Burning Temperature of Tobacco's

hawke · Feb 20, 2014

Sitting here noticed my infrared thermometer and wondered if I could actually see a burn temp difference in various tobacco types and blends. Anyone ever done this before?
The lower the burning temp of a tobacco renders better flavor seems to be the most common belief. Ive tested Dan Tobacco so far only and just once. The inside of a bowl at medium coal temp was 175 average. It quickly cooled to 135. I then wondered about the bowl itself temps. At 135 coal the bowl was 94 on the exterior. Some studies on tobacco burn temp might be revealing as well as a way to determine the efficiency of the briar of one pipe vs another using the same tobacco etc...
Anyone ever done this before?

winton · Feb 20, 2014

Why should we? You already gave us the temps we need to know. Still, this is kinda interesting

cortezattic · Feb 20, 2014

I think Bradley has an infrared reading thermometer.
175ºF sounds way too low for a coal temperature. Perhaps I didn't understand what you were trying to say.

Paper burns at, what, 451ºF ? So I should think tobacco would be up in that range.

Neill Archer Roan's paper, The Thermodynamics Of Pipe-Smoking puts it at 500ºC (932ºF), ranging from 380ºC to 620ºC depending on the individual's ability to smoke slowly.

tuold · Feb 20, 2014

There are some pretty good explanations of how to manage the ember in your tobacco chamber in order maximize flavor. Here's a good one:
Passion for Pipes Blog

drwatson · Feb 20, 2014

You know 175 sounds good to me since i find myself useing a finger for a tamper more than I should. A pipe at around 900 degrees I think would burn my finger to the bone. But then again I have never really put thought into it before now. And I am very curious!

lordofthepiperings · Feb 20, 2014

I believe Brian covered the temperature at which tobacco burns in one of the radio episodes in pipe parts. I can't recall the episode or the temperature though.

tbradsim1 · Feb 20, 2014

I've shot my pipe while puffing and it didn't have a bed of ash, 380 to 400 takeing a big puff, then down to lower 300, outside of my pipe has never been 94 degrees, more like 120 to 150 , and 150 is too hot but that's with different tobaccos, my pipe ranges in the 120 to 140 range depending on my candence.

hawke · Feb 21, 2014

Well I did some more testing of the Dan Tobacco Patriot Flake.(a Virginia Flake)

Hot coal inside right after a strong pull and a quick check and I get 250F - 300F tops. I seem to keep my bowl on the outside at 95-100 degrees F. Still building cake so Im careful to not let it get too hot. The pipe I'm using is a no-name briar which got in an estate buy.

riskybusiness · Feb 21, 2014

Use one of those infrared spot thermometers used by contractors. I hear they are quite accurate.
Once I was watching Alton Brown on the Food Network and he used the gadget to check the temperature in his fry pan: 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Apparently this question has already been answered in a scientific journal. These folks used a "calibrated thermocouple." Since I work in banking, I have no clue what that means.

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/16/6/490
The upshot was that pipes burned at 500 F and cigarettes 650 F. I can't believe someone wrote a paper on this and actually got it published in a peer-reviewed journal. Can I plug a volt-meter into the mains and publish that my house runs on 240 volts AC? :D

tbradsim1 · Feb 21, 2014

60F6F48B-604B-4399-ABBA-EEE94B9C20D2-52014-000058C028D82519_zpsec4d6a17.jpg

Thermocouples are used to measure mostly Temps in pipe. A sheath is welded in a pipe sort of like a round holster protruding in affluent that will pass thru the pipe and it is threaded on top. The Thermocouple is then threaded inside the sheath and has wires on top that calculates the temp in the pipe according to restiance in electrical current, all low voltage. They are made so if it goes bad another can be screwed in on the run without shutting down process.

riskybusiness · Feb 21, 2014

tbradsim1, thanks for that info. It sounds like it operates on very basic principles of physics. I find those are the best tools. Man has a tendency to overcomplicate things, don't we?
I like how they can change out part of the device while it is in use. Very clever.
So, in that article I quoted, it would appear that pipe tobacco burns at a lower temperature than cigarettes. Could this be why cigarettes are so nasty and pipes are so pleasant? I know in cooking there is a phrase: "Low and slow is the way to go."
Food tends to taste nicer when cooked slowly at a lower temperature. (Pork ribs anybody?) I would imagine that the tobacco benefits from being burned slowly. Perhaps more of the flavor-enhancing chemistry is preserved that way? As opposed to the hotter temperatures in the little cherry of a cigarette, where everything is just incinerated.

tbradsim1 · Feb 21, 2014

Yes their use is invaluable in a lot of industries, mine was the PetroChem industry.

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