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miatapaul
August 21st, 2012, 11:44 AM
I have an Imperial II Deluxe touch down filler that I got from peyton street pens and when filling it I had it suck ink into the vacuum mechanism and spew it out when I pushed the plunger in. It seems to make a nice whoosh sound, just flushed it out. got a big blob of Watermans (Serenity) Blue all over my desk calender. I lifted it out of the ink to raise the plunger, then put it into the ink and pushed in the plunger. I did this twice, and it spewed ink on the second time. I un-screwed the barrel and cleaned up the mess with a q-tip and paper towels. good think I have q-tips at work! It seems to be writing ok, Does not seem to be leaking. Did I just somehow over fill? Are you supposed to do more than one plunge?

I have not contacted them, wanted to figure out if I did something stupid first. (I seem to be able to do that more than I should!)

I love the pen and the way it writes.

KrazyIvan
August 21st, 2012, 12:08 PM
The woosh sound you heard is supposed to be the part when the ink gets sucked into the pen (on the down stroke).
*Source- Ron Zorn - http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/205010-the-myth-about-sheaffer-plunger-fillers/page__p__2112615__fromsearch__1#entry2112615

miatapaul
August 21st, 2012, 01:14 PM
The woosh sound you heard is supposed to be the part when the ink gets sucked into the pen (on the down stroke).
*Source- Ron Zorn - http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/205010-the-myth-about-sheaffer-plunger-fillers/page__p__2112615__fromsearch__1#entry2112615

reading this was interesting, but it was referring to vacuum filler. The book he references came out in 1948 the year before the touchdown system was released. Not sure how relevant it is to the touchdown though it is a pneumatic filler. I am quite certain the original instructions said to raise the plunger with nib out of the ink (by holding it in the larger opening of the skip-rip bottle. But yes the whoosh sound is on the down stroke and you only hear it when the nib is out of the ink. But looking at the instructions again, it looks as though you are supposed to only pump it once, unless flushing in water. I hope that is all that is wrong, that somehow I over filled it. Peyton street pens did say they replaced the o-ring, but do not say what they did with the original sack. I am just hoping the sac is not gone, but it is from the 1960's so who knows.

Jon Szanto
August 21st, 2012, 02:47 PM
This page right here (http://penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferTouchdownGuide.htm) will give you all the info you need for filling your pen properly. Of special note is the following, which I am sure Teri included with your pen:

1153

Teri stands behind her pens. I had one Imperial where the sac failed not long after I had purchased it (it happens...), with ink filling the barrel and coming out the back end. She immediately re-sacced it and sent it back. Hasn't had a bit of trouble since.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get it sorted out. It is a very reliable filling system.

miatapaul
August 21st, 2012, 04:24 PM
This page right here (http://penhero.com/PenGallery/Sheaffer/SheafferTouchdownGuide.htm) will give you all the info you need for filling your pen properly. Of special note is the following, which I am sure Teri included with your pen:

1153

Teri stands behind her pens. I had one Imperial where the sac failed not long after I had purchased it (it happens...), with ink filling the barrel and coming out the back end. She immediately re-sacced it and sent it back. Hasn't had a bit of trouble since.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get it sorted out. It is a very reliable filling system.

Yes, she had sent that with the pen, but i did not have it handy. I guess I will give her an email. I LOVE the pen, don't really want to let it out of my possession, heck I took it on vacation with me.

Jon Szanto
August 21st, 2012, 04:53 PM
Yes, she had sent that with the pen, but i did not have it handy. I guess I will give her an email. I LOVE the pen, don't really want to let it out of my possession, heck I took it on vacation with me.
Give it a couple of tries with just water - I can't be sure, but when you described your way of filling it didn't sound correct. You pull the plunger back, then immerse the tip in the ink (being sure to cover all the way back to the section so no air will get sucked in), and push the plunger down once. You should be bubbles expelled, as the sac is squeezed by pneumatic pressure, and then when the "whoose" part takes place (which you may not hear), leave the tip in for a good while - the sac has to open up again to it's original shape, filling with ink as it does. You can then screw the blind cap tight and dab off any excess ink from the nib and feed.

Try it and see if you've got it working, or if it does need to go back to Teri. Either way, your pen will be working again pretty soon. BTW, I have that exact same pen from her, one of my first Peyton Street purchases.

KrazyIvan
August 21st, 2012, 07:28 PM
Apologies.

miatapaul
August 21st, 2012, 07:37 PM
Apologies.

No apologies needed. I don't know if it applies, and well written articles like that are always a pleasure. I hope I did not come off as dismissive as I certainly did not mean to. I could well apply to the touchdown as well as the factory would have know it was coming out well before it's release date! And Ron Zorn certainly know of what he pens with.

Some of the filling mechanisms are similar but different.

I don't think pumping it twice should result in ink coming out. I may just have to send it in as much as I hate to.

KrazyIvan
August 21st, 2012, 08:07 PM
Oh no, not dismissive at all. I need to be more careful when reading.
If you think about it, ink has to come out on the second stroke or how would it create the vacuum needed to pull more ink up? Maybe I just don't understand fully how they work but I would think it is sort of like lever fillers. They squeeze the sack on each pull off the lever and some ink comes out each time but progressively gets fuller with each lever pull.

Jon Szanto
August 21st, 2012, 08:20 PM
I don't think pumping it twice should result in ink coming out. I may just have to send it in as much as I hate to.

Maybe I just don't understand fully how they work but I would think it is sort of like lever fillers. They squeeze the sack on each pull off the lever and some ink comes out each time but progressively gets fuller with each lever pull.
Guys, it is a tad different from lever fillers! The important thing is that the tight seal of the tube is used to expel all of the air (or as much as possible) out of the sac on the down-stroke, and when the gasket reaches the bottom, the vacuum seal is broken, and as the pressure is released, the sac can re-expand, only now it is filling with ink instead of air. The physics of this setup is why they say to make the down-stroke with a fast motion, so as to build up the vacuum (and collapse the sac) as much as possible.

I include below some similar info from Rick Conner's Penspotters (http://www.rickconner.net/penspotters/index.html) site, a good resource to bookmark.


Touchdown & snorkel fillers

Although the mechanical principles are different, filling the Sheaffer Snorkel and Touchdown pens is much like filling a plunger pen; both types expel old ink during the downstroke, and take in new ink at the end of the downstroke. You probably have a touchdown filler if unscrewing and pulling out the blind cap reveals a shiny metal tube or sheath (nearly as fat as the barrel itself); if a little round pipe came out the front as you were unscrewing, you have a snorkel pen.

Filling

To fill a snorkel pen, carefully unscrew the blind cap so that the snorkel is extended (it usually moves out around 3/4" or 20mm, just past the end of the point). If your snorkel is a bit sticky, it may help to press down on the blind cap as you unscrew it (like you have to do with some "childproof" medicine bottles). When the blind cap is free of the barrel, pull it all the way out (exposing a metal sheath). Then, immerse the tip of the snorkel into the inkwell (you need not immerse the entire point), and press the blind cap smartly back into the barrel. Wait for a ten count, remove the pen from the inkwell, and retighten the blind cap (retracting the snorkel). If you do it right, you won't need to wipe up the snorkel (which will retain only a small amount of loose ink).

The touchdown filler is simply a snorkel pen without the snorkel. To fill it, unscrew the blind cap and pull it all the way back; then, immerse the entire point in the inkwell and press the blind cap smartly back in. Wait for a ten count, then remove and wipe down the point.

As with the plunger filler, a faster downstroke is better when filling touchdowns and snorkels. A fast stroke builds up a greater pressure surge within the pen, which will more effectively deflate the sac inside.

Touchdowns and snorkels are notorious for seeming to fill even when they have air leaks or petrified sacs; to make sure your pen can fill, try filling it with water and then emptying it (by operating the filler again); you should see a pretty good shpritz of water come out of the point or snorkel when you do this. Another trick to try (with a pen known to be empty, please!) is to put the point near your ear as you operate the filler; you should hear a little "pfft" sound as the filler hits bottom. If the pen doesn't seem to hold any ink or doesn't have an air seal, you may need to have a new o-ring or a new sac fitted.

KrazyIvan
August 21st, 2012, 08:34 PM
My comparison was probably a little too elementary, I liken them to lever fillers in the sense that the air needs to be expelled to create the vacuum and then released to displace the air in the sack with ink. :) I do admit that my TD Statesman is a bit beyond me, even though I have seen videos on how to tear them down, I'd rather not. :D