Touchdown Sac

**Paddler** · April 26th, 2017, 08:23 AM

I tried the search wizard for this question but it doesn't give me a good sort.

I have a Sheaffer desk pen with a Touchdown filler. It is a frankenpen with a section that has a recess in the sac end of it. I replaced the sac with a 14 1/2 sac for a Snorkel. I think it is too thin-walled. When I try to fill the pen, the pressure telescopes the sac into the recess and pinches it off so it won't fill. To fill the pen, I have to disassemble it and squeeze the sac by hand (there is a joke in there someplace, but I won't go there). A size 16 sac is too big for the sac protector to fit over it. Will a size 15 work? Is there such a thing as a size 15?

**Sailor Kenshin** · April 26th, 2017, 09:04 AM

We bought kits for the two Snorkels we resacced, so the sacs were just the right size. It's similar to a TD filler. I'll take a look at the kit specs when I'm back.

**Wade** · April 26th, 2017, 03:15 PM

The TD filler uses a thin-walled 15-1/2 sized sac so the snorkel sac at 14-1/2 is too small.

(Edited to correct poor iPhone auto-correct)

**Paddler** · April 26th, 2017, 05:31 PM

The PenSac people say the pen needs a #17 sac. There is no way that will fit inside the sac protector.

Thanks, Wade. I will order out a couple of those.

**mhosea** · April 26th, 2017, 11:54 PM

The original TD's used a #15 necked sac, but most people use a straight walled #15 cut to about 2.375". The #17 business refers to the 1949 "fat" Touchdown, which originally took a #17 1/2 necked. As with the slimmer TDs and their #15 sacs, you can use a straight walled replacement. I wouldn't give a thought to "thin walled" or not. A regular thickness will work just fine.

**Paddler** · May 2nd, 2017, 09:35 AM

I now have a few #15 sacs. I will try one as soon as time permits. Right now, the garden is calling. We have weeds already. Holy carp on a cracker!

**ac12** · May 5th, 2017, 10:45 PM

I just buy the kit from David Nishimura. I get the sac and the matching O-ring, without having to search and buy the parts separately.
Considering that my sac inventory is well over 150 sacs (#12 to #22), I have no idea why I went with the kits for the Touchdown and Snorkel but I did.

**mhosea** · May 6th, 2017, 12:16 PM

My problem was always that when I started restoring Snorkels, always for my own use or once as a gift, I never thought I'd need more than a few, so the kits were convenient. I will say that I prefer the PVC sacs Woodbin sells to latex or real silicone (Woodbin only calls them silicone, or did--it's been awhile since I visited their site). Ironically, before we knew about the downsides of real silicone sacs (gas permeability and surface tension issues worse than seen in converters), it seemed like a bad thing because they weren't really silicone. I guess it still is bad if the sac is going to be in contact with celluloid. Anyway, now it seems like a bad thing because I don't actually want silicone sacs for this application. I want PVC. Latex is fine, of course, but the sac is a lot of work to replace and cannot really be inspected for premature degradation. I use PVC so that I can put sac failure pretty much out of mind.