How Long Does a Bowl Last You?

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WVOldFart

Lifer
Sep 1, 2021
1,937
4,754
Eastern panhandle, WV
I have been smoking for 41 years and always believed that if I'm worrying about how long it takes me to smoke a bowl then I'm not fully enjoying the experience. I go more by if my pipe is hot, my mouth will be hot, so I slow down. I smoke at a moderate cadence and enjoy the pipe and length of pipe time for what I get. The smoking experience is to be enjoyed, not to worry about.
 

Fiver5

Lurker
Sep 6, 2021
41
58
I have been smoking for 41 years and always believed that if I'm worrying about how long it takes me to smoke a bowl then I'm not fully enjoying the experience. I go more by if my pipe is hot, my mouth will be hot, so I slow down. I smoke at a moderate cadence and enjoy the pipe and length of pipe time for what I get. The smoking experience is to be enjoyed, not to worry about.
True, although I'm not really worried about it, being new at it I'm more just trying to figure out if I'm doing it right.
 

WVOldFart

Lifer
Sep 1, 2021
1,937
4,754
Eastern panhandle, WV
True, although I'm not really worried about it, being new at it I'm more just trying to figure out if I'm doing it right.
You will be fine. The main thing is to enjoy what you are doing. The slower the smoke chances are the more flavor you will get. As the others have mentioned, there are too many things to take into consideration when dealing with length of smoke time. It is more important to learn how to dry, pack and sip a pipe. Everything will fall in place with a little time and practice.
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
In a group 4-5 sized pipe with a folded and stuffed flake I will get around 1.5-20 hours. I normally relight and dump ash a few times per bowl. This allows me to chase the flavors down to the bottom where there is a ton of flavor. I never dump a bowl with a 3rd of my tobacco still in it. You should not be relighting 5-6 times a bowl. It sounds like your tobacco is too moist. Try drying it and do the pinch test. Also don't ever light up a pipe without first checking the draw. If it is too tight, run a pipe cleaner down to the bowl, twist it a little and then pull it out. Most times you can loosen it up without having to dump the bowl and start over. If it is too loose it can burn hot and lose flavor.

You should really pay attention to what you are doing so that when that great smokes happens for you, then you can repeat it. We all sucked pretty much in the beginning as pipe smoking is an art and it takes time.
 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
There have been a lot of vague questions as of late. My answer is, it widely varies by the size of the pipe and how much free time I have on my hands but I can usually smoke one pipe in the time it takes my friends/family to smoke a cigar. It’s funny cause my pipe full cost a $0.25 to their $12-$15 cigars.
 
Last edited:

timelord

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 30, 2017
949
1,966
Gallifrey
OP; when I first started smoking pipes I was like you and a bowl didn't seem to last more than 30-45 minutes. 3 years later I find the same pipes can go for 60-90 minutes.

What's change? I now smoke slower, use the breath method and if a pipe starts to get to warm I slow down even more. I also need much fewer relights; usually 1 about 2/3 through a bowl, sometimes none.

Don't worry about it; pipe smoking is one of those 'skills' that improves with practice.
 

Streeper541

Lifer
Jun 16, 2021
3,043
19,228
43
Spencer, OH
After enjoying a superb bowl of 66 year old vintage Revelation purchased from the Einstein estate sale auction, I have been able to consult with the ghost of the piping physicist himself, who has passed along to me the formula for figuring out how long a bowl of tobacco should last.

Begin by determining the volume of your chamber...
V=πr2h

Then continue by determining the moisture content of your tobacco...
MC=[(w-d)/d]x100

After that, calculate the heat release rate (HRR), that being the burning surface area plus the stacked area (volume of chamber)
Q=q0(Am+As)
Fortunately, ignition source variable of our softflame is negligible.

Finally, calculate the air flow between the two cylinders. (Bowl & stem)
A1 x v1 = A2 x v2
(This is factoring an average breathing rate of 18 breaths per minute. YMMV)

This formula does not however take into account meteorlogic factors such as ambient air temperature, dewpoint or windspeed.

Anyhow, that was my Revelation... either that or I hit the Captain Black Grape too hard in that estate MM Cornabis I picked up off Ebay? Hmmmm... ?
 

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Fiver5

Lurker
Sep 6, 2021
41
58
After enjoying a superb bowl of 66 year old vintage Revelation purchased from the Einstein estate sale auction, I have been able to consult with the ghost of the piping physicist himself, who has passed along to me the formula for figuring out how long a bowl of tobacco should last.

Begin by determining the volume of your chamber...
V=πr2h

Then continue by determining the moisture content of your tobacco...
MC=[(w-d)/d]x100

After that, calculate the heat release rate (HRR), that being the burning surface area plus the stacked area (volume of chamber)
Q=q0(Am+As)
Fortunately, ignition source variable of our softflame is negligible.

Finally, calculate the air flow between the two cylinders. (Bowl & stem)
A1 x v1 = A2 x v2
(This is factoring an average breathing rate of 18 breaths per minute. YMMV)

This formula does not however take into account meteorlogic factors such as ambient air temperature, dewpoint or windspeed.

Anyhow, that was my Revelation... either that or I hit the Captain Black Grape too hard in that estate MM Cornabis I picked up off Ebay? Hmmmm... ?
Uncle Albert would be proud! ?