Got the gurgle

[huntertrw]

Bent pipes seem to do this worse than straight...

The late auth0r Shelby Foote had this same problem. In an article titled Civil Discourse by Larry O'Connor that appeared in the Fall 1997 issue of Pipes and tobaccos magazine, he states, in part, "...I don't like a curved pipe. For some reason I don't really understand, saliva collects in a curved pipe. For me anyhow. Then it gets to bubbling, like a stew."

Sablebrush52 is absolutely correct regarding drying your tobacco. Moisture is a byproduct of combustion. If your charge is too moist to begin with, then you have a recipe for the gurgles.

 

[ThermionicScott]

Appreciate it. I do have several bent ones and a couple straight. The medico I mentioned is a straight estate pipe I picked up. That is the only one ( I probably just jinxed myself) that doesn’t gurgle.

What are the pipes that have the issue, out of curiosity?

 

[Chalaw87]

Ill often run a pipe cleaner mid-bowl which will often eliminate the gurgle.

You can remove the stem from a Peterson System/Army mount pipe, while smoking, and swab out the stem too.

 

[Andriko]

It's probably dribble. Do you clench for long periods of time?

The one with a filter isn't gurgling because the filter is soaking up all the moisture, probably.

 

[bullet08]

Ill often run a pipe cleaner mid-bowl which will often eliminate the gurgle.

You can remove the stem from a Peterson System/Army mount pipe, while smoking, and swab out the stem too.

Sensible suggestion. I like it.

 

[Michigan_Bill]

Ill often run a pipe cleaner mid-bowl which will often eliminate the gurgle.

You can remove the stem from a Peterson System/Army mount pipe, while smoking, and swab out the stem too.

+1

 

[brooklynpipeclub]

I have pipes that smoke cool and dry top to bottom and some that give me a little gurgle, while others gurgled when new and then after a handful of bowls smoked through just stopped gurgling altogether. My cobs never gurgled until I put Forever stems on them. I'm pretty consistent with how I smoke in terms of cadence, pack my bowl, and how much I dry my tobacco before loading so I tend to think that some pipes will just smoke a little wetter than others. Running a pipe cleaner through, as others have suggested, will swab that moisture out of your stem and shank but if I don't have one handy (ie. too lazy to get one), I put my thumb over the bowl and give the pipe a slight flick with my wrist to discharge the moisture. This works in a pinch.

 

[UB 40]

So I need some advice. No matter how slow or how well I pack my pipes I always seem to get the gurgling sound after about 20 mins. The only time I don’t seem to get this is when I am smoking my medico ventilator pipe with a filter. Advice?

Ah yes that gurgling in pipes really can get on your nerves. But no drama. Experienced codgers tell you to get rid of the condensed water with a sudden outward swapping of the stem. That doesn’t work inside. I insert a pipe cleaner once in while, when it happens.

Dry and not to densely stuffed tobacco helps as I experienced. But even if the tobacco is bone dry you can get some condensation/ water in the pipe. Take a closer look on what happens in the pipe while smoking. There is hot ember glooming in the chamber. The hotter the air gets the more humidity (water in the tobaccoit or humid air condition) it can collect dissolve and hold.

When the smoke/ steam mixture cools down passing the cooler sides of the chamber and airway the humidity condensates. You can’t get around it. If the pipe will gurgle or not depends a lot on the construction of the pipe how narrow or wide the airway is, if there are any obstacles in the way or it’s temperature.

A lot depends on how open the draw of your stuffed pipe is. If you look at the drilling of a cob the airway alone is as wide as it could be. It’s quite reliable and famous for a dry smoke no matter what.

Briars are different beasts often made with smaller drill sizes.

 

[Briar’s Echo]

It's probably dribble. Do you clench for long periods of time?

The one with a filter isn't gurgling because the filter is soaking up all the moisture, probably.

I usually am a palmer. Sometimes I clench but usually it’s only for a few moments.

 

[Briar’s Echo]

Ah yes that gurgling in pipes really can get on your nerves. But no drama. Experienced codgers tell you to get rid of the condensed water with a sudden outward swapping of the stem. That doesn’t work inside. I insert a pipe cleaner once in while, when it happens.

Dry and not to densely stuffed tobacco helps as I experienced. But even if the tobacco is bone dry you can get some condensation/ water in the pipe. Take a closer look on what happens in the pipe while smoking. There is hot ember glooming in the chamber. The hotter the air gets the more humidity (water in the tobaccoit or humid air condition) it can collect dissolve and hold.

When the smoke/ steam mixture cools down passing the cooler sides of the chamber and airway the humidity condensates. You can’t get around it. If the pipe will gurgle or not depends a lot on the construction of the pipe how narrow or wide the airway is, if there are any obstacles in the way or it’s temperature.

A lot depends on how open the draw of your stuffed pipe is. If you look at the drilling of a cob the airway alone is as wide as it could be. It’s quite reliable and famous for a dry smoke no matter what.

Briars are different beasts often made with smaller drill sizes.

Thanks for explaining. I have noticed that the hot ember is usually at the center and it seems that there is an outer ring of tobacco that doesn’t get lit. Would this contribute at all?

 

[Briar’s Echo]

I have pipes that smoke cool and dry top to bottom and some that give me a little gurgle, while others gurgled when new and then after a handful of bowls smoked through just stopped gurgling altogether. My cobs never gurgled until I put Forever stems on them. I'm pretty consistent with how I smoke in terms of cadence, pack my bowl, and how much I dry my tobacco before loading so I tend to think that some pipes will just smoke a little wetter than others. Running a pipe cleaner through, as others have suggested, will swab that moisture out of your stem and shank but if I don't have one handy (ie. too lazy to get one), I put my thumb over the bowl and give the pipe a slight flick with my wrist to discharge the moisture. This works in a pinch.

Thanks. So how dry should the tobacco be before smoking.

 

[Briar’s Echo]

+1

If the gurgle gets too bad I will use a pipe cleaner. As far as taking off them stem of a Peterson I thought it could possibly crack and why others say don’t disassemble until the pipe has cooled.

 

[brooklynpipeclub]

Thanks. So how dry should the tobacco be before smoking.

I like my tobacco close to crispy but not dry as a bone. Flakes take longer than ribbon and coarse cut. When I smoke plugs, I cut very fine slices/shavings and rub them out well. Shags tend to be at a decent humidity right out of the tin for me. If the tobacco falls apart readily if I pinch it then it's ready to pack according to my preference and experience. If it's brittle, then I've waited too long. If it tends to still stick together a bit, I force myself to wait a bit longer.
This is all very subjective and your milage may vary of course but these are my loose guidelines. I smoke a lot of Hoggarth flakes and find that 1 - 1.5 hours of letting a bowl's worth dry is about the right amount of time. For ribbons and coarse cut I find that 20 - 40 minutes does the trick.
I hope this is helpful.