Wet Pipe Issue

[larry127]

Hi,
What causes wet smoke? My first pipe -bigben starter kit (bent smooth finish) notice it always smoke wet and gurgle sound even I rest it for 2 days..
Headline Capitalized- Rule 9...Zack

 

[jefff]

You could be smoking it too hot. You could be smoking tobacco that is too wet. Or there could be too large a gap between the tennon and the bottom of the mortise.

 

[shutterbugg]

"Starter kit" makes me suspicious it could be any two or all three of the above.

 

[clickklick]

Does it pass a pipe cleaner without removing the stem from the bowl?
If so, run a pipe cleaner down it every so often during your smoke. Should take care of the moisture buildup in the heel.

 

[cortezattic]

Additional factors: local humidity, aggressive charring lights, bends in the pipe (opportunities for condensation).

 

[jkrug]

Lots of good suggestions above. I'd try drying your tobacco out a while before smoking and see if this helps. Just put the amount you plan to smoke on a dish or paper towel and let it sit for half hour to a couple hours depending. Some experimenting may be needed to get it just right. Good luck. ::

 

[halfy]

Smoke it gently.

 

[foggymountain]

2 days is not enough to dry it out. Depending on the tightness of the grain it normally takes 4 to 7 days to dry, sometimes much longer. I have a 59 year old oversmoked pipe that takes a few months.

 

[newbroom]

The hotter you smoke, the wetter it gets. I know, it's counter intuitive.

Also, when I was just starting with pipe tobaccos, I generated a lot of saliva. I think sometimes I drooled into my pipe stem.

I clean out my shanks with a Q-tip or maybe 5 or 6 tips...then a pipe cleaner...then maybe...a rest.

Stems get a pipe cleaner.

When you light your pipe, think coax. Coax that bowl to life and nourish it with loving sips of sweet delight,

but DON'T fire it up like it's a BBQ. Treat it with a thoughtful reverence, just like you treat yourself. :D

 

[cigrmaster]

One of the most common causes is a stem that has not been smoothed on the inside causing turbulence. Also stem and pipe whose airways are too constricted. A shank dimension of 3.0-3.5mm is too small in general. It is not always the smoker who produces a wet smoking experience, but the engineering of it. I would venture to guess that poor construction is way more a cause of a wet smoker than someone not drying their tobacco enough or smoking the pipe hot. I have pipes that smoke dry as a bone, and I can smoke wet tobacco in 80% humidity in the Florida summers and never get a gurgle. I can also hot box a pipe and not have a problem.

 

[tschiraldi]

Rest your pipe well. If you are smoking the same pipe every day, it never gets a chance to dry out. my rule is one day of rest for every bowl I smoke in it, though I really never smoke more than one bowl a day in any pipe.