Molina / Barasso 106 - Difficult to Draw

[mah2325]

I'm having an issue with the Barasso 106 pipe I purchased a few weeks back. I've smoked 6 ish bowls with it. After each bowl I clean it ( pipe cleaner through Shank and Stem ). I change the filter after each smoke. I noticed it started to be difficult to draw.

After looking at it, the problem comes from the stem. With it separated from the Shank ( not filter ), it still can't pull air through easily. It can pass a pipe cleaner but not air. After looking online it said try cleaning with alcohol ( build up of tar, crude, etc ). I tried this and it worked ( somewhat ). Seems way to early to have build up that bad ( 6 ish bowls ) , so then I smoked it again, cleaned it. And it did the same thing again. And I had to clean it with whisky again to get it mostly working.

It seems like I'm getting some blockage in the stem that only Alcohol can clear. smokingpipes, adviced I can return it for them to review. But was hoping to find something I can do to resolve this issue.

Any ideas / thoughts?

 

[fireground_piper]

Have any pictures? 6 bowls isn’t really enough to cause a buildup like that.

 

[mah2325]

I can add some this evening when so get home. Any particular view that would be helpful?

 

[fireground_piper]

The best you can get of the inside of the airways at both ends. Just to see what they look like.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I wonder if it’s fluff from your pipe cleaner shedding off and creating a new blockage. Using a pipe cleaner that is wet with alcohol might be invisibly grabbing the loose fibers and you’re not seeing the culprits being pulled out.

 

[Mez]

I wonder if it’s fluff from your pipe cleaner shedding off and creating a new blockage. Using a pipe cleaner that is wet with alcohol might be invisibly grabbing the loose fibers and you’re not seeing the culprits being pulled out.

I second this. I have a meer stem that likes to grab fluff off pipe cleaners and it’s quite annoying.

 

[mah2325]

I've tried the "harder" bristle pipe cleaners to minimize. If this is the case, do I just need to always clean with Alcohol? And never a dry pipe cleaner?

 

[Mez]

I've tried the "harder" bristle pipe cleaners to minimize. If this is the case, do I just need to always clean with Alcohol? And never a dry pipe cleaner?

I usually pull a regular pipe cleaner through my fingers a few times to remove loose fluff. If I still get some stuck, I just blow hard through stem and it usually dislodge.

 

[The Benedictine]

Some advice I've been told it to stick it in your mouth and blow hard.

 

[mah2325]

I'll try pulling it through my fingers first. On blowing.. I tried this as well. Got a face full of the Moisture in the stem back in my face and it didn't clear it

 

[ziv]

I tried this as well. Got a face full of the Moisture in the stem back in my face and it didn't clear it

You need to blow out, not in.

 

[jhowell]

Take an extra long bristle pipe cleaner, tie one end to something and charge with Flitz - insert into stem and slide the stem back and forth on the pipe cleaner, rotating as you do so. If that doesn't work try a clay saw from either end.

 

[ThermionicScott]

I'll try pulling it through my fingers first. On blowing.. I tried this as well. Got a face full of the Moisture in the stem back in my face and it didn't clear it

You'll learn to point the pipe more downward when you do this in the future.

 

[mah2325]

Update: I tried taking the harder bristle Pipe Cleaner, running it through my fingers to get the extra fluff off. Then clean the stem. That seems to have solved my problem. I can now clean it without resorting to whisky. I'll give it a few bowls and try this out after a few smokes and see if it keeps working. Thanks for all who offered advice!

 

[xrundog]

Good advice. One more thing. Certain stems, seems like acrylics especially, can sometimes have a sort of hangnail in the airway from the manufacturing process. You can get fluff caught on it or excess buildup. Ream it out with a straightened paper clip or a long small gauge drill bit.

 

[mah2325]

Ok, followed the advice in this thread. I didn't have a paperclip around, but I used my weed eater string (Rigid but bendable for bent shank). Was able to reem it out pretty well. and out came a "furball" build up from pipe cleaners.

So, Seems like if I use the method above to rub fingers across pipe cleaners to get the fuzz off I should be good. And if it gets blocked, I now know how to fix it.

Thanks to everyone for your help!