thick walls = cool smoke

[kbadkar]

Another pipe smoking myth to debunk?

I don't see what one has to do with the other, except that a thick walled pipe may feel cooler in the hands.

At least thin walls will tell you you're smoking your pipe too hot before the bowl gets charred.

I don't believe that blasts or rusticates smoke cooler by adding surface area to radiate more heat than smooths, either.

[hazmat]

In terms of heat on the hand, I fully believe the wall thickness plays a major part. In terms of whether the smoke you draw in is hotter or cooler, not at all, to my way of thinking. Rustication and blasts I think of the same way. I can see how it would keep the exterior of the bowl cooler, but not how it would effect the smoke. That just makes no sense.

[RadDavis]

There's no getting around the fact that tobacco has to reach a certain temperature in order to burn. It doesn't matter what pipe it's in.

Rad

[Nick]

As far as the thick walls, I think you're right. Its just a perception thing. Now the surface area question is indisputable, in my opinion. The more surface are there is the more heat is radiated. While rad is correct in that the tobacco does have to reach a certain temp to burn, 470 F I believe, that temp will change as it travels the distance to the mouth. Now, whether these temp differences are perceivable, I don't know. Probably not.

[JSPipes]

IMO, you're more likely to damage the chamber walls with a thick walled pipe since you can't feel the heat on the outside in your hand. Much more likely to smoke it too hot.

[Charl]

I would think LONG STEM = COOL SMOKE. The longer the distance for smoke to travel from bowl to mouth, the more time there is for it to cool down.

[Frank]

Actually, you get a cooler smoke with a more open airway. Less need to suck like a cheap ho, creating a blast furnace heat in the bowl.

[Charl]

Aaah! That also makes sense!

So, theoretically, the bigger the diameter of airway, the cooler the smoke?

[kbadkar]

Actually, you get a cooler smoke with a more open airway. Less need to suck like a cheap ho, creating a blast furnace heat in the bowl.

But there is a point of diminishing returns, no? How open, 3/16", 1/4"?

[Frank]

But there is a point of diminishing returns, no?

Definately. Each pipemaker has their own airway diameter preference. Mine is usually 9/64. Some prefer a bit wider.

There has been a fair amount of discussion on the airway diameter. Mostly, I followed Tyler's advice. I opened the airways on all my personal smokers, and now they draw to my liking.

[hazmat]

I definitely notice a difference between the pipes I've made the stems for and some earlier ones on which I did nothing but fit the pre-formed stems. On those, I did nothing to open the airway or bit whatsoever. The ones with more open, handmade stems smoke wonderfully where as you have to "tug" at the pre-formed guys.

[Nick]

That'd be a fascinating equation. I know that as diameter increases, pressure and velocity decrease, with the flow being equal. But at what flow is the pipe optimal? And then of course you have to consider the resistance from the packing.

My theory about the whole draw thing is that its not the openness of the draft hole, or the packing method, rather it is the resistance in the draw as a whole that is the important aspect. And by adjusting the packing and/or the openness of the draft hole, one can get the right resistance. That is to say, one can get the same draw on a pipe with a 2 mm drafthole as a 4 mm drafthole by packing the bowl differently. And its this aspect of smoking - the draw - and not just the packing or just the drafthole size, that is critical to a good smoke.

[kkendall]

Each pipemaker has their own airway diameter preference. Mine is usually 9/64. Some prefer a bit wider.

Same here - I will also rework preformed stems. I drill them out with my 9/64 tapered bit almost to the very end, then use needle files through the button.

[kbadkar]

That'd be a fascinating equation. I know that as diameter increases, pressure and velocity decrease, with the flow being equal. But at what flow is the pipe optimal? And then of course you have to consider the resistance from the packing.

My theory about the whole draw thing is that its not the openness of the draft hole, or the packing method, rather it is the resistance in the draw as a whole that is the important aspect. And by adjusting the packing and/or the openness of the draft hole, one can get the right resistance. That is to say, one can get the same draw on a pipe with a 2 mm drafthole as a 4 mm drafthole by packing the bowl differently. And its this aspect of smoking - the draw - and not just the packing or just the drafthole size, that is critical to a good smoke.

That's a real good point, Nick! I don't think most pipe smokers realize the importance of a proper pack in relation to the type of tobacco cut, the size of the bowl, and the size of the draft hole. It took me years to figure it out and many more years to refine to each pipe and tobacco cut. Now I can tug on a pipe before lighting and tell if it's too loose or too tight. I can't explain it, but I know. And if it's wrong, the only thing to do is dump and start over. In my experience, a proper draw is truly the key to a cool smoke. I should add that the better engineered the pipe, the easier it is to get the sweet draw.

[Nick]

I know just what you mean! My packing seems to vary according to the tobaccos i smoke too. I like my Va's nice and light in the draw, while my English seem to do better with a little tight draw. And the engineering is crucial. For me, nothing ruins a smoke like a persistent gurgle. YUCK! If I wanted to play Marion Barry on a Saturday night, then I'd go...well to Washington i suppose. But I may be dating myself with that reference. LOL!

[ASB]

Is it really a question of if they smoke cooler (the smoke getting to your mouth is cooler) or is it more of can the briar radiate the heat well enough to not get damaged. Seems to me that the thick walled pipe would trap more of the heat in the briar (which it can damage, right?) rather than radiating it into the air or your hand or whatever. If we are trying to make pipes that are going to last a long time it seems that we would want to make them get the heat out of the wood as quickly as possibly.

Or to play devil's advocate on my own question, is it the heat or the transition in temperature that is bad for the wood. Severe temperature changes are very hard on wood, so maybe we want a well insulated pipe that would change temperatures very slowly (both absorbing heat and radiating it) to minimize the stresses on the wood?

Hmm...

[Nick]

I wonder if the differential in temperatures is the villain here?

[kbadkar]

I think the real villian in the case of pipe damage is the smoker, as portrayed in Rad's post "So I got this pipe back from Premel Today".

I have maybe 100 well smoked pipes, some 100 years old, some handed down from always puffing grand ole dad, none with damage to the bowl or its interior... except the one I smoked on my motorcycle.

Unless the wood was harvested too young, has large flaws, sub-surface fissures, or was improperly cured, I don't see why a pipe would self-destruct under normal smoking conditions, even with walls only 3/16" thick.

[Nick]

Yea, that makes sense. Occam's razor and all.