Vaccume Seal Bags

[Radio]

Not to sound naive, but i've spent a few years out of the loop.. Is there a device out there that vacuum seals small items or ziplock bags, and is something like this necessary for herb storage? I will be buying in bulk to save money, and will have about 4 ounces. Since I vape so slowly, I am thinking of separating it all into 2g and 4g portions, and zip-locking each portion separately so I can slowly get through it without having to handle large quantities at once.
I hear a lot about air and sun being the 2 killers of potency, so is a 4g nug of dank herb stored in a completely dark and airtight bag a good way to attain immortality?
If anyone vacuum seals their stuff, let me know what products you use and what method is best!
If a mason jar is going to provide the exact same effect then i'll throw it all in an extra large jar and open it up to fish out what I need on demand, but I have a feeling the constant opening of the jar will cause new oxygen to destroy my potency. Forgive my ignorance (again), thanks FC

 

[tuk]

Ideally you want the herb to only make contact with glass or stainless steel.

Mason jars will work.

A better solution is to fill to the top an all glass jar like a reagent bottle or weighing jar then put that in a heat sealed food packet.

 

[KeroZen]

Mason jars (at room temperature) are only good for short time conservation (read less than 4 months)

For any longer storage you will need to put the jars inside a freezer.

Note that whatever you do, the product never will age well like a good wine will, it's a downwards slope only for taste and potency.

 

[max]

Ziplock bags aren't air tight, unlike the heavier material used in vacuum sealers like the one in tuk's post.

 

[tuk]

I have herb which has been stored for 1 year in airtight glass jars & it's as good as the day it was stored...but I live in a cold climate and seldom heat my house unless it like -5 or something.

I tried freezing before for only a few weeks but there was a big drop in smell, taste and potency so I never did that again...not saying freezing doesn't work it just didn't work for me.

 

[Kief]

Mason jars with 62% Humidipaks stored in the dark. No vacuum, no freezer, no worries.

Here's a few storage threads worth reading: Storage Ideas & The CVault - Climate Controlled Storage & Storage Container - Which to use?

 

[Radio]

Thanks for all of the replies. Very much appreciated. The many facets of herb vaporizing and maintenance is a never ending career!

 

[synche]

Hi Deja Vu,

I get weed once a year. I store it in ounces, inside freezer bags (thick ziplocks). I can fit 8 of these inside of "Food Saver" ziplocks. These are water vapor proof bags that I was given. I also put a 62% humipack inside the Food Saver, outside the freezer bags. I take ounces out of the Food Savers as needed (every 3-4 days), and close the FS's back up with no excess air inside.

It gets hot in my place, I don't use much air conditioning. It often reaches 90 degrees in my place. The weed I have now is 9 months old. The ounces haven't even lost 0.1g. They are pretty much exactly like they were 9 months ago, except it tastes and smells better from curing.

I'm not in anyway saying this method is better than glass jars, but it is a very simple and effective way to store bud nonetheless.

Edit: actually the pot is 10+ months old. I've had it for 9 months.

 

[Radio]

Hi Deja Vu,

I get weed once a year. I store it in ounces, inside freezer bags (thick ziplocks). I can fit 8 of these inside of "Food Saver" ziplocks. These are water vapor proof bags that I was given. I also put a 62% humipack inside the Food Saver, outside the freezer bags. I take ounces out of the Food Savers as needed (every 3-4 days), and close the FS's back up with no excess air inside.

It gets hot in my place, I don't use much air conditioning. It often reaches 90 degrees in my place. The weed I have now is 9 months old. The ounces haven't even lost 0.1g. They are pretty much exactly like they were 9 months ago, except it tastes and smells better from curing.

I'm not in anyway saying this method is better than glass jars, but it is a very simple and effective way to store bud nonetheless.

Thank you and I am very happy to hear that it works for you. How much do you buy yearly if you don't mind me asking?

 

[synche]

Thank you and I am very happy to hear that it works for you. How much do you buy yearly if you don't mind me asking?

I haven't bought weed in years and years. I work for outdoor growers. This last year was great. I came away with over 5 lbs of bud, over 1lb of premium keif, 10lbs. of inner trim, and about an oz of finger/machine hash.

If I were to adapt "my" method to your application, I would not vacuum seal the small amounts, but just put them in small ziplocks, inside larger freezer bags, inside the "Food Savers". You really don't even need the humipacks. This is the first year I have used them. It has worked fine in the past without them.

Happy Storage!

 

[spoutti]

I presently use small vacuumed mason jars. Seems to be good for months in potency, but my purple kush always looses its sweet flavor quickly. Now reading this tread, I wonder about using the refrigerator instead of the freezer. Maybe its a good compromise? Vacuumed mason jars in the fridge..

 

[t-dub]

I also get my flowers yearly. Using a Food Saver with the jar attachment I vacuum seal my meds with a couple oxygen absorbers in 1/2 gallon Mason jars for long term storage. This is in a cool, dark, place but not a fridge. For daily use I use pint sized mason jars with 62% Boveda packs which I keep in my lab fridge. This sets the medicine up nicely for vaping imho, and I have kept medicine for well over a year using this 2 stage method. In the pic below I have Boveda packs in the large jars. This is because a "quick cure" to avoid a mold problem left things a bit dry and I was trying to put some moisture back into the herb before putting it into vacuum.

 

[letter never sent]

I've stored bud in glass mason jars for up to a year with no notable loss in potency or flavor. I keep my jars in a dark drawer.

 

[Magic9]

Mason jars in a dark, cool place. Basements work. Bottom of a closet on top of a small brick (brick absorbs the heat) maybe?

A fridge works, but the humidity levels inside are pretty high, so airtight is a must or you risk some rot.

Bags will also work, but it needs to be mentioned that plastic/poly (there are some mylar type bags that are antistatic, used for circuit boards and such) bags have static that can degrade the trichs. If you do go the foodsaver route, make sure to leave some air to minimize trich damage (no crush)

Please, do not freeze your buds.

 

[tuk]

There was link posted by @lwien some time ago which I cant find now, from memory it was to do with plastics being in contact with herbs & how they can create bonds to pollute herbs. Plastic bags might be food safe but that is not relevant to material being heated and inhaled, I'm pretty sure you could eat a piece of plastic and it would pass through the gut with minimal health concerns hence food safe...however heating that same bit of plastic and inhaling the fumes is an entirely different matter. Everything I've read since about plastics leads me to think they are generally a bad idea, it's not just the materials that manuf claims that its made from it's the other surface nasties from manufacturing which are not mentioned.....with glass you can relax and know it's completely safe, also when a glass jar is empty you can reclaim the trics easily with alcohol.

All glass jars sealed in plastic using a vacuum machine..is the best of both worlds.

 

[1800]

Three words, moisture barrier bags. "airtight", "vapor proof" are a gimmick, use the real thing.

http://desco.descoindustries.com/DescoCatalog/Packaging/StatshieldMoistureBarrierBags/

You will also need a heat sealer.

 

[Radio]

I've got some JyARz on the way which should do the trick! Even with 'food safe' stuff it's best to keep herbs away from plastic for those reasons you mentioned @tuk . I do agree with you on that.