little twisted metallic thing in mouthpiece????

[pedrolf]

So I was cleanin my pipes I got 2 weeks ago , and when I took the mouthpiece off of the pipe , I saw that there was a little metallic twisted thing covered in tar. What is this??? Do they all come off , cuz I took them off of my pipes. There is one that wont come off for the world cuz im pullin and pullin and aint comin off. thanks,
PLF

[Scott M]

If it's something that looks like this



it's a "stinger", a gadget that's supposed to keep the smoke cool and dry, with mixed reviews. Most people take them off unless there's some sort of collector value in the pipe. Shouldn't be a problem one way or another.


If that's NOT it, a pic of the object would help, since I can't htink of anything else it would be.



Peace.

[croatan]

That should be it, Scott. I always take them out.

[Jeff]

My cheap Yellow-Bole has one of them. Looks slightly different but the same function. It can be pulled out and put back in very easy though. Most of the time I leave it in as I find it dosn't affect anything.

[tedski]

Several different pipe brands come with these metallic condensors on the end of the stem. Some will pull right out, while others, like the Kaywoodie pictured above, are glued in place (as well as being the actual attachment piece for the stem).

If you can't remove easily, then just clean the tar and gunk off by soaking it in alcohol for awhile. I use Bacardi 151, but 99% rubbing alcohol is much cheaper and just as effective.

[bolio]

i was having problem running a pipe cleaner through to clear the 'gurgle' till i saw this thread.

personally if your having problems with 'gurgle', its much easier to remove moisture if the 'little twisted metallic thingy' is removed.

[wharfrathoss]

if it's a pipe w/collectable value, i'd say leave it alone-if not, clean the tar off w/alcohol then try twisting it out-if you post the type of pipe or a pic, we'll be better able to tell you the best way to remove it if that's what you'd like to do-personally i remove them from my pipes as i find they restrict the draw & make it impossible to pass a pipe cleaner-there are some pipes, various kaywoodies for example, where the stinger is an extension of a screw in tenon & can't be removed-those i cut off w/a dremel unless it's an expensive pipe that i plan on reselling one day-since i haven't paid over $30 for any of my pipes, i haven't run into that problem

short version:if it's metal stuck into a vulcanite/lucite/delrin tenon, it can be removed by twisting it out or warming the tenon & twisting-if it's part of a metal screw in tenon, it has to be cut off-hope this helps