Waterflush Cobs & Meers?

[greatdane]

I have always waterflushed my briars after each smoke. I have found it to be the perfect way to keep a pipe clean and fresh.

My question is, can you regularly run water through cobs, meers and clay pipes as well without any adverse effects? Thanks in advance.

 

[The Benedictine]

I wouldn't with a cob. Might soak into the cob itself.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I water flush my Meers regularly, no issues. I don't think water flush would work well with a cob..

 

[LeafErikson]

I know you can water flush meers. Just make sure the water isn’t piping hot or anything. I water flush mine every so often.

 

[didimauw]

Yup definetly with meers. But I'd never do it with a cob.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

You can flush a cob. It will eventually wear the glue out, but it takes a long time.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Every once in a great while I will water flush my cobs then run pipe cleaners through them and wipe out the bowl til it’s mostly dry. It’s the closest thing to a deep clean I ever do with them. It freshens them up, removes a good bit of cake and gunk, and generally improves them. I’ve been smoking the same handful of cheap cobs for years and this treatment never hurt them. That said , as stated above, I wouldn’t do it often due to the absorbent nature of cobs

 

[blueeyedogre]

I've never thought of water flushing a pipe. I've always just used rum and pipe cleaners. Clay pipes I just stick in a fire to clean them out.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

You can flush a cob. It will eventually wear the glue out, but it takes a long time.

This would've been my concern with flushing cobs too (especially with hot water), the glue definitely loosens up with heat.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

So a cob gets warm to hot while smoking and the glue doesn’t loosen but some warm water would somehow harm the glue? I’d like some help understanding that.

I don’t smoke a cob often enough to be concerned about it but if I did, I’d likely give water flushing a try. It works so well with every other pipe I’ve tried it with, it makes sense.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

So a cob gets warm to hot while smoking and the glue doesn’t loosen but some warm water would somehow harm the glue? I’d like some help understanding that.

It happens around the shank where it connects to the cob. Looks like it may be from the soft wooden shank expanding and contracting. Maybe the glue is too stiff to handle this, it just pulls away.

I know there's water produced from smoking, but it may not penetrate from the inside as much as it does from the outside. The outside of the pipe is dry and ready to soak up any moisture, the inside has a protective layer of carbon.

This is all just speculation, no science involved.

I used to be an advocate for washing cobs, but then I had a few get loosey goosey. I stopped washing them after suspected that the water was causing it.

BUT... Corn cob pipes are disposable items... So if you wash them for a year and it tears 'em up, you aint out much.

If you smoke a cob pipe regularly it's going to fail anyway... These people who claim they last forever don't smoke them often enough to wear 'em out.