Uneven Combustion

[Crowley]

Hello, I'm looking for advice, my tobacco burns unevenly, especially in the middle, it burns weakly at the edges, and when I want to light it properly, the pipe is hot, what would you advise? Thank you.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

You are probably getting way better flavor than someone who intentionally tries to light the cherry all the way across the chamber.
If smoked very slowly, just burning in the middle is very normal. You do not get flavors from the actual combustion. You get pipe flavors from the tobacco surrounding the cherry, where the heat drives the oils from the unburned tobacco to mix into the smoke. When lit all the way across, you're not going to get very much flavor.

 

[ThermionicScott]

That's somewhat normal. Use your tamper to move unburned tobacco from the periphery toward the center as you go.

 

[Crowley]

Okay, thanks, and how do I keep it regularly hot when I smoke slowly, it keeps going out, when I smoke faster, it's hot and I don't enjoy smoking, how do I keep the pipe lit?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Okay, thanks, and how do I keep it regularly hot when I smoke slowly, it keeps going out, when I smoke faster, it's hot and I don't enjoy smoking, how do I keep the pipe lit?

Without being able to watch you, I have no idea what you're doing. We like to tell beginners not to worry about relights, and you shouldn't. But, for me, I keep mine lit by keeping it clenched constantly. This is why I say that I hate when people want to have conversations while I'm smoking, because it forces me to have top remove my pipe from clench. The problem is that I am always smoking. Ha ha.

 

[ThermionicScott]

To save @cosmicfolklore a little typing fatigue: On Smoking Slowly and the Benefits... :: General Pipe Smoking Discussion - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/on-smoking-slowly-and-the-benefits.96504/

 

[Crowley]

Thank you, your posts helped me

 

[jpmcwjr]

Glad to hear it!

If you would, introduce yourself in the thread for newcomers, and:

Please put your location in your Profile!
Why: It will save time for others when you mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos, wildfires, air quality, etc.
How: Under your avatar, (top right, left most of three symbols) you choose "Account Details", which brings up "My Account". "My Location" is halfway down.

 

[Sigmund]

One piece of advice I got here led me to focus on intensity AND speed of smoking. I tend to be hyper so I tend to take frequent puffs. I prevent overheating by taking smaller sips of smoke. With regular and gentle tamping I dont have constant relights. I dont mind relights but too much becomes distracting.

 

[VDL_Piper]

I smoke large chambered pipes and one of the secrets to do that is to basically have an uneven ember and let it move around the chamber and ignite the tobacco slowly. This is how you extract some of the best flavour. The ember will eventually even out about 2/3rds of the way down the bowl.

 

[anotherbob]

Char light. I find matches or zippos work good for that. So you basically light the pipe first trying to get the whole thing lit. All the tobacco puffs up and then you let it smolder until it goes out. Then tamp it down into something even. if you got it evenly spread and charred then the tobacco should lit up super easily like barely draw on the pipe while hovering a flame above the tobacco. If it's not even let it go out (or smother it out) spread the ash evenly and try again. I hope I explained that well but it makes a huge difference for me and keeps the ember even. And yea sometimes the outer bits don't really burn but tamp them into the middle and you might enjoy the pipe even more.

 

[kcghost]

The guys never tell you enough about the problem to determine the problem. For all we know he might be trying to light a very tough blend to get an initial spark going.

 

[anotherbob]

The guys never tell you enough about the problem to determine the problem. For all we know he might be trying to light a very tough blend to get an initial spark going.

or five brothers that has been dehydrated and then put in a coffee grinder.

 

[didimauw]

Sometimes I unintentionally smoke an entire bowl through the middle. Then just when I think the bowl is done, I dig out the middle ash, tamp, and there's still a half bowl of fresh tobacco left. Kind of a happy surprise. @cosmicfolklore is right. Better flavor that way too!

 

[bullet08]

While moving the soft frame source in circular fashion, gently inhale there by bringing the frame to barely touch the tobacco. Take your time. When all the top is covered with what seems like either char or ash, relax and smoke.

It will more than likely burn in the center again. Don't worry about it.

 

[jpmcwjr]

While moving the soft flame source in circular fashion, gently inhale thereby bringing the flame to barely touch the tobacco. Take your time. When all the top is covered with what seems like either char or ash, relax and smoke.

It will more than likely burn in the center again. Don't worry about it.

I don't worry about it in the first instance. With a pot or other wide diameter chamber, I don't want to ignite the whole surface in any event.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I light my pipe as little as possible to keep it lit and try to start with as an ember as possible.