Do I need to loosen the cap on a vac fill

[Mister5]

I'm aiming to get a vac fill. Do I need to loosen the cap on that like the TWSBI Vac 700 or the Pilot Vac pen for extended writing sessions?

[tandaina]

What exactly do you mean by a "vac fill?" Are you talking about the old antique "vac fillers"? If so no, it's not the same system at all and there is no cap to loosen.

[sweetnightingale]

I'm aiming to get a vac fill. Do I need to loosen the cap on that like the TWSBI Vac 700 or the Pilot Vac pen for extended writing sessions?

You must be referring to the back part you tighten or loosen and not the actual cap that covers the nib.

It certainly won't hurt to loosen that back piece for extended writing sessions. You could try it at first with it tightened and see how it goes. If you notice the feed drying up with plenty of ink still in the pen, by all means, loosen it and go from there.

What pen are you referring to, meaning, the one you are looking to get?

The Parker vacs, you don't need to keep it loose but on my TWSBI vac700 and its mini counterpart, I just loosen it automatically when I know I'm in for a long writing session.


Just play with it and see what happens. Good luck.

[Quantum Sailor]

If you're talking modern vac fillers the TWSBI's stated by sweetnightingale you do unscrew the end of the pen. The Pilot 823 too, though it seems to take a lot longer to need unscrewed. Again as tandaina said the old Parker vacfillers do not need it, and in fact the screw off piece is just a cover. The old Onoto plunger fillers do need to be unscrewed and in fact you use the twist part of the filler to adjust the ink flow as you write.

[Jon Szanto]

OP *must* be more specific about pen brands/models before answering - there is no *one* type of "vac-fill".

[Hawk]

I would assume the pen in question is a Sheaffer since the post is in this sub-forum.

[Mister5]

OP *must* be more specific about pen brands/models before answering - there is no *one* type of "vac-fill".

Sheaffer Vacuum-Fill Statesman (1949)

[HughC]

No, you don't need to loosen the filler cap. Be aware though a lot of these need restoring unless sold as having been restored.

Regards
Hugh

[Quantum Sailor]

I would assume the pen in question is a Sheaffer since the post is in this sub-forum.

And on a totally off topic unrelated note I just realized I never have any idea of what sub-forum a post is in because I always just hit the what's new button. Also because I'm unobservant.

[Mister5]

I'm getting a Statesman from someone on the board who seems to sell a number of Sheaffers and has some pics of the disassembled pen. They said they replaced the old rubber gasket or stopper or doohickey with a newer one. It should come tomorrow so we'll see. Thanks everyone! I'll let you know. I like those Triumph nibs, and this is the oldest one I'm getting (I have an Imperial IV Deluxe and a Sentinel Snorkel).

[controlsfreak]

IMG_20160107_224344.jpg

Sheaffer's arrangement is a bit different from something like a TWSBI. I think Speedy intentionally wanted an ink shut-off function so the TWSBI vac plunger seals against the front of the barrel.

Sheaffer extended their feed into the barrel with an odd looking end. The conical nose of the plunger assembly strikes against this feed extension and moves the diaphragm just a bit to one side. This breaks the diaphragm's contact with the barrel on the other side and allows ink to flow freely.

Sometimes the feed extensions break so you must do the TWSBI trick. But, this is more common on the early Balance Vacuum-fill models. The Triumphs, especially the post-war models, have a beefy feed extension and I've not seen a broken one.

[kirchh]

IMG_20160107_224344.jpg

Sheaffer's arrangement is a bit different from something like a TWSBI. I think Speedy intentionally wanted an ink shut-off function so the TWSBI vac plunger seals against the front of the barrel.

Sheaffer extended their feed into the barrel with an odd looking end. The conical nose of the plunger assembly strikes against this feed extension and moves the diaphragm just a bit to one side. This breaks the diaphragm's contact with the barrel on the other side and allows ink to flow freely.

Sometimes the feed extensions break so you must do the TWSBI trick. But, this is more common on the early Balance Vacuum-fill models. The Triumphs, especially the post-war models, have a beefy feed extension and I've not seen a broken one.

In a Sheaffer, the piston gasket (not a diaphragm) is not in contact with the barrel walls all around when the plunger as fully depressed, as the barrel widens internally at the bottom. The knock-aside feed does ensure a larger gap at one side and contact on the other, and the feed also extends past the gasket, allowing it to communicate with the reservoir without ink having to pass the gasket.

Loosening the blind cap on a otherwise properly-operating Sheaffer with a broken feed tail will have no positive effect on ink flow, and it can impair or stop flow altogether as the gasket is drawn up in the barrel and it can thus exit the enlarged area, sealing the reservoir from the feed.

--Daniel

[Mister5]

Thanks all! Loosening the cap has been unnecessary. It's a decent little pen. I'm surprised the ink capacity isn't larger (I'm getting a little over 1 ml) but for a pen that's 67 years old that ain't bad.

[HughC]

The pen is probably not filling fully due to some wear of the piston or the packing at the filler end. It may improve if it's the packing as the ink will help the seal.

[kirchh]

Thanks all! Loosening the cap has been unnecessary. It's a decent little pen. I'm surprised the ink capacity isn't larger (I'm getting a little over 1 ml) but for a pen that's 67 years old that ain't bad.

As noted, loosening the filler cap on your pen is not just unnecessary -- it can't help, and it can impair flow.

--Daniel