Pipe Liquid. Useful or Gimmick?

[jpmcwjr]

I read it on the internet....so has to be true.....

Seriously, one of our most knowledgeable members posted that and I've not known him to be wrong. I won't call his name, but he may chime in if he wishes.

And, yeah, I have no first hand knowledge of same, couldn't produce a test to confirm!

 

[Chasing Embers]

leaving it bitter and acrid.

higher alcohols would leave an awful taste.

Nope.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

My pipes are very nice but inexpensive. I’m using the water method that so many learned members recommend.

 

[anotherbob]

Years ago because stupid idiots were setting themselves on fire, and they were tired of the liability for morons.

I think it was those flaming shots. Which they did have their sales reps really push on bartenders. And the flame you get from those isn't always all that visible especially in the kind of lighting scheme in certain clubs. I guess my point is they can't pin it all on the morons, especially when the morons had significant help.

 

[peregrinus]

I read it on the internet....so has to be true.....

Seriously, one of our most knowledgeable members posted that and I've not known him to be wrong. I won't call his name, but he may chime in if he wishes.

And, yeah, I have no first hand knowledge of same, couldn't produce a test to confirm!

If it is on the internet then it has to be true?.
Seriously, if true, it would follow that pipes that have had the “salt treatment” or have been cleaned with a retort would have a statistically notable increase in burnouts.

 

[anotherbob]

That's why I'm surprised that Everclear is still on the market.

like I pointed out. They never actively encouraged people to act extra stupid with their product. Which might also explain why they're not talking about it. It's kind of like the difference between two cars one that can go really fast and the other which can also go really fast but the ads suggest going really fast on public highways cause it's fun. Which one of those is going to get their pants sued off?

 

[karam]

Nope.

When i said higher alcohols i meant chemically, not higher percentage of ethyl alcohol, was talking propanol, butanol etc, and non-alcoholic solvents like chloroform, and detergents are all good solvents for oils and tars, but none is good for our pipes

 

[karam]

Hot water will remove tars and oils, whether or not they are dissolved.

And in addition to the flavor hit mentioned, alcohol removes some of the minerals that make briar so impervious to fire.

Hot water basically lowers viscosity, so any cleaning is mechanical, some tars, waxes and solid oils melt and are carried off, part of why I love hot water flushing!
Regarding alcohol removing minerals from wood, I seriously doubt it, and I am a biochemist. Typically what you need to remove minerals is an acid, which alcohol is not, and then any leaching of minerals would be only in the few microns that liquids penetrate the wood.

 

[Bowlsmoker67]

I use a good bourbon, the same one I drink , works wonders

 

[john19]

I use a good bourbon, the same one I drink , works wonders

Bourbon...... nice choice!

 

[samuelgawith01]

Years ago because stupid idiots were setting themselves on fire, and they were tired of the liability for morons.

Flaming shots? I am one of those idiots, but I never set myself on fire.?only the rum.

 

[samuelgawith01]

By the way,I use distilled spirits,including Tequila to clean my pipes.?

 

[jpmcwjr]

Went to buy some Bacardi 151 recently and was surprised not to find it. Got this instead. Bottled in tropical Princeton, Minnesota.
View attachment 112481

Ah, the tropical climes of Minnesota! Hard to think of a more Caribbean looking spot, especially the palm trees everywhere, and the ocean is never more than a few miles away!

 

[samuelgawith01]

Decatur makes a good pipe cleaning compound .

 

[samuelgawith01]

True.There was a bar on Crete where,at night,when things were really getting going, a bar tender would stand up on the bar,and squirt some sort of accelerant all over the horizontal surfaces,then light the entire bar on fire.The accelerant had a thickener in it,so it wouldn't run too much.If you weren't familiar with this ritual, a burn would be the likely result.Well.....it happened;some kid got burned,early 2000s.The place was shut down as a result.Too bad ,I really enjoyed the place.

 

[anotherbob]

True.There was a bar on Crete where,at night,when things were really getting going, a bar tender would stand up on the bar,and squirt some sort of accelerant all over the horizontal surfaces,then light the entire bar on fire.The accelerant had a thickener in it,so it wouldn't run too much.If you weren't familiar with this ritual, a burn would be the likely result.Well.....it happened;some kid got burned,early 2000s.The place was shut down as a result.Too bad ,I really enjoyed the place.

fire humanities best frenemy since forever.

 

[samuelgawith01]

fire humanities best frenemy since forever.

?

 

[Rob NC]

I always heard it was a bad idea to introduce water into the shank, because it could swell the briar and make the tenon not fit properly, while alcohol evaporates before it can do any damage. Made sense to me, but am I wrong?

 

[timt]

Ah, the tropical climes of Minnesota! Hard to think of a more Caribbean looking spot, especially the palm trees everywhere, and the ocean is never more than a few miles away!

I know, right!? I'm pretty sure most people think of Minnesota as just being cold and liberal but really it snot.

 

[anotherbob]

I know, right!? I'm pretty sure most people think of Minnesota as just being cold and liberal but really it snot.

the image we have of most places is just not accurate. Why because places are more complicated than that. Well except Gary Indiana that place really is where hell and earth meet or so I've heard.