Keeping Pipes in Cars

[marcmorano]

Question about car pipes. I live in a hot humid environment in the summer with temperatures in the car easily exceeding 100° f and high humidity. And in the winter it can get cold maybe in the teens and twenties fahrenheit. Would putting a briar pipe in your car year round cause damage to the pipe by contraction and expansion extreme temperatures up and down humidity? Because of my concerns, I store a corn cob pipe in my car instead. But is it safe to keep a Briar pipe year-round in a car under those weather extremes? Thanks

 

[chefmike]

My personal experience in Texas: 3 years of 2 Briarworks pipes that lived in my car had no ill effects. Summer 2022 had maybe 5 days under 100 May 15 to August. They have had no issues through winter in Colorado either.

 

[burleybreath]

I doubt if it does them any good, but I've done it for decades, and so far nothing has happened detrimental to the pipes. Just keep them away from sunlight. Tobacco is another matter.

 

[fireground_piper]

You might find the fitting of the stem to change during the seasons. For example with me, stems on pipes I leave out in my shed get looser in the 70%-80% humidity and tighter in the 20%-30% humidity winter. Though I keep relatively stable temperate there, I don't control the humidity.

 

[ThermionicScott]

There are lots of inexpensive briars in circulation. I’d choose one that isn’t too precious, and to @fireground_piper ’s point, how about one with an army mount? You could store it disassembled to save space.

 

[didimauw]

I had my meerschaum outside it's case one year, in the car in summer. It got so hot it straightened the stem of my meer. It must have happened in a single afternoon. Didnt really notice untill it wouldnt fit in its case.

Also can cause the stem fitment to change.

 

[verporchting]

I have a couple Morgan Bones that are truck pipes that have acrylic stems so they won’t discolor but I’ve noticed over a few years the stems have gotten very loose. Not ruined but they have definitely suffered from the hot and cold changes.

 

[captainsousie]

Many here believe briars are impervious to moisture and temperature. It all depends on the structure and relative humidity of the pipe. Many will be OK. Some will not. If you're worried about the pipe, don't keep it in the vehicle.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

We have hot summers here. I try not to leave pipes in a hot car, but some times it's unavoidable. When I have to leave them, I'll put em in the glove box.

I've never messed one up, though.

 

[Chasing Embers]

My glove box pipe for the past few years. No damage yet.

 

[DesertDan]

I keep my Falcon and a couple of MM cobs in my truck with no ill effect.

 

[lraisch]

Let's just say I found out how hard it is to clean mildew out of a briar pipe.

 

[newbroom]

I just take a loaded pipe and a pouch with me when I get into the car. I do keep my one and only Brylon in the arm rest compartment. I only use the car occasionally, and much less than 2,000 miles in a year. I hate sitting in traffic almost as much as I dislike traveling in heavy traffic. Also, my car is 24 yrs old. It's got 75K on its 4 cylinder 16 valve engine and chassis and runs like a Swiss watch. It's a Toyota Corolla.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I just take a loaded pipe and a pouch with me when I get into the car. I do keep my one and only Brylon in the arm rest compartment. I only use the car occasionally, and much less than 2,000 miles in a year. I hate sitting in traffic almost as much as I dislike traveling in heavy traffic. Also, my car is 24 yrs old. It's got 75K on its 4 cylinder 16 valve engine and chassis and runs like a Swiss watch. It's a Toyota Corolla.

The don't make em like that anymore.

Those old Toyotas are something special.

 

[Sobrbiker]

I keep a pipe in the console of my truck, up to two weeks at a time. I’ve had no issues with briars, but I’ve had to get new stems for every MM cob I’ve left in the console in the heat (summer: 110-115* 20ft of the tarmac in the shade at the weather stations-bunches hotter in the cab of a black truck that lives outside).

 

[marcmorano]

Thanks you all for this info!

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

The don't make em like that anymore.

Those old Toyotas are something special.

And those ford crown vics sedans, what a shame Ford discontinued manufacturing them

 

[grimpeur]

One thing I've learned: in urban areas at least, keep all smoking related items out of sight. I also learned that the price of a side window of an '83 Buick Century is a little less than the deductable of the policy I had at the time.

 

[elvishrunes]

I owed some money to a friend who owns a commercial garden Center, and one of the things I gave him for this was a pretty Savinelli quandale. He smokes it while working on his bonsai trees in the greenhouse, and keeps it there. A year later that pipe looked like discoloured trash from the light Exposure. Cars are basically little greenhouses, I’d definitely keep it in the glovebox, and not a nice pipe…

 

[Kobold]

One thing I've learned: in urban areas at least, keep all smoking related items out of sight. I also learned that the price of a side window of an '83 Buick Century is a little less than the deductable of the policy I had at the time.

I learned that the hard way myself and I live in the burbs.