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Jar curing

flylowgethigh

Non-growing Lurker
ICMag Donor
Does anybody know what gas is created and makes pressure in the jars when curing dried flower? Why is it created? Is this a slow form of decarb? Sure a lot of pressure buildup if not regularly attended to (1 or 2 weeks). :biggrin:
 

I'mback

Comfortably numb!
Does anybody know what gas is created and makes pressure in the jars when curing dried flower? Why is it created? Is this a slow form of decarb? Sure a lot of pressure buildup if not regularly attended to (1 or 2 weeks). :biggrin:
Not that I'm aware of.
 

Bobby Boucher

Active member
Im guessing your buds aren't dry enough. I don't think your jars should be building pressure. Probably the water turning into a gas. Like a pressure cooker.
 

Mr. J

Well-known member
I'm pretty sure it is decarb and the gas carbon dioxide. If it smelled bad I would say that it could be something nasty and the buds weren't dried properly. I actually never experienced this until a week ago when I opened a jar that had been sitting for two weeks. I unscrewed it and the top popped of with an audible "pop". The buds were really nice and not wet at all. It was a small jar and it was packed kind of tight.
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
Yep, it's the CO2 escaping as it decarbs/dries in the jar. I had one strain that built so much pressure, when I opened the jar, the lid blew right out of my hand.




.
 

Bobby Boucher

Active member
For one time I think I actually deserve the pot. And I’m totally incapacitated off some 200 mg.

Search your feelings...

Maybe if your jars got too warm or uv exposure sped up the decarb process?
 

I'mback

Comfortably numb!
Wow! I have not grown a ton of weed but I never had a lid pop off like some are mentioning here. Wow! From the quick search I conducted (between sentences) jury says... improperly dried buds, insufficient air space in jar e.g ram packing them and insufficient burping.

It is not uncommon to burp a jar 4-5 times a day during the 1st week (especially the 1st couple of days. The amount of time they are burped should be going down daily. My latest harvest (10 Jan) is presently sitting at 59-60% nice and aromatic. I had one jar give me some issues on the last run, within a couple hours she would register 65-66%. she is now holding steady at 61%.

I burp her once a day while the remainder of the harvest once a week. After my 2 month cure, they get burped once a month. Yes it is a pain but, a necessary one. I dry my stalks in the grow room, set for 65 deg and 55% RH, you want it nice and slow for a minimum of 5-7 days. Something I stared doing was weight each harvested plant and weigh them before jaring. When their "dry weight" reaches 20% of harvested weight, and they pass the snap test, I jar them :) This method of weighing and jaring takes the guess work out of the equation and, with the exception of the one jar, required far less burping than before.

I periodically check my stash (each jar has a hygro and a 62% Boveda pack) every month or so and, I will crack open the lid, and seal them again. My stash is contained in a filing cabinet.

PS: When I depress the dimple on the lid, it stays down (hence no pressure build up)
 

flylowgethigh

Non-growing Lurker
ICMag Donor
These are properly dried, and not rotting, and I have a 62% pack in the stuffed quart jars. Cool and dark. I suspected CO2 and isn't that what curing is all about? Or is it turpene related also. Some strains burp harder than others. I just open, sniff, reseal. Takes a sec or two. New gas builds up between burpings.

More frequently first few weeks. Less frequently later on. Is it ready when the belching stops?

Mr. Boucher you deserve a good buzz. 200mg barely works these daze around here...
 
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Bobby Boucher

Active member
If you place a lid on a bottle when it's (for example) 15°C, then heat it up to 25°C, you'll notice that the contents in the bottle (even if only air) are under increased pressure. Heat does this, that's why there are vents in pressure cookers.

Conversely, if you fill a bottle with water (leaving a bit of air space as per normal) at 25°C, then cool it down to within a degree or two of freezing, you might have trouble getting the lid off due to the negative pressure.

I'd generally only be concerned if the contents of your jars started offgassing when the temperature was stable. That, to me, would indicate the presence of microbial life.

Just my opinion, of course. As in all things in life, YMMV applies.
 

Mr. J

Well-known member
If you place a lid on a bottle when it's (for example) 15°C, then heat it up to 25°C, you'll notice that the contents in the bottle (even if only air) are under increased pressure. Heat does this, that's why there are vents in pressure cookers.

Conversely, if you fill a bottle with water (leaving a bit of air space as per normal) at 25°C, then cool it down to within a degree or two of freezing, you might have trouble getting the lid off due to the negative pressure.

I'd generally only be concerned if the contents of your jars started offgassing when the temperature was stable. That, to me, would indicate the presence of microbial life.

Just my opinion, of course. As in all things in life, YMMV applies.
That may have been the cause of my popping lid now that I think about it. I jarred it up in the basement and opened it two weeks later upstairs on a warm day.
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
My jars never leave the file cabinets in the basement. Same temp and conditions all the time (pretty much). And, they always pop when I open them. Some strains more than others. I have stuff that's been ion jars for over a year and they still pop when you open them.
 

Bobby Boucher

Active member
I want to calculate how much co2 actually comes out of an ounce that would fit in a quart jar..

I throw patties on hot plates, often. If I blasted an ounce, I might get 6 grams of dab. If I threw those 6 grams in a sealed quart jar at 290f for 7 minutes, I can imagine a bit of pressure would build up, enough to really *pop* when I took the lid off..

Point being, if it is in fact co2 from the decarb and not from microbial respiration, and your jars are popping .. frequently.. your pot would really have to be decarbing at a pretty fast rate.

If it's somehow terpene related.. I mean.. If I dumped a 10 ml bottle of liquid myrcene into a quart jar and sealed it.. would it really build enough pressure to pop every time it was opened?

Dunno, but I think the most likely culprit is overstuffed jars and .. perhaps microbial presence due to excess moisture..

Best case scenario, your weed is decarbing faster than not, and your terpenes are exploding out of your weed.

How many of you that are "popping" at stable temperatures own rh/temp data loggers or temp guns?

Without my sensorpushes or my temp guns, I'm totally clueless as to what kind of fluctuations are occurring in my jars, my guitar cases, my tents.. I'm left not knowing how often my heater is kicking on, what the different temps are in my house room to room.. etc etc etc

Those things tell you.. a lot about what's really going on.

Yer jars might be closer to a radiator or a heating vent than you might think..
 

flylowgethigh

Non-growing Lurker
ICMag Donor
They ain't near no heat or light and are stuffed full. At this point from last years crop, they are being burped less frequently. I just had one that wasn't burped for a while have a pretty good size "pop", and it made me wonder where the gas pressure was coming from.

This stuff goes straight from the pack to the jar after being "re-fluffed" a little cause the flowers all get stuck together pretty badly on frosty material.
 

Bobby Boucher

Active member
There could be a spooky ghost coming and brooding on your jars, warming them considerably for only a short period in the night.

It'd be hard to say it wasn't happening with any certainty without a data logger.

The caliberIV is some $35 bucks. A sensor push is $50 and has data logging and bluetooth capabilities.

They really are super crucial to be absolutely certain of whats going on with the hvac in your home and garden and whatnot. Without any kind of empirical trail of what's goin' on.. we're only left with guesses.

Not sayin' you're temps aren't stable, just saying.. hard to be sure.
 
X

xavier7995

I tend to get lid pops. I jar a bit more moist than I should and work my way down to desired moisture content, works wonders for keeping it sticky and I would rather spend a bit of extra time there than risk over drying before jarring it ul.
 

AgentPothead

Just this guy, ya know?
If you are getting gas build up in your jars, that implies biological sources, ie mold or mildew, something is producing that gas, and it's not just magically coming out of your buds. Do plants outgas while curing? Most definitely. Do they outgas enough to apply pressure to a lid to make it pop off? Not on your life.
 

BOMBAYCAT

Well-known member
Veteran
I had a new batch of Mason jars that popped really bad when I unscrewed the lid to run everything through the dishwasher. I figured it was the pressure difference since I live by Denver nearer to the mountains. The jars must have been made in some factory at sea level. I guess those jars seal really good?
 

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