| Author | Message | ||
     John Cook Member Username: Johnc Post Number: 16 Registered: 04-2008 |
As a rule how often do you change the filters in Savenelli pipes? Weekly, when changing tobaccos, or what's some advice on this? | ||
| Robert Member Username: Simstick Post Number: 14 Registered: 03-2009 |
I just discovered that I had put a Savenilli balsa filter in one of my work Grabo's and have probably smoked half a dozen bowls and it smelled fine. Flipped it around. Experiment a bit. There is another thread on this recently if you hit the search button bit if I recall the consensus was one to three bowls and you can wash and reuse them, | ||
| Larry Bobrowski Member Username: Lawrence7208 Post Number: 9 Registered: 08-2009 |
Oh! I'd like to read the responses to this too. I have a Brigham filter pipe with a different system, and their web site recommends to change the filter when it turns a very dark brown. About 20 - 30 smokes, they say. But... I never did consider what John brings up: that filters carry a crossover taste from different blends. For me, that's another reason not to use a filter pipe. Not only are they unnecessary, and changing them is a mess, but they are inherently afflicted by flavor ghosts. I use my filter pipe often, mainly because I like the styling and it's comfortable in both hand and mouth. The smoke, of course, is good too because I almost always use the same blend. But I'll never buy another filter pipe because of the mess involved during clean-up. | ||
| Dov Wiseman Member Username: Dov_of_the_galilee Post Number: 69 Registered: 09-2007 |
For me Savinelli is my most utilized pipe and a side from one that is a dry-system model the rest are filtered. I can't get the filters here in Israel so they have to be sent from abroad and like anything this causes a lot more thought to the mundane. So I recycle. Not ridiculously but I do wash the filter off every couple of uses and if it drys out nicely and doesn't smell rank after that little procedure I'll use it again. I can't tell that it diminishes the taste in the least but I do lack some of those subtle abilities it seems because I will smoke in my pipes a large range of blends and many here would see that as a great no-no. So that's my two cents on the matter. | ||
| W. A. Lanman Member Username: Blenheimbard Post Number: 149 Registered: 01-2009 |
Larry B. while it is true that a filter can carry "ghosts" to an extent, it is actually removing and capturing any excess moisture and tar primarily, that is taking them out of the smoke stream. If you mix your tobacco and pipes it could be a small problem, but any part in the system would also capture said ghosts if not thoroughly cleaned before changing tobaccos, whether a filter was involved or not. Most smokers try to avoid using the same pipe for aros and say VAs for that very reason. So if you start out with three tobaccos and one pipe for the day you are likely to get ghosting whether you have a filter pipe or not. And if it is a filter pipe if you replace the filter with each change of tobacco, you would likely get less noticable ghosting than a non filter pipe, without a thorough cleansing. The Brigham recommendation of 20-30 smokes is the high limit, and as an owner of several Brighams I doubt that mine have ever gotten that high before the filters got switched out. And they are washable and reusable. (A word of caution do not soak them for an overly long time, like overnight, they will tend to swell when over-saturated and split along the seam.} In a pinch you can remove the filter and wrap it in a tissue or paper towel to absorb the excess moisture and then replace it to get another bowl in before you get home (where i have generally left the box of filters ;-) ). You mention the mess of clean up, I view it somewhat differently, in that all of the trapped "gunk" is stuff that didn't make it to my mouth, which is a plus. And because i have multiple pipes with the same system (Brigham) I pop the dirty wet filters out and into a little capped vial (that originally contain super glue tubes) and do several of them at once. And everything I do with the filters in regards to cleaning is much the same as I would do with the pipes , other than running them under water and letting them dry. If I have inadvertently let the filter dry dirty I add a short bath in alcohol [shaken not stirred], before the running water rinse. And the mouthpiece of the Brigham pipe never seems to take more than one pipe cleaner to clean, even when multiple bowls have been smoked, which is something I do not find true in my non-filtered pipes. | ||
| John Cook Member Username: Johnc Post Number: 17 Registered: 04-2008 |
Wash and reuse . . . I have never thought of trying that! I'll have to see what happens. | ||
| Larry Bobrowski Member Username: Lawrence7208 Post Number: 12 Registered: 08-2009 |
Yup. What you say about flavor ghosting makes a lot of sense. I hadn't thought it out completely, but non-filter pipes are no less subject to the effect, perhaps even more so. I have soaked Brigham filters in extra dry gin for days without any swelling problems; and I'm kicking around the idea of giving them a short soak in hydrogen peroxide since it's a good bleaching agent, it's antiseptic, and non-toxic in topical applications. The downside is that I'll have to paint the outside of the soaking vial black since H2O2 is unstable and degrades when exposed to light. I'll let you know how that works. (I still think non-filtered pipes are a lot less trouble!  ) | ||
| Paul Tummers Member Username: Paul_tummers Post Number: 166 Registered: 12-2007 |
I use the Savinelli balsa filters as well as the Canadian maple filters ,in pipes of different brands of course, I have the feeling, the balsa filters cannot be re-used as often as the maple tube filters, perhaps because the thin walled maple tubes can be cleaned/rinsed more thouroughly. When I use a savinelli filter more than 4 or 5 times, the moisture absorbsion is almost absent and the pipe starts gurgling. Regards, Paul T. |