Smoking Your Bowl Down

[BelgianGourmand]

Hi guys

As of recently I stumbled a few times over the same problem: when smoking down the bowl completely I get a sour, acrid taste, that is kind of ashy. I thought about it but I am not able to figure out what i am doing wrong. I am a rather slow smoker, taking the time and puffing gently using the breathing method. When my bowl warms it's doing this rather halfway than in the end. My pipes are cleaned after every smoke or before the next smoke. I deep clean every month.
At the end of the bowl I do have to relight quite often though. So, it might be a tamping/compaction problem or something. Can you help me out? Any tips to avoid this?

Thanks!

 

[Deano]

Some can smoke down to ash. For myself, if the baccy is a bit moist or im smoking an aro there is usually a pinch left at the bottom. Took me a long time to learn to enjoy tobacco on the dry side.

 

[UB 40]

Hi guys

As of recently I stumbled a few times over the same problem: when smoking down the bowl completely I get a sour, acrid taste, that is kind of ashy. I thought about it but I am not able to figure out what i am doing wrong. I am a rather slow smoker, taking the time and puffing gently using the breathing method. When my bowl warms it's doing this rather halfway than in the end. My pipes are cleaned after every smoke or before the next smoke. I deep clean every month.
At the end of the bowl I do have to relight quite often though. So, it might be a tamping/compaction problem or something. Can you help me out? Any tips to avoid this?

Thanks!

I know the same phenomenon, may the pipe smoked as slowly as can be. In my view It depends a lot on the weaker qualities of some tobaccos. Now I am deciding not to end up the bowl with those species completely.

Greetings to Belgium.

 

[Grangerous]

I don’t fight to get through the dottle. When it becomes laborious to keep lit, I set it aside. If it’s been set aside long enough I may add tobacco to that pipe. More often I’ll just dump it. What I won’t do, is keep putting flame to it and drawing to fight to the bottom. That’s a recipe to needlessly fry your tongue.

 

[UB 40]

I don’t fight to get through the dottle. When it becomes laborious to keep lit, I set it aside. If it’s been set aside long enough I may add tobacco to that pipe. More often I’ll just dump it. What I won’t do, is keep putting flame to it and drawing to fight to the bottom. That’s a recipe to needlessly fry your tongue.

Yea, Dump it!

 

[Grangerous]

I didn’t answer your question in my first response. You mentioned tamping and compaction. — If you’ve loaded well, often times your work is done. Use the tamper to tap the surface ash flat as you enjoy your pipe. Sometimes a gentle press is required so that burning tobacco can reach the tobacco beneath. But if you are too aggressive you’ll compact it and find a tighter draw and trouble in keeping it lit.

Tapping out ash also helps. Just tap with a finger. A pipe cleaner to the bowl once or twice while smoking removes some condensation.

Enjoy it. Don’t fight with the Dottie. Just walk away.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

The reality is that for most pipe smokers there will be some dottle left at the very end of a bowl. This is normal. Sometimes one can smoke a bowl of tobacco all the way down to ash, sometimes you can't. Whether you can or not depends on a variety of factors such as the cut of the tobacco, the moisture content of the tobacco, the geometry of your pipe and where the draught hole enters the bowl, atmospherical conditions, smoking cadence, etc.

It sounds like your doing most things right. My rule of thumb is to dry my tobacco more than I think I need to, smoke slower than I think I need to and tamp less than I think I need to. I smoke a pipe for enjoyment and when the tobacco begins to taste acrid or ashy, I dump it. I don't concern myself with trying to burn all the tobacco down to ash. That little bit of tobacco left in the bottom acts as a filter collecting tars and moisture. If you find yourself having to relight multiple times to get it to burn, you're pretty much done. Dump the dottle and move on.

 

[gervais]

The reality is that for most pipe smokers there will be some dottle left at the very end of a bowl. This is normal. Sometimes one can smoke a bowl of tobacco all the way down to ash, sometimes you can't. Whether you can or not depends on a variety of factors such as the cut of the tobacco, the moisture content of the tobacco, the geometry of your pipe and where the draught hole enters the bowl, atmospherical conditions, smoking cadence, etc.

It sounds like your doing most things right. My rule of thumb is to dry my tobacco more than I think I need to, smoke slower than I think I need to and tamp less than I think I need to. I smoke a pipe for enjoyment and when the tobacco begins to taste acrid or ashy, I dump it. I don't concern myself with trying to burn all the tobacco down to ash. That little bit of tobacco left in the bottom acts as a filter collecting tars and moisture. If you find yourself having to relight multiple times to get it to burn, you're pretty much done. Dump the dottle and move on.

I have been smoking a pipe for 4-5 years now, and I've NEVER had 100% fine ash at the end. I always dump out a pinch at the bottom, and I've stopped caring or stressing obout it. Lol

 

[blackpowderpiper]

I have been smoking a pipe for 4-5 years now, and I've NEVER had 100% fine ash at the end. I always dump out a pinch at the bottom, and I've stopped caring or stressing obout it. Lol

I've been at it for 34 years now. Occasionally I'll smoke a bowl down to ash but most of the time not. It seems like the times it happens is with dry, ribbon cuts like C&D Bayou Morning, Haunted Bookshop, etc. Again, this is of zero concern to me. Many times I'll pack a bowl of something and get carried away in the flavor or I may be doing something else while smoking and I wind up puffing too quickly. This almost always leads to premature dottling. When the flavor starts to go bad, 3/4, 1/2 down or bottom, I simply dump and move on.

 

[didimauw]

I dry the ever living hell out of my tobacco. And These days I don't like the term "pack" as it sounds like "cram full". I just do a gravity fill, basically pouring the tobacco in, and then when it's full, I lightly tamp it once. Then light it. It's not a competition to see how much tobacco you can fit in there.

When I get to the bottom and need a relight, I give it two attempts, and if it won't stay lit I dump it. That's how you scorch your mouth, is relighting wet dottle.

 

[5star]

When it gets to the bottom of the bowl, if I’m not getting the taste I like- I just dump it.

Mac

 

[Davy]

I have stopped worrying about smoking the tobacco all the way down 2 or 3 years ago and frankly, things have become much better.
There just comes a point where the tobacco taste changes significantly, due to various factors, one of them being moisture accumulation.
When the taste starts changing for the worse at that point, I usually have to relight and relight to get it going, but it doesn't burn as good, if at all. I just stop, stir the tobacco with my pipe tool to allow ashes to cover the bottom wall of the chamber, then I empty the pipe.
I have had no issues with regards to pipe burn, over heating, etc.

 

[kcghost]

I would suspect that it is a lack of a properly dried tobacco. If it is, you probably need to pack your pipe and then let it sit a while (10 - 15 minutes) before lighting. Oh, and to be sure don't pack you pipe so tight.

 

[bullet08]

Yupe. Dry your tobacco more. Also, ashes don't go anywhere unless you dump 'em. Guess what you will taste when there isn't anything else to filter the ashes? Keep tobacco and your pipe dry while smoking. Run a cleaner when you think there might be moisture. Better tasting smoke when things are dry.

 

[dctune]

Hi guys

As of recently I stumbled a few times over the same problem: when smoking down the bowl completely I get a sour, acrid taste, that is kind of ashy. I thought about it but I am not able to figure out what i am doing wrong. I am a rather slow smoker, taking the time and puffing gently using the breathing method. When my bowl warms it's doing this rather halfway than in the end. My pipes are cleaned after every smoke or before the next smoke. I deep clean every month.
At the end of the bowl I do have to relight quite often though. So, it might be a tamping/compaction problem or something. Can you help me out? Any tips to avoid this?

Thanks!

A year or two ago I came back to pipe smoking after a decade hiatus. It was both like riding a bike, and learning how to ride a bike again. And a lot of relaxing fun. I had the same problem you’re describing. I believe I asked the same Q somewhere on these forums, and IIRC @Chasing Embers answered it for me. He suggested i focus on keeping the shank clean. Been doing that ever since, and the problem is completely eradicated.

Hope this helps. Cheers.

 

[OzPiper]

Hi guys

As of recently I stumbled a few times over the same problem: when smoking down the bowl completely I get a sour, acrid taste, that is kind of ashy. I thought about it but I am not able to figure out what i am doing wrong. I am a rather slow smoker, taking the time and puffing gently using the breathing method. When my bowl warms it's doing this rather halfway than in the end. My pipes are cleaned after every smoke or before the next smoke. I deep clean every month.
At the end of the bowl I do have to relight quite often though. So, it might be a tamping/compaction problem or something. Can you help me out? Any tips to avoid this?

Thanks!

That's the dottle you're trying to smoke.

Lately I have been using meerschaum chips or Nording Keystones at the bottom of each bowl.
That and tamping with a light hand minimises dottle.

They are cheap as chips and you can reuse them a few times before discarding.

 

[Misanthrope]

There’s no prize at the bottom of the bowl, so it’s done as soon as it’s no longer enjoyable.

 

[Briar Tuck]

There’s no prize at the bottom of the bowl, so it’s done as soon as it’s no longer enjoyable.

Indeed. The only thing at the bottom of the bowl is wet tobacco, constant relights, and tongue bite.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

There's no rule, although some disagree. I smoke until I'm done or no longer am enjoying the bowl. Sometimes it's all the way down, sometimes it's half - or in between.
Now if I was Australia, I'd be smokin to the bottom and then the cake after I ream it. Poor bastards

In short, smoke until your done.

 

[burleybreath]

Dump it. Life's too short. There are cigarette butts, cigar butts, and pipe butts. The latter are called dottle, and there's no reason to make a fetish of them. On the other hand...