Constantly Betrayed by Drinkless

[reniaeats]

The few smokers that I know who love the stingers all smoke wet goopy aros. I wonder if that has something to do with it?
From my experience, I agree with Cosmic, I think the different systems are a crutch for smoking too fast. But I like that crutch for some things. Particularly the Balsa filters for Savinellis. I often recommend new smokers start with those because they force you to slow down, absorb the moisture, and in so doing make it easier to get started. But maybe I'm a big believer in, to each his/her own.

 

[sablebrush52]

I have a dozen or so Kaywoodies, all of the Drinkless have intact stingers, as I wouldn't consider purchasing a "Bobbeted" one.
Occasionally they do gurgle and I just use a pipe cleaner to remove the excess moisture. It's generally not a problem since I tend to like my tobacco on the dry side and am a slow sipper. The purpose of the stinger, besides being a moisture trap, was to act as a condenser to cool down the temperature of the smoke before it reached the smoker.
The draw can feel a little restricted, especially when compared to modern open draw pipes, but I accept that as a characteristic of the brand and adjust my smoking accordingly. If Kaywoodies don't work for you, there are certainly a lot of other options from which to choose.

 

[haddoken]

If the stinger is attached to a screw on, is it ok to unsrew it wipe off stinger and run a pipe cleaner into the bowl? I have the same problem with my Kaywoodie and so it doesn't get smoked.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Sounds like it'd be fine.

 

[buroak]

Sjfine, I sometimes get gurgle from my half or full bent Kaywoodies. When gurgle happens I just lightly blow a quick puff of air back through the stem. Doing so clears the moisture causing the gurgle. I got the idea from the Sasieni stinger patent document shared by misterlowercase here.
Haddoken, If the stinger on your Kaywoodie screws into the shank, then you can disassemble the pipe mid-smoke to remove moisture. If the stem is tight when you try to unscrew it, be careful and perhaps wait.

 

[haddoken]

Thanks Buroak. I'll have to try it out.

 

[randelli]

I will take all the kaywoodie stingers off your hands. In fact I really need one for a 22 relief grain, so if anybody has a 3 hole set up for a mortise that they really hate, please let me know.
Beyond that, I am looking for a special one for #7, maybe a large thorn or chesterfield...

 

[budrichard]

"I have a dozen or so Kaywoodies, all of the Drinkless have intact stingers, as I wouldn't consider purchasing a "Bobbeted" one.
Occasionally they do gurgle and I just use a pipe cleaner to remove the excess moisture. It's generally not a problem since I tend to like my tobacco on the dry side and am a slow sipper. The purpose of the stinger, besides being a moisture trap, was to act as a condenser to cool down the temperature of the smoke before it reached the smoker.
The draw can feel a little restricted, especially when compared to modern open draw pipes, but I accept that as a characteristic of the brand and adjust my smoking accordingly. If Kaywoodies don't work for you, there are certainly a lot of other options from which to choose."
+1 except I have maybe 30.

-Richard

 

[perdurabo]

All my briars gurgle. Pipe Cleaners, Lightly Blow into the stem, and Flick the stem(which will cause relight galore) usually work for stopping the gurgle. Usually I find that the gurgle is coming from the saliva that enters into the stem. Now of course that's not always the problem with everyone else. Corn cobs don't gurgle, at least mine don't. I wonder if that $1000 Dunhill will gurgle, that's the real question.

 

[michiganlover]

Just an FYI, but all of the new production Kaywoodies (even the Drinkless line) are now push stem with no stinger. Kaywoodie no longer makes pipes with stingers.

 

[michiganlover]

I have one Kaywoodie right now a White Briar full bent. With the stinger intact it gurgled so much it was basically unsmokable, with the stinger clipped it still gurgles way to much to be an enjoyable smoke. I assume it's because of the abrupt change from large space (where the stinger used to sit in the pipe) to the tiny airway that exist after you clip the stinger. I'd never buy another stinggered Kaywoodie again.
I have several Dr Grabows with removable stingers and they smoke just fine both with and without the stinger.

 

[tuold]

I'm also in the Cosmic camp. I've had pipes with no stingers that gurgled occasionally (one of my Petersons comes to mind) and plenty of pipes with stingers that never do. There do seem to be a lot of variables to account for moisture production and every pipe/tobacco/environment/smoker combination problem has its own set of rules for management.