How Long Will You Let An Unfinished Bowl Sit?

[Seeker81]

Hey all, just put down my Peterson's Bulldog. It is about halfway smoked, and I was just wondering how long will it be good for? The tobacco that is (ODF btw).
What are the downsides of leaving partially smoked bowls too long? And how long would be "too long"?
Keen to hear your thoughts, thanks.

 

[burleyboy]

I‘m not experienced in this matter, but the longest time I had an unfinished bowl sit was 3 days and the smoke was still pleasant after that time. The tobacco was Orlik Golden Sliced. I always make sure to run a pipe cleaner through the airway before I leave an unfinished bowl.

 

[Seeker81]

Thanks burleyboy. I'm glad to hear that. That should leave me ample time to nip out to the shops ha ha

 

[SpookedPiper]

You should smoke it before it starts to mold, however I suggest you toss if and pack a new one when you would like to smoke again. I am not one for being wasteful especially when it come to food as mamma allaways told me to clean uppa my plate! But, I just toss it out sometime the relight is quite harsh and tastes foul which is never quite as nice as a clean fresh bowl.

That being said, I have let a bowl go out and smoked it 1/2 hr or so later, when I didn't have anymore tobacco with me, so that was more like an end of days type situation. So if it's not the end of the world, live alittle and start fresh!

 

[prndl]

I'm the world's worst at setting a pipe down, running off to do something and coming back to it some while later.

That said, I never leave a partially smoked bowl out overnite. Some folks do and that's fine. We all do things at different speeds. To me, it just tastes stale.

Ymmv here.

 

[Seeker81]

So I put the pipe down an hour ago now... and just relit it about 5 mins ago... Lovely still ha ha

 

[ray47]

I smoke mostly burley and I don't let the pipe sit longer then overnight. Any longer and the blend loses something and tastes bitter. I get the same result from Latakia based blends. Straight Virginias are better, they can sit for a couple of days with no loss of flavor. Aromatics are dumped, even if I've only smoked a half a bowl.

 

[autumnfog]

I only smoke when I have time for it so this never happen.

 

[bullet08]

3-4 days. taste fine to me. i just don't have hours to finish. usually i'll smoke half night before, and rest in the morning. but on occasions, chamber is rather large and takes more sessions.

 

[cigrmaster]

It is rare for me not to finish a bowl once I have started. In those cases I might smoke it an hour or so later but that is about it. I don't do over night as to my tastes the tobacco has lost it's best parts.

 

[mso489]

I'd probably try a week-old pipe bowl, but in fact I nearly always smoke it the next day, and don't usually leave it overnight. I think two days has been my limit, and only because I was real busy.

 

[dcicero]

Some have tasted fine after a couple of days, others not. I dont know why, so I just either finish or dump it. I try to finish though.

 

[BROBS]

A year

honestly. It wasn’t that bad.

 

[Saintwilliam]

I do 2 days everyonce and a while... if It tastes bad I toss it and lid up a new one. sometimes it’s great!

I dont running out of tobacco when I’d like a long smoke but sometimes I don’t have the time to smoke what I’ve packed...

Meh, win some lose some, but really were smoking a pipe it’s almost all win!

 

[olkofri]

Guilty of this: when I do it, it's a day. I don't like doing it, though, for fear of souring the pipe, especially if the blend is one of those moisty ones.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Weeks, sometimes, but seldom more than a few days. No problem. It becomes a problem if the remains are damp.

 

[Johnny_Pipecleaner]

I think the member who said they run a pipe cleaner before leaving it sit has the right idea.

Beyond that I'd wager the shelf life may have to do with the blend being smoked. Speaking of which, if it was just some OTC blend I'd be more inclined to chuck it and start anew.

Personally the longest I let one sit is overnight. After running a pipe cleaner through, of course

 

[tokerpipes]

Whatever it is that’s pressing for me to put down my pipe can wait. It’s my time so they can kick rocks.

 

[timt]

Maybe a few hours and only if there's more than half a bowl left. Otherwise it gets dumped and the pipe gets cleaned. It's kind of like leftovers in the fridge - 4 days and it's gone, with a few rare exceptions.

 

[spartacus]

Depends on the tobacco but for me most tobacco left more than an hour or so has a bitter taste on the re-light. Life is to short to smoke crappy tasting tobacco. I throw it out and start fresh.