Never Had This Problem Before.

[bullet08]

I mean, it's possible. Tamp too much and compact the tobacco. But has to be rather stupid to tamp that hard. It's also possible to get tobacco stuck in draught hole some where. Pack like an idiot? Also possible. But have you ever had perfectly smoking pipe suddenly won't let you draw? Happened to me today. Bone dry VA that I forgot to pack. Loaded up today, did draw test like I always do. Went out and it was smoking great. Then towards bottom 1/4 bowl, nothing. No way to get anything out of the stem. Took the stem out, cleaned stem, mortise, dry out pretty good, run the cleaner to the chamber. Put everything back, still no draw. Weird. Poke some hole from top of the chamber, nothing! How crazy is that? Dumped everything thinking something must be really wrong. I mean Newminster 400 that's been drying for over 24 hours in a pipe that smoked fine last time. What can go wrong? All the remaining tobacco was crumbled, and wet. Solid block of it was blocking the entire bottom of the chamber. I didn't see it at first. Ran the Czech tool, dump the content, but seemed like whole thing didn't come out. Had to dig harder, and the wet chunk came out. But out of 24 hr dried Newminster 400? How that possible? I'm not a wet smoker, if I was I would have seen something similar before. Just a crazy day.

 

[irishearl]

Sure, happens to me fairly often. Straightened paperclip to dig around draft holes is as important of an accessory to me as a Czech tool is. Usually when it happens to the extent you mention, it takes me dribbling into the bowl piping hot water that I let sit for a couple of minutes and then I take a shank cleaner to it which along with also using the paper clip from the hole side opens it back up again.

 

[Searock Fan]

For situations like that I keep a piece of coat hanger handy to unblock the plug. Tip: If you fold one end over 180 degrees you have a nice little handle. Oh, and use a metal coat hanger, the wooden ones just will not fit in the draft hole.

 

[yanoJL]

@bullet08
Were you smoking outside? I took a look at your weather. Seems like you've had some humidity there lately. Maybe that was part of it?

 

[bullet08]

@bullet08
Were you smoking outside? I took a look at your weather. Seems like you've had some humidity there lately. Maybe that was part of it?

Maybe. What I'm thinking at this point is, all the dust from over dried flake settled to the bottom. When I started smoking, the moisture from what remained in the tobacco was absorbed by the dust and with tamp and right timing.. It just became a puck in the chamber. Or something close.

 

[TheWhale13]

Happens to the best of us. Many of my recent smokes have been bad or not pleasant in some way, so I'm taking a week off, and hopefully then it will seem like I know how to smoke a pipe again.

 

[kcghost]

It happens rarely but it does happen. Particularly with bone dry tobacco. Being so dry you will have some very small fragments of the longer strands of the tobacco. Then as you inhale moisture from your mouth can create a blockage.

 

[tbradsim1]

Slip a fluffy pipe cleaner in hole, pack, then slip cleaner out.

 

[dunnyboy]

Maybe. What I'm thinking at this point is, all the dust from over dried flake settled to the bottom. When I started smoking, the moisture from what remained in the tobacco was absorbed by the dust and with tamp and right timing.. It just became a puck in the chamber. Or something close.

Good theory. Like when coffee fines sink to the bottom of a portafilter or conical filter with the flow of water (in this case the current of air) and choke the expresso puck or pour over bed.

 

[didimauw]

Sometimes I have days where I seemingly forget how to smoke a pipe. I swear I never change anything about my routine. Sometimes the pipe is too hot to handle, sometimes I can't get it to stay lit, sometimes there is no flavor. Tobacco can be a jerk sometimes.

 

[UB 40]

Don’t worry Bullet08, that was just a thing between the temperature in the chamber in response to the glowing ember and in relation to that cold walls of the chamber.

It’s all about the relationship between relatively humidity and dew point. We may dry out the tobacco to dust, because of the high temperature of burning tobacco and dew point there will always be a lot of water in the bowl. Maybe you smoked to slow. It happened to me as well.

For better understanding of underlying physics:

How Temperature & Humidity are Related

Temperature and humidity affect the Earth's weather and the health and comfort of its residents. Relative humidity describes the percentage of water vapor in air that changes as air temperature changes. Dew point refers to the temperature at which air reaches saturation by water molecules.

sciencing.com