Radiator by Hwiebe first impressions

rustedrailpipes

I received by Radiator by Hwiebe and Bones Briar by Morgan today in the mail.

I gave it a whirl with some Smitty 505 and I have to admit I'm quite impressed with the technology.

Even sitting outside in a breeze, it easily stayed lit, and the smoke to my mouth was quite cool and tasty. The "juices" get trapped down in the bottom section below the stem and when you are done, you remove the bowl and can clean it out with a little water and/or q-tip etc..

The metal stem and bottom section never really got warm. The briar section was warm as you'd expect without any cake on it but never really got to "hot". 

For travel this seems like a great idea as you can travel with a single stem and a couple bowls to swap out and/or keep separate bowls for aromatics vs. non or whatever.

Will be interesting to see how it smokes when it is colder out.

They have a variety of stems from curved (pictured) to deep bend and or straight long and short.

Price wise.. they are not cheap. The stem/shank/bottom section was $60 on sale on the website over father's day. The bones bowls were $34 on Morgan's site or you can get a system with a "poker sized" stem for $80 straight from there.

I'm hoping that Missouri Meerschaum figures out a way to make some bowls for the system at some point

I'll keep you posted as I try some different blends, etc.. through it.

motie2

Want to know more?

http://www.hwiebe.com/

rustedrailpipes

I put a link to the Morgan Bones radiator up there also. 

http://www.morganpipes.com/store/p77/Radiator_Bones.html 

motie2

rustedrailpipes

The leather wrapped custom bowls look pretty cool too.

motie2

rustedrailpipes

impressions after a couple of days.  

Using the bones straight radiator bowls.. even in a wind they burn really well.  Since there is no cake yet, a little warm by the end, especially in the breeze.

The flavor seems better than with a standard pipe (cob or bones regular version) as I can taste more of the subtle flavors.

The smoke is also cool either with the bent version or the curved.

I like the drip tray at the bottom that collects the juices/moisture.  I used a pipe cleaner to clean it out and also the pipe cleaner fit easily down the stem on my curved version.

Being able to carry multiple bowls will be a big advantage for travel for work or vacations and you can let it rest between smokes.

I ordered 3 more bones bowls as I really like the raw and age as you go over the finished black or brown ones.

I hope that they will offer a bones volcano shaped at some point as I think that would also be a winner.

Here's the bowls with my Northwest Gentleman Pipe case.  They fit nicely in the pockets.

motie2

Them's some fairly deep bowls, neh?

rustedrailpipes

the bottom third or so is the screw in attachment.  I'll take a photo of it

so up to the big point on the volcano or the bottom of the letter on the bones.

.

motie2

@rustedrailpipes -- Muttnchop Piper has a nice video, "The Wiebe Radiator pipe, A solution to Moisture."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpaZgmhTdEI

rustedrailpipes

@motie2 I'll check that one out.  I'm loving it as my day-to-day pipe.

motie2

What level did you buy in at? Expensive?

rustedrailpipes

I got the curved one and a bent one on sale for $60 each + the bowls ($60 volcano + $60 straight) at Fathers day from Hweibe  

He's doing a free t-shirt with $100 purchase right now.

The bones bowls from Morgan Pipes  are wonderful, especially since I like his regular Bones series.  They are a great value ($40) compared to the traditional ones in my opinion and I prefer the natural look vs. the heavy dyed ones.  After smoking it a few times, I "splurged" and bought several more Bones Bowls so that I can rotate them out, especially since they are all new and uncaked.

My typical day kit is above in the leather case.  I rotate the bowls out at the end of the day.  The volcano gets smoked at home since its a little bulky for that travel case.

Pros:

Very convenient.

Very easy to clean.. everything comes apart.  A pipe cleaner does a good job on the stem and the radiator section.

If you smoke wet tobaccos it captures most of the juice in the tank section of the radiator.

The pipe is very light.

Its a wonderful conversation starter at the pipe shop or pipe club.  Most people have never seen one in person.

Cons:

Relatively pricey still.

Limited bowl designs right now, mostly a straight chimney or a volcano one.  (TobaccoPipes has some custom ones from Brandon Brooks that are really sharp)

No corncob option yet.  (they are working on it, I was assured)

The deep bend pipe design tends to gurgle a little with my smoking at least.

motie2

@rustedrailpipes -- Thank you for responding. Now, I have something else to covet....

rustedrailpipes

@motie2 I'd suggest watching for one of the sales.. or when Chris Morgan has the system with poker (short straight) and bowl for $80.

motie2

@rustedrailpipes -- Thanks for the heads up!!

xDutchx

Thanks for the review! I admit that I was intrigued when I first saw a review of this pipe. I have tended to shy away from metal pipes, since I have a few in my collection, that when cleaned have many parts to keep up with, such as small washers, etc.

This design looks much simpler tho, and therefore much easier to clean, and  I stand a decent chance to remember how to reassemble.

rustedrailpipes

cleaning is a breeze.  It's all stainless/aluminum.  For a deep clean, I think I'll dunk the whole assembly in some 151 Rum or Everclear and let it air dry.

rustedrailpipes

My only complaint is.. the lack of a cob bowl and other shapes beyond the very tall stack (which becomes a great draft in any wind) and a volcano type.  I'd love a shallow oval sized bowl also.

xDutchx

Chances are, if Chris Morgan is making a bowl to fit this pipe, he can easily make a one off in a different shape using the same metal hardware. It would be neat to have a few custom bowls crafted for this pipe, not readily available elsewhere.

motie2

@rustedrailpipes -- <<I'll dunk the whole assembly in some 151 Rum or Everclear>>

All Everclear is good for is as a disinfectant, but the use of overproof rum for this duty is tragic. <smile>

motie2

What an amazing variety of bowls already available at various of the usaul vendors

 

 

 

 

rustedrailpipes

The Brandon Brooks custom bowls are very cool, they get even pricier of course.

I like the blackout pipe that Heckor working on.  

Someday, I might see about having mine blackened locally.

I'm guessing Chris Morgan might come up with some more bones shapes, he did that with the regular bones line.

I believe Brandon is finishing the regular bowls whoever is making those.  Not 100% sure.

The leather wrapped is nice, but doesn't do anything for me.

rustedrailpipes

motie2  I'm a spiced rum guy, but I also enjoy the new black ones that are aged in casks and get a little charcoal note.

I'm trying to find a good rum tobacco, I bought 2oz of a few Sutliff ones to try.

I remember from years ago, I didn't like the Value Rum one.

motie2

There can be only one: Sutliff Barbados Plantation.   My favorite commercially available pipe tobacco.

rustedrailpipes

I don't think I got that one, I'm adding it to the list, you have not been wrong so far

motie2

@rustedrailpipes -- Here's a review of Barbados Plantation from someone who is more expressive than I am.......

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<<Upon opening the tin I was greeted with the definite aroma of rum. Not ordinary run-of-the-mill rum, not rum flavoring, but island rum. Barbados rum. Visually it was an interesting mix of light and dark ribbon cut tobacco. It was moist but not overly wet. It packed well but the initial bowl did take a bit of effort to light and keep lit. Subsequent bowls were a piece of cake due to a little drying time after the opening of the tin. I don't think I'd let it dry too much though or you may risk losing some of the flavor. Smoking this was heaven. I have had trouble tasting some of the flavors in other aromatics. Not this one. I tasted everything. There is first and foremost the Bajan Rum, sweet and wonderful. Underneath that is a subtle hint of vanilla. I detected another flavor in there. It took me about half a bowl but it finally clicked. I honestly don't know if it's truly there or if my mind has been playing tricks on me but I swear, it's banana. Not overt. Not overpowering. But a hint of it. This is great in a briar and it is heaven in a cob.  If you don't like aromatics you're not going to like this. It is definitely an aromatic. And it's one of the best I've had.>>

rustedrailpipes

motie2  sold!  

motie2

@rustedrailpipes -- I hope you're not disappointed; I'm pretty sure you won't be, but de gustibus......

rustedrailpipes

If I am, I know someone who'd probably love a tin of it @motie2

motie2

@rustedrailpipes -- I have to admit: My fellow pipers are a generous bunch, but I'm not worried -- You'll love it.