How Long Can I Let My Tobacco Sit Before Relighting It?

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katarn07

Might Stick Around
Mar 1, 2016
95
0
I know you can leave your pipe aside to take care of other things and come back to it simply by relighting it. But what's the time window on that before it either spoils or messes up your pipe? An hour? A day? I wouldn't think it would be any longer than that. Would it be better to get the charred top off and dump the good tobacco into a container to store until I do have the time to relight? Thanks for your insight.

 

ray47

Lifer
Jul 10, 2015
2,451
5,610
Dalzell, South Carolina
I've let partially smoked pipes set for a couple of days and sometimes it tastes better then the fresh bowl. Virginias and Va/Per blends work best. Aromatics taste worst after setting for a day. I always scrape off the top ash of a bowl, that has been setting for a day or so, before I relight. I've never dumped the good tobacco and saved it. Read some of the Sherlock Holmes novels. He used to save the dottle and place it on his mantle piece.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,625
44,844
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Depends on the blend and whether it's heavily flavored. FVF I can pick up the following morning. St Bruno kind of raps out pretty quickly. Just make sure that you do a thorough job of keeping your pipes clean between periods of use.

 

derfargin

Lifer
Mar 3, 2014
2,028
28
Kennesaw, GA
Don't dump out the previously smoked tobacco into a container for later use, just relight it or throw it out. I've gone up to a week on pipes I've forgotten about. I've done a relight, and finished to bowl. Sometimes it was ok to smoke sometimes it tasted off.

 

katarn07

Might Stick Around
Mar 1, 2016
95
0
Thanks for the answers. I don't anticipate needing to stop smoking when I light up but the other day something came up that needed my immediate attention and by the time I had time to get back to smoking the sun went down and it was freezing outside. I'm an outside smoker so was kinda bummed that I couldn't finish.

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
The acronym is DGT. "Delayed Gratification Technique" which is basically putting down your pipe, letting it go out, and returning after a period of time. I've left a pipe overnight a few times and it was fine.

 

shutterbugg

Lifer
Nov 18, 2013
1,451
21
More than an hour for me and it tastes ashy and harsh. I prefer to load half a pipe if I'm pressed for time.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Two weeks. I'm not recommending it. After that the Pipe Protection League will call with a warrant and ask you step away from your pipe while they take charge.

 

tslex

Lifer
Jun 23, 2011
1,482
13
If you allow the tobacco to sit more than 9.5 hours (be careful, it's 8.2 hours for certain burley and Virginia blends) and you attempt to relight it, you are likely to initiate a devastating explosion. If you do manage to re-light without incident, and you are foolish enough then to attempt to SMOKE the re-lit pipe, you will SURELY die.
:)
[It's your pipe, your tobacco, and your light -- do as you will man.]

 

jruthledge

Might Stick Around
Feb 17, 2015
98
3
Don't really know, but I've enjoyed a 1/2 bowl the next day more than once. Even improved things on occasion. I think that last part has a little more nicotine to it as well.

 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,273
4,268
So, if you let it sit for 27 hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds, you may have a problem?
:rofl:
Sorry, I've been smoking Frogmorton so I felt and little froggy and had to post that.

 

shawnofthedead

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 5, 2015
249
5
I know many people say that you can set a pipe aside and come back to it later, and it will still taste good. But personally I do notice a difference after relighting a pipe after a couple of hours, it doesn't taste as good to me as a fresh bowl for whatever reason.

 

jkrug

Lifer
Jan 23, 2015
2,867
8
I've gone anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days although the later is not the norm. :puffy:

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
The timing probably varies with humidity and other factors that will cause changes in the tobacco. If it's a humid day, it may go "off" more quickly.

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
You're the only one who can decide that. Me? I'm smoking the rest of a pipe I lit up on Friday night and forgot about it. I have so many pipes it's easy to do that. It's Irish Flake and it tastes as good, if not better than it did on Friday but it really does seem to depend on what kind of baccy is in your pipe. Experiment with it, that's part of the fun.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,569
27,075
Carmel Valley, CA
The timing probably varies with humidity and other factors that will cause changes in the tobacco. If it's a humid day, it may go "off" more quickly.
Good point. And if the tobacco is on the wet side going in, it'll go "off" sooner. I've found a pipe lying here or there after several days, sometimes delicious, sometimes just o.k. Not had a problem so far.

 
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