An Extraordinary Thing Happened To Me Yesterday.

[mawnansmiff]

Most folks will not be aware but the UK is having something of a mini heatwave at the moment and not being a great fan of heat I have all my windows open to get some through draught.
Yesterday however was a rather still day breeze wise so I dug out my desktop oscillating fan (that stopped oscillating just out of warranty due to being made in China :roll: ) to create some air movement around me as I read my book and enjoyed a bowl. Due to excessive clutter on pretty much every flat surface I had to resort to putting the fan on the floor. Betwixt the fan and me is a coffee table and the lovely breeze it created came wafting up from underneath said coffee table. This was most welcome.
But there was something else, a benefit I hadn't anticipated. I was smoking a large bowl of Gawith & Hoggarth's Westmorland Slices which is a robust dark Virginia flake whilst reading and I noticed I was enjoying the bowl more than usual. I can't quite put my finger on it but it seemed as though I could taste much more flavour than usual. I noticed that the draught of air coming up from under the coffee table was gently wafting over the bowl and wondered if that was making a difference or if it was just in my mind.
Fast forward to today. Same situation though with a different pipe and this time filled with Bold Kentucky and the very same thing is happening...it tastes that much better! Could it really be the air passing over the bowl that is making the difference?
In my two years of pipesmoking I have had no more than three bowls out of doors, the rest indoors with no obvious breeze.
I'm rather puzzled.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[sablebrush52]

Shhhhhh! Don't give away the secret!. It's one of the reasons I only smoke outdoors...
BTW, what constitutes a heat wave where you are? It was 101˚F here yesterday. A mite toasty.

 

[mcitinner1]

Dumb question here Jay. No air conditioning? :mrgreen:

 

[elpfeife]

It was 109 F where I live, up the coast from Sable. Had to wait until the temp got back into the 90s before venturing out to smoke. I haven't run the AC in years. Probably didn't enjoy my pipe as much as Jay!

 

[f5rd2hy]

We got up to 45C / 113F yesterday afternoon at 1:34pm Pacific. I was out there doing a bowl. There was a slight breeze, so matches still worked, and I didn't sweat at all. We'll maybe get up to 38.3C / 101F today. We had a heat wave toward the end of June - maxing out at 47.2C / 117F June 20th.

 

[georged]

so I dug out my desktop oscillating fan (that stopped oscillating just out of warranty due to being made in China :roll: )

Yep.
Though I'm no fan of Asian-made hard goods as a general thing, there are exceptions. One is the Cinni oscillating table fan made in India. (It would seem a good way to find solution-specific products is to look where solving the problem is a Very Big Deal. We're talking extreme heat, of course, where air conditioning is rare.)
Mine is almost 30 years old, and has yet to need the factory-supplied (!) spare set of AC brushes installed that are clipped underneath the base of the fan. It's made of solid cast iron, and weighs about 15 pounds. Replace the motor and oscillator arm bearings every 50-75 years, and I imagine the thing would literally last for centuries.
Now THAT'S proper design. :clap:
Mawnansmiff: Here's one for sale that's close to you:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282556598364?clk_rvr_id=1253156581831&rmvSB=true

 

[tozert]

In Cornwall, anything over 24 C is a heatwave. Most Cornwallians are acclimatised to cool temperatures and wet weather all year round, so when the mercury reaches 24, I personally head for the shade while everybody else heads for the beach! If I had to move back to Indiana, I don't know if I could handle the summer heat.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I do feeling pretty much Ok even when it reaches 100f

 

[saintpeter]

Smoking outside with a gentle breeze is indeed sublime. I did notice people mentioning temperatures. Now I'm not saying it is so hot here one can leave their pipe in the sun, pick it up, puff three times and it automatically lights. That would be exaggeration and we all know pipe smokers do not exaggerate. One can, however, leave their pipe tool in the sun for 3 minutes, touch it to the tobacco and perform an admirable char - tamp - and light at the same time. I would have posted pictures to prove, but it's monsoon season and overcast today.

 

[georged]

One can, however, leave their pipe tool in the sun for 3 minutes, touch it to the tobacco and perform an admirable char - tamp - and light at the same time. I would have posted pictures to prove, but it's monsoon season and overcast today.

Methinks I detect a southern AZ resident. :lol:

 

[saintpeter]

:: Casa Grande ::

 

[woodsroad]

We've been having a very cool Spring and Summer here in SE Pennsylvania. Right now it's 77ºf and low humidity. Perfect day to replace the starter on my mower. Not.

 

[edgreen]

I'm sitting at my desk with air conditioning gently blowing from one direction and a fan from another and my tobacco tastes great. What a switch from my younger days when I reveled in the summer season. I use to try and get my tennis tournament matches scheduled for the heat of the day. I knew it gave me an advantage. Gawd, that was a long time ago.

 

[tschiraldi]

In my car with the window half down... sjblime!

 

[deathmetal]

Could it really be the air passing over the bowl that is making the difference?

Yes. A cool breeze means a cooler pipe, and less stagnant smoke. I tend to smoke with a fan at an oblique angle for this reason, when I can!

 

[didache]

I live in London where, in common with Jay, we are having a mini-heat wave which is affected all of southern England. It isn't just the temperature, but the humidity which is fairly high. A temp in the high 20s C doesn't sound so bad - but when you combine it with high humidity it can start to feel quite uncomfortable. A few years ago I was in Egypt where it was in the 40s. I returned home where it was around 30 C ... and I can report that the 30C in London was more uncomfortable than the 45 C in Egypt.
I am intrigued by Jay's experience. We have a similar fan and I intend to replicate the conditions with one of my fans and see if the same thing happens to me.
Mike

 

[hobie1dog]

Great thread. I always have a fan blowing across my pipe....well wintertime is not the case.

 

[pappymac]

Heat & Humidity? Come on down to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Mississipi & Alabama. We got the heat & humidity 10 months out of the year.
Ok, that's an exaggeration. It's usually only bad from our standards from May until October. The good news is we seldom have a day without a breeze.

 

[paddypiper]

For the question about air flowing over the pipe I don't really know the answer, but more air getting to the pipe allowing for a better draw does seem to make sense.
As for the off topic conversation this has turned into you should all try going from -50 degrees Celsius with the windchill in the winter to 45 degrees Celsius with 80% or higher humidity in the summer.

 

[bluegrasspipe]

Is it safe to assume that nobody uses wind caps in a light breeze? I figure if the bowl stays relatively cool everything is fine.