Tar Buildup in Chamber

[pinem]

First post. Have tried in vain to find some help on this through searches, but it seems rare that people get tar build up in their chambers (referred to as sludge cake, I believe), so I thought I would start a new thread on it.
I have a relatively new Bjarne Viking bent apple that came with a carbonized chamber coating. Have probably smoked on the order of 20 or more bowls with it, starting with half bowls for the first 4-5 smokes. Mostly smoked Dunhill 965 and Nightcap in it.
About 5-6 bowls back, the tar buildup first showed up, and there was bits of tobacco from the last smoke embedded in it. It took some significant scraping with a pipe tool to get the tobacco bits out of the pipe. No amount of scraping would get all the tar out though. Tried smoking it again thinking maybe another bowl would harden the tar, but it didn't, and the smoke tasted horrible whenever the ember would burn up against side of the chamber.
At this point, I did the cotton ball and alcohol treatment to the chamber. That removed the tar, but the cake that was left on the side of the chamber walls was soft and powdery, and it was relatively easy to flake/rub off the carbon buildup. Smoked another bowl and that left enough tar in the chamber to hold the carbon in place. However, the last 3 smokes have resulted in enough sticky tar buildup that I need to use alcohol to clean the chamber again.
I think I am drying the tobacco enough, as it doesn't stick together before packing, I don't get gurgle, what dottle is left over appears dry and charred, and there is no moisture visible in the bottom of the chamber.
I have used multiple packing techniques, 3-step, Frank, air-pocket. It might be possible that the latter two methods create more tar than the 3-step method, but I can't say for sure.
I do use a pipe cleaner after every smoke to clean the draught hole, mortise and stem, and it doesn't appear the tar buildup in these areas is all that bad compared to the chamber. Once the pipe cools down, I also ream out the inside of the chamber with a folded up paper towel. I generally don't smoke this pipe more than once every 2-3 days, so it has plenty of time to dry out in-between smokes.
I don't have this problem with my other two pipes (yeah I am just getting started), one reserved for Va/VaPers and the other for Cavendish blends.
I am still learning on ember maintenance, and it is common that either I need to relight often or the ember burns down the center of the tobacco pack. I do need to do better on the evenness of my false light, using my tamper more often and keeping the ember wide and thin (that last part I would be happy to get tips on, but don't want to derail from the original subject).
Lastly, I should note that I smoke outside, and humidity is usually in the 70-80% range, so I don't know if that has an effect or not.
I am contemplating taking some steel wool to the chamber after the pipe dries out from the alcohol soak and removing everything down to the wood and starting over. Thoughts on this?

 

[sablebrush52]

After you smoke a bowl, try the following. Empty out the chamber. Take a piece of paper toweling. Wad it up and twist it into the chamber and twist it around a few times then remove it. That should remove the soft gunky build up on the chamber walls and floor. Let the pipe rest for a few days before using again. After emptying out each bowl, take a couple of pipe cleaners, doubled up, and use them to wipe the sides of the chamber. Repeat the paper towel procedure at the end of each days use. The cake that you build will be a thin and strong carbon layer, which is all you need.
BTW, be sparing in your use of alcohol with briar. Too much exposure over time leaches out the silicates that contribute to briar's heat resistance and moisture absorption properties.
With regard to lighting, try using matches rather than a lighter. You can better direct the flame so as to get an even light over the entire top of the tobacco. Give a couple of puffs so that the top layer is charred, then tamp it down lightly. Relight, making sure to bring your flame around the edges of the tobacco so that the edges get lit, not just the center. Sip the pipe, don't puff. If it goes out, it goes out, and you relight. There are no medals for smoking a pipe on a single light.
BTW, I only smoke outdoors.

 

[pinem]

Thanks for the reply Sablebrush. I do use a paper towel to clean out the chamber as you describe above, although I usually do it after the pipe cools down. At that point, the tar is too sticky and thick to get off with a paper towel. At best, it just causes some of the tar to ball up, but there is still plenty more left behind on the walls. I will try cleaning with the paper towel while the bowl is still hot and see if that works any better.

 

[jkrug]

Not sure if it will make any difference but try to find the stiffer brown paper towel to use. Think restroom towel dispenser. I use this and the crunchy stiffer towelling seems to work very well. Hope this helps and good luck. ::

 

[saltedplug]

Pipe smokers and makers are obsessed with cake, to no real purpose. The only real purpose regarding cake is to remove it, as it occupies space in the chamber that could otherwise contain tobacco. Pipe burnout is a rare event. Serious flaws in the briar do not necessarily lead to it, according to one well-known carver, who, on this subject prefers to remain anonymous. Makers insist on coating the bowls to prevent burnout, yet they cannot prove the need for this. If there were a way to prevent cake from forming and it were possible to always smoke a pipe inside an uncoated, uncaked chamber, it would be interesting to see if burnout occurred more regularly.
I keep cake trimmed down to almost nothing. I'll let you know if I have a burnout.

 

[pinem]

With a little more testing, it seems that my problem probably most stems from smoking 965 in this pipe. Smoked a bowl of this a couple days ago, and while the cake had not been gummy beforehand, was after. Also, the smoke was pretty harsh compared to all the other blends I have smoked in the pipe, so it seems to be the main culprit. The tin had 2 years of age on it before I opened it FWIW.
Just smoked a delightful bowl of London Mixture in it tonight, with the bowl still gummy, and the didn't have any of the problems with the smoke being harsh when the ember was up against the side. Afterwards, I gave it a pretty good cleaning while the briar was still warm, by scraping out what cake I could with my pipe tool. and then followed up with a paper towel. That left a thin, slightly sticky coating on the bowl, with the wood slightly visible in some of the scratches left behind by the pipe tool. Rubbed in some leftover ash from my smoke, and things feel and look good at this point.
The bowl coating could also be the issue, although it looks like it has mostly been "dissolved" at this point from what I can tell. I do remember after the first couple of smokes in the pipe, that the coating seemed to be peeling off in places on the inside of the bowl, so it must of had some sort of polymer mixed in with it.
It does appear that some varnish made it into the chamber on the very upper edge, but it doesn't appear that the chamber was varnished below this.

 

[onestrangeone]

Hi everybody! I am going thru a similar issue as Pinem. I am new to the forum and relatively new to pipes, The pipe I am having a problem with is a Nording freehand, when I got this pipe I thought it would make a good Latakia pipe (I was wrong)I tried Gaslight, 965, Nightcap, Etc. I know now that I was not allowing the tobacco to dry properly.

I recently decided to try some McClelland Oriental 2045 so I did a light reaming and loaded it up. The first bowl smoked well enough, the second not so much, I gave up and dumped it just past the halfway point, the lower half of the bowl was very wet and nasty. I stuffed a paper towel in and gave it a spin, it was bad. I scrapped a bunch of sludge out and reamed it a little better, still not down to the briar though, I reloaded with a 1/4 bowl of Woodbridge that I let dry a bit more than normal, this is where I am at so far. I am hoping this will crystalize the oils in the bottom, is this something that can be smoked thru or do I need to start over? I am new enough that I have never done a 'deep clean' on any of my pipes and am a little nervous about doing so.

I an still trying to find something that will smoke well out this pipe. I am planning on trying some more of the Orientals, I would appreciate yawls thought and opinions.

 

[sablebrush52]

While aromatics get a lot of bad press for being pipe foulers, some English and Oriental blends are equally adept at grunging up a pipe. Try drying your tobacco even longer. If it isn't dry to the point of being crumbly, as in all dried out, you're still going to be okay.

Sometimes it helps to run a pipe cleaner or two down the airway during a smoke, when smoking a particularly oily mixture, just to remove some of the build up along the way. And don't forget to wipe down the chamber walls between every bowlful, either with a wad of paper towel, or with a few pipe cleaners that you have doubled over and wipe along the chamber walls. A lot of blends are flat out goopy. You shouldn't need to be reaming after a couple of bowls. Also, don't neglect giving the pipe some time to dry out after a day's use. I usually let mine rest for about a week.

 

[shroedingerscat]

You're getting tar build-up from 965?????? Something is not right here. I smoke 965 all the time, and never have tar-build-up in any of my pipes.
You are cleaning your pipes thoroughly after each smoke, right? And storing them with the bowl-down, especially when they are cooling?

 

[pinem]

A follow up on how things are going and some further thoughts on the issue. I have had this problem in other pipes now as well, although not quite as severe as originally with this pipe. I think I was still smoking the tobacco too wet, and I wasn't letting my pipes dry out enough in-between smokes, even though I was waiting anywhere from 2 to 6 days between smokes in this pipe.
Basically, the problem seems to stem to the fact that I keep my pipes and tobacco in my basement, and the humidity in my basement seems to be fairly high. When people say they let their tobacco air out for 10 minutes to a couple hours, I can only assume they are dealing with much lower humidity. This became apparent when I started smoking my pipe while I was out of town, finding that the tobacco dried out much more quickly. Basically to put things in perspective, if I were to take some ribbon cut tobacco directly out of a fresh tin of say some Dunhill blend, I would have to let it sit out for about 4-5 hours for it to reach the proper moisture for smoking. With flakes things are even worse, generally 3 days for an intact flake of say Escudo or PS LNF, and even then things are still a bit on the wet side. If I rub the flake out, it has to dry overnight at a minimum, maybe even up to a day to get the tobacco dry enough. As another point of reference, I left some MC blackwoods broken flake to sit out for three days, and it was still too wet to smoke even then.
Needless to say, my pipes have a hard time drying out as well. If I left them to sit for at least 7 days between smokes, I might be okay though. I have resorted to keeping my pipes in a somewhat air tight plastic tube with a quart size can of desiccant. Doing this, it appears that the pipes will be ready to smoke again in one to two days. I still think the carbon coating on the Bjarne pipe was part of the problem, and might have been partially responsible for the harsh smokes, as the compound that was holding the carbon to the bowl broke down under the heat. That would explain why the carbon was so soft and powdery the first time I used alcohol. The alcohol dissolved the bonding agent in the coating leaving soft unbounded carbon behind.
Lastly, upon further research, it seems a little bit of stickiness in the chamber is not uncommon, and is not a problem if you keep it under control.
I am thinking I need to get a heat lamp for drying tobacco, and if I really want to get carried away, add a low-watt incandescent light bulb to the tub to keep the air circulating while my pipes are in there so that the desiccant can do its work more efficiently. That or just leave the tub close to the heat lamp.
Thanks once again for all the replies, I do appreciate them.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I'd try microwaving the tobacco for 10 seconds a pop, testing after each session. Not a great way to dry normally, but in your circumstance of high humidity, worth a shot. Then if you get good results, find other ways to dry it down.

 

[shaylee23]

Thanks for the input. Its supposed to be the south african stuff. Check "FAL banger" on the H&K thread.Some say its the ammo,others are saying its a too tight chamber.But still...if this stuff is spewing tar into the system,shouldnt we know about it?

I thought it might be worth looking into.So again,thanks!

 

[pianopuffer]

Resurrecting this thread as I am having a similar issue with one of my pipes, although with an aromatic. For the record, I mainly smoke VA and English blends, but do have a couple of pipes dedicated to aros.
Been smoking Autumn Evening all of December out of my straight Ben Wade Dublin. I keep my pipes clean and rotate them so that they get at least a day's rest in between smokes. Recently, I've noticed a tar-like, sticky substance adhering to my chamber wall after a bowl of AE. Letting the pipe cool and rubbing it out with a paper towel only removes so much, there always seems to be some gunk leftover. As of yet, my quality of smoke has not diminished.
Could this be a result from smoking a heavily-cased blend like Autumn Evening? To my recollection, AE seems to be the most 'flavored' blend I have in my rotation.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I'd run very hot water through the chamber and out the stem, while the pipe is still warm from smoking. Then paper towel in the chamber, Q-tip for the mortise, pipe cleaner for the airway. It works a treat. A number of participants here have found it is effective, and not as harsh as alcohol. No extra rest is needed, as the pipe will not be absorbing moisture to any degree, and in fact will be drier than just leaving the pipe to cool.

 

[leatherman]

jp, I was told when first starting to pipe, to never remove the stem from a warm pipe, as it could lead to damage. Do I need not worry about that?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Wipe the bowl out while still warm with a paper towel. Comes out much easier than when cold.

as the pipe will not be absorbing moisture to any degree

Then why does a shank swell and tighten a stem when wettened? I like the finish on my pipes to much to get them near running hot water.

 

[jpmcwjr]

If your finish comes off with water it's a shit finish to begin with.
Of course mortises swell and tighten when moistened- by super hot moist air traveling in the smoke. That happens over the hour plus or minus you smoke, not the 30 seconds you run water through it; the hot tap water isn't as hot as the moisture in the smoke stream.

 

[jpmcwjr]

jp, I was told when first starting to pipe, to never remove the stem from a warm pipe, as it could lead to damage. Do I need not worry about that?

That's been passed on down for over 50 years. Good advice which I sometimes don't follow. But with my method, the pipe has cooled down a bit when the stem is removed to swab out the mortise. (And I find I pass on that step most of the time to no ill effect.) If the stem is hard to remove, don't do it! And, when you do remove the stem, don't keep it out for long, or the mortise will dry and shrink, making the stem too loose, or it will dry and there won't be moisture to ease the insertion, and it'll be too tight.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Hmmm, thinking over night (often dangerous) I thought that the old advice might be meant for new pipes: Makes some sense, in that a new pipe's shank-esp the mortise- might readily swell as it'd be the first time it's subjected to hot moisture as it's smoked, and this would be when it's freshly tightly bound. Therefor, removing the stem on a new pipe while it's hot is more apt to damage it than at any other time....
What say you all?

 

[sablebrush52]

Well cured briar is very stable. Briar is not terribly absorptive. The parameters for a proper fit betwixt mortise and tenon are thousandths of an inch so the variation in fit due to moisture is tiny and will not last. Remove the stem to clean out the mortise or you will face the wrath of the stinking pipe. Anyone who says that the stem should never be removed for cleaning is either a seller of inferior pipes, or an idiot. If the fit is tight immediately after cleaning wait a few minutes and try again. If the fit is, and remains over time, loose, warm the tenon with a soft flame to return it to it's original dimensions. Don't overthink this. Nothing about pipes is rocket science.