Where am I going wrong?

[Tom Bedwell]

Ok, I've got 4 pipes that I rotate.  Usually smoking one pipe, about three times, per day.  Over the last week or so, it seems no matter how light I pack the tobacco or how slowly I draw, I end up with that stinging nasty tasting bite half way through the bowl.  At the end of the day, after cooling down, I clean them with a pipe cleaner and sit them back in the rack, not to be touched for 3 days.  Tobaccos vary from Nightcap to Boswell's Sweet Tea.

Now, I've never done any type of "deep cleaning" like the ones I read about using Bacardi, etc.  Is that what I'm missing?  I know.  I know.  Add 50 more pipes, lol.  All in good time.  I've smoked pipes for roughly 7 years and would occasionally have one bite; but never 5 or 6 times in a week.

Also, when it happens; is it best to empty the bowl and leave it to dry or give it a while and continue on?

 

[monbla256]

Try rotating thru the pipes only ONCE a day ! Your not giving ;em any real time to dissipate any moisture from the tobacco smoking one multiple times a day. And depending on WHAT TYPE of 'bac you smoke, you never will doing it this way. Buy less 'bac, save your pennies and get at least 4 MORE pipes to help with the rotation !!  

 

[Anonymous]

Cobs, including the new wood ones, are a viable addition. I've smoked both and find them good smokers. An alcohol cleaning can help get by but only so far.

Rotation, as Monbla said, becomes necessary at some point.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

FWIW, if I'm smoking the same blend multiple times in a day, I smoke the same pipe.

Keeping the pipe clean is important. I typically use two cleaners per smoke, one during and immediately after, then I leave a second one in the stem over night. They'll still need a good thorough cleaning every once in a while. I use one of the wire cleaners, dipped in alcohol, every month or so.

 

[loneredtree]

Have you been using the 4 pipes for 7 years without a good cleaning?:sunny:  :lol!: 

The shanks may be in need of a cleaning with a shank brush, q tips, and alcohol.

 

[cigrmaster]

It sounds like your pipes are souring due to not ever doing a deep cleaning. I deep clean every one of my pipes after maybe 10-12 bowls. I also use around 5-7 pipe cleaners on my pipes after every smoke. If you do not keep your pipes extremely clean, your tobacco will taste like crap. Also if you smoke 3 bowls in one pipe you should let it rest a minimum of 3 days maybe longer depending on the tobacco you smoke and the pipe itself. Wet aromatics will need probably a weeks worth of drying time where as other blends will not require as long.

After I am done smoking a pipe, I let it rest over night and then break it in two. I take a fluffy pipe cleaner, double it and wipe it around the bowl getting any loose tobacco or ash and blow through the shank making sure nothing is left behind . I then take a tapered bristled cleaner, double it and run it through the shank a few times. I will continue using the bristled cleaners until they come out clean. I then take another bristled cleaner and run it through the stem. I will then take two fluffy cleaners on my pipes that can handle two of them and run those through the stem. if the pipe can only handle one fluffy, I use the one. In all my years of pipe smoking, I have never had a pipe go sour or have off putting flavors using this system. Yes I go through a ton of pipe cleaners, but I would rather do that than waste good tobacco.

When you deep clean you should get a shank brush and either Everclear or 151 Rum and really don't stop cleaning till the pipe cleaners come out perfectly white. Your pipes will thank you and I think you will notice a huge difference in the flavor of your tobacco.

 

[Anonymous]

Especially with the goopy stuff you're smoking in them, you're pushing them beyond their ability to recover. Even once a day with that schedule would be excessive.

:face: 

 

[RDPipes]

I think everybody here has answered your question well.
If you've never deep cleaned them, do so, if your smoking 2-4 bowls a day in each for a couple of days you need to let them rest longer and only smoke one pipe a day.
So ditto

 

[mejoshee]

I don't know if you've read in other threads, but have you also tried wiping them out with paper towels after? I've been doing that recently since I read that. Granted it's for the purposes of building cake and I have a larger number of pipes now to have the luxury of rotation, but it's I think it'd help you let the pipe dry "a little" more.

 

[Tom Bedwell]

Thanks everybody for the advice. These 4 (the newest addition being a Legend cob that I love) are not what I've been smoking for the past 7 years. I originally had 3 nice pipes that my wife hated me smoking. So...I had one of those "I'll show you! I'll get rid of something I really love!" moments and chunked 'em in the trash. I hate to admit I did that; but I did. So the wife is gone now and the pipes are back, lol.

My girlfriend (who is so cool she surprised me with the Boswell for my birthday) bought me a few aromatics; but truthfully I enjoy the tobacco taste of the Dunhills and the like more. I do see that the aromatics seem to "goop" things up a little more and adding those to the rotation could be part of what I'm dealing with. I'm enjoying the cob and might add another to have another in rotation.

So as a corrective action, I will try smoking them once a day and no more. This weekend I will give them a thorough cleaning with alcohol and maybe lay off the aromatics except for once in a blue moon. And when you all refer to a shank brush, are we talking the bristled pipe cleaners?

I know I should be more knowledgeable by now; I've just enjoyed smoking them and left it at that.

I love coming here! And I thank you all again for taking the time to help!:cheers: 

 

[Puff Daddy]

smoking one pipe, about three times, per day.  

This is the root of the problem. No bueno :evil:  As a good rule of thumb, a briar pipe should be smoked once, then rested at least a couple of days before smoking again. After each smoke, clean out the dottle and run a pipe cleaner through it, and fold up a piece of paper towel and wipe out the inside of the bowl. Whenever you get any amount of cake buildup that is beyond minimal it needs to be carefully scraped out. Considering the pounding your pipes have taken, I'd remove all cake, do the salt and alchohol treatment to em all (google it if you're not sure what that is) and then rest them all for a few days.

There is an alternative, buy three meerschaum pipes of decent quality. You can smoke a meer once a day every day with no detrimental effect. If you are smoking three times a day, then smoke each one once a day. The pipe cleaner/ wipe down/cake management rule still applies.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Yeah, if you were mixing Dunhill English and aros in the same pipe your pipe is trying to return the favor and poison you back :lol:

 

[loneredtree]

Shank brush

http://www.4noggins.com/search.aspx?find=shank+brush

Looks like a small bottle brush.

 

[Fr_Tom]

It sounds to me as if the gf is a keeper. You have an excuse to buy some more pipes.

This is one of those win-win situations. We will want pictures of the pipes as you experience some PAD.

 

[Tom Bedwell]

Ok folks. I did the salt and alcohol treatment to two of my pipes. Bear with me while while I upload a couple of progress photos. Used Everclear for the alcohol. They smell wonderful!

So I probably won't smoke aros out of these; can you all give me the basic breakdown of what English tobacs can be smoked out the same pipe? For instance should I not smoke a FMOTT and Nightcap from the same bowl? Would like to find another similar to EMP.

 

[monbla256]

Ok folks. I did the salt and alcohol treatment to two of my pipes. Bear with me while while I upload a couple of progress photos. Used Everclear for the alcohol. They smell wonderful!  

So I probably won't smoke aros out of these; can you all give me the basic breakdown of what English tobacs can be smoked out the same pipe?  For instance should I not smoke a FMOTT and Nightcap from the same bowl?  Would like to find another similar to EMP.

Some folks smoke ONLY one tobacco per pipe but to my mind and smoking experience, that's a bit on the OCD side of the coin. :twisted:  Except for some of the Lakeland produced English blends I would smoke just about ANY English/ Balakan style of blend in ANY pipe you have. Your getting back to the "over thinking " thing again. Give the pipes a rest by only smoking once a day for each one, and enjoy the blends you are smoking in ANY pipe you want !! Rekax and enjoy this habit :twisted: :twisted: 

 

[Anonymous]

Listen to Monbla. And, find out what works by trial and error. It won't make you sterile or get you tared and feathered..

I smoked aros the first time around. I am smoking pipe that had a bushel of aro put through them that I now smoke with VaPer and English. They are no different from a new pipe that has never had anything but XXXX run through it.

And, decide why you smoke. I would bet it is for enjoyment...so, enjoy!

 

[MisterE]

Another thing that helps recovery is to scrape all the wet dottle out once the pipe cools down. Especially in the heel of the bowl. Just swabbing out the bowl won't get that stuff. That tarry buildup will become liquid and sour once the pjpe is heated up again. If you run a cleaner through it at that point it can even intensify the sourness as it brings it all up through the shank and stem as you remove it.

One of the aluminum pipe nails is the perfect tool for the job. You don't need to gouge or ream, but simply use the edges to scoop it out from the bottom. Once that is out of there the pipe will dry much quicker and the souring agent itself is mostly gone. If you choose to smoke the pipe again that day it won't be completely fresh, but you'll have a much dryer bowl to begin with.

That's what I do.

 

[Richard Burley]

A "stinging nasty tasting bite half way through the bowl?" Sounds like you're sucking condensate up the stem. It's vile. If that's not it, check out the mortise. It's unbelievable how much gunk builds up in there and after a while seems to overflow and taint the smoke. I use a mini-screwdriver to scrape it out before using pipe cleaners, bourbon, etc.

[Hic!...one for me, one for the pipe; one for me, one for the pipe...etc.]

 

[Tom Bedwell]

Which button do I push to download a pic? Lol. I took before and after pics with the salt treatment, just can't figure out how to get them on here.