PIPE CLEANERS AS A FILTER?

[EZONSLOW]

I was talking with a buddy of mine who has smoked pipes for decades, I was telling him about a dilemma I am having...
my wife asked me to switch to filtered pipes! I own many pipes,mostly Peterson`s which do not have a filter. He told me to insert a pipe cleaner in the shank of the pipe and it will act as a filter? He explained that the cotton on the pipe cleaner would absorb the bad stuff as well as tobacco juices.He told me as a bonus you would not need to clean your pipes as often as well ! I have never heard of this before. Has anyone done this?

 

[Ranger107]

Seems like that would restrict the draw significantly but maybe not. Have not heard of doing that but might be worth trying.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I'm not sure I believe that, and it sounds like a messy process. There are lots of filter options. Castello straws. Savinelli balsa filters. Medico filters. Denicool crystals. Crumpled up cigarette papers in the bottom of the bowl. Corn cob filters. I suspect most of them soak up goo and don't really filter anything, but if you aren't smoking at a quick pace, there shouldn't be a lot of goo anyway. And how often do you inhale during a bowl? I think it is important to keep in mind a lot of the tobaccos I'm assuming we're smoking at this level of the hobby aren't laced with 512 different chemicals and reactive combinations that make smoking shelf cigarettes so bad for our health. I worry about the food we eat now more than I do my tobacco consumption. That produce from Peru (nothing against Peruvians) that is skirting every environmental (chemical) law is likely to be more of a threat than my pipe.

 

[Timbo]

I use rolled up bits of pipe cleaner in my falcon's humididome (or whatever the space where the bowl screws in is called). Just snip off an inch or so and roll it around a pen or something of similar diameter. Works a charm.

I also think placing it in the shank would restrict the draw too much as well. Give it a crack and let us know how you get on.

 

[Donk93953]

By using a pipe cleaner you have the draw issue.
Coupled with , I believe, the heating of the small metal rod in most pipe cleaners would become hot.

 

[DWSmith]

New Falcons come with a pipe cleaner filter. They also sell little bags of the pre-shaped pipe cleaners to use as filters.

Try a length of pipe cleaner in one of your pipes and see how it goes. Sounds like a good idea for a pipe not made to use a filter.

 

[RSteve]

Coupled with the heating of the small metal rod in most pipe cleaners would become hot.

I confess. I tried it once. If you pack the bowl loosely, you won't notice the restriction, BUT the tobacco will burn quickly and the metal core of the pipe cleaner does get plenty hot.

 

[Blackhorse]

I confess. I tried it once. If you pack the bowl loosely, you won't notice the restriction, BUT the tobacco will burn quickly and the metal core of the pipe cleaner does get plenty hot.

I’ve had a number of Falcon pipes and often used the ring shaped thingie you stuck under the wood bowl, around the condenser. They’re intended to soak up the moisture collected by the condenser but they also filter the smoke a bit.

I don’t understand how a length of pipe cleaner stuck in the shank or whatever would make your tobacco burn more quickly. Or why the metal core getting hot would be an issue. It would only get as hot as the tobacco burning in the bowl, right? You’re not suggesting that the piece of cleaner go into the bottom of the bowl…right? I certainly wouldn’t do that.

 

[Zeno Marx]

I believe what he is implying is that because the tobacco is so loosely packed, it gets more air flow and burns hotter and quicker?

I was going through my box of pipe stuff I don't use any longer, and I found two packages of Castello straws. Remember those? Remember when Castello stamped a number on their pipes to correspond with the size straw to use? Most of them were #5s. I remembering using them a couple times because I had them. Not a bad system, really. Too much of a hassle for my needs, and another unnecessary expense. And not wanting to use them, coupled with preferring less open draws, would maybe make those particular pipes not for me.

 

[Blackhorse]

But why was the tobacco packed more loosely?

 

[Zeno Marx]

But why was the tobacco packed more loosely?

I'm guessing because if you want to get any kind of draw with a pipe cleaner in the airhole, you need to compensate with a looser pack? That's the best I got.

 

[Gusto]

I guess it would depend on the size of the airway and the size of the filter. With my MM cobs I use a bit of a full size cleaner as a barrier to ember and ash. A thinner cleaner may be useful in another pipe. IIRC a happy wife makes a happy life (maybe something like that.)

 

[RSteve]

I believe what he is implying is that because the tobacco is so loosely packed, it gets more air flow and burns hotter and quicker? I'm guessing if you want to get any kind of draw with a pipe cleaner in the air hole, you need to compensate with a looser pack.

But why was the tobacco packed more loosely?

Because as Zino said, "if you want to get any kind of draw with a pipe cleaner in the air hole, you need to compensate with a looser pack."