Gurgle Possibly Caused by Draft Hole Construction?

[ashdigger]

I personally don't see the drilling as the end of the world. Is it ideal, no.

 

[mtwaller]

I’m guessing there’s no real way to fix the stem... the Peterson filters look pretty long and might not fit. I wonder if I should try some of the 9mm balsa filters and cut them to size if need be.

 

[jpmcwjr]

New? If not, can you not get info from Peterson why the large opening in the tenon and big gap in the mortise hole? I suspect filter room.
You have illustrated the situation very well with that second set of photos.

 

[jazz]

In other words the mortise is almost exactly twice as long as the tenon. Is that normal?

In my experience with Peterson this is perfectly normal. As is the iffy drilling.
It's not a filter pipe and you won't be able to buy a filter to fit it and those 9mm balsa filters are designed for the smoke to go around them and not through them so unless the chamber is designed for one all you will really do is block the pipe up.
The choices as I see them are live with it, attempt to adjust the pipe yourself but this will require tools and know how or you can see what a reputable pipe repair guy could do with it. There a few very good ones who visit this place.

 

[mtwaller]

Looking at the specs for Peterson 9mm filters they are something like 1.4 inches in length, which appears far too long for the space I’m working with. I would be a bit confounded as to why this would be space for a filter if their own filters don’t even fit? Regardless, I’m going to get some balsa filters and cut them to size and see if that fixes the problem. If so, it’s an inexpensive fix, albeit a slightly annoying one. Fingers crossed... thanks to all for listening to me bitch about this pipe. I just want this thing to smoke well so I can move on to posting happier things!

 

[crashthegrey]

That drilling on a bent would make more sense, but not on that pipe. I agree that based on the end of the stem and the long mortise, that this was to be a filter pipe, but I am not certain. Odd all around to be honest.

 

[sasquatch]

See, ALL peterson pipe stummels are drilled to accept a filter, but not all the stems are. If that pipe is sold in Germany, the stem takes a 9mm filter.
The result, when bought as a non-filter pipe, as this on is, is that there's all kinds of empty space in the pipe, and the airflow is fairly turbulent because of it. I don't mind the concave end on the tenon, that's not a bad thing imho. But the pipe is not built to any kind of tight tolerance, that's for sure.
Keep smoking it, it may come around.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It's Peterson, I imagine the guys are vigorously imbibed in generous helpings of spirits day in and day out. If you get the correct pipe in the correct box, then you're doing good. All the rest is negotiable.

Personally, I don't understand why the things are priced so much more than Dr. Grabows. I've never heard of anyone getting a screwed up Grabow. ::

 

[crashthegrey]

ALL peterson pipe stummels are drilled to accept a filter

Thanks for the info. I only own one Peterson and an old second line, and both are from long ago. That explains the curiosities regarding the mortise.

 

[mtwaller]

Very useful information regarding filters and all the empty space, good to know. And Cosmic that’s pretty damn funny, but sadly seems to be true in this instance.

 

[saltedplug]

There are lots of factors to consider when looking for reasons for gurgle, from moist tobaccos, cadence, ambient humidity, temperature changes, and then the pipe would come into scrutiny after all of that.

I smoked a pipe often for at least 10 years without issues but it gurgled twice just before I quit.

 

[saltedplug]

Drilling makes or breaks a pipe. It should be a capital offense resulting in immediate execution for any reputable maker to sell a pipe with any less than 90% correct drilling.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

Maybe some of those "Keystones" filter stones could fix your problem?
I have never used them, but if you have some space in the shank, maybe you could put some in there and see what happens. However, I think they are meant to sit at the bottom of the bowl. It's a relatively inexpensive experiment.

 

[mtwaller]

It’s worth filddling around with. I do feel like a bit of a jerk for complaining about these issues, it’s really not the end of the world... but honestly the gurgle diminishes the smoking experience greatly. I’m always waiting, expecting it, flinching when it first arrives. I can’t fully focus on the flavor of my tobacco because I’m so keenly focused on the draw and whether or not I’m going to get horrible acrid moisture popping onto my lips. Sigh... let’s hope one of these filters fits the bill. It’s a shame that such a beautiful thing is seemingly so fundamentally flawed. This thing is like every single one of my ex girlfriends.. gorgeous to behold, but you just know deep down in there something ain’t right.

 

[ashdigger]

Can you give a rough estimate of how many times you've smoked it?

 

[mtwaller]

I’d say around a dozen smokes by this point. Mostly 1/2 to 3/4 bowls, I don’t ever pack it to the brim. A half bowl will get me a solid 40 minute smoke usually. Mixture of VaPer’s and some C&D kitchen sink Virginia blends. I will say, at this moment I’m 45 minutes into a well dried out bowl of SPC Plum Pudding Special Reserve and it’s performing remarkably well. Gurgle did not show up until the 25 minute mark, and it has not been as detrimental as previous smokes. Not sure if any of that information is useful, but there you go.

 

[ashdigger]

Very helpful. Do you ever run a cleaner into the pipe while you're smoking it.
If I ever get a little "gurgle" I just run a pipe cleaner into the pipe. Done. Keep enjoying the bowl.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yes, that's the ticket! Also, the words in your post, "...45 minutes into a well dried out bowl of...." contain other useful info.

 

[saltedplug]

I had gurgle rarely but removing the moisture with a cleaner worked.

 

[mtwaller]

Yeah sometimes the gurgle is annoying enough that I’ll run a cleaner into it twice per bowl, other times it’s not as bad and I don’t do it at all and the gurgle seems to go away after a few minutes. I’ve been taking extra care to almost over dry my tobacco and draw lightly with this pipe, it may be that this ends up being my house pipe for one or two select blends. Regardless, I think I might try to sand that jagged briar in the draft hole and pop a small filter in and see where that gets me.