I bought this pipe brand-new in Nov '15, and when I got it, it was not the same pipe from the pictures that I had reviewed before purchasing. I know this because the pipe in the ad had a pre-carbed bowl with no issues. This one has a virgin bowl, except for the putty at the top of one of the cracks/voids in the bowl wall. I contacted the guy right away and he said it is under two-year factory warranty and he would help if there were any issues. I don't know exactly what that means, but he said he could help somehow. He probably would have taken it back at that time if I had asked him to, but I forgot about doing anything about it. He's in Italy (international shipping = pita) and I was probably doubting the guys complete honesty at that point, so those probably had something to do with my decision to set it aside for a while. I still have the box and everything that came in it, and my receipt.
Now I want to do something about it. I either want to try and repair it, or possibly ask Brebbia USA distributions' opinion on if doing anything with the pipe myself would void the warranty, and if I should just send it to wherever I am supposed to send it to, under warranty. My only problem with sending it in is that I think that I like the pipe otherwise, and would be worried that any replacement would have something about it that I don't like. Or they would just slap some pipe mud in there and I could save everyone the trouble in that case. On the other hand, a split bowl that I can't get covered because I tried to fix it would probably be worse, so I think I'm going to contact them and send some pics before I do anything. I'll probably ask "If I send this in under warranty, would they say that this is OK? Would they try to repair it? Would they replace it? If they replace it, do you think it would be the same model and same options?"
Is there anything else I should ask about? Do you guys think if those voids are filled with pipe mud/appropriate filler, that those cracks will continue to develop anyway? There is some putty at the top of one, presumably from the factory. There is a fissure extending up from the other void to the top of the bowl, which has me a little worried. The voids are also quite deep. I used a thin sewing needle as a depth gauge, and they are at least half-way through the bowl wall, before the needle became too wide to test any deeper.
Pipe in question:
It takes a 9mm filter, but I run a 6mm...
...so I can still pass a cleaner. =)
Cracks/voids. =O
:puffpipe:
Now I want to do something about it. I either want to try and repair it, or possibly ask Brebbia USA distributions' opinion on if doing anything with the pipe myself would void the warranty, and if I should just send it to wherever I am supposed to send it to, under warranty. My only problem with sending it in is that I think that I like the pipe otherwise, and would be worried that any replacement would have something about it that I don't like. Or they would just slap some pipe mud in there and I could save everyone the trouble in that case. On the other hand, a split bowl that I can't get covered because I tried to fix it would probably be worse, so I think I'm going to contact them and send some pics before I do anything. I'll probably ask "If I send this in under warranty, would they say that this is OK? Would they try to repair it? Would they replace it? If they replace it, do you think it would be the same model and same options?"
Is there anything else I should ask about? Do you guys think if those voids are filled with pipe mud/appropriate filler, that those cracks will continue to develop anyway? There is some putty at the top of one, presumably from the factory. There is a fissure extending up from the other void to the top of the bowl, which has me a little worried. The voids are also quite deep. I used a thin sewing needle as a depth gauge, and they are at least half-way through the bowl wall, before the needle became too wide to test any deeper.
Pipe in question:
It takes a 9mm filter, but I run a 6mm...
...so I can still pass a cleaner. =)
Cracks/voids. =O
:puffpipe:
:
