Wet Smoke After Cleaning

joshhallahan · Feb 24, 2014

Hi,
I'm pretty new to smoking.. About a month now. I recently watched a how to clean your pipe here. After following the steps and cleaning the pipe with some Brandy my smokes seemed to be quite "wet" like a liquid dampness in the smoke coming out... I let the pipe sit for about a day before smoking again..is it possible that using brandy got the pipe too wet?
I haven't had a problem before I cleaned with packing too tightly or really having a liquid build up in the bowl.. this seems to be coming from the stem..
Any help or advice is appreciated!
Thanks!

anglesey · Feb 24, 2014

I wouldn't dismiss it. A pipecleaner should suffice, I NEVER bother cleaning with alcohol unless the pipes otherwise irrecoverably filthy. There will be others who disagree with me here, but I believe using alcohol in cleaning will damage the pipe, and should only be used as a last resort.
Keep smoking it, and using a pipe cleaner after you smoke, or even running one down the stem during a bowl if it's terribly damp, but don't bother using alcohol again unless the pipe becomes physically unsmokable.
In addition, brandy has a much lower alcohol to water content than say, vodka, and the 20% odd ABV you'll get from brandy will only harm the pipe in my opinion. If you're going to use alcohol, use as strong and neutral tasting as you can get. I.e, high proof vodka or such.

rcstan · Feb 24, 2014

+1 on using alcohol sparringly inside the bowl. In the long run, you will ruin the briar's natural absorbing qualities and the pipe will become "bogged".
The stem will see alcohol on the inside a bit more often, like every month or so, but then I run a pipe cleaner through after each smoke, and sometimes before a smoke too.
If you left wetness, or wet filth in the bowl airway and/or the mortise, then there's the problem. Wait till your pipe is cool, take off the stem, and investigate with q-tips and folded pipe cleaners.

joshhallahan · Feb 24, 2014

Thanks guys.. I tried to make sure the stem and bowl were dry after I cleaned it.. I used a paper towel in the bowl while cleaning to keep moister out of the bowl and ran q-tips and cleaners through the shank and stem.. I'll have another look after it cools off.
I ran a cleaner through the stem while I was smoking it and I think that helped after a couple minutes.
How often would you say you clean your pipe? If you don't alcohol do you use any other solvent? Or just straight cleaners and q-tips?
Thanks again!

joshhallahan · Feb 24, 2014

Thanks guys.. I tried to make sure the stem and bowl were dry after I cleaned it.. I used a paper towel in the bowl while cleaning to keep moister out of the bowl and ran q-tips and cleaners through the shank and stem.. I'll have another look after it cools off.
I ran a cleaner through the stem while I was smoking it and I think that helped after a couple minutes.
How often would you say you clean your pipe? If you don't alcohol do you use any other solvent? Or just straight cleaners and q-tips?
Thanks again!

anglesey · Feb 24, 2014

I just run a pipe cleaner through it after I've finished a bowl. I'd look at your smoking technique though, or how damp your tobacco is. There's a handful of things that can cause a damp pipe, but I've found more often than not, the pipe itself isn't the cause.
But as a new smoker, I'm glad youve chosen to ask as opposed to giving up altogether :P these things are all part of the joy of it, and we're all still learning.

joshhallahan · Feb 24, 2014

You're probably right. I've just started so I am still working out my technique. I'll just have to keep playing with my packing method and tobacco choice. I probably smoke to fast also! Any tips on slowing down?

rcstan · Feb 24, 2014

Okay, good. Here's my pipe maintenance routine:
- finish smoke
- let pipe cool off
- pipe cleaner(s) down the stem into the bowl (if possible, most bent Peterson pipes for example do not pass a cleaner with ease or at all, and I have 20-something Petes, roughly half of which are bent or Systems) , remove stem if needed to get to the bowl airway
- paper towel to sop up any moisture in the bowl and mortise ( the cleaners you used for the stem work folded in half as well )
- reassemble pipe
When I get home, before the pipe goes on the rack I use a bottle brush and/or a 12 gauge shotgun brush to even out the cake and keep it trim if needed. I spend some more time on the bowl airway and mortise as needed with q-tips and cleaners. Alcohol only once a month or so, unless I smoke 4-5 bowls every few days out of that pipe; in which case said pipe gets extra rest.
I only do a full ream perhaps once a year, my cake stays to a thin wall coating, perhaps 0.5 mm or so.
I've ruined pipes by over-cleaning and not giving them enough rest between smokes and cleanings.
Edit as for slowing down, perhaps try a baccy with a bit more "oomph"? Such as Peterson's Irish Flake. Something that will send you reeling if you puff like you have 15 minutes left to live. That stuff taught me how to properly smoke a pipe.
I still puff btw 8)

anglesey · Feb 24, 2014

Hah! I thought I was the only one who liked a nice stiff 12 gauge in the bowl every now and again. It's a sad indictment of society when this brush is more prevelant than a simple bottle brush.
Aside from that, as for slowing down, I'd say just kind of forget about it. When I first started I found most of the problems I had came as a result of worrying about how I was smoking so much. When you don't worry about the moisture, the heat or the amount of smoke you're producing, then dealing with these problems will become second nature, so you'll resolve them automatically and be able to enjoy the tobacco itself more.

smokertruck · Feb 24, 2014

moisture - before packing i let the tobacco air dry about 15-30 minutes - i keep a top from a tobacco tin to use placing the tobacco on the upside down top.

each tobacco usually requires its own drying time to reduce steam when smoking causing some condensation thru the length of the pipe & also causing tongue burn from the steam.
i use bacardi 151 every 10 smokes or so full length of pipe- disassembled stem to bowl then use a clean cleaner to remove excess moisture.
also if you salivate too much moisture will develop thru the stem & shank - while smoking run a clean cleaner thru to absorb the moisture from saliva & condensing steam.
after smoke i run a cleaner thru the full length of pipe to absorb moisture before it cools but dont remove pipe stem while hot or warm - wait an hour or so then open & use a few dry cleaners.
there is a product called " deniclean " i use every 5 smokes as a cleaner & sweetener on a clean cleaner aside from the bacardi 151 every 10 - 15 smokes.
a clean pipe gives more flavor

joshhallahan · Feb 25, 2014

Thanks for all the cleaning and slowing down tips guys. I checked the pipe and it seems dry.. There doesn't seem to be any moisture in the bowl after a 45 min or so smoke.. I have tried a couple different tobaccos and I still am getting the same results with both.... There is a sort of sour steam like smoke that still hasn't gone away since I first wrote this post.. Does anyone else ever get this "sour moisture" with different blends in the same pipe?

rcstan · Feb 26, 2014

Hmmmm. So the tobacco is fairly dry we presume, the pipe is fairly clean, we presume, and you're not smoking in a sauna, sweat lodge, or a freezer.
What "different blends" are you referring to? Specifics. Sometimes you can get weird tastes from cross-contamination, but it shouldn't be wet. Are you cleaning between smokes with a pipe cleaner and letting the bowl rest at least an hour, or smoke-dump-reload-smoke???

rcstan · Feb 26, 2014

This has just crossed my mind. How oxidized is the stem itself, was this an estate or new pipe, and perhaps it is oxidized on the inside? That will give off a funky taste.

nsfisher · Feb 26, 2014

Sour taste sounds to me as though the shank is gunked up mate. Easy to miss during normal cleaning. Betha dollars to doughnuts there is crud in there.

spartan · Feb 26, 2014

Kill it with fire and alcohol.
My stem gets an alcohol swap after every smoke. The mouth is a disgusting thing, and to allow my saliva to sit on or inside a pipe for a few days is kind of gross to me. So I kill it with an alcohol soaked pipe cleaner all the way to the shank.
If it's humid where you live then you're out of luck.

aquilas · Feb 26, 2014

Does anyone else ever get this "sour moisture" with different blends in the same pipe?

How's your pipe's draw with/without tobacco in the bowl? Do you find yourself using a little more effort when drawing in smoke? If this is the case, I would attribute your "sourness" coming from a soured up shank or airhole.
I had a similar issue with one of my pipes, my Brog Amigo. I noticed it took some effort to draw in smoke and I noticed I would get this sour taste in my mouth. I always figured it was just my packing method that made the draw a bit tight and that it was the tobacco that was sour. Neither was the case. It was the pipe's airhole. It was too small. I figured the hard time I was having with putting a pipe cleaner through it meant the airhole was too small. I took a 5/32 drill bit through it and it cleared up all my problems. Now it smokes like a dream.

joshhallahan · Mar 11, 2014

Thanks for all the advice guys! I have practiced slowing down quite a bit and also worked on "smoothing" out my draw. Instead of puffs like I did with cigars. I found that slow and sometimes longer light draws really helped keep my smokes cooler..
Also, I was using Captain Blacks Cherry Aromatic and Lane BLM or BTL (which ever its called). I got some newer Lane Limited blends and haven't had that wet smoke or sour taste for quite sometime now..
It may have been that I burned out that sour taste since the last clean.. But it was probably my packing and draw method that help clean it up..
My Pipe was a cheapy from a local store here in MT.. around 20 bucks.. Its a Billard and I believe its made out of Briar.. But I'm not sure since it was so cheap. I'm not sure if the stem is Oxidized. I need to do some research on this so I can learn to tell if its oxidized or not.

mrdottle · Mar 12, 2014

You have a very inexpensive pipe - $20. It just may be the nature of THIS beast. But I will second others that a lot of gunkola collects in the shank and must be removed after every 5 smokes or so. Depending on the design and other factors, some pipes collect more gunkola in the shank than others. You said you ran a Q-Tip THROUGH the shank. But did you run a Q-Tip around the INNER CIRCUMFERENCE WALL of the shank? Dip a Q-Tip in alcohol, swap the excess of on a paper towel, then run it around the inner circumference of the shank, from bottom to top. For some of my pipes, I can use 3 to 5 Q-Tips, both ends, before there is no more gunkola. And if you want to see a real mess, smoke a Peterson System pipe 4 or 5 times then clean the shank and sump. The Pete System pipes are the kings of gunkola, but it is their design, the gravity drain trap:
http://www.pipedia.org/wiki/File:System2.jpg
You can also dry both a pipe and tobacco faster with a food dehydrator. I have a Nesco dehydrator with a thermostat (some models don’t have them) I used to speed the drying and, more importantly, the curing time of paint on plastic models ( a hobby in a prior life). Eight hours in the dehydrator is like a week of air drying. I can zap too moist tobacco for no more than 3 to 5 minutes in the dehydrator to get it “just right.”

foggymountain · Mar 17, 2014

The pipe is not getting enough rest. It is better to not smoke it more often than every 5th day. You do not need to clean with alcohol if you keep the pipe dry with pipecleaners during and after the smoke. If it is still wet it might be the draft hole is too high. It could also mean the briar has a lot of soft wood. You avoid this by picking a pipe with a tight grain.

Wet Smoke After Cleaning

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