Dumping ashes before relight

[pastordaniel]

I started dumping ashes as I smoke because I have many relights - 4-5 per bowl. Am I causing/creating problems by dumping the ashes before I relight? Sometimes I stir the ashes around before relighting, trying to expose unburned tobacco. The bowl gets hot toward the end, as does the smoke coming into my mouth. Not sure what is the best/correct/proper method?
One month into this new hobby (first pipe August 2015) I am thankful for the internet and all the advice - good and bad (one quickly learns to discern the latter). Thank you all who take time to hand-hold the rookies. I purchased the "Corn in the USA II" from Pipes&Cigars dot com (you can look up what that includes) plus Captain Black Regular, Virginia Gold Cherry Cav, V.G. Black Cav, and Carter Hall. Still working my way through the various tobaccos. I am still learning to properly load - Frank, "X" step, reverse gravity, etc. I smoke outdoors because I don't want my teenagers to know about Dad's new hobby.

 

[elbert]

I found ash dumping to be the single biggest improvement to my smoking. Just gotta make sure you're not pushing down to hard with tamper when you grind the ash down, or you'll pack the bottom too tight.

 

[sallow]

I just tap, and tamp lightly.
I try to keep a layer of ash on top.

 

[newbroom]

Let's say my pipe goes out. I let it rest a bit. I pick it up later wondering how much tobacco is left in this particular (what would you call it? a widow?) pipe has left.

If I've got my Czechs tool, I'll probe it with the pin tool and then swirl that same tool around the bowl at the depth of the ash and dump before I relight.

Ideally I won't have to (cough) tamper with the rest of the tobacco and it will burn till it's gone.

Once I find I have to mess with the "pack" of the remainders, it's frequently unsatisfactory.

Even more ideally is to smoke the pipe with one true light to its completion.

I'd say I average at least one or two relights a bowl, maybe.

 

[warren]

If I'm holding my pipe, my index finger is almost always tamping gently or fiddling with the tobacco and ash, stirring the pot as it were. I only infrequently find the need to dump ash and very rarely have to relight. The relight usually takes place after I forget the pipe in my mouth when reading.
If I'm working and the pipe is constantly in my mouth, the fire sometimes goes out so I tamp a bit and relight, never dump the ash. I tend to smoke with a bit more force when active and like the ash as a sort of damper or insulator from the breezes over the burn.

 

[rblood]

Only if it won't take a light, usually in the last quarter if at all. I prefer ash covering the burn. Go light with the tamper and tamp less and the ash is not a problem.

 

[rblood]

Missed your comment on the hot burn at the bottom - I find this to be the case if I take all the ash off at the bottom more often than not. Frankly, if the last of the burn is not satisfactory I just dump it. No sense ending a good smoke having to fight it. Dottle? Who cares.

 

[mso489]

If there is a good dusting of white ash on the surface I'll dump it and tamp carefully before relighting. The gist is, the extra ash doesn't contribute anything and may insulate the flame from the unburnt tobacco, and you want to tamp the unburned tobacco down just enough to give an even light and an even burn. I hope for a little springiness in the remaining unburned tobacco, however slight. Most bowls don't require this, but when there seems to be a lot of dusty white ash on the top, I do it.

 

[weezell]

Only if it won't take a light

Yep,me to...

 

[ember]

I've found ashes are ok to a point but once you notice that when you try to relight and it seems like the pipe either won't light or will not stay lit more than 30 seconds it's time to dump the ashes , temp and relight then you should be good all the way to the bottom of the bowl

 

[jkrug]

Sometimes I will finish a whole bowl without needing to tip the ash. Other times I find it necessary to stir the ash a bit and tip it then continue smoking. Usually I will do this when I notice the pipe going out a lot. ::

 

[hawke]

I always -touch- the top of the white ash and dump it before I relight. I don't stir and don't tamp until it is hard to keep lit. I want no ash in my bowl really. I find my pipe goes out when I smoke at work with the cig guys as we talk. I enjoy my pipe smoking best when alone where I am focused on the cadence that keeps it going a little more. When talking I am distracted from the enjoyment of the ritual and meditation it conjures up. Even at the PC here I am forced into more relights.
I don't care to smoke the last bit of the bowl either. I do have a "dottle tin" that I keep for those unexpected tough financial times or just a novelty smoke. The dottle kept is only that's which is very good tobacco, just too wet to keep lit easily. It will get hot easily as the lighting fire is close to the draw tube which both contribute to the treaded tongue bite. The moisture level in the dottle subsides over time in the "dottle tin" and I find its fairly high in nic concentration.

 

[bigpond]

There's is no "proper method" or rule book that everyone adher's to. Dump the ash if you notice a benefit in doing so. Every blend burns slightly different and some seem to benefit more perceptibly from being ash free than others. Key Largo needs to breathe or else it tastes flat, so I dump ash early and every time I relight. By contrast, best brown flake doesn't care a whit about ash and I'll only dump when I think about i, usually at the end of the bowl.

 

[cortezattic]

The flavor of a Virginia flake seems to get rejuvenated if you stop at the halfway point to dump the ash, tamp, and (usually) relight.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I started dumping ashes as I smoke because I have many relights - 4-5 per bowl. Am I causing/creating problems by dumping the ashes before I relight? Sometimes I stir the ashes around before relighting, trying to expose unburned tobacco. The bowl gets hot toward the end, as does the smoke coming into my mouth. Not sure what is the best/correct/proper method?

That's fine. Perhaps you could dry down the baccy a bit before loading. And stop when it gets hot!

 

[okiescout]

Every blend burns slightly different and some seem to benefit more perceptibly from being ash free than others.

Bigponds statement is true for me also.
But I find the mid point of a bole to be a common place for my pipe to falter. Dumping the ash, having carefully picked it, I find it sometimes continues to burn. If not I relight and move on. If the pipe goes out with a little dottle left I usually dump it. Attempting to re-position dottle with my tamper even lightly , only tends to get things in the bore I do not appreciate in my mouth.

I also do not generally find the last bit of the pipe to be the best of the bole. This may just be due to my own bad habits or personal pallet. :wink:

 

[theredstrat]

The bowl gets hot toward the end, as does the smoke coming into my mouth. Not sure what is the best/correct/proper method?

Hi pastordaniel and welcome to the hobby.
I agree with both sides of the ash discussion. I find it depends on the shape of my bowl as to whether dumping ash helps me redistribute tobacco and re-light properly.
If your main concern is the heat in the bowl and on tongue, that is generally caused more by smoking a sweeter (aromatic) blend especially when smoked too fast. I would suggest looking around for some suggestions on beginner-friendly non-aromatics to see if you can find something that smokes a little cooler naturally (I'll throw Mac Baren's Mixture Scottish Blend out there, lightly cased, mild flavor). Also, try to consciously slow down the puff-rate (cadence) and that will have a much larger impact on reducing tongue bite and hot bowl syndrome.
Best of luck and just keep puffing and trying new blends, you'll hit your stride in time.

 

[pastordaniel]

Thank you all! I am blessed by your guidance.

 

[bigpond]

Thank you all! I am blessed by your guidance.

That's exactly what we want you to think! :twisted:

 

[hextor]

i am new to this , and I love smoking my pipe, but why is it when I get close to the bottom it taste like ash, is this normal