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Thread: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

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    Default Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    Does anyone know where I can get a Merzz and krell Pelican 120 head gasket? I unthreaded The Filling unit from my 120 and the unit came out with no head gasket. The gasket appears to be stuck inside of the barrel. I think I'm going to have to replace the head gasket.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    Try unscrewing the nib and pushing it out from the nib end.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket


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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    Interesting - does the M&K use a dedicated rubber headgasket like a standard Pelikan would, or is that black plastic piece the seal itself as well? I have the pieces listed in that ad - those all came out of the barrel. I assumed I was missing some kind of Pelikan-style headgasket that pops onto that black cylindrical piece, or else some kind of O-ring to sit int he slot on the cylinder. Is this to say that the cylindrical piece has the seal built into it? I've got all those piece out fine - just not getting any sealing when I reassemble. I figured I was missing a piece like you would have that pops onto the Pelikan filler unit.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    I really don't know but the ad says: "The piston assembly features the turning knob, the spiral, and the cork which is part of the piston."
    Where the seller says "cork" I assume it means gasket.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    I don't know vintage Pelikans, but if the pen is old enough "cork" means exactly that... a cork gasket.
    David-

    So many restoration projects...

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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    I don't think this one should be actual cork - the M&K variant is from the 1970s. I think the site means "cork" in the generic sense of a seal. A Gunther Wagner 120 should have a synthetic rubber sealing gasket on the filler unit. You can remove and replace these (though I don't happen to have any in stock, and they are not as cheap as buying regular latex sacs). What surprised me was I pulled the filler unit on the M&K 120 and the piston was basically just this black cylindrical piece of plastic without any kind of o-ring or sealer pop-on piece. It confused me, and even after grease and re-assembly, it would not seal.
    Last edited by Ray-VIgo; March 2nd, 2020 at 10:12 AM.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    I have a Protopens set of parts on the way. I'm thinking that there's an engagement issue with the threading on the plunger unit. After fiddling some more with the pen this weekend, I found that there is not a separate seal as there is on a Gunther Wagner Pelikan, instead the plunger unit itself is integrated with a semi-pliable rubber covering that forms the seal. After heating and gently re-shaping the seal surface, I got the pen to take water. The issue now is that I cannot reliably get the plunger to extend and retract. It keeps getting jammed and skipping threads when actuating the filler. So I ordered a set of Protopens Merz and Krell parts. Frankly, the quality and engineering of the filler unit is disappointing compared to a Type-1 Pelikan 120. The original 120 had a much crisper mechanism and tolerances seemed a lot smaller.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    Please keep us informed. And please include some pictures!

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    Default Re: Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Head Gasket

    I got the replacement parts and did the repair. The pen fills and doesn't leak. It writes well. All I can say is that the M&K mechanism is noticeably cheaper and less precise than the Gunther Wagner 120. Even the unused spare parts have a fair bit of tolerance in the thread engagement. The seal needed to be heated and expanded a bit to fully seal in the barrel. Again, the seal was not a separate head gasket as you would use on a Gunther Wagner, but instead was a part of the piston itself - the piston is a soft rubber and it appears that the proper repair is simply to replace the piston when worn out - hence cheaper parts. I'm still not 100% happy with the way the threads in the piston engage, but at least the pen is passable. If you have a choice between a Type 1 Gunther Wagner 120 and a Type 2 Merz and Krell 120, opt for the Type 1.

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