Resting your pipes

[zanthal]

I've heard that you should rest your pipes 24 hours between smokes.
I'm not understanding the necessity of this. It's not just to dry them out, is it?

 

[nsfisher]

yup allows the moisture to dry out of briar, keeps em from burnout, cracking etc and turnin sour '

 

[philip]

The common wisdom today is that a pipe should not be smoked more than once in a day. Actually, you should let it ‘rest’ for a few days before smoking it again. A pipe gets extremely hot while being smoked. The heat causes the wood to expand. If you keep smoking it without letting it rest, this can cause problems like cracks and burnout - where a hole will burn through the pipe. Resting a pipe also helps the moisture that the briar absorbs to evaporate out. This helps prevent the tars and oils from causing the pipe to have a sour taste.

I found this in the article Why Buy More Than One Pipe.

 

[spartan]

The amount of time I let a pipe rest is directly proportional to the amount of money I paid for it.
That being said, I generally smoked my pipes once and then let them rest as I go through all the others that need love and attention. But not as a rule. I will often smoke a pipe several times a day and even all day and notice no ill-effects.
To increase the life of your pipe you would be wise to let it rest for at least 24hrs.
If it's a cob or something you don't give a crap about then disregard everything I've said. ::

 

[igloo]

I often will smoke a pipe for a few days running . One bowl a day ,with just a quick clean up . They need to breath in between smokes . I have and do smoke the same pipe more than once in the same day with no adverse effects . The rest allows left over odors a chance to disipate .

 

[zanthal]

That's a good article, Philip.
This new freehand being dedicated to 1Q was a good idea. It doesn't taste the same in a pipe that just had an English blend smoked in it.
I do see the concern over lingering moisture. Figure it has to soften the chamber if it stays soaked all the time

 

[jaysin]

i have a garbow i smoke every day between 5 and 6 bowls a day in it other the gurgling noise it makes when it gets too wet no other ill efects and been smoking it this way about a yr now time will tell

 

[nsfisher]

Ah know the rules by heart, but i'm guilty of smoking what i want when i want. Figure if it goes south, i'll just buy a replacement

 

[tokerpipes]

I have heard the wait time is just a couple hours. I mean come on the bowl is hot and it dries the moisture out while it cools down. I do notice that cakebuildup is slower when you smoke more frequently with the same pipe. it takes about 24 hours for it to harden, I guess.

 

[spartan]

Let's not compare apples to oranges.
You can treat you're $20 dollar pipes however you want, but if you put some real money behind your pipe I doubt you'll be treating it like your Grabow...

 

[spyder71]

I have a few Grabows that I treat like they were gold...

I chain smoke pipes just like I used to smoke cigs. I have fallen in to a routine of using three to four pipes in one day. Two for my regular blends and one or two more for my "treats". So I guess by some standards I over work my pipes in a day but then I rest them for a week. I have my pipes lined up in their racks and for the most part my Tue. pipes get smoked on Tue. It seems like my pipes are happy and healthy :D
Spell check rocks!

 

[jchaplick]

My pipe mentor, 'Doc' Garr, has always told me one pipe a day, smoke it as many times as you want, provided you let it cool in between smokes, then let it rest at least a week, longer if you can.
His ideal situation is 31 pipes that are in your rotation, one for each day of the month.

 

[jaysin]

@spartan

the garbow is just a kick around pipe ive put it through hell its a little savo ive reamed the chamber bigger

and use it when i am out and about if it gets busted up eh no big loss not like my peterson that i baby

 

[crpntr1]

I've only got 9 pipes in regular rotation, 3 dedicated to 1q, 3 dedicated to p.a., one dedicated to capt.black, & the other two for different blends. Then I have one that my dad got in Germany after the Korean war that I've decided to smoke on Christmas morning.

 

[loneredtree]

By some definitions, I am a collector and not a smoker. I like the feel of a pipe in my hand and the aroma of the bowl. I have noticed that the smell of the bowl,after I run a cleaner through the stem and shank and clean out the bowl with a paper towel,is harsh and somewhat acidic. That odor softens after a day or so. After three of four days, the sour smell is gone and it has the hint of sweet tobacco and is pleasant. What I am trying to say is that the "rest" does a pipe good because there is a chemical change after a few days that sweetens the brier. ::

 

[olderthandirt]

Wouldn't you think that chemical change you speak of is prolly nothing other than the pipe drying lonered?

 

[hanymamdouh]

It is really very important to rest the pipe, a period of 24 hours is enough for it to dry. The taste of dry pipe is totally different than wet pipe, especially if you smoke aromatic blend.
Unfortunately, I can't follow the rule all over the day, I smoke during my working hours, and i don't like to carry large pipe case with me everyday to work. I take only 3 pipes, and I smoke a bowel every one and half hour, so, the rotation of the pipe is 4 and half hours. Sometimes it is enough for the pipe to get alomost dry so you don't get tar taste.
The best bowel I smoke is the first bowel after return back to home, Pipe is always dry and no bad taste.

 

[loneredtree]

OTD

Wouldn't you think that chemical change you speak of is prolly nothing other than the pipe drying lonered?

Just a guess. I could put water in a dry pipe and see if the odor comes back. I will report tomorrow. 8O

 

[judcole]

I use three pipes, one bowl each. I then let 'em sit 24 hours, do it again, and then let them sit for 10 days - 2 weeks. If I want more bowls in one day, I haul out a cob or a pipe that isn't in my regular rotation, but I still enjoy. I use cleaners on each pipe at the end of the day.

Works for me. ::

 

[portascat]

I tend to rest them at least a couple days, but if I go out with my pipes, I am not going to pack 3 or 4 of them, so i will do as suggested above and smoke one repeatedly, although letting it cool between smokes and running a cleaner through it. I tend to use a screw pipe, rather than a push stem for these excursions, as well.