Anyone Own A Hector Wiebe Radiator Pipe?

[carolinachurchwarden]

I'm quite interested in the H. Wiebe radiator pipes. Not sure why, but I love the way they look and how they are interchangeable, much like a Falcon. I have been on the fence for a Falcon for some time, but keep putting it off. I may still get one some day, but I discovered the radiator pipes several months ago and had actually forgotten about them until this past weekend when I saw another review video.
I'm very interested in acquiring one of these pipes as I think they look great and I like the idea of the well below the tobacco chamber that collects moisture. Not that I have too much of an issue with moisture anyways, but it's a different approach to handling any extra wet tobaccos you might encounter. Ultimately, I just think they look cool and that's my main reason for wanting one.
Anyway, so my main point is to ask if any of you out there own one of these pipes by H. Wiebe. How does it smoke? What do you like/dislike about it? I think I'm still going to pick one up, just wondered how well they smoke.

 

[ashdigger]

I own two. One poker and one bent. I love them. Great smokers!!

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

That's good to know! Do you smoke just one bowl at a time and then clean it? Saw somewhere that the well collects the moisture, so it's probably not the best idea to scrape your bowl and dump as is routine with other pipes, or else you might spill tobacco juice down the inside the bowl and all over creation. Personally, I think I'd smoke a bowl, unscrew it, dump the ash and moisture separately, repack and go.

 

[ashdigger]

I smoke a bowl. Unscrew it, dump it and reload it. After 5 or 6 smokes I clean it. Crazy simple.

 

[elguapo]

I own one, I have to agree, it's a great smoker. I don't smoke it often just because, for whatever reason, my brain prefers the look of more traditional pipes. I smoke it, dump it, run some water through it and let it dry. Super easy to take care of.

 

[weezell]

Pics or they don't exist... :D

 

[tulsagentleman]

I don't have one but I have several Falcons. I imagine thy work about the same way. They're OK.

 

[bent1]

Picture added for those not familiar with the look.

 

[craiginthecorn]

I had a Morgan Bones/H. Wiebe Radiator on my Christmas list and my daughter gave me one, along with a Morgan Flapjack. This pipe has a silver anodized stubby, straight frame, white acrylic mouthpiece, and a plain Morgan Bones bowl. It smokes extremely well. The well does collect moisture, so it's best to dump by unscrewing the bowl first. One small downside is that the draft hole is a little more prone to clogging and clearing it with a pipe cleaner requires unscrewing the bowl, because the draft hole is dead center in the bottom of the bowl. It's a wonderful pipe for flake tobacco folded and stuffed. I just bought a second one--a long bent one with a dark sandblasted bowl. The long bent is more comfortable to clench, but if I were to do it again, I'd buy the short bent frame.

 

[ophiuchus]

I did a little image search to see what the hubbub was about (then noticed the picture in the post above). That pipe is nuts! It looks like one of Dr. McCoy's medical devices on Star Trek.
I like it!

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I smoke a bowl. Unscrew it, dump it and reload it. After 5 or 6 smokes I clean it. Crazy simple.

I kinda figured the review I saw about it was a little nit picky about that fact and you just confirmed it for me. Seems very simple, but the guy just over thought it and made it more complicated than it needed to be.

I just bought a second one--a long bent one with a dark sandblasted bowl. The long bent is more comfortable to clench, but if I were to do it again, I'd buy the short bent frame.

That's exactly the one I was considering. I think I like the idea of the longer stem. Now you've got me thinking about getting the short bent frame, but I do want one bent, not straight. The straight versions look a little awkward to me with such a tall bowl. I just figured the short bent stem might keep the smoke a little too close to my face and the longer bent frame would keep it a little further away. Good knowledge though.

I did a little image search to see what the hubbub was about (then noticed the picture in the post above). That pipe is nuts! It looks like one of Dr. McCoy's medical devices on Star Trek.
I like it!

I do too! I think they're neat looking and the concept is simple and something I want to experience. Thinking of getting one like this, just maybe a different bowl:

 

[ashdigger]

^^ I own one of those Brandy bowls.....they are HEAVY. I'm a clencher and they are just too heavy. I use the straight bowls and love them.

 

[shaintiques]

I have one with multiple bowls. The thing about it that may be different from other pipes is that it almost always smokes the tobacco down to dust. So there isn’t a need to dump ash half way through. I let the bowl cool a little. Unscrew. Then swab out with a pipe cleaner and load up again with a different bowl. The half bent is most comfortable.

 

[pylorns]

I have one - my advice is to buy the bent, not the straight.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I own one of those Brandy bowls.....they are HEAVY. I'm a clencher and they are just too heavy. I use the straight bowls and love them.

Good to know. I was considering a straight bowl anyway, I think. Those brandy/volcano bowls do look kinda cool, especially the blasted versions. I was planning to buy the bent stem, though, so even with the brandy bowl, it might not be too bad. I can see how a straight stem might be hard to clench.

I have one with multiple bowls. The thing about it that may be different from other pipes is that it almost always smokes the tobacco down to dust. So there isn’t a need to dump ash half way through. I let the bowl cool a little. Unscrew. Then swab out with a pipe cleaner and load up again with a different bowl. The half bent is most comfortable.

That's what I was thinking and what I had read on other reviews. I'm definitely going to get a bent version. Not only because I think they look better to my eye, but I heard some guys say that if the moisture collects too much in a straight stem, it has a direct line into your mouth. 8O

I have one - my advice is to buy the bent, not the straight.

Think that's what I'm going for. I just like the way the bent looks better than the straight. Now I just have to decide if I want to go all out and get a purple base with a green bowl, or take it along a more conventional approach.
All good stuff guys! Much appreciated!

 

[jeffro]

I would say yes buy a radiator pipe
I own two Wiebe pipes one is the shorter bent stem and the other pipe is the Wiebe straight short stem.

The pipe will burn the tobacco completely down to pure ash.
I love the interchangeable bowls I have three. One Brandy shape bowl and two straight bowls.
One I use for just aromatics the second one for Virginia's and the last one for heavy Latakia blends.
With the aromatic tobaccos the Weibe pipe really pulls a-lot of moisture out of the tobacco for a nice dry smoke with no tongue bite. Like the others have said you will pour out the collected liquid at the end of the smoke. The design works great.
I also clean the stem and chamber in the sink with water then use a pipe cleaner or cotton swabs in the collection chamber to further clean it after several smokes.
I really like the slight "S" curved Wiebe stem pipe that one is on my wish list.
One of my favorite things about the Weibe pipe is how it looks.

Every time I smoke it in public people ask "What Is that thing?" :D

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

Nice, jeffro! I do plan to buy several bowls for it. Maybe just one of the $150 range bowls for the cool design, but the rest will be regular, blasted bowls. I'm torn between the extra long bent, and the stubby bent frames. I really like the way the long one looks, but I just don't want to feel like it gets in the way when I need to bend my head down for something. I like it best as it's closer to the mouth for clenching and it hangs really low to help keep smoke further away from your face. Hell, I'll probably buy both, then send back the one I don't like...or not... :lol:

 

[craiginthecorn]

Keep an eye out for the Morgan Bones bowls. At about $35, they're a better bargain and handsome, IMHO.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

Huh, I kept reading about people having those, but haven't seen any available anywhere I've looked. That's a hell of a deal and I'd do that in a heartbeat. I'd gladly pick up several of them just because they're so cheap and I could have a little rotation going.

 

[mso489]

Those are wonderfully strange. I don't think I've seen them offered, but that's my gimpy operating system. I don't have a yin to own one, but who knows?