Does a Wider Bowl Smoke Hotter?

[pipesolitude]

I'm pondering which type of bowl that is best suited for smoking aromatic blends. As we all know, aromatics have a tendency to smoke a bit hot, and this got me thinking about the width of the bowl, and how it might affect the temperature of the smoke. It seems to me that more air needs to be drawn through a wider bowl in order to keep the tobacco burning, and this seems to suggest that the smoke would also tend to smoke a bit hotter than in a smaller bowl. In other words, it seems that it is easier to sip gently on a less wide bowl, while a wider bowl needs some more air flow in order to stay lit, which makes it more prone to produce hotter smoke.

What are your thoughts/experience on this topic? Is a wider bowl better suited for say burley or english blends, and not so muc for aromatics or virginias?

 

[dunnyboy]

Interesting theory but I have never noticed the diameter of the bowl making any difference to the heat of the smoke.

 

[cigrmaster]

In my experience it doesn't matter. If you dry your tobacco properly, sip slowly, ash when necessary, tamp where needed, and also never light the pipe without first testing the draw. You want a bit of resistance as too loose will make the pipe burn fast and hot.

Also never smoke a dirty pipe. Learn how to clean the piss out of it after every bowl. I also let my pipes rest at least 24-48 hours before using it again.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I'm pondering which type of bowl that is best suited for smoking aromatic blends

Bowl or chamber? Any pipe is fine with any blend.

As we all know, aromatics have a tendency to smoke a bit hot

Never had that issue. Sounds like they are packed too tightly or being smoked too quickly.

It seems to me that more air needs to be drawn through a wider bowl in order to keep the tobacco burning,

That can be adjusted with the pressure of the packing.

a wider bowl needs some more air flow in order to stay lit, which makes it more prone to produce hotter smoke.

Packing them more tightly corrects this.

 

[hugodrax]

No. Wider bowls generally provide more flavor.

 

[Chasing Embers]

No. Wider bowls generally provide more flavor.

And like everything else smoking related it's entirely subjective.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I think wider bowls have the potential to smoke ever so slightly hotter. But if you've packed tobacco properly with the right moisture level and draw correctly, I don't think anyone would notice though. I say it could happen because you potentially have more tobacco burning.

 

[sablebrush52]

You may be over thinking this. Lot of factors are involved in contributing to hotter smokes. While I don't often smoke aromatics, I haven't found any of them to smoke noticeably hotter. Wide bowls never smoke noticeably hotter for me.
Things that can affect smoking temperatures include:
1. Cadence
2. Density of pack
3. Blend cut
4. Moisture content
5. Blend components.
6. Operator error.

Mostly it's operator error.

 

[pipesolitude]

Pardon me english: I'm speaking of the chamber.

I'm not very invested in my theory, not sure I'm convinced myself, just curious. Of course it is a number of factors at play here (the quality or mechanics of the pipe can probably be added to the list), I was just curious if wider chamber could be singled out as a factor in its own right. But perhaps not. But I'm thinking that in a wider bowl packing can probably be a bit tighter (again depending on the tobacco).

But if we consider a thought experiment... just to keep up the noble art of overthinking , or perhaps illustrate the point a little. There must be a point where the width of chamber is too large for the pipe to work at all, right?, hence no pipes are manufactured that way. But say you had a pipe chamber with a diameter of 2 inches. It does not matter how well you tender to all factors at play, you would probably have to draw a lot to kep the tobacco burning, and you would get tounge bite from doing so. If you are not convinced, add another inch or two to the width. You get the point. So... perhaps there is some logic to the theory, but we do not notice this problem because all pipes are manufactured within a mesure that does not lead to this problem, or at least within a mesure that can easily be compensated for with the art of packing, tamping etc..

 

[Chasing Embers]

I'm not very invested in my theory, not sure I'm convinced myself, just curious.

Though highly subjective, discoveries that you find about smoking are absolutely true if they are working for you.

 

[pipesolitude]

Never had that issue. Sounds like they are packed too tightly or being smoked too quickly.

I guess some of us where born fully accomplished pipe smokers with no experience whatsoever of tounge bite to be learned from

 

[Chasing Embers]

I guess some of us where born fully accomplished pipe smokers with no experience whatsoever of tounge bite to be learned from

I didn't really smoke aromatics until after smoking for a few decades. Now they're mostly what I smoke.

 

[WVOldFart]

Bowl or chamber? Any pipe is fine with any blend.



Never had that issue. Sounds like they are packed too tightly or being smoked too quickly.



That can be adjusted with the pressure of the packing.



Packing them more tightly corrects this.

Chasing Embers I always appreciate your common sense replies. A pipe is a tool, an instrument whose results are determined by how we take care of it. Time, experience and seeing things for ourselves instead of believing some of the bullshit that can be spewed out is a major factor in a good smoke. Learn by doing.

 

[Briar Lee]

As counterintuitive as I might seem, I’m convinced I can use less draw to keep a wider bowl (chamber) lit, so it burns cooler.

Sit out in the darkness sometime, and watch your companions draw on cigarettes and cigars.

The smaller diameter cigarette reality flares when the smoker draws on it.

The wider cigar, barely glows.

Pipes must be like that, I’d reckon.

 

[pipesolitude]

Chasing Embers I always appreciate your common sense replies. A pipe is a tool, an instrument whose results are determined by how we take care of it. Time, experience and seeing things for ourselves instead of believing some of the bullshit that can be spewed out is a major factor in a good smoke. Learn by doing.

I normally don't smoke aromatics, but recently I have come to appreciate Sweet Vanilla Honeydew as a nice evening smoke. When I smoke it in my normal size pipe, it smokes cool, no issue. But in the evening I want my smoke to last longer, so I'm grabbing for a pipe with larger bowl and chamber. I actually only have one larger pipe free for aromatics (i.e. not dedicated to other tobaccos), a handmade Paul Winslöw. I have not used this pipe so much, but a tobacco that I have no problem smoking cool in other pipes now smoked more hot, and I did not have that problem when smoking it with english blends. So my thread was just based on that.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Learn by doing.

Bingo

 

[WVOldFart]

I normally don't smoke aromatics, but recently I have come to appreciate Sweet Vanilla Honeydew as a nice evening smoke. When I smoke it in my normal size pipe, it smokes cool, no issue. But in the evening I want my smoke to last longer, so I'm grabbing for a pipe with larger bowl and chamber. I actually only have one larger pipe free for aromatics (i.e. not dedicated to other tobaccos), a handmade Paul Winslöw. I have not used this pipe so much, but a tobacco that I have no problem smoking cool in other pipes now smoked more hot, and I did not have that problem when smoking it with english blends. So my thread was just based on that.

I tend to like larger bowl pipes, but that is just something that I learned through the years. Smoking is such a personal experience that we enjoy and appreciate different aspects of every little thing that goes along with it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I have not used this pipe so much, but a tobacco that I have no problem smoking cool in other pipes now smoked more hot, and I did not have that problem when smoking it with english blends.

Gravity fill it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I tend to like larger bowl pipes, but that is just something that I learned through the years.

Same. Carpal tunnel and arthritis make small pipes with smooth bowls difficult to hold onto plus I get much longer smokes with the big boys.

 

[pipesolitude]

As counterintuitive as I might seem, I’m convinced I can use less draw to keep a wider bowl (chamber) lit, so it burns cooler.

Sit out in the darkness sometime, and watch your companions draw on cigarettes and cigars.

The smaller diameter cigarette reality flares when the smoker draws on it.

The wider cigar, barely glows.

Pipes must be like that, I’d reckon.

That's interesting. With pipes, however, I reckon this observation suggests that you don't need to draw as much in a pipe with less diameter to get the same burning effect (the same flare). Because in a pipe what matters is the burning effect you produce by the draw. So, not sure if this observation would imply that you can use less draw to keep a wider bowl lit. Does it not actually suggest the opposite? The stronger flare on smaller diameter cigarette means that the draw gives more burning effect, hence you would need to draw more to get the same effect on a wider cigarr. However, perhaps you have a point if we consider the ratio of burning effect in relation to amount of smoke produced. The cigarr produces more smoke with less flare, because there is more tobacco. But I'm (over)thinking that that in a wider pipe there is a point where too little draw makes the pipe go out, while in a smaller pipe less draw is sufficient to keep the tobacco lit. But well, I could be wrong.