| Author | Message | ||
     Joshua D Kesselman Member Username: Blackcavvy Post Number: 1 Registered: 06-2009 |
Hi this is my first post. I'm trying to stop a frustrating problem I am having with dottle. I'm told that I'm a "pusher" and my saliva is getting down into the bottom of my pipes bowls and causing this problem. What are the best ways to stop dottle other than pipe crystals. My experiments with pipe crystals changed the flavor of my tobaccos and didn't work very well to boot. | ||
| Joshua D Kesselman Member Username: Blackcavvy Post Number: 2 Registered: 06-2009 |
A bit more information, I use pipe screens to help with this problem already and they work great BUT I am looking for a better solution. Please don't tell me to switch pipe styles as I am using a few that were given to me by my grandfather and don't want to switch. | ||
| Mark Combs Member Username: Jazzmoose Post Number: 7 Registered: 04-2009 |
I had the same problem, but was able to pretty much end it just by keeping my tongue away from the mouthpiece. | ||
| Gabriel Houghton Member Username: Gabriel Post Number: 8 Registered: 04-2009 |
If your "saliva is getting down into the bottom of [your] pipes bowls" why not run a pipe cleaner through at mid-smoke to mop up as it were? | ||
| Harvey Click Member Username: Fafhrd Post Number: 1477 Registered: 03-2006 |
I doubt that the problem is saliva. Try drying your tobacco more before loading it. | ||
| Todd Bannard Member Username: Sasquatch Post Number: 682 Registered: 05-2006 |
Agree w/ Harvey. Dry the tobacco more than you think you should, pack it lighter than you think you should. Water as a product of combustion is more than likely the culprit here. | ||
| Dan Bryant Member Username: Bryantm3 Post Number: 67 Registered: 03-2009 |
use extra absorbent pipe cleaners mid-smoke to soak up the moisture. that being said, it's not likely that you're pushing that much saliva into the bowl, it's probably coming out as steam from the tobacco and condensing inside the bowl and in the shank causing your pipe to gurgle. try drying the tobacco a bit more. and then, still use pipe-cleaners mid smoke, it should clean up the problem if it's saliva, and if it's condensed steam from the tobacco, it'll temporarily fix the problem until more steam collects. | ||
| James MacKay Member Username: Bigjim Post Number: 105 Registered: 09-2008 |
Assuming that the pipe is clean, I would think that your problem is the tobacco pack. It took me a long time to learn that the key to my smoking pleasure lay with a loose, yet controlled, pack. You could try layering the tobacco in to the bowl in 3-4 steps and keeping the bowl level no higher than 3/4's full. That way you aren't tempted to pack it in too firmly. If anything, pack it extra loosely for a while. Good luck! | ||
| Harvey Click Member Username: Fafhrd Post Number: 1479 Registered: 03-2006 |
I also believe (but can't prove it) that slower, gentler puffing produces less moisture. You didn't say what blends you smoke, but some blends (especially aromatics) produce much wetter dottle than others. | ||
| Tom Mueller Member Username: Tommueller Post Number: 198 Registered: 04-2008 |
Harvey, What you say makes perfect sense (probably already addressed on this forum). A by-product of combustion is water. Slower sipping slows combustion, therefore produces less water. A smaller amount of water could more easily be released by unseen steam, which would not let as much wet dottle accumulate. My .02 | ||
| Joshua D Kesselman Member Username: Blackcavvy Post Number: 3 Registered: 06-2009 |
Guys I appreciate the advice BUT - I really don't want to dry out my tobacco. I am in the industry and get the truly freshest stock which I keep extra fresh with a Blimpifier. When it's dry it tastes much harsher. I don't like anything that affects the flavor such as crystals, let alone drying it out! I'm using pipe cleaners now every night, and yes they are extra absorbant (I make them so I'm very certain they're very absorbant). That works for one sitting, however by the evening such as now at 8:31pm as I am sitting on my porch enjoying more black cavendish given to me as samples from the folks at Wind River, I am just now starting to hear the sounds of moisture. I didn't use a screen today which is why this is happening. I'll keep using a screen and try one of the "freedom pipes" out which I am told should permanently solve the problem. I just wish there was something even better out there  | ||
| Dan Bryant Member Username: Bryantm3 Post Number: 69 Registered: 03-2009 |
my friend, i wouldn't cast away the idea of drying your tobacco so easily. for example, instead of wasting a lot of tobacco, you should take out 1-2 bowls worth of your most problematic 'wet' tobacco and leave it to dry on a newspaper for around an hour. then, seal it back up in a ziploc bag if you aren't immediately going to use it. dry tobacco can be harsh, but wet tobacco can be more problematic; the idea is not to make the tobacco bone dry, but to get it at a reasonable humidity. the tobacconists pack the tobacco more moist than it actually should be so that it lasts longer in the package without drying out, especially with flavored blends such as black cavendish. the ideal water content for tobacco should be around 5-10% and unflavored blends are packed at 15% and flavoreds are usually packed at 20%. just a small amount of drying can remove the problem and shouldn't do anything to the freshness of the tobacco. | ||
| W. A. Lanman Member Username: Blenheimbard Post Number: 132 Registered: 01-2009 |
Joshua, You have changed the rules here, starting from not telling you to change your pipe style, due to their heritage nature, to getting a "freedom pipe" (what the heck is a "freedom pipe"??). Earlier I had thought to suggest you try a Peterson "System" pipe, with its expansion chamber to promote the condensation of any moisture and the "well" chamber to trap the result. They work really well with moist tobacco. (You didn't mention what kind of pipes you are smoking, and it can make a difference, some are notorious "wet" smokers. And how much drying time do they get in your rotation?) When I first started smoking a pipe I thought my tobacco had to be moist to be "fresh". I kept hydrating the stuff at the least hint of drying out. Then with reading I tried letting the tobacco finding a bit drier state before smoking and was pleased with the result. As I understand it the blenders tend to make pouch tobacco quite moist, because of the inherent loss of moisture while on the shelf. Tinned tobacco is not packed as moist, because the seal is better, although not always perfect, and the loss is much lower. Most of smokers tend to agree that the tobacco should spring back from being pinched and not break and crumble when pinched. If it doesn't spring back it is too wet, if it crunches and crumbles it may be too dry. | ||
| Hawkwood Member Username: Hawkwood Post Number: 6 Registered: 04-2009 |
One thing I've discovered over the years is that surrounding air humidity plays a great role in how a tobacco burns and bowl moisture. In the humid summers of the eastern US I generally have to relight more unless the tobac is very dry. While in the Middle East last year [130F 0% humidity] everything burned completely to the bottom with no relight, no matter the pipe or tobac condition. I've heard similar tales from the South West US. | ||
| Duke January Member Username: Duke Post Number: 54 Registered: 05-2008 |
Josh, I have a couple of questions. What is the Blimpifier? Is it a tobacco humidifier or was it built by Goodyear Aerospace? And, have you ever smoked Sir Walter Raleigh or Kentucky Club pipe tobaccos? I’ll take a stab at the Blimpifier’s intended use; it is a humidifier/tobacco jar. Does it seem to satisfy your tobacco humidifying needs? I found the Fakzimile 456a.H2b, as well as, the Gobi Tropique, superior products, though both are out of production. I soon came to realize that hydrating my tobacco was not necessary if I maintained it in an airtight container. If you’ve never tried SWR or KC, you should. Simply because this tobacco is of good quality and it shockingly appears ‘toast’ dry right from the pouch. I beg of you, to give it a go. I remember being introduced to this brand by a fellow pipe smoker. Yes it was shockingly dry, but it rewarded me with an unfettered smoke. SWR/KC has ample nicotine with rich tobacco taste, and yet, as dry as desert bones. There is nothing wrong with these tobaccos, and it might not be your preferred taste, but it can help determine that dry is ok too. It sounds as if you’re tired of working so hard at smoking without its full reward. I don’t think it’s you, your pipes, or your smoking technique, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusion. | ||
| Joshua D Kesselman Member Username: Blackcavvy Post Number: 4 Registered: 06-2009 |
Hi Duke yes I have SWR right here (about 50 cases in the warehouse) so I will go grab some and smoke it and I hope it works out. However it isn't a black cavvy, I really prefer the flavored stuff. The pipes that I am using are all bent, half and full Rhodesian style. I also have been trying 2 briar billiards which I was hoping would solve the problem but they're actually worse. A freedom pipe is made by a very nice man in NH named Bob Bartlett. He sent me samples and wants me to distribute his pipes, and assured me they would solve the dottle problem forever. Today I will try out his Windjammer and if anyone is interested I'll post my thoughts. A Blimpie is a humidifier that I invented a couple years ago, they're very popular now. It's a blimp-shaped little pouch humidifier. Please remember that I'm a RYO person so I mostly deal with RYO products and think still in that realm. Perhaps I shouldn't be humidifying my Cavendish but living in Arizona causes it to dry out very quickly and taste gets affected. I found that if I keep a blimpie in there it doesn't lose flavor. I really appreciate all of your advice in solving my frustrating dottle problem! | ||
| Joshua D Kesselman Member Username: Blackcavvy Post Number: 4 Registered: 06-2009 |
Arrgghhh I can't keep the Windjammer / Freedom pipe lit! I made the mistake of trying again with a torch lighter and torched right through the screen. Now I replaced the screen with a thicker stainless one and am trying a third time. Here is a pic of the pipe and my current favorite pipe tobacco    | ||
| Duke January Member Username: Duke Post Number: 55 Registered: 05-2008 |
Josh: Maybe, rather embrace the pipe juice. When I smoke Virginians I don’t dislike what little juice is generated from the smoke, in fact, I’m kind of partial to it. It’s like when my mother would cook kale, collard greens or Swiss chard, my siblings and I, we’d fight over the pot liquor (the remaining vegetable-steeped cooking water). I guess if you ever chewed or rubbed snuff, you’d understand better. Just a thought. | ||
| Joshua D Kesselman Member Username: Blackcavvy Post Number: 5 Registered: 06-2009 |
Duke I didn't even consider that really. I'll just continue to use pipe screens for now, they're cheap and plentiful for me, I really need however to find a way to effectively swap them out without scratching the coating. I'm trying an oversized screen method now so that it becomes more curved in the bowl and doesn't get as lodged in there (so it's easier to pull out). | ||
| Duke January Member Username: Duke Post Number: 57 Registered: 05-2008 |
Josh, That Freedom Pipe looks swell. Its design is truly out of the box. Unfortunately, I’m the type of pipe smoker who concentrates on the tasks at hand rather than my pipe smoking. Which is why my wardrobe reflects as much, evident by various moth-holed scorch marks about my clothing. So, if I were to smoke the Freedom Pipe, I would require asbestos pants. That pipe was not designed for the type of pipe smoker I am. That bag of Burley in your photo should be drier than the black Cavendish, but still try the SWR to define tobacco dryness. When you try the SWR, in several pipe designs, remember that when you’re near the bottom or top of the bowl, depending on Freedom or not, your cadence should slow and soften. As I said the Burley will not mimic the flavor of the Cavendish- that’s a forewarning. You should discover a marginal dottle. Another note, who said to much dottle is bad? Your smoking for enjoyment. If the taste fails you then toss the dottle and start fresh. Good luck. | ||
| Joshua D Kesselman Member Username: Blackcavvy Post Number: 6 Registered: 06-2009 |
Duke that isn't a bag of Burley, it's a bag of Burley seeds for a Grow-Your-Own project we're working on. I've got some Burley growing here but it's not ready yet. At this point I'll use the SWR and screens, things could be worse  Thanks everyone for your help. |