Understanding Rotation

Yes. A pipe needs to dry out after being smoked. A clean, dry pipe will taste better and last longer.

I finally decided, years back, that having enough pipes so that I did not have to even be concerned with rotation was the way to go, for me. Most of my pipes get two or three weeks of rest, and I carry 4 pipes a day in my bag. And yes, they smoke sweeter, remain easy to clean and I sure enjoy picking out the tobaccos for the day, then the pipes to best suit my choices.

The traditional practice was to give a pipe a weeks rest between days of use, hence the definition of a rotation as seven pipes, and the creation of seven day collectible sets. Some pipesters say that you should only smoke one bowl in a pipe on a given day and let it rest a day. Others say smoke away and give one days rest for each bowl smoked in that day - five bowls smoked, five days rest.
I may smoke several bowls in a day, and I let the pipe rest for a minimum of a week. But also, I clean the pipe between bowls and do a thorough cleaning at the end of the day. I have enough choices that I can put pipes away for long periods of rest, several months, between periods of active rotation. This also seems to be beneficial.
I've also known people who own one pipe and smoke it constantly. I don't want to think about what it must taste like, but they're contented so I guess that works as well, assuming that you have no tastebuds.

I currently smoke one bowl from a pipe and let it rest 72 hours. Is this an accpetable rate?

This is one of the topics that always creates a lot of differing opinions. Personally, I am of the "smoke one bowl in a pipe, let it rest for several days" school. (Sometimes I will smoke two bowls in the same pipe in the same day, but not often.) Other puffers will smoke multiple bowls in one day, then let it rest for a number of days.
How long is "a number of days"? This seems to be up for debate, too, but the consensus seems to be that you rest a pipe a number of days equal to the number of bowls smoked. My rotation is large enough that it's about a week between bowls.
At this point in a forum discussion, somebody will usually chime in with a comment about his granddad, who had one pipe, and all he smoked was Granger, and when the pipe went sour he threw it out. Yeah, the old timers used to do it, but that doesn't make it best practice. :puffpipe:

I personally own five pipes, which are used on a daily basis. I Generally don't smoke all of them on Any particular day, but I have also done the experiment with one pipe smoked continuously over a period of months. I find that cleaning your pipe thoroughly between smokes, as well as at night after your final smoke, and then again in the morning before your first smoke will reduce any sourness that might occur. I ended the experiment simply because I got tired of smoking only one of my pipes.

Drying a pipe after smoking it is just like drying tobacco before smoking it-- there are no time guidelines that make any kind of sense. In Arizona you might need to let a pipe rest for an hour or two before it's dried out. In the rain forest it'll take weeks. The only correct answer to "How long do I dry my pipe for?" Or "How long do I dry my tobacco for?" is-- until it's as dry as you want it to be.

I rest my pipes a day for each bowl smoked. I have also been in a situation to smoke the same pipe for 2-3 days in a row. I cleaned it a lot and tested it after. No biggie. As long as you stay with the rules generally, you will be ok. If u need more pipes to establish a rotation, buy a bag o' cobs from Missouri Meerschaum website.

Rested, not tested, obviously. On my phone here. Lol

I think us Pipe Acquisition Disorder sufferers hardly give this subject a second thought. To get the good

out of the "impressive" number of pipes on my racks, I have to pack a new pipe for every bowl. I do think

this is ideal for the pipes. They each get a week or two between smoking a single bowl, which keeps them

dry and (with a little maintenance) clean. I'm blissfully handling and admiring four new Christmas present

pipes, all waiting to be broken in and join this easy work schedule on my racks. My dad was one of those

pipe smokers who only used one pipe at a time until burn-out, and he only smoked Granger.