How long do Sheaffer snorkel point seals last?

[liapuyat]

I have a black Sheaffer PFM III. Two years ago, I had it serviced in the US by a reputable repair person (I'm in the Philippines, by the way). I was surprised that while trying to clean the pen recently (after it ran out of ink), it would blow bubbles but not really fill with water. I opened up the PFM barrel carefully and inspected the sac protector. The sac seemed ok, so I assume the point seal in the section has failed. I'm sending it away again for restoration.

How long can one expect a point seal installation to last? (I am aware that it is best to replace BOTH point seal and sac at the same time, for best results.) I used to hope that a restoration would last me a good five years at least (given the warmer climate here).

[Flounder]

Anecdotal evidence of one: my oldest Snorkel point seal is about 3 years old, and still fine (the Martin Ferguson Sheaffer style point seal with the flexible bit in). Maybe one of the other seals (touchdown tube or blind cap) is perished?

[Vintagepens]

There are many points of possible air leakage, any of which would drastically reduce filling capacity.
In fact, when a point seal is failing, that's usually the most obvious, since there's typically signs of ink (or water) getting past it into the pen's interior.

[liapuyat]

Anecdotal evidence of one: my oldest Snorkel point seal is about 3 years old, and still fine (the Martin Ferguson Sheaffer style point seal with the flexible bit in). Maybe one of the other seals (touchdown tube or blind cap) is perished?

I have two other Snorkels which have not needed repair (it's been three years at least), so I guess this varies. You and David are right: there must be a leak in more than one area.

[inky]

I have a touchdown that has been restored for about 2 years now and is still going strong. When I received it, it wouldn't pull a vacuum. It would blow bubbles but not very many. When I restored it (my first pen restore) I restored the sac but it still was doing the same thing. Turns out the touchdown tube O-ring was shot and had a small crack in it. I replaced that and viola, it started pulling water and fully filling again.

[liapuyat]

I love Snorkels and Touchdowns, despite the possible areas where they may fail. Thank you for sharing your experience :)