Ash Dumping Question

[kcghost]

It depends on the type of tobacco you are using. Some needs to be removed some does not. I usually lightly tamp but sometimes not.

 

[renfield]

Simple, dump ash if you need to to keep the pipe burning well and tasting good.

The need for both re-lights and ash dumping will vary with the pipe, the tobacco and the smoker.

 

[Sig]

Im not sure I've thought about this in a few years.
I never dry my tobacco.
I stuff, cram, jam, and push the tobacco in the bowl.
Light, tamp, relight and off I go.
I use my finger occasionally to tamp and rarely NEED a relight, but sometimes give a little refresher light to ignite any stray tobacco.
I smoke outside so I sometimes give a quick flick of the wrist and send a bit of ash flying.
Ok, I had to scroll up to remember the question.
Sometimes dump ash, tamp with finger often.

 

[ItsKarl]

for me dumping halfway almost always mixed up the tobacco strata and everything tastes like burned tire afterward. I prefer to just tamp ahead, or else dump and reload, stock and barrel

That's interesting. At my current stage of development, I have started dumping a couple of times per bowl. When relighting, I get a much improved flavour right away, but that's temporary. I didn't dump at all in the beginning, and I still managed to smoke all the way down. I may be going back to that. But then I am still a complete novice, and I expect my habits will go through many modifications yet.

The reason I started dumping was because of my outdoor smoking experiences: outdoors, the pipe stays lit as the embers are constantly being fanned by the breeze. Also, the same breeze will helpfully blow away the white ashes, giving them no time to accumulate.

 

[Jef]

I lightly stir the ash and dump it. Then lightly stir the bowl, tamp, and re-light

 

[PiperCalvinist]

How in the world are you not tamping and not relighting? That almost seems impossible - the way tobacco burns.

 

[DesertDan]

Some blends have a rather powdery ash that stays loose even when tamped. When that happens, I will lightly tap the ash out, tamp and continue smoking. Usually once is sufficient.

 

[bullet08]

It all depends on how my morning bowel movement was.

 

[krizzose]

about the only time I dump ash is if I’m smoking a folded and stuffed flake that I’ve packed a little too tightly, and the bottom third is getting a little fussy. I stir up the ash, dump it, scrape the sides, lightly retamp then relight. It takes all of 15 seconds.

 

[FLDRD]

Using system pipes almost exclusively, I tamp, tamp, tamp as needed.
But as stated above, sometimes it won't stay "down", and becomes a little troublesome.
In order to avoid taking (the system) apart or turning it over, I'll do a quick "drop" of the pipe in my hand - lowering it faster than the light ashes can fall - and they get carried away by the breeze or fall to the ground.
Probably weird. I'm ok with that.

 

[RookieGuy80]

I will dump the ash if I need to. If I'm out and about and going to go into a store, I'll tip the bowl upside down and give it a little tap before putting the pipe in my pocket. I've had ash in my pocket too many times, I learned my lesson. Or if I have to relight a taller bowl I might dump the ash out first. It's not something I try to do, only if I need to.

 

[ThermionicScott]

I’ve gravitated toward shallower bowls over the last few years, and I think not having to deal with a big pile of ash played a role. When I tamp, I’m actually scraping the top of the pile toward me to expose fresh tobacco at the far end, where I aim my relights.