"Wet" Smoking?

[sparrowhawk]

This is somewhat indelicate, but why is there a need for System pipes? I never have gurgling problems, although I keep a pipe cleaner handy just to keep the pipe clean and clean out the airway once or twice. So do I smoke a pipe differently than everyone else?

 

[wasnsfisher]

We all git a bit of a gurgle from time to time

 

[jazz]

Because is my experience Peterson can't make a bent pipe that doesn't gurgle without it :D

 

[cosmicfolklore]

For me, one of the greatest joys and adventures in pipe smoking is finding how each pipe wants to be smoked best. That said, sometimes even someone with a master level fifth degree blackbelt in pipesmoking is going to get a gurgle from time to time, especially as the weather gets colder.

 

[sasquatch]

System pipes, in all their various forms of contrivance, exist to solve a problem which they also create. As a manufacturer, it's much easier to build pipes that don't pass a pipe cleaner (bent pipes especially). Once you accept such eccentricity in your build, you are also accepting some kind of condensation problem inside the pipe due to turbulence, plenum spaces, etc. So to take care of that, you can also build in some kind of moisture trap, hoping that it does more good than harm.
I think a lot of these pipes appeal to newer smokers who are prone to smoking too fast - I know it took me a long time to really learn how to smoke a pipe, and I'm not sure that it would have improved if I had been smoking a Castello. So there's lots of cheap "gimmick" pipes out there, from Kaywoodie's and Grabow's goofy stinger apparati to Savinelli's balsa filter - all entirely unnecessary for the experienced pipe smoker.
So the answer, directly, to your question Sparrowhawk is that yes, probably you DO smoke quite fundamentally differently than a LOT of pipe users - you do it correctly and have no problems with your pipes because of it. But pack just a hair tighter and smoke a little faster if you want to know what 75% (at a guess) of pipe smokers deal with!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, and I would have to agree with folks on Petersons just not making a very good pipe. But, I never say that very loud. It tends to be a divisive issue here.

 

[warren]

The pipe with the sump was obviously a marketing failure. I don't have access to the numbers but, I'd bet very few Peterson systems have been sold over they years.

 

[crashthegrey]

I agree that it can be good for a new smoker. I really enjoyed Kaywoodie pipes with a stinger, and slowly found that they were forcing me to slow down. As I switched back to open airways, I found that I had learned how to smoke much better and prefer to have no system or stinger or other device or engineering, but I was not ready for that at first. I smoked too hot and wet. Now that I know what I am doing, those things seem wholly unnecessary.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Because is my experience Peterson can't make a bent pipe that doesn't gurgle without it :D

I don't have that issue with my bent non-system Petersons.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Same as Anthony. No gurgle on my bent Petes.

 

[jazz]

I don't have that issue with my bent non-system Petersons.

I don't believe all of the designs will but all mine do and the worst offender is my Rosslare Royal Irish 221. It's beautiful but unless the tobacco is bone dry (I prefer some moisture) it gurgles like a rugby team's after match bath and I have given up trying to smoke it outside in winter. I can see why it does it. It also has some other issues and for my money, and considering the time I had to wait for it it should never have left the factory. Oddly, I still love it though.
I don't have a huge number of pipes but only my Petes do this to a level of annoyance and of those only the bents. I have very specific requirements for purchasing bent Petes now and won't buy another with that kind of design. I have no qualms about buying their straights.

 

[wizhunter]

Peterson must be aware of these problems, you would think they would do something to correct it..Note to self..don't buy a bent Peterson.
Wiz

 

[crashthegrey]

Wiz, you don't need to write off Peterson because of a few people having issues. Some people swear by them. Besides buying pipes from odd or unsafe materials, you should always experiment for yourself. But the ability to listen to others is important, too. Meh, never mind. Just have a pipe and forget about it all.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

There are obviously positives to owning a Pete. Some guys ONLY smoke Petes. And, there fans can be as devout as... ummm... hmmm.... cigarette smokers are to a single brand of smokes. ::

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Oh Yes, I have had few medium price range Petersons one of the System 303 and another two were half bent models of 999 and 80s(Aran) the latter was gurgling to a degree that I was forced to get rid of it in almost brand new condition, the999model was fine whereas that 303 full bent system pipe was again a constant pain in the ass,that always kept gurgling(sold).Next up, I have two French make half bent bulldogs+ some Savinellis,completly different experience, no gurgling and accepts pipe cleaners more or less satisfactory.

 

[crashthegrey]

I've never actually had a Pete. The only real reason I've looked at them is for the spigot pipe that I want. But maybe someone will have another spigot pipe that they want to get rid of one day, like a Ferndown or something, and I won't need to get a Pete. Lol.

 

[nevadablue]

The more I learn about 'systems' as related to pipes, the more I see I don't want them. I am probably going to remove the stingers from all of my pipes that have them, even (well especially) the ones that have non-removable stingers. I don't like the mess they create nor the difficulty in cleaning the stem properly.
Now I need to go look up the Peterson system.

 

[unkleyoda]

I don't have any gurgle with my non-system bent Peterson pipes.
As far as System pipes. I like them for some tobaccos. Some tobaccos taste awesome in a system and others taste so-so in a system pipe.
System pipes are awesome in 3 instances:
1) some tobaccos taste better in them (to me anyway. stuff that tends to smoke hot or wet blends)

2) System pipes smoke great in humid/wet weather

3) System pipes can be smoked heavily for hours on end with no moisture issues. You want one pipe with you on a week long trip? pack a system pipe.
Hands down the best smoking, best tasting, driest pipe I own is a 1981 Mark Twain. It's a very unique Peterson pipe. I tend to lean toward Peterson straight billiards, but there is something magical about this Mark Twain I can't put my finger on.

 

[unkleyoda]

Yeh, and I would have to agree with folks on Petersons just not making a very good pipe. But, I never say that very loud. It tends to be a divisive issue here.

 

[perdurabo]

Cobs are the only pipes that don't gurgle on me. Droolly Drooly-son.