Breaking In A New Pete - Strange Taste...

[grouchydog]

Afternoon folks. Bear with me, I'll try and keep it concise.
So I'm getting started on breaking in a new Peterson Donegal Rocky Canadian for a flake pipe (basically non-aro, non-Lat).
First bowl a couple weeks ago was some Stonehaven, which I hadn't had prior. There was a strange and not-altogether pleasant taste to the smoke. Since I have little experience with burley and have been on a Latakia kick since May, I just wrote it off as a very different taste that I'd get used to.
Last night I smoked the Pete again with some University Flake. As I got it going, I noticed the same taste. Since it was a different blend and the taste was similar, I focused on it more intently and it emerged as a plasticky, sour-oily kind of thing. As I got further into it the burn kind of went down center (because I suck at flakes, with a capital "SUCK") and when it did, that plasticky taste faded some.
This is a new Peterson, so I will assume that it's dip-stained and covered with whatever their pre-carb coating is.
My question is, how likely is it that I'm "tasting the newness" of this pipe? Is this normal and, if so, how long can I expect it to last - until it's covered over with cake, or is there some curing kind of thing of the stain that needs to happen?
Thanks in advance for any input!

 

[cortezattic]

It's almost certainly the taste of the stain. It'll take several more bowlfuls to clear out on its own;

but if I were in your situation I would swab the bowl with an alcohol soaked paper towel.

 

[theediabeticman]

Swab the bowl as Cortez said

Also start off with something that is remarkably "tasteless" - VA No1 - Granger - SWR non-aro -...any straight blend...this can help you pin point if the flavor is in the stain or possibly a funky piece of root

 

[pruss]

+1 Cortez
... and once i'd wiped it down with the alcohol of your choice I'd flame the bowl to burn off the residual alcohol; option b is to let the bowl rest for at least 24 hours for the alcohol to evaporate.
-- Pat

 

[grouchydog]

Thanks guys, appreciate the input.
Re. alcohol swab, am I trying to strip the bowl to bare wood?
Also, I have no booze at the moment - is isopropyl alky OK?

 

[cortezattic]

The amount of stain you remove from the bowl will diminish with each pass of the alcohol swab. I've used isopropyl.

Just be careful not to ruin the exterior finish of the pipe.

 

[tuold]

I'll be inaugurating my new Pete this weekend so I'll be following this advice.

 

[mso489]

I have six Petersons, all bought new, and never had this problem. I don't think this should happen.

I think the "fixes" suggested are great, and will probably get rid of the bad taste, but the pipe maker

shouldn't be having you smoke a lot of stain in any case. Troubling to hear.

 

[dmcmtk]

This is the second case I have heard of these problems with a new Pete in the last two weeks. Bowl coating and possible residual stain. Either follow the instructions above, or go all out and sand the...stuff... off. I'm sure you will enjoy the pipe after these problems are dealt with.

 

[ruscho]

All the new Petersons I got were exactly the same. I ended up winding a high-grit sandpaper around my finder and sanding off that coating.

 

[pruss]

I use 99% isopropyl alcohol for all my pipe cleaning. It evaporates quickly and had very little impurities to speak of .
-- Pat

 

[grouchydog]

I'm actually thinking that - sand it to wood, then clean it good with alcohol. I haven't broken in an uncoated pipe yet anyway...

 

[grouchydog]

Just wanted to close the loop on this because y'all's input was spot on.
I sanded the coating off the top half of the chamber, then put a cotton ball in the bottom, added some 151-proof rum and spun the cotton around with a drill and a brad-point bit (yikes!). Repeated that a few times until it came out reasonably clean. I drill-spun a few 151-dipped bristle cleaners in the bore until they came out reasonably clean, then let the thing dry a few days. I've smoked some Carter Hall in it to start the break-in process, and the nasty plasticky-oily taste is gone.
Thanks for your guidance!

 

[gregprince]

I must have missed your post the first time around. I have a french made pipe that had a persistent plasticky taste. It sat on its rack a lot until I too striped the inside of the bowl. You got good advice there. Happy smokes.

 

[Briar Boy]

Sounds like stain in the bowl or shank, is the bowl precarbonized? if not you can use corse non iodized salt and grain alcohol in the bowl to draw out the stain, multiple times if need be, the stain in the shank can be removed with grain alcohol on cotton swabs (lots of them).

 

[yazamitaz]

Astrange1,
That is the same way I have removed foul tastes in pipes as well. I think you have more control with the cotton swabs and won't spill anything on the exterior stain. If it is really ghosted or nasty the salt and Everclear trick works very well.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I was also warned about Ferndowns also, and when I got my first, it also had a strange waxy stainy taste. I just smoked through it. It's easier to break in a pipe when you're in awe of its beauty, ha ha.

 

[plateauguy]

+1 Pruss
I recently won a Peterson Killary Dublin. Almost in new condition, I realized why when I got it - the inside was stained. This is the first one I've ever come across, though it seems to be common. I wiped it out with 99% isopropyl alcohol then did a cotton ball/alcohol treatment. You could see the stain coming out in the cotton ball! I repeated it a couple of times, then I decided to go a step further and soaked the bowl in coconut rum for an hour. After the pipe had rested for 48 hours, it turned out to be a sweet, smooth smoke. Good Luck!