Clean Your Briar Pipes the "New Way".

[hawky454]

I don't build up thick soft cakes as I wipe off the bowl after smoking, so over time a thin hard carbon layer forms and it's not been affected at all by a hot water rinse.

I always fold my pipe cleaner into a U shape and wipe my bowl with it after each smoke as well, however this cake that I’m talking about is about due for a reaming so I will give it another shot onece it’s reamed, however, I still don’t think the hot water is flushing out any of the tar and oils but I’m not so sure I want that to begin with. I’ll play around with it a bit more before I throw in the towel.
With estate pipes that need a DEEP cleaning I have always filled up a container with hot, soapy water and I let the pipe sit in that solution overnight. It makes it real easy to rid of the cake. This will swell the wood so refitting the stem is almost always a must once the stummel dries out.

 

[pianopuffer]

chasing embers- I have no idea. It is dry, but somehow it sticks to the inside of the bowl. Maybe because I smoke outside and it’s been colder here the past few months???

Curious.....

 

[aquadoc]

Soluble silicates are insoluble in alcohol.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Could you please expand on that statement? I am not sure what it means to pipe cleaning!

 

[aquadoc]

I did a quick search on wood silicates and solubility. Methanol will dissolve silicates to a point but not completely. EtOH does not dissolve wood silicates, or so it seems. So, flushing with EtOH does not seem to effect the silicates found in briar. It is just an observation. I have been water flushing my pipes since you recommended it many months ago. Curiosity made me delve into the relationship of grain alcohol and briar wood silicates in light of the statements made earlier in this thread.

 

[woodsroad]

Ok, so EtOH is Ethanol, AKA "Grain Alcohol", the stuff people drink.

Methanol, AKA "Wood Alcohol", is the stuff that you don't want to drink.

What about Isopropyl Alcohol? Will that dissolve wood silicates?

 

[sablebrush52]

Some of you may find this interesting since it discusses silicate content in briar and alcohol's effect on it:
https://pipedia.org/docs/CharacteristicsOfBriar.pdf

 

[aquadoc]

That is a good read. HCL following ashing of organic components was used to determine SiO2 content. Organics were extracted using a benzol and alcohol soxhet methodology.

 

[aquadoc]

Woodsroad, I did not dig deep but will do more tomorrow.

 

[Chasing Embers]

chasing embers- I have no idea. It is dry, but somehow it sticks to the inside of the bowl. Maybe because I smoke outside and it’s been colder here the past few months???

Curious.....

Will try it out, and see what happens.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Ah, facts/science being introduced! My thanks to you gentlemen! Maybe a touch above my head, but I love trying to learn stuff like that.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Interesting thread and topic and one which deserves more attention.
The first time I used water on pipes was when cleaning old estates with a sandblasted or rusticated finish using Murphy's oil soap and a hot running tap. The results were excellent. However it never occurred to me that the hot running water method might be useful for the occasional deep clean of my own pipes until John mentioned it many moons ago.
Now it is something I do every six or eight weeks and it really does make a difference.
My only concerns are on recently carnauba waxed pipes where it can leave watermarks no matter how quickly one dries the pipe. The solution however is a simple one......wash and dry the pipe afore applying the wax finish!
Regards,
Jay.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Good to hear, Jay, and glad to see you back posting.

 

[jpmcwjr]

However it never occurred to me that the hot running water method might be useful for the occasional deep clean of my own pipes until John mentioned it many moons ago.

I use it for the biweekly (?) cleaning. I.e., every bowl or two or three. I've gotten lazy, and now just let the pipes airdry, saving time, energy and pipe cleaners. (!) They will need a more thorough cleaning though, as I am not removing the stem and cleaning and drying the mortise every time.

 

[mawnansmiff]

One important point I forgot to mention is when using the 'JPM' method, forget the fluffy pipe cleaner and use the bristled kind.....it dislodges much more muck and nasties.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[derekflint]

Tried the HWT on three stems today. Works perfectly, better than alcohol..........

 

[derekflint]

mawnansmiff

[/quote] forget the fluffy pipe cleaner and use the bristled kind.

Good idea.......

 

[pianopuffer]

Well I think I found the culprit of my gunky pipe: it’s the temperature outside.

I mostly smoke outdoors, and tonight was no exception. Used a different pipe than before, loaded with some VA flakes rubbed out. Temp was 25 F. Smoked cool and steady.
When I made it back home to wipe out my bowl, sticky gunk!

Could it be the extremely low temps caused this to happen? I’ve never experienced this before but then again, I can’t remember the last time I was smoking in below feeezing weather.

 

[oldhickory]

Just gave 2 Petersen Dublin 120's and a 106 Petersen that are my everyday favorites the hot H20 treatment. Smoked a load of Aperitif in the 106 and had it cleaned and smoking again in 5 minutes. Wonderful experiment. Thanks!!

 

[jpmcwjr]

When I made it back home to wipe out my bowl, sticky gunk!

Could it be the extremely low temps caused this to happen? I’ve never experienced this before but then again, I can’t remember the last time I was smoking in below feeezing weather.

Sounds logical. It's been quite a while since I smoked in sub freezing temps. And I wipe the bowl only after the hot water flush, so all the gunk is removed before I'd notice it.