Does Your Pipe Gurgle?

Hey! Pappy! Why does my pipe gurgle sometimes?

Gurgling can be caused by:

• Moist tobacco
• Smoking too fast
• Pipe construction.

At some point, every pipe smoker has heard their pipe gurgle. I know I have and what I’ve learned is there are a number of reason for this to happen. It happens when smoking tobacco that is too moist. Smoking your pipe too fast can cause gurgling. It can even be poor construction of what looks like a good pipe. I would argue that almost every pipe made will gurgle at some point. Almost.

One culprit in gurgling is moisture which collects in the area of the airway between the bowl and the stem. This is caused by condensation from the smoke collecting in the airway between draft hole of the bowl and the tenon of the stem. Sometimes it’s the fault of the pipe, but most times it’s because of moisture in the tobacco. All pipe tobacco has moisture unless it’s so dry it’s dust.

For example, open a tin or jar of aromatic tobacco. Pinch some between your thumb and forefinger and drop it into the palm of your hand. Did any clump or stick together? That is because of the moisture in the tobacco. Did the tobacco feel soft and supple? That’s because of the moisture in the tobacco. Now do the same with an English blend or a Virginia/Perique blend.

Most experience pipe smokers will tell new ones to always let the tobacco air dry a little before filling their pipes. I know some who will just load their pipe and let the filled pipe sit for an hour or so before smoking it. The result is the same, tobacco that is drier than it was in the tin or jar and a drier, cooler smoke when lit.

Gurgling can still occur even when the tobacco is drier, especially if you are smoking too fast. Think of it this way, if you put a pot of water on low heat on a stove, eventually the water slowly evaporates. If you put the pot on high heat, the water comes to a boil and creates steam. The tobacco which is lit is the fire (obviously) and the tobacco lower in the bowl contains the moisture which is converted into steam.

This steam goes into the airway, up through the stem and into your mouth. Two things happen. 1. When the smoke containing the steam gets into the stem, it starts to cool and the moisture starts condensing, leading to gurgling. 2. You burn your tongue. So, you not only get gurgling, but you burn your tongue. Neither one of those are good things.

Maybe it’s the pipe?

Let’s say you let your tobacco dry some and you pack the bowl correctly. You light it, smoke it slowly and you still hear gurgling. Why? It may just be the pipe is not perfect. If the drilling is slightly off center, the stummel will have more space for moisture to collect. Another possibility is a poorly made stem with the airway in the stem being drilled smaller than the air hole in the shank (i.e. a 5mm hole in the shank and a 4mm hole in the stem). This would lead to a restricted draw which would allow the smoke in the shank to cool and create moisture.

A poorly made stem can also create the problem. Ideally the airway in the stem should be straight and smooth. Improperly drilled airways can be rough and the imperfections will cause turbulence that will create moisture. You will pull the moisture into your mouth and get a bitter taste, or it flows back towards the shank and collect there creating gurgling.

An easy test to check drilling on a new pipe is to insert a pipe cleaner. With a correctly drilled pipe and stem, the cleaner goes all the way to the bowl with no problems.  If it doesn’t pass the pipe cleaner, then the drilling is off. The good news is that you can always insert a pipe cleaner through the stem and it should absorb most of the moisture. The bad news is that in the absence of other conditions, the pipe may still gurgle occasionally.

Now, this is my personal experience and others may vary, I find that pipe shapes also can affect whether a pipe will gurgle or not. I find that straight pipes tend to gurgle more than my bent pipes. Don’t know why but the gurgling is always fixed by inserting the pipe cleaner for a couple of seconds to absorb the moisture.

I also have some of pipes that have never gurgled – Calabashes and Cavalier shaped pipes. With a Calabash, there is a large chamber where the smoke cools and the moisture collects but the airway is large enough to prevent gurgling. With a Cavalier shaped pipe, like my Mauro Armellini, there is an area below the draft hole for moisture to collect in. It also has a knob that is easily removed so I can drain the moisture after smoking.

(© J. Gibson Creative Services)