When is a pipe 'burned out?'

[Tim in Ohio]

I've seen the term, not real sure what it means. Anybody?

 

[Justpipes]

Tim, it usually means that when the inside of the bowl develops a hot spot and starts to burn through the bowl from the inside out. Usually due to some flaw in the briar. I have never experienced it so maybe someone that has, can give a better definition.

 

[Sasquatch]

Agree w/JP.... usually burnout is a briar issue, where a pipe was manufactured with some kind of defect in the wood which leads to its eventual destruction. I suppose if a guy smoked really really hot (or maybe under strange conditions, like with a car window rolled down on the highway etc ) you could burn briar and get it to decompose.

There are some "connoisseurs" who believe that a briar pipe cannot be smoked an infinite number of times with the same results in flavor etc. I'm not sure where I stand on this, but certainly even my most smoked pipes over a 17 year period show no signs of failure in that regard. So I guess you could call that idea "burnout" but really I think that's a very peripheral sort of concern.

 

[Anonymous]

Once in a while, a burnout can happen from there being a void in the briar wall of the bowl, invisible when made.

99 % of the time, though, pipes burn out because people smoke them too hot.

Briar cracks from over-heating, chars, and burns. At a higher temperature than most other woody plants, but it can and will burn. Briar mills burn waste pieces as fuel for heating in the winter time.

If the bowl of a pipe is too hot to hold comfortably, it's too hot. Period. Abuse like this will char the interior of a bowl, and the charring will be progressive until it's out to the surface. While this is going on, the pipe will taste "off" whenever it gets at all hot.

Anyone who's had enough experience buying used pipes has run into this -- tragically, often with the nicest ones. Reaming the cake down to the walls and encountering charcoal where there should be solid briar is a heart breaker. About all you can do at that point, if you like the pipe, is to send it away to be drilled-out, plugged with new briar and re-bored.

LL can tell you. He deals with that (and other problems pipular) for a living.

:face:

 

[Jack Straw]

There are some "connoisseurs" who believe that a briar pipe cannot be smoked an infinite number of times with the same results in flavor etc. I'm not sure where I stand on this, but certainly even my most smoked pipes over a 17 year period show no signs of failure in that regard. So I guess you could call that idea "burnout" but really I think that's a very peripheral sort of concern.

I saw a picture of a briar somewhere that had been smoked regularly for years and years, and whoever had it decided to cut the pipe in half to see how far the tar and whatnot had penetrated the briar, and it was something like 1/64" around the inner surface of the bowl - so basically not at all. I cannot find it now, but it was really interesting.

 

[Rad Davis]

I agree with YAK, that burnout is usually a result of pipe abuse. I met a fellow fly fishing guide on the Missouri River in Montana one day who was smoking a Sasieni, and he said he liked the way they smoked, but they burned out on him quite often.

He smoked them all day in winds that averaged about 15-20 mph or higher.


I once got a pipe back from Smokers Haven that the customer said, "The top half of the pipe just fell off!" It was solid charcoal all the way around where it "fell off".

There was a web site a few years ago site that posted a whole bunch of pics of pipes that had burned out. 90% of them burned out on the back of the bowl just above the shank.

What're the odds of all those pipes having a flaw in the wood at the same spot?

All that being said, if the bowl wall is too thin, a pipe can burn out through no fault of the smoker.

Rad

 

[Justpipes]

I don't doubt Rad and Yak one bit but I guess someone that smokes a pipe like that must be a clincher. Otherwise, how would they possibly be able to hold a pipe that was allowed to get that hot?

 

[Sasquatch]

There are some "connoisseurs" who believe that a briar pipe cannot be smoked an infinite number of times with the same results in flavor etc. I'm not sure where I stand on this, but certainly even my most smoked pipes over a 17 year period show no signs of failure in that regard. So I guess you could call that idea "burnout" but really I think that's a very peripheral sort of concern.

I saw a picture of a briar somewhere that had been smoked regularly for years and years, and whoever had it decided to cut the pipe in half to see how far the tar and whatnot had penetrated the briar, and it was something like 1/64" around the inner surface of the bowl - so basically not at all. I cannot find it now, but it was really interesting.

Agreed - the penetration is minimal. Don't know if you are thinking of this pic or a different one, but here's a pipe I cut in half. This is an old one that I picked up at a flea market, had the crap smoked out of it... totally plugged, 1/4" plus of cake etc. Just a badly abused pipe.

Justpipes wonders how a guy could allow a pipe to get "that hot"? Just plain ignorance... Most pipe smokers I know, in person, smoke far hotter than I do, and work real hard to keep it lit (because of that!). Folks around here are not the "average" pipe smoker I don't think.

 

[Amenhotep04]

Would some tobacco be more inclined to do damage to a bowl over another?

Reading some of the tobacco reviews on various pages, some I've read have referred to tobacco being too hot.

:farao:

 

[Justpipes]

From what I understand talking to different folks around the pipe world, those who smoke Frog Morton report more cases of pipe burn out than any other regular blend smokers.

 

[Anonymous]

Ten times out of ten, people who complain that a tobacco smokes hot don't know how to pack/smoke it.

:face:

 

[Sasquatch]

Yak, you've obviously never smoked Connoisseur's Choice from Peterson. That stuff burns hot or it don't burn at all.

 

[Al in Canada]

I have experienced "burn out" exactly once, and that was my own darn fault. Pipe in hand, out the window of a moving car window, the pipe literall started to burn.

And that is what burn out is. The briar burns from the inside out, making the pipe un-usable. You generally have two warning signs, either the pipe gets very hot to the touch or you can taste the wood burning, which is a very noticable taste. Ugh.

Basically, if you have to ask, you have not suffered the situation. Praise the Lord. :cheers:

Al (in Canada)

 

[Anonymous]

you've obviously never smoked Connoisseur's Choice from Peterson

Guilty as charged :lol!:

:face:

 

[Carlos]

Torch lighters are rumored to be especially hard on pipes.

 

[ftrplt]

I was "learned" that if you could not hold your pipe comfortably against your face cheek for a count of five, then the pipe was too hot. FWIW FTRPLT

 

[pipemaker]

As Rad has alluded to, the rear of the bowl above the shank seems to be where most pipes will burn out first.

Possible reasons are that the smoker tends to puff harder toward the bottom of the bowl in an attempt to keep the somewhat moister tobacco lit. A wet smoking pipe, or too moist a tobacco will will amplify this problem.

The location of the air hole at the lower rear of the bowl directs excessive heat to this area and excessive puffing can quickly cause the wood to overheat and weaken.

The briar is often the thinnest in this area in many pipe shapes and designs.

This makes me wonder if any of you have noticed that a particular shape is more prone to burn out than others?

Mike B.