Question: Air Humidity & A Lit Pipe

[GJMinVT]

Hello!

I continue to be grateful for this forum and the advice I've been given as I've returned to pipes as a newbie. Since I last came to the oracle, a couple of things have happened. First, I acquired a couple of newer pipes into the collection. Second, I've been testing various tobaccos and blends. I've definitely found some that I enjoy quite a bit and others that I have taken forum advice and placed into a jar to be visited again next year. I've discovered the aromatics, English, Va/Per's, and a few others that I like. I've even begun discerning flavors a bit where that hadn't been happening. I've collected quite a few tobaccos thanks to bulk pricing and a really helpful guy at SmokingPipes.com. I'm curiously exploring them in different pipes, at different times, etc.

I'm smoking filtered pipes (9mm Petersons and Savinellis). In general, I like the filters and I'm going to try a few bowls without them. I've enjoyed many a cool smoke with them and I've finally managed to smoke without tongue bite more often than not (thank goodness).

Last night, I sat down to enjoy a bowl if TinderBox Philosopher. I'd laid some of the tobacco out the night before on my leather mat in a place in the house with low humidity and as part of my experimentation with drying out before I pack the pipe. I estimated that the tobacco was just right in terms of wetness.

It was 90+degrees outside when I sat down under my covered deck. It was very humid and the skies had just opened up a bit. I was smoking a Peterson 408 bent apple with 9mm filter. The pipe was packed per norm. I could comfortably draw.

I couldn't keep the bowl lit and it felt like I was sucking through a wet cotton ball. Can I assume that it was just too humid to be sitting outside and enjoying a bowl with this 9mm charcoal filtered pipe??

(second and unrelated question has to do with my Savinelli 9mm-filled bowl from the other night... the tobacco towards the end had a very, very acrid taste. Couldn't finish it. What did I do wrong? I was smoking C&D Founding Fathers in it)

 

[shanez]

(second and unrelated question has to do with my Savinelli 9mm-filled bowl from the other night... the tobacco towards the end had a very, very acrid taste. Couldn't finish it. What did I do wrong? I was smoking C&D Founding Fathers in it)

I can't answer your questions about humidity but sometimes when a bowl starts to taste bad towards the end I'll loosen up the ash and dump it off from the top of the remaining tobacco. It seems to really help which makes sense to me as drawing air through spent ash can't be a good thing.

That might not solve your issue but it's an easy place to start.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sounds like it was packed too tightly. Smack the open end of the chamber against your palm to loosen things up a bit, tap the heel on your knuckle to settle the tobacco, and light.

 

[cigrmaster]

You need to dry your tobacco very well and then learn to smoke in the humidity. I have smoked in the humidity many times and adjusted my cadence as necessary . It takes practice and patience to learn what works best for you. Different pipes different blends are all part of the equation. It is not easy and when you learn it you will be a master pipeman.

 

[GJMinVT]

Sounds like it was packed too tightly. Smack the open end of the chamber against your palm to loosen things up a bit, tap the heel on your knuckle to settle the tobacco, and light.

Solid advice. Stay tuned

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Agree with CE, I suspect the bigger problem is that you packed too tightly. I believe the tobacco can and will absorb some humidity. If you pack too tightly, that leaves inadequate room for the tobacco to expand inside the bowl. This results in you have to puff too hard which in turns heats the tobacco up more which in turn causes more humidity to be absorbed .... I think you may get the picture.

 

[bullet08]

Dumping the ash will help with taste. Also, run a pipe cleaner all the way to the bottom of the chamber. Does the draw change as the light keeps going out? Are you tamping down light enough not pushing the tobacco down? If you are tamping, make sure to do it lightly so you don't pack down the tobacco. If the draw/air flow gets tight, run the pipe cleaner to the chamber from the stem. Pipe cleaner should open up the air flow and clean out some moisture.

 

[workman]

Humidity has more an effect on flavor than burn.
Sometimes I think I have done everything right, but can't keep the tobacco lit. It often turns out there is a strand or chunk of tobacco blocking the airway. This can be remedied by shake up as Embers points out or with a pipe cleaner.

 

[Magpiety]

I couldn't keep the bowl lit and it felt like I was sucking through a wet cotton ball. Can I assume that it was just too humid to be sitting outside and enjoying a bowl with this 9mm charcoal filtered pipe??

It's really humid right now where I'm at in KC, and I run into the same issue every year during this time. I usually just pack a bit looser and tamp really lightly, which seems to fix it for me.

 

[badbriar]

Hello!

I continue to be grateful for this forum and the advice I've been given as I've returned to pipes as a newbie. Since I last came to the oracle, a couple of things have happened. First, I acquired a couple of newer pipes into the collection. Second, I've been testing various tobaccos and blends. I've definitely found some that I enjoy quite a bit and others that I have taken forum advice and placed into a jar to be visited again next year. I've discovered the aromatics, English, Va/Per's, and a few others that I like. I've even begun discerning flavors a bit where that hadn't been happening. I've collected quite a few tobaccos thanks to bulk pricing and a really helpful guy at SmokingPipes.com. I'm curiously exploring them in different pipes, at different times, etc.

I'm smoking filtered pipes (9mm Petersons and Savinellis). In general, I like the filters and I'm going to try a few bowls without them. I've enjoyed many a cool smoke with them and I've finally managed to smoke without tongue bite more often than not (thank goodness).

Last night, I sat down to enjoy a bowl if TinderBox Philosopher. I'd laid some of the tobacco out the night before on my leather mat in a place in the house with low humidity and as part of my experimentation with drying out before I pack the pipe. I estimated that the tobacco was just right in terms of wetness.

It was 90+degrees outside when I sat down under my covered deck. It was very humid and the skies had just opened up a bit. I was smoking a Peterson 408 bent apple with 9mm filter. The pipe was packed per norm. I could comfortably draw.

I couldn't keep the bowl lit and it felt like I was sucking through a wet cotton ball. Can I assume that it was just too humid to be sitting outside and enjoying a bowl with this 9mm charcoal filtered pipe??

(second and unrelated question has to do with my Savinelli 9mm-filled bowl from the other night... the tobacco towards the end had a very, very acrid taste. Couldn't finish it. What did I do wrong? I was smoking C&D Founding Fathers in it)

Humidity does not affect pipe tobacco that much, IMHO. I live in Florida and am used to enjoying a bowl or two in the evenings outdoors. Now, cigars are another issue. Humidity will mess with a nicely aged cigar a lot!

 

[JPremo]

Humidity has more an effect on flavor than burn.

This^^^^^
I've taken my 9mm T. Christiano into a steam sauna, because that's how I roll sometimes, and while puffing away I notice more pronounced flavors with aromatics and less tobacco notes. Actually rum barrel aged Mississippi River is amazing in a humid environment from my anecdotal evidence, very sweet and tangy.