Breaking in My New Peterson St Patty's Day Pipe

[yazamitaz]

Ok guys,
I will preface this with I am positive this is user error but hoping one of you pipe geniuses can show me the error of my ways.
Last month I picked up my first Peterson; a 2013 St Patty's Day pipe that I just LOVE the look and feel of

So here is my dilemma. I am breaking it in using the 1/3, 1/2, 3/4, full bowl method and using what I think is good tobacco (Dunhill EMP, GL Pease Chelsea Morning, and a couple of bowls of FM Cellar). Regardless of the tobacco and the amount the bowl is filled I cannot keep this pipe lit unless I am drawing on it every 15 seconds. I have tried a loose pack, a medium pack, and a tight pack, and I keep getting the same results. I cleaned it the other day using Roth's Baccardi 151 method and then let it sit two days. I must say there was way more gunk in it after the cleaning than I expected. Anyway I fired her up this morning when I was between customers, taking my time and not rushing, smoking EMP and again it wouldn't stay lit.
I know Peterson makes some of the best pipes available and that is the reason I wanted one, but am disappointed that I have $30 pipes that will last a half a chapter worth of reading and this beauty only wants to stay lit for half of a page.
I am sure it is user error, but is there some mystery to breaking in a Pete?
I SOOOOO look forward to your responses.
Thanks in advance,
Dan

 

[yazamitaz]

Caveat - any of the tobaccos mentioned above smoke very well in every other pipe I have. Just thought I would throw that in so you didn't think the tobacco was too moist.

 

[numbersix]

Congrats on your Pete yaz. Offhand I don't have a good answer, if you're sure it's not technique, then it may be related to the way the pipe draws.
I don't smoke bents very often. It's possible that you may need to try a variety of tobaccos to see which performs best (there may be members here who can offer a suggestion too).
Good luck!

 

[yazamitaz]

Thanks Six, I appreciate the feedback. I guess my frustration is that I am doing the same thing with this pipe as I do with my others and not getting the same results. I am sure I will figure it out, but when I have a toy I want to play with it NOW :P

 

[brdavidson]

Hey Dan, it could be you just need some patience with the cake build up. I bought a nice Sav billiard and it was disappointing to start with but over the last month it has turned in to one of my best smokers. I've also read on here that Petes can take a long time to break in.

 

[tbradsim1]

I found with my St Pats Day pipe I had to have the tobbaco very dry, not crunchy but very dry, load it to the top and smoke her slow, she"ll come around. The old cajun

 

[theboz]

I don't have any suggestions, but you have my best wishes. Hopefully it will start to turn around for you real soon.

 

[bigvan]

"I know Peterson makes some of the best pipes available"
I'm going to have to disagree with you there, Yaz, especially at this price point. The St. Pat's pipes I've seen over the years never really impressed me.
But opinions vary.

 

[jah76]

This might sound a bit odd but there are times I have a hard time lighting latakia blends and keeping them lit.
And Chelsea Morning always seems to need a char, a true light, then 30 seconds later a true true light. Drying it way out has helped. Made it sweeter too IMO.

 

[yazamitaz]

Thank you so much for the feedback guys. I will definitely try to dry out some EMP this morning and smoke her later today and see if that helps.
Knowing that Pete's take a while to break in makes me feel better that this will all work itself out with time
Oh BTW - you guys ROCK !!!!!

 

[rigmedic1]

One thing you might consider is opening up the draw. The engineering on the lower priced Pete's is not consistent, in my humble opinion. There are many posts on how to do that here on the forum, if you are willing to take a chance. On the other hand, the bore of the chamber may be a tad too big, and building a little cake may solve the problem. Please update on your progress!

 

[tennsmoker]

Yaz: This won't help you much. You've already gotten the best advice. I have several Petes. Like the Old Cajun says, I just fill 'em up and let 'er rip, old and new alike.
I live by this one rule: when the smoking gets tough, the Tennsmoker gets going.
You get the idea.
Good luck and let us know how the Paddy turns out. I love the look of that pipe!

 

[yazamitaz]

Thanks so much guys. Roth and the Old Cajun may have solved it.
I had about a half an ounce of bulk English Luxury that I purchase about three weeks ago. I set some on a plate for about two hours and dropped it into the Pete. Now I didn't get a smoke all the way to the bottom, but got way farther than any other smoke from her. I think the drying and the patience will have to prevail. The same baccy right out of the bag smokes great in other pipes. I guess this one is just fickle.
Rig - the bore of the chamber is big and I thought that was odd, but perhaps I have too much draw?? Anyway I will continue to dry my baccy for the Pete and just be patient for the next 20 smokes or so. I will make sure I am only smoking and not doing anything else but reading.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Can't really help with a problem of a draw and keeping the bowl lit. I've broken in eight Petes now and some have taken a bit longer to break in but I've never had a draw problem with them or had difficulty keeping them lit while breaking them in.

 

[instymp]

All mine (Petes) took longer to break in than some others & I like dry tobacco. (not kinder) It will come around.

 

[rigmedic1]

That's a good plan, Yaz. Building up some cake might do the trick!

 

[yazamitaz]

EUREKA !!!!!! I was reading another Peterson post started by Imperialist and I think I found my answer. Harris had advised him to pack his pipe tighter and check the draw. I figured what the hell I have tried everything else. I had some drier PS English Luxury that I packed in tighter than 8 Marines on leave driving to Las Vegas in a Prius. I started the charring light and something magical happened......IT DIDN'T GO OUT!!! So I tamped just a tad and kept puffing...it still kept going. I actually wanted to put the pipe down but it wouldn't let me. I got through probably 2/3 of the bowl and the tobacco just tasted wonderful and was kept lit. I put her down and came back to it about 10 minutes later. One match kick started the fun and I smoked it down almost to the bottom.
You guys have no idea how happy I am right now. I so wanted this pipe to be one of my favorites and it wasn't working for me. I know it is only one bowl, but it was an AWESOME bowl. To celebrate I may need to break out the Escudo tonight. :lol:
Thanks as always to all of the contributors on this forum. :worship: I have come so far in a month and know there is far more to learn but I am loving the journey.
Dan

 

[skapunk1]

Looks like I fell into this thread too late, lol. I found that I had to pack my Pete aran 06 very tight after a few failures. The new thing I found is these Philtpad filters, they are like a clay stone that sits at the bottom of the bowl to absorb moisture. I found they helped with the draw, and have no effect on the flavour. Ive had 4 bowls with this one stone and it still has life in it.

 

[jimbo]

Glad it's working better for you now, yaz.
My newest pipe is also a Pete St. Pat's Day 2013, but mine is an author (my favorite shape).
I followed Mark Tinsky's suggestions for breaking in his coated pipes: fill it to the top and smoke it slowly right down to the bottom! I've decided the old 1/4- 1/2- 3/4 I used for years is so much B.S. The only difference I use with a new pipe is: if you start tasting/smelling burning WOOD instead of the tobac, STOP IMMEDIATELY. Put the pipe down and let it cool off for several minutes, then tamp and relight, and continue your smoke to the bottom. Once you can smoke an entire bowlfull without tasting burning wood, I pronounce the pipe "broken in" and you can start building a suitable cake.

 

[piperl12]

Well I know that a few are going to jump all over this one but I have used the old presmoke method for breaking in a few Petersons. I use a dry burley tobacco and when I get it going I lightly blow slowly through it. I do this until the bowl starts to get warm and then put it down. Once it cools do it over again. I find with Peterson's you can never get it hot enough to build cake without burning my tongue. Funny though my old ones never did this. I will presmoke my new Petersons for about a week before actually smoking them with a tobacco that I enjoy. It seems this way I get a pre-cake going that allows the tobacco to stick too. Many will say you chance burn out this way but back in the 50's this method was done on a machine. All my Pete's have thick bowls so I don't see burn out being a problem.