Sour Pipe

[anotherbob]

I've only had it happen once. But I understand how it could make you toss a pipe. And sour is certainly euphemistic and means just terrible and unsmokable.
So anyone else ever experience this? And how did you deal with it?
I tried the wet coffee grounds over night. And amazingly that got rid of the horrible funk and taste.

 

[driftedshank1]

You're lucky that you found a solution to your "sour" pipe problem. Sometimes there is no explanation for why a pipe will not smoke well. Even an expensive pipe made from well aged briar, that is drilled perfectly may wind up not smoking well for you no matter what you do to improve it. You can increase the probability of getting a good smoker by acquiring a pipe that was made from dry wood and is built correctly but there are no guarantees.

 

[Pypkė]

A thorough cleaning cures it. Ream the cake out, grain alcohol wash, etc. Two pipes got the salt/alcohol treatment. Rejuvinating the ebonite bits helped a lot too. I inherited a box of old pipes, and they were all sour and nasty to smoke from. They're all good smokers now.

 

[BingBong]

Thorough cleaning and leaving it a few days is the only cure. For me, it always rears its head as the blend becoming distasteful and badly behaved where before it was pleasant and predictable, time to clean that pipe out.

 

[OzPiper]

I had one which no amount of cleaning the bowl, shank and mortise helped.
Turns out the problem was internal oxidation of the vulcanite stem.
I got it re-stemmed (acrylic) which solved the problem.

 

[ChubbyOldHiker]

I have only a few pipes and I've noticed that if I smoke them too much and don't let them dry out adequately between smokes, they can get a sour taste. My cob is particularly prone to this. I personally think this could be bacteria or yeast growing in the tars and goop at the bottom of the bowl--there should be plenty of nutrients and moisture in there to support them. I've found a decent cleaning eliminates it, but even just using a pipe cleaner to suck up some of the moisture and smoking bowls all the way to the bottom dries them enough to keep the sour at bay.

 

[OzPiper]

I have only a few pipes and I've noticed that if I smoke them too much and don't let them dry out adequately between smokes, they can get a sour taste.

The same thing happens if you wear the same pair of sneakers or runners day-in, day-out without giving them time to air and dry out between uses

 

[Sigmund]

If you really want to nuke a pipe use coffee with alcohol. In the chamber, in the shank. Dry it in the sun and cook that crap out. I think its also worth spending a couple bucks for bottle brushes that will fit in the shank for a deep cleaning.

 

[anotherbob]

I have only a few pipes and I've noticed that if I smoke them too much and don't let them dry out adequately between smokes, they can get a sour taste. My cob is particularly prone to this. I personally think this could be bacteria or yeast growing in the tars and goop at the bottom of the bowl--there should be plenty of nutrients and moisture in there to support them. I've found a decent cleaning eliminates it, but even just using a pipe cleaner to suck up some of the moisture and smoking bowls all the way to the bottom dries them enough to keep the sour at bay.

yes I agree. The nastiness I got wasn't just tars or left overs from smoking. It was certainly something else. Either a chemical reaction or like we both think some kind of bacteria growth.

 

[ChubbyOldHiker]

The same thing happens if you wear the same pair of sneakers or runners day-in, day-out without giving them time to air and dry out between uses

I don’t know what you’re talking about. My feet always smell like angels farted on them.

 

[anotherbob]

The not cleaning it certainly contributed to this state. Interestingly at the same time had the internal stem thing that @OzPiper mentioned happened to another pipe I owned at about the same time.

 

[anotherbob]

I don’t know what you’re talking about. My feet always smell like angels farted on them.

that's gross. Sounds like a medical condition. Angel farts are nasty all that Ambrosia and milk and honey.

 

[Zeno Marx]

another instance where Dawn, a tube brush, a traditional Scotch pad, and warm running water are your friend.

 

[burleybreath]

I think "sour" is fixable, "bitter" is not. The latter is a feature of some basket or other cheap pipes, which I always attributed to green, uncured wood. Nothing helps. I just toss them.

 

[OzPiper]

I don’t know what you’re talking about. My feet always smell like angels farted on them.

Never smelled angels’ farts, but I have drunk wine which a friend described as angels‘ piss on her tongue

 

[OzPiper]

Never smelled angels’ farts, but I have drunk wine which a friend described as angels‘ piss on her tongue

“Tasting like…….”

 

[Choatecav]

I had one which no amount of cleaning the bowl, shank and mortise helped.
Turns out the problem was internal oxidation of the vulcanite stem.
I got it re-stemmed (acrylic) which solved the problem.

Oz, what would make only that vulcanite stem oxidize? Have you ever had others do that??
I only ask because I have not.

 

[OzPiper]

Oz, what would make only that vulcanite stem oxidize? Have you ever had others do that??
I only ask because I have not.

Vulcanite comes in a whole lot of quality grades. I have stems over 100yo which are still shiny black. And ones that oxidise despite being kept in a dark cupboard.
Unfortunately before discovering the Forums, I had a habit of displaying my pipes on a window sill.

 

[Bourbon&Burley]

I'll second what Sigmund posted about drying pipes in the sun after applying the cleaning treatment of your choice. I've read that Tom Eltang does this with his pipes and I've used this technique with very good results over the years.