Constantly Betrayed by Drinkless

[sjfine]

I own four Kaywoodies Drinkless pipes. Since day one, and without fail, each of these pipes gurgle when I smoke them. This is true no matter the tobacco, moisture level, temperature in the room (or outside), or cadence (and, I sip). I suspect that it is a function of the fact that the stinger is metal, but I am hoping that we have a scientist here to confirm this.
I propose that the metal stinger, which is designed to avoid moisture reaching the bit, is actually causing the excess moisture it is trying to avoid. Ironic, huh?
Please don't laugh if this is patently obvious to everyone but me. I feel like I have exposed the most significant conspiracy in the pipe-smoking world.

 

[hawke]

I have the same experience with gurgle and stingers too. I hate to break them off but sometimes they are removable and Ill do that. As long as they draw good I'm not too displeased. They just need to be cleaned more often and have a pipe cleaner handy to run thru and dry em up a little during a smoke. I can usually get a few bowls in before the gurgle starts. Actually it means they are doing the job they were designed to do, remove some moisture.

 

[mikestanley]

I have had and do have a number of old Kaywoodies. The stinger is sometimes a problem and most of the time, not.

I have a Beautiful 51 billiard Supergrain that smoked very wet. Last week I cut the stinger and make the air hole larger. It smokes great now.

I have a bunch of stinger intact pipes of all styles which smoke great too. Widening the air hole through the aluminum can be a big help but the only to do it is to

Cut the stinger off.

Mike S.

 

[bonehed]

Any sort of deviation from a smooth cylinder creates turbulence and condensation.

 

[aldecaker]

I have never had good results with a stinger of any style installed. I have never smoked a pipe so wet that I have actually had "juice" exit the button end of the stem. They may prevent this, at the cost of causing gurgle at the stinger, but it strikes me as a solution that doesn't have a problem to go with it.

 

[sjfine]

I have thought about cutting them off, but I cannot bring myself to mutilate the pipes. I just unscrew the stem and wipe down the stinger.

Any sort of deviation from a smooth cylinder creates turbulence and condensation.

Does this apply to bent stems also, or is that another phenomenon? I find that condensation in bents happens at the heel of the bowl (when it happens), whereas in Kaywoodies it happens at the tip of the stinger.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yep, stingers are The Big Lie!! I pull them out and toss them in the trash. Stupidest idea for a pipe yet, but really all of the "system" pipes create more problems than they solve. Nothing beats a smooth consistent draft, properly drilled, properly smoked. I think that these "systems" are meant to appeal to people who don't smoke their pipes slow enough. They get a system, thinking that they'll allow them to continue smoking too fast, and then the trap is set. You're stuck with a crappy system pipe that still gurgles because you're not smoking slow enough.

The Peterson and Savinelli dry-systems are fairly good, but they have their other drawbacks, such as drenching the bowl with the water in the chamber if you lay the pipe sideways, dousing the fire with blech water.
I just go for pipes without these systems, and focus on smoking slowly, as slow as possible. YMMV

 

[davet]

Actually it means they are doing the job they were designed to do, remove some moisture.

Agreed, I hate receiving an estate that has been butchered, usually the gurgle is from lack of cleaning.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Does this apply to bent stems also, or is that another phenomenon?

Over the years, I have seen that most people would agree that bent pipes are more prone to gurgle. A bent pipe causes a lot of turbulence, condensing the air and drawing the moisture out of the smoke, and there is always moisture in smoke. It is a natural bi-product of combustion. Also, bent pipes need to have the draft enter the chamber above the bottom of the bowl, to allow water that will inevitably form a place to go, instead of just setting at the edge of the draft and gurgling.
But, I still enjoy a few bent pipes, despite their inferior design to the straight. I just smoke them more consciously slower to make up for the condensing that will take place. Pushing a bent harder with harder draws will just make for an unpleasant smoke altogether.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Funny how this comes up on the forum mostly in the winter, every winter, when the temperature differentiation will increase the condensation even more.

 

[aldecaker]

I don't really see it as "removing" moisture so much as collecting moisture. You could say it is removing the moisture from the air stream, but not from the equation. In my mind, the ultimate objective would be to prevent the moisture in the first place, with properly dried tobacco and refined smoking technique. The moisture that remains is then mixed in a manageable proportion in the smoke stream that exits the button. Just my two cents.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

the ultimate objective would be to prevent the moisture in the first place, with properly dried tobacco and refined smoking technique.

Chemistry 101, all combustion creates H2O as a biproduct. You could smoke astronaut freeze dried tobacco from the bone dry moon and it will still produce moisture. But, smoking slow does prevent the condensing of the moisture. The key is preventing the condensing... smoke slow and smoke a good pipe. Leave the gimmicks for the fools, IMO.

 

[sjfine]

but it strikes me as a solution that doesn't have a problem to go with it

Exactly.
The Great Egg Dilemma

 

[condorlover1]

I have always had moisture in my pipe as twist or plug will produce some water as you smoke it and this is what turns the meerschaum that yellow color. I loath stingers and on the odd pipe that I have owned in the past that has them it is the first thing I pull out/cut off as they are the devils own work and a total sh*t to clean!

 

[voorhees]

I have several stingered Kaywoodies and have learned that aros smoke wetter. So I tend to smoke flake in them. I still get a gurgle now and then. I will take the stem off and clean off the moisture or use a pipe cleaner.

 

[newbroom]

It's a balancing act. With the proper cadence you can help prevent moisture building, per Cosmic.

Now, do I have 'proper cadence'? Hardly ever for the entirety of a bowl.

That's why a cob works for us chuffers. A cob has more porosity and moisture absorbancy than briar, thus forgiving greedy puffers more easily.

I've got several pipes with removed stingers. Some of these were estates that arrived that way and others I did myself. I do have a few with intact or original innards, but I suspect I'll gut them too, eventually.

 

[disinformatique]

Get rid of the stingers.

 

[aldecaker]

@Cosmic- Your Chemistry 101 is correct. I probably should have specified preventing "excessive" moisture. Producing no moisture is a mere pipe dream (see what I did there?). What we are left with is the question of how best to manage it, which, if nothing more, provides us with limitless hours of high-quality entertainment on the forums. I think you hit it on the head- the best "gimmick" is a good pipe.

 

[gloucesterman]

I've never found a stinger I liked. I agree with Condorlover, they're the devil's work and seem to make the problem worse especially in bent pipes. There are many contributors to gurgle but the stinger is IMHO the biggest.

 

[sjfine]

I agree, gloucesterman. I didn't buy them for the system, I bought them for the aesthetics and price. (My first was mistakenly sold by as a $20 "basket" pipe. I told the store owner what it was - a circa 1950's 95B pot, but he would not take more than the $20.)
I just don't have the heart to cut off the stingers.