove......

Since then its been hot tap water, dip an old toothbrush in Dawn ONCE and scrub rollers, top and bottom.......RINSE, scrub again then RINSE with cold water........Crank out the extra water droplets and put shredder on a kitchen towel for a few hours to completely dry out.

Problem averted.

 

[vanjen]

I have the Powermatic Shredder (it's about 3 or 4 months old). Should I be cleaning it? It works great.

 

[Knucklehead]

I have the Powermatic Shredder (it's about 3 or 4 months old). Should I be cleaning it? It works great.

I never cleaned mine. I would run it backwards after using it until the little bits stopped falling out.

 

[mafuss]

I never cleaned mine. I would run it backwards after using it until the little bits stopped falling out.

How long did it last?? Sounds like a beast of a machine hahaha

 

[Knucklehead]

How long did it last?? Sounds like a beast of a machine hahaha

6-7 years. I think a switch went bad. I haven’t disassembled yet to see what’s going on.

 

[vanjen]

Thanks, I have run it backward and don't see anything coming out (as least not yet).

 

[Iowalez]

My new heavy duty shredder got hard to crank and wasn't shredding so nicely after a couple pounds of leaves. A trip to the bath tub with a tea kettle of boiling water and a toothbrush cleaned the rollers up with minimal effort, in a few minutes time. Everything was dry very quickly and back in use within an hour.

 

[Kaylakaylakayla11]

I have the RS100 fine cut also. I think I’m shredding the leaves too moist. How dry should they be? The machine is totally gunked up. I just finished taking it all appart and cleaning the whole thing. Looks as good as new. Would rather not have to do this at every pound shred lol

Ps: I don’t have a hygrometer. Maybe it would be worth getting one?

 

[Kaylakaylakayla11]

I have the RS100 fine cut also. I think I’m shredding the leaves too moist. How dry should they be? The machine is totally gunked up. I just finished taking it all appart and cleaning the whole thing. Looks as good as new. Would rather not have to do this at every pound shred lol

Ps: I don’t have a hygrometer. Maybe it would be worth getting one?

Just realized I should also add. How often should I lubricate it with oil? Is olive oil ok?

 

[Knucklehead]

I have the RS100 fine cut also. I think I’m shredding the leaves too moist. How dry should they be? The machine is totally gunked up. I just finished taking it all appart and cleaning the whole thing. Looks as good as new. Would rather not have to do this at every pound shred lol

Ps: I don’t have a hygrometer. Maybe it would be worth getting one?

Dry enough to shred without the leaf turning to powder. If your shredder is gumming up, the leaf is too moist. You'll develop a feel for it. If you are storing your tobacco that moist, you stand a really good chance of mold. Store in low case.
Case defined:

Storing shredded tobacco

Hi ! What is the best way to store shredded tobacco ? Is mason jars an option ?

fairtradetobacco.com

My heavy duty shredder shipped with food grade glycerin. A vegetable oil, or olive oil may be fine, but I've never used either.

 

[tullius]

Veg oil will gum up over time, olive oil will go rancid. I had to disassemble a commercial meat slicer down to the switches because the previous owner used veg oil spray to lubricate it: the carriage couldn't be moved when I bought it because of all the gummed up oil. The manufacturer said don't use veg oils under any circumstances, and recommended USP food grade mineral oil. No issues since. Available cheaply everywhere, and good for straight razors, shredders, knives and other things