New Corn Cob Burning Through After Second Smoke

[daxp]

Last Wednesday I smoked a friends MacArthur and loved it, decided to order my own! I got it Saturday and have smoked it twice. On the second smoke it seems like it has started to burn through the cob about halfway down! I've been smoking and packing it the same way I do my other cobs, and the smoke seemed cool to me (no tongue bite or anything!). The pipe didn't even feel very hot! It was warm, of course, not not hot enough to cause any pain/discomfort!
Can I keep smoking it or do I risk more damage? Is it possible I got a bad pipe somehow? It's not a huge deal with how cheap cobs are, but I'd still rather not pay if something could have been wrong with it from the start. For what it's worth it looked fine when I got it and smoked great, but I'm a bit worried about smoking it now. Or is this something that can just happen with pipes this big? I ordered it from Missouri Meerschaum.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I would contact them and explain what happened. See what happens. I think you got a dud.

 

[zekest]

Just spend 3.50 and get another one.
Corn cobs are cheaper than a cup of name brand coffee.

 

[smeigs]

I make and sell my own corn cobs. This happens with my cobs as well due to the fact that they are all natural. They are not dried for years then coated in plaster and lacquer which most people seem to enjoy. I figure if you get a good 10 smokes out of an all natural cob its worth the 3 bucks haha

 

[peckinpahhombre]

A MacArthur is more expensive that 3.50.

 

[onepyrotec]

Having smoked many cobs, I have many cobs that have small pits in the insides from the soft material burning away during the first few smokes. MacArthur pipes are a thick walled cob (most of the time) so you may have heated it up a bit and not realized it. Slow down a bit & enjoy, let the cob char over and start to form a cake. No need for alarm unless it actually DOES burn trough.

 

[captainsousie]

As mentioned above, it can't hurt to call them. Also, a pic wouldn't hurt so other owners can give you an idea if this is what that pipe does or if it's something to worry about.

 

[daxp]

I went ahead and sent them an e-mail, I'll call them in a few days if I don't get a reply.
And yeah, the MacArthur is a bit more expensive, but it is still cheap. It was about $15 with shipping. Still expected it to last longer, but not the end of the world!
I have a few other cobs (several legends from a grab bag and two country gentleman), but they haven't had any issue like this. Then again, they're nowhere near the size of this one, so I wasn't sure if it was just normal. I'm not sure how much more I can slow down either, it took around 3 hours to smoke it, maybe a little longer.
I tired to take a picture, but even with flash all you can really see is a dark hole or the charred/ashy walls of the bowl. I'll try again tomorrow when the sun is out, that may help.
For now I guess I'll leave the pipe alone until I get a response from MM. I might just go ahead and order a new one anyway, even if they replace it it wouldn't be a bad thing to have two. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[daxp]

I don't see where I can edit my last post, so I'm just going to make a new one. I got an email back from MM already asking me to send the pipe back for a replacement. It's on the way back to them, and they'll send me a new one when they get it!

 

[pylorns]

Excellent customer service.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Sounds like you got things sorted out, so that's good.
Aristocob.com sells "pipe mud" which you can use to put on the inside of your cob, mainly for preventing the bottom from burning out on the cobs that don't have the wood bottom. I imagine you could use it on the walls of the cob as well. If I'm not mistaken the pipes there are slightly cheaper at Aristocob, and they have very good customer service as well.

 

[mso489]

I think you should keep smoking it, and if it burns through more, call MM and offer to send the pipe

back for their inspection. I think at that point, they'd send you a new pipe if they agree it's a dud.

Cobs are generally good, and long lasting.