What Are The Physics Of "Thick Wall = Cool Smoke"?
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Continuous myth spouting like this is what intimidates potential new smokers into giving up pipes when they realize how untrue it is. A pipe's dimensions do not change the temperature of the ember or the smoke, only the smoker can do that.
Absolutely. The ember is the ember. Outside factors that can influence temperature- very little- are ambient temperature and humidity.
Maybe it’s me, that’s doing it.
Maybe I’m imagining it.
But in the cool of the darkness after a long day of my entire office busting their asses to set many wrongs as right as we can set them, I’m enjoying about a half ounce of PS Luxury Navy Flake in my Preben Holm with bowl walls an inch thick on top.
It’s tasty enough to sprinkle on ice cream. Smooth, mild, flavorful and zesty like a cigarette.
Somehow I can’t explain or understand the more briar the cooler the pipe smokes.
Somehow I can’t imagine a noob saying oh no, get that beautiful Ben Wade away from me.
I have two enormously thick Missouri Meerschaum freehands, and they are cool smokers too.
They look funny, but more briar or cob is better.
Physics of thick walled pipes has always interested me and is a paradox.
Any wood is a bad conductor of heat ie it does not allow heat to pass through one point another quickly as compared to a metal rod but it does absorb heat until it reaches it ignition temperature (where briar would start to burn).
This being said then how does a thick walled pipe smoke cooler even when heat is not being dissipated fast from inner walls to outer walls.
Though heat is being absorbed by the briar which is a hard and fire resistant wood the rate of heat absorption is low. That is why we need the carbon cake as carbon has higher rate of absorption and dissipation than briar.
This is minor channel of heat flow limited to inside of a lot bowl when the smoker is not puffing.
The major channel of heat flow that can increase/ decrease the heat in the pipe is indeed the smoker , his cadence and the smooth flow (streamlined) of heat (smoke) from the bowl through the draft hole. The major cause of cool smoke is less water vapour (steam) in the smoke what we call a dry smoke.
Now these two channels above form an open system with the atmosphere (ie humid days, dry days, windy days , smoking inside vs outside) which is directly proportional to the mood of the smoker and square of time and cube of experience of the smoker.
Now if we were to make an equation and derive exact constants and put in lot of effort and time at last the result would be Eureka - We all should keep it simple, compassionate and enjoyable and relaxed.
A pipe with thick walls or thin walls smokes cooler or hotter is variable of the smoker. As cosmic rightly puts it "It depends on the person".
Any wood is a bad conductor of heat ie it does not allow heat to pass through one point another quickly as compared to a metal rod but it does absorb heat until it reaches it ignition temperature (where briar would start to burn).
This being said then how does a thick walled pipe smoke cooler even when heat is not being dissipated fast from inner walls to outer walls.
Though heat is being absorbed by the briar which is a hard and fire resistant wood the rate of heat absorption is low. That is why we need the carbon cake as carbon has higher rate of absorption and dissipation than briar.
This is minor channel of heat flow limited to inside of a lot bowl when the smoker is not puffing.
The major channel of heat flow that can increase/ decrease the heat in the pipe is indeed the smoker , his cadence and the smooth flow (streamlined) of heat (smoke) from the bowl through the draft hole. The major cause of cool smoke is less water vapour (steam) in the smoke what we call a dry smoke.
Now these two channels above form an open system with the atmosphere (ie humid days, dry days, windy days , smoking inside vs outside) which is directly proportional to the mood of the smoker and square of time and cube of experience of the smoker.
Now if we were to make an equation and derive exact constants and put in lot of effort and time at last the result would be Eureka - We all should keep it simple, compassionate and enjoyable and relaxed.
A pipe with thick walls or thin walls smokes cooler or hotter is variable of the smoker. As cosmic rightly puts it "It depends on the person".
@Road To Pines
you figured it right, the length of the radiant channel and mass both are major factors.
Other things being constant, You increase the mass and also improve the efficiency of the radiant channel by building carbon cake and hence the cooler smoke.
In any wood/pipe heat dissipation to the atmosphere is very low (air is a bad conductor too). But to human hands it is faster that is why we hold our bowls to feel the warmth (ie to help dissipate heat faster).
If heat inside the bowl is beyond a point then more water vapour is absorbed into the smoke ( ie humid air carries more water vapour than dry air) then we get a hotter smoke/ tounge bite ( reason is burn caused by steam is more severe because of latent heat)
I appreciate your keen insights.
you figured it right, the length of the radiant channel and mass both are major factors.
Other things being constant, You increase the mass and also improve the efficiency of the radiant channel by building carbon cake and hence the cooler smoke.
In any wood/pipe heat dissipation to the atmosphere is very low (air is a bad conductor too). But to human hands it is faster that is why we hold our bowls to feel the warmth (ie to help dissipate heat faster).
If heat inside the bowl is beyond a point then more water vapour is absorbed into the smoke ( ie humid air carries more water vapour than dry air) then we get a hotter smoke/ tounge bite ( reason is burn caused by steam is more severe because of latent heat)
I appreciate your keen insights.
I disagree with the premise that thicker pipe chamber walls necessarily yield a "cooler" smoke. Smoking quality is determined by a system of things that include tobacco chemistry, tobacco moisture, the smoker's mouth chemistry and puffing style, chamber depth and diameter, packing style, environmental factors like ambient temperature and humidity, and certainly other factors. If by "cooler" we are to understand that the overall smoking experience is pleasant, then the chamber wall thickness has little to do with it.
For example, I enjoy a diminutive Peterson Belgique briar pipe with a small chamber and very thin chamber walls. One would think that it's a nightmare to smoke, but that is not the case. It's very enjoyable with the tobaccos that I like to smoke in it, such as Peterson's De Luxe Navy Rolls. Also, exterior temperature of the bowl is warm, and never hot.
If you're having trouble with a particular tobacco, consider switching to a different family of tobaccos. For example, from tobacco based on red Virginia to tobacco based on burley. Or from heavily sweetened aromatics to Englishes.
My personal journey to the perfect smoke did not depend on better equipment, it depended on better technique, and on tobaccos better suited to me as an individual. I had a few decent mid-range ($100-$150) briars by good manufacturers (Peterson and Savinelli), in common designs (billiards initially). That was good enough.
Today I own larger bowled pipes with thicker chamber walls and I like them, but I still favor the standard sizes in classic designs that are most familiar to pipe smokers.
What works for me is to find a tobacco that seems to have potential, and then dial in my technique to smoke it well. I also am not reluctant to discard tobaccos I don't like. Some are kept in a probationary status to age for a while for a later trial, but I usually end up discarding them too.
For example, I enjoy a diminutive Peterson Belgique briar pipe with a small chamber and very thin chamber walls. One would think that it's a nightmare to smoke, but that is not the case. It's very enjoyable with the tobaccos that I like to smoke in it, such as Peterson's De Luxe Navy Rolls. Also, exterior temperature of the bowl is warm, and never hot.
If you're having trouble with a particular tobacco, consider switching to a different family of tobaccos. For example, from tobacco based on red Virginia to tobacco based on burley. Or from heavily sweetened aromatics to Englishes.
My personal journey to the perfect smoke did not depend on better equipment, it depended on better technique, and on tobaccos better suited to me as an individual. I had a few decent mid-range ($100-$150) briars by good manufacturers (Peterson and Savinelli), in common designs (billiards initially). That was good enough.
Today I own larger bowled pipes with thicker chamber walls and I like them, but I still favor the standard sizes in classic designs that are most familiar to pipe smokers.
What works for me is to find a tobacco that seems to have potential, and then dial in my technique to smoke it well. I also am not reluctant to discard tobaccos I don't like. Some are kept in a probationary status to age for a while for a later trial, but I usually end up discarding them too.
I think we've come to the end of the road here.
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