Clay pipe

[TheSt0rm]

well, I got some new clay pipes But, they seem to have gotten gurgling easily. My first one.. i didn't even know pipes had to be broken in. And they said clay pipes dont need breaking in. So maybe the draft hole is not aligned properly? Does pipe mud work in these?

Anyways, then I got a new one. And this time I tried in the beginning by smoking a quarter bowl. So far so good. But I dunno if this was meant to happen or what, but I set the pipe down and forgot to clean it out after lighting it up but not finishing it... for about 30 minutes to an hour? well after I lit it up ,wow there was so much moisture I could hear in the bowl......

Another thing I also thought is that maybe I shouldn't pointing the pipe downwards? But I read somewhere another way to avoid gurgling is "to swing the bowl down".. but I dont know if that means keeping the stem pointing straight forward and the bowl down or i point the stem downwards. Who knows. I think it's the former. But also.. if there is moisture in the stem , dont you want to also smoke that also, so it gets dry as possible?

Anyways, the first pipe is messed up because everytime I smoke down to the bowl there is left shiny moisture at the bottom of the bowl. But this one I have so far hasn't done that... except for what I mentioned about not finishing the bowl and forgetting to empty it out.

Anyways .. I also do wonder how long these clay pipes are even supposed to last.. if you did everything correctly. Except that you dont have a fire to fire it up because I may not have that option.

Yeah so I dont know if it's just all the clay pipes are susceptible to this, or mine were defective, or I need a better smoking technique.

I really dont like that moisture because once that happens, it seems, it can cause buildup of undesirable smells/tastes.

 

[TheSt0rm]

yeah so I think I ruined that last pipe by not emptying it out in time after not smoking down to the end...

argh. Messed it up again.

 

[TheSt0rm]

Another thing I heard about is soaking the clay pipe in salt water.

Anyways, yeah, gurgling has always been my enemy. yeah I dont want to really use a pipe cleaner though... for fear of some of the residue of the pipe cleaner staying in my pipe. I would be ok with replacing them if I can cheaply regularly... as long as I know how long it can last without having to fire it.

But uh, maybe salt water is OK. I would probably rinse it off though because I wouldn't want to be smoking salt...

 

[TheSt0rm]

I can hear moisture from the stem going into the bowl after I take a puff sometimes. Can I control that? And/or should I? Like I said when I straighten the pipe it goes away.. but I dont want any moisture staying in the stem either.

 

[TheSt0rm]

This one only lasted me less than a day before it started gurgling. Right after I forgot to clear the bowl. Argh. ruined.

Did pipes really get replaced every damn day if you couldn't fire them?

I give up on all pipes if I can't do a clay pipe.

 

[romaso]

The clay pipes should be fine, let them dry a bit between smokes. Sounds like you need to dry the tobacco more, leave it in a bowl for awhile. Running a pipe cleaner through the stem will pick up excess moisture. What type of tobacco are you smoking and are you in a dry or humid climate?

 

[TheSt0rm]

it's just "RYO" pipe tobacco people use to roll their cigarettes. I choose these because I like the ones that are additive free. It's not really moist so I dunno. or maybe it is.

Yeah it's pretty humid here in the subtropics.

I'll be getting one more pipe to try soon. And I'll make sure clear out the bowl if I can't finish it.

I'll try drying the tobacco a bit more like you suggested.

 

[romaso]

RYO tobacco is usually pretty dry. What brand? Can you post a picture of your tobacco and clay pipes?

 

[TheSt0rm]

I have OHM Au Naturalle pipe tobacco and a Markus Fohr 29 clay pipe.

Yeah RYO tobacco is really dry.

I could also be smoking too fast... but the problem is if I dont finish the bowl I think there is going to be moisture left over.. so I'd rather smoke it to the end, and without relighting.

Shd I just, stop smoking when the bowl gets too hot to handle or something? and then empty it out before anymore humidity develops? But that would leave the bowl more moist than if I finished the bowl... risking smoking it too fast. Because I want to keep it lit and not let it go out.... I still dont know how much slower I can smoke, I smoke as slow as I can..

 

[TheSt0rm]

and how long is enough to let the pipe dry? when I was trying to "break it in" and build a cake, I smoked quarter bowls for 45 minutes until it developed a cake. But I just didn't increase the bowl amount because I was scared. and I let it to cool between each smoke. eventually, even tho I didn't increase the amount it started to gurgle on in the day. Now it gurgles.... and Im afraid of smoking anything more than a quarter of baccy in it right now.

Anyways, this is going to take me a while to figure out maybe or I'll just give up.

I got gurgling also with corncob pipes long time ago which turned me off from pipes... and these are both pipes that supposedly require "no breaking in". Some video I saw said "that's a myth".

I do wonder if people even really smoke these clay pipes seriously anymore these days, as other than a novelty. And how long they've had it, and how frequently it is used. Seems like there's not much information about these clay pipes as to how to properly maintain them... because nobody really smokes them seriously besides a novelty.... but who knows.

 

[TheSt0rm]

How to Solve the Gurgling pipe problem​

can't really do that with a clay pipe because it gets hot..

 

[TheSt0rm]

I have OHM Au Naturalle pipe tobacco and a Markus Fohr 29 clay pipe.

Yeah RYO tobacco is really dry.

I could also be smoking too fast... but the problem is if I dont finish the bowl I think there is going to be moisture left over.. so I'd rather smoke it to the end, and without relighting.

Shd I just, stop smoking when the bowl gets too hot to handle or something? and then empty it out before anymore humidity develops? But that would leave the bowl more moist than if I finished the bowl... risking smoking it too fast. Because I want to keep it lit and not let it go out.... I still dont know how much slower I can smoke, I smoke as slow as I can..

whoops. Sorry, I meant the Markus Fohr #15 clay pipe.

 

[coming to_falling too]

Could be packing technique, could be tobacco moisture, could be environmental humidity... But I really think that you're overthinking it a bit. Pipe cleaners and paper towels are your friend. It's not at all uncommon for people to run a cleaner through the stem mid smoke. After you empty the bowl, wipe it out with a paper towel.

 

[Chasing Embers]

when I was trying to "break it in" and build a cake,

Clays need no breaking in and cake build up should be avoided altogether in them. It can crack the bowl.

 

[TheSt0rm]

Could be packing technique, could be tobacco moisture, could be environmental humidity... But I really think that you're overthinking it a bit. Pipe cleaners and paper towels are your friend. It's not at all uncommon for people to run a cleaner through the stem mid smoke. After you empty the bowl, wipe it out with a paper towel.

yeah but I get afraid of the fibers staying in the pipe or residues therefrom...

 

[TheSt0rm]

Clays need no breaking in and cake build up should be avoided altogether in them. It can crack the bowl.

thanks.

 

[Chasing Embers]

thanks.

Very welcome. ? The same also applies to cobs, meerschaum, and morta should you explore those avenues.

 

[OzPiper]

Moisture mid-smoke is a common problem esp if the tobacco is not dry enough or you are puffing like a steam-train or the ambient humidity is high

Dry your tobacco well. And gravity fill the bowl (ie fill loosely)

Run a pipe- cleaner through the stem if it gurgles.
Pipe cleaners are cheap, so don't stint on their use.

After each smoke, I use 1-2 cleaners through the stem, then double them over and use to clean the inside of the bowl.
I often follow up by using a scrunched paper towel to "ream" out the bowl.
This will leave you with a carbonised coating and minimal cake.

Sometimes I do a water-flush, but mostly I find it's unnecessary.

 

[TheSt0rm]

How to Solve the Gurgling pipe problem​

can't really do that with a clay pipe because it gets hot..

Shaking it like this actually worked with my clay pipe. Except I had to do it many times because it didn't actually permanently stop the gurgling, it would just appear later on. But I guess one can just keep shaking out the moisture.

Eh. I think Im just going to be smoking as SLOOOOOOOOW as possible next time lol. Sux because I get so impatient. And I dont like relighting... right now.

And drying my baccy. packing it more loosely. BUt like I said RYO pipe tobacco shd be the dryest stuff possible so I dunno why. I dont like smoking dry baccy much......... feels like you're just getting hot air and the 'effect' is definitely not the same, and short lived compared to more moist tobacco.

And it doesn't feel like I'm a wet smoker either.. I dont feel any spit going into the stem... but who knows.

 

[TheSt0rm]

Shaking it like this actually worked with my clay pipe. Except I had to do it many times because it didn't actually permanently stop the gurgling, it would just appear later on. But I guess one can just keep shaking out the moisture.

Eh. I think Im just going to be smoking as SLOOOOOOOOW as possible next time lol. Sux because I get so impatient. And I dont like relighting... right now.

And drying my baccy. packing it more loosely. BUt like I said RYO pipe tobacco shd be the dryest stuff possible so I dunno why. I dont like smoking dry baccy much......... feels like you're just getting hot air and the 'effect' is definitely not the same, and short lived compared to more moist tobacco.

And it doesn't feel like I'm a wet smoker either.. I dont feel any spit going into the stem... but who knows.

well, i did used to use pipe cleaners a lot with my cobs. I just dont like using them myself... or atleast, unless I can maybe do a more thorough cleaning afterwards to make sure there are no fibers or residues from the pipe cleaner , or towel, or paper towel in the pipe.