My pipe has gurgle!

[drwatson]

So for Christmas my sweet wife bought me a Peterson 999. ////INSERT THE NO PETERSON BASHING CLAUSE HERE//////

So this pipe is stunning, drilled perfect. But I can not get it to stop gurgling, now I have been smoking for a long time here and have never had a gurgling pipe (only heard about them). My thought is, is this something common with the 999 shape? This is the only one I have ever had.

 

[joeval]

Though not a 999 (I don't think), I do have a similarly shaped Peterson. A Donegal Rocky, with the square shank and stem. And yes, it gurgles. It also cannot pass a pipe cleaner through cleanly. I resort to running a cleaner through as far as I can whenever I relight. Bar that (minor) annoyance, it still gives a great smoke!
Maybe it'll behave better once it's been thoroughly broken i

Edit: it's an 80s. Similar to the 999, but not quite.

 

[drwatson]

I have two of the 80s, never had a problem with those. This 999 sounds like a water bong or something. Different tobaccos, packing methods, and will pass a cleaner with alittle work.

 

[buroak]

The fact that it is "drilled perfectly" may explain the gurgle. I always admire a bent pipe with its draft hole located at the bottom of the bowl, but gurgling can be a consequence of not having a place for moisture in the bowl to pool below the draft hole.

 

[menuhin]

I also want to know how to stop a pipe from gurgling (of course, pipe cleaner can help during my smoke, but...)

My guess for a few of those pipes of mine that gurgle is that either the tobacco was not dry enough, or that the briar is not dry enough / is moist, or that there can be some problem with the draft hole.
I wonder if I bring a gurgly pipe to a competent pipe maker, then what he would check and what he would do to help.

:puffpipe:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

BINGO buroak! I've had luck boring out my pipes, so that the bottom of the chamber is below the draft. But, YMMV.

 

[drwatson]

Well I have the tools and technology. Let the drilling begin........

 

[delro]

buroak hit the nail on the head

 

[menuhin]

but gurgling can be a consequence of not having a place for moisture in the bowl to pool below the draft hole.

Usually, how much of a space (depth and width in mm?) at the bottom of the bowl below the draft hole is good enough to minimize the possibility of gurgling?
I may have to mod some of my new pipes then if it works.

:puffpipe:

 

[Chasing Embers]

I have a couple of wet smokers, and when I hear the dreaded gurgle, I just gently blow through the stem to clear the airway, and go about smoking. No Peterson bashing here, just never found one I like. Not a fan of the classic shapes.

 

[daimyo]

 

[troutface]

To muck up the waters even more I will say that so far I have found no correlation between the location of the airway where it enters the bowl and gurgling. I have four Ceppos that have airways drilled slightly below the bottom of the bowl, which is supposedly the worst possible location, and none of them have EVER gurgled. They smoke bone dry. They also happen to have the largest diameter airways of any of my pipes, about 4.5 mm. Coincidence? I honestly don't know.

 

[johnnyiii]

I always shove a pipe cleaner down the stem all the way into the bottom of the bowl chamber. My petes and any others that gurgle seem to quit gurgling for the rest of the smoke after that. That also works for freeing up a bowl to tightly packed. I sometimes have to slightly twist the cleaner while I work it back and forth to get it to actually go into the bowl chamber area.
Would I get banned if I said I sometimes have the same problem with my wife??? Better not say that I guess.

 

[torque]

I have a couple of wet smokers, and when I hear the dreaded gurgle, I just gently blow through the stem to clear the airway, and go about smoking.

I agree, this is pretty much my take on gurgle.
The gurgle happens in the airway, not the bowl. The moisture from the tobacco turns to steam in the superheated environment we create in the bowl. This steam gets drawn into the MUCH cooler environment of the shank and the magic of condensation begins to happen. A portion of the moisture returns to liquid form and collects on the walls of the airway. This collection of condensate creates irregular restrictions in the airway resulting in an effect known as turbulent flow. This turbulent flow is what causes the gurgling sound you hear (and can feel) as you draw air through the airway. When you swab the airway with a pipe cleaner you remove these irregular restrictions allowing laminar flow to return to the pathway and the gurgling goes away.
You guys that are enlarging the airway are on the right track. By widening the air path you are minimizing the effect that the irregular restrictions caused by condensation can have on air flow, which mitigates turbulent flow and maximizing laminar flow reducing the chances that gurgle will develop. It basically boils down to fluid dynamics 101.

 

[menuhin]

I remember Fukuda (from Tsuge's workshop in Japan) used a special drill bit to open the draft hole. Perhaps that allows a more delicate control of how the profile of airway should be crafted.
Fukuda from Tsuge opening the draft hole

 

[buroak]

Usually, how much of a space (depth and width in mm?) at the bottom of the bowl below the draft hole is good enough to minimize the possibility of gurgling?

There is too much variation across my pipes to give a solid answer to your question. If you are planning to drill your tobacco chamber deeper, I would make incremental changes between multiple bowlfuls of tobacco.

 

[captainbob]

Simply put, begin with a "rested" clean and dry pipe. As for the Peterson, if it is a "Peterson-System-Pipe" I love the pipe, but it smokes wet! In my humble opinion, the "Peterson-System" does not work. I always use a pipe cleaner after every smoke in any pipe, and I rotate my pipes. But, my experience with the "Peterson-System" pipe is miserable and I shall not buy another one.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

[settersbrace]

I agree with much of what Torque wrote above and will add that in many cases that "turbulent air flow" occurs in the space or gap that exists where the stem/tennon meet or I should say, don't, meet. Often there is up to a 1/4" gap that acts like an oversized chamber that allows rapid condensation and forces the draw to swirl. A quick test to try, pull the stem on some pipes, take a pipe cleaner and run it into the tennon until you feel the "bump" where the draft hole begins. Mark that spot on the pipe cleaner and measure it against your stem insertion. Chances are there's a decent sized gap. Depending on a myriad of other things like the bend on a given pipe, tobacco moisture, your smoking style, etc the gurgling can be reduced if you open the draft hole. I'm at a loss as to why this isn't talked about more because in many cases that "gap" is very prominent. It is said that an uninterrupted air stream traveling through a uniform diameter up to the bit provides the driest of smoking.

 

[johnnyiii]

With respect I gotta restate. I can pass a cleaner through the stem all I want. My Peterson gurgles do not go away until I get the cleaner into the bowl chamber.
Its amazing how an invention to prevent gurgle makes more gurgle then anything else. Its like buying a wool blanket with a built in air conditioner. Although I add that I say this while smoking one and liking it.

 

[desertpipe]

Opening the airway works if one also opens up the bit and reduces the flat face area of the tenon. I agree that it is an airflow/turbulence issue. I have a 999 that I altered and smoothed out the airflow that smokes great.