Has Anyone Left A Pipe Out In The Freezing Cold?

mau1 · Nov 22, 2018

I bought a pipe back at the beginning of November from a seller in California. It was promptly shipped, on it's long journey to Ontario. And then came the postal strike...and no sign of the pipe. I fear it's in one of the many, many tractor-trailers sitting unloaded outside in the cold. And I mean cold; -15C(5F), -27C(-16F) with the wind chill today.
Has anyone left a pipe to freeze outside in the cold? Or perhaps forgotten the pipe in the fridge freezer trying to release a stuck stem? And did the pipe survive unscathed??? Inquiring minds wish to know.
Mau

unkleyoda · Nov 22, 2018

I leave pipes in the cold all the time. I live in Wisconsin. I will leave a pipe in my car, over night in sub zero (F) weather. That said, I will not smoke it until it has come to room temp on it's own. I've never seen an issue.

mau1 · Nov 22, 2018

Thanks unk. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I suspected as much but you know how these things niggle at your mind. I even went so far as to remove the 3 pipes I had stashed in the car. And the tobacco too. Do you leave your tobacco out in the cold as well?

sasquatch · Nov 22, 2018

I don't like leaving tobacco in the cold, but pipes do not seem to care at all. Briar's tough stuff.

jaytex1969 · Nov 22, 2018

Any nice pipes left in such extreme cold should be sent to Texas for climate reconditioning therapy.
As a service to my fellow forum member, I am PMing my address....

tschiraldi · Nov 22, 2018

I leave mine in the car in the cold all the time in Ohio. I just warm it up in my hands to room temp before lighting. Never an issue.

mau1 · Nov 22, 2018

Sasquatch, I agree with you, I expect the freezing has to have some negative impact on the tobacco, fundamentally changing its smoking characteristics.
Jay, a very generous offer Sir! Kind of a spa for pipes...
Tschiraldi, I definitely will be warming the pipe before lighting.

PaulTheScandinavian · Nov 22, 2018

+ 1 for JayTex969, Well said Sir,

mikethompson · Nov 22, 2018

Mau, I'm sure it will be fine. If you are still worried, let it come to room temp gradually after you get it before packing and lighting it.

mau1 · Nov 22, 2018

Will do Mike. Or...tuck it under my armpit to speed things up. I'm sure it'll be fine.

mso489 · Nov 22, 2018

unk' has actually run this experiment, but his report is what I'd expect. It's not the cold that would get the pipe. If you give it a day to warm up slowly to room temp, it will be just as before. However, once frozen, it could be more vulnerable to being jarred or dropped, and you sure don't want to remove the stem. Just let it return to "normal" room temperatures and it will be as before, I'd expect.

olkofri · Nov 22, 2018

I've a tin of Romeo & Julieta puritos in my car's glove compartment, which has sat in below zero temps a few times. Smoke just the same.
Wind chill is a BS value, BTW, the temperature is not really lower, it's still the nominal -15 or whichever. Besides, the pipes should be snuggly packed inside a cardboard box (don't homeless guys use paper for insulation?), and if the seller wrapped it in bubble wrap, it's even further insulated. I wouldn't worry about it.

davek · Nov 23, 2018

I always leave whatever cob I'm smoking out on the back porch where I smoke, winter or summer. I do stick with cobs in the winter mostly and will bring a briar I smoke in... just because. I leave whatever little jar of tobacco I'm smoking out of as well. I'm trying to determine if it changes the tobacco. Maybe it will improve it.

Chasing Embers · Nov 23, 2018

This little guy is my glove box pipe. Hot, cold, it's seen it all and survived.

Chasing Embers · Nov 23, 2018

I expect the freezing has to have some negative impact on the tobacco, fundamentally changing its smoking characteristics.

It's not shipped in climate controlled vehicles.

jpmcwjr · Nov 23, 2018

You'd not do it on purpose, but transient freezing- as en route to a customer- probably has no detectable effect on tobacco. Unless you think it does!

mau1 · Nov 23, 2018

What I was questioning was leaving a ziploc bag of tobacco in my car for 2 or 3 weeks. Surely there would be some sort of crystalization from the moisture in the tobacco?
Embers, I like your glove box pipe.

crashthegrey · Nov 23, 2018

I leave pipes and tobacco in the subzero temperatures frequently. I've never had a problem. Tobacco dries out a little quicker sometimes.

mau1 · Nov 23, 2018

Good to know, Crash.

Chasing Embers · Nov 23, 2018

Surely there would be some sort of crystalization from the moisture in the tobacco?

Tobacco hangs and winters just fine. Once the lamina are brown, it can freeze and thaw all it wants.

Has Anyone Left A Pipe Out In The Freezing Cold?

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