Heatsink Pipe

[olkofri]

Well, many moons ago there was a discussion here about whether rustication made for a cooler smoke. Some were suggesting that rusticated pipes have more surface to dissipate heat than their smooth counterparts. No consensus was reached, but I argued that the amount of surface added with rustication is negligible for heat-dissipating purposes, and that you'd need very deep grooves, like those of a computer processor's heatsink in order to really see a difference.
Well, this pipe might just be it:

Anybody wanna buy it and tell us how cooler it smokes? :D

 

[ashdigger]

I saw that. Weber made a pipe with holes for a heat sink.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Oh sure! It's a cool looking pipe... until you light it up and a crap ton of pissed off flying meanie butt daggers fly out after you! 8O

 

[mikethompson]

That pipe just gives me the willies and I couldn't figure out why. Then Anthony posts that image and it all makes sense.

 

[Chasing Embers]

That pipe just gives me the willies and I couldn't figure out why.

You have trypophobia.

 

[olkofri]

That pipe just gives me the willies

Yeah, me too. After a disturbing dream I had when I was a wee one anything with plenty of pores gives me the willies.

 

[olkofri]

You have trypophobia.

After almost 40 years, I finally learn the proper term.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I have a cousin with it. When we were kids I would hide loofah sponges in his lunch box.

 

[mikethompson]

I will never say this forum isn't educational.

 

[ben88]

Once I bought a pipe with built-in heatsink...

 

[olkofri]

Oh man, doing a google search for the term that spew all those horrible images, and now that pipe... I'm gonna have nightmares for a week.
Ben88, you evil, evil man! :x
:lol:

 

[didimauw]

I had a different style of pipe that wasnt smoked in years, had what looked like cotton in the bowl. Well then a spider crawled out of it....bees spiders, it's all good.

 

[techie]

I might be mistaken, but a heatsink works not just because of the surface area, but also the material which, for a processor, is aluminum. I'm not sure wood will be a good heat dissipator.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't remember discussing the topic of blasts and rustication being cooler pipes anytime recently. But, when I first got here, it was pretty much across the board agreement that they were. It was even discussed on the radio show that even a very light sandblasting more than doubled the surface area of a pipe. And, in one of my metallurgy classes we covered how even a light grainy surface was sure to dissipate heat way more quickly than a polished surface. This explains why some engine parts are polished and some may have a light texture to them. But, as far as equations or formulas, I have never had an incidence where I have had to use that, as I didn't go into industrial metals.

 

[crashthegrey]

I hear it often repeated. I don't know how true it is. I just like the look of some blasts and rustication. I don't count on anything being true anymore.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Well, it does explain why my smooth pipes burn way hotter than my blasts and rusticated pipes. I have to really be a lot more careful with a smooth, and I don't smoke my smooths as often either.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

There's no question from a physics point of view, a textured surface has more surface area than a smooth one and will provide better cooling. However, keep in mind, heat moves to cold, cold doesn't move to heat. Simple heat transfer science. With a pipe, you're relying on convection cooling. The conduction cooling occurs with the areas the hand is touching the pipe. Since the hand is already warm, relatively speaking, it doesn't offer much in the way of thermal transfer. Unless you outside or moving, there isn't much air movement so the convection cooling isn't that great either.
My point? A rusticated or blasted pipe will undoubtedly transfer heat better than a smooth one will. Is it significant enough to make a difference in most cases? Not a significant amount in most cases.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I have a cousin with it. When we were kids I would hide loofah sponges in his lunch box.

That is both terribly cruel and wondrously hilarious at the same time :twisted: :rofl:

 

[Chasing Embers]

That is both terribly cruel and wondrously hilarious at the same time :twisted: :rofl:

I was a mean kid. Thank God I'm still in touch with my inner child! :rofl:

 

[yaddy306]

My point? A rusticated or blasted pipe will undoubtedly transfer heat better than a smooth one will. Is it significant enough to make a difference in most cases? Not a significant amount in most cases.

Besides not making much of a difference, I think that people strive to make pipes that don't transfer heat well. Wood is an insulator, and briar is a particularly good insulator. If you want a pipe that transfers heat better, try a metal or clay pipe.

I might be mistaken, but a heatsink works not just because of the surface area, but also the material which, for a processor, is aluminum. I'm not sure wood will be a good heat dissipator.

^^^ This exactly.

Has anyone touched a working aluminum heatsink before?

If your pipe is cool to the touch on the outside, it's because it is not transferring heat.