Pipe weight before and after

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Wet Dottle

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Have you ever weighed a pipe? Before of after a smoke? I did some experiments in the past and found some surprising (to me) results.

Here is the procedure: the pipe is weighed just before it is loaded to be skmoked. Smoke immediately after that, in a continuous session (my smoking sessions have varied between half hour to over 1 hour 30 min). Empty and clean the pipe as if preparing it to be smoked again. Weigh the pipe again.

The findings, based on a 0.1 g accurate scale:

- Most pipes lost weight. A few kept the same weight, but very few. None gained measurable weight.

- Weight loss varies and can be over 3 g! That is the average weight of a bowlfull of tobacco!

- The pipes regain the lost weight within a few days, usually less than three or four days.

- I could not find a relation between weight loss and brand, size, or country of origin of the pipes. Time of year also appeared to have no impact. This experiment was carried in Littleton, CO: sometimes cold, sometimes warm, sometimes very dry, sometimes with high humidity.

- My sample contained 37 pipes of british and italian origin. Brands included Dunhill, Ashton, Castello, Ser Jacopo, Don Carlos, Paolo Becker, Radeci, Ferndown, and James Upshall (probably a couple of others more that I forgot to mention, I don't have my notes with me). Sizes also varied from 3 to larger than 6 and included all sorts of finish.

Well, I always thought that the pipe was accumulating gunk and that the weight would go up, not down. Maybe I clean the pipes too well. Nonetheless, these are results that I did not predict (yes, I can explain them, as you will, but they are against what I though at first).

Hope you had fun reading, I'm going back to the lab. :pipe:
 
Well think about it. Pipe briar is porous, it absorbs moisture from the surrounding air, you smoke it- the heat drives it out. It makes sense.

You will also find that elevation, global locality, and season of year have a determining affect on the weight (ie. moisture weight) of a pipe before it is smoked and relieved of absorbed moisture.
 
Therefore,The Italian aluvial plain, and its microclimate, making the BEST pipes,Ken :tongue: :pirat:
Pacem en Puffing! :pipe:
 
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