Ink Breaking Down Diaphragm Rubber

[slippery when wet]

As a matter of rule I always replace rubber sacs/diaphragm upon purchasing vintage pens.

About 12 months ago a new diaphragm was installed in a Parker 51 vacumatic and then filled with Noodlers Navajo Turquoise.

The pen in question was a demonstrator and picking it up to use the other day I could see the diaphragm had gathered into a unusual shape.

I pulled the filler unit from the pen only to find this. (photo).

Has any one experienced this before with the above mentioned ink.

[TimGirdler]

There is a great deal of controversy here.

 

Several have postulated that Noodler's ink contributes to the untimely and total failure of rubber sacs and diaphragms. Some, of course, dispute that claim.

 

However, Richard Binder has suggested that it's an ink problem and I've seen diaphragms from pens in which Noodler's has been used exclsively. It ain't pretty. The most recent restoration was a Vacumatic and the sac was the consistency of thin silly puddy.

 

My first ink was Noodler's and it has quite a following. However, to be safe, I recommend to my clients that they use Noodler's only in modern cartridge/converter pens. Cleaing those pens are much easier and the modern, non-rubber parts are not as reactive to the ink, in my opinion.

 

Of course, your milage may vary.

 

Tim

[slippery when wet]

Your description of silly putty is on the mark.

You only have to touch what is left of the rubber and it will quite readily stick to you.

This might make me rethink the brand of inks I use in the future.

Proof is in the pudding.

[Paul80]

Hi

 

In addition to the stories of Noodlers ink and its destructive powers there are also stories of a bad batch of rubber used to make ink sacs and I assume Diaphragms as well and this stuff was supposed to melt in a similar way in a sort time as well.

 

This could be one or a combination of both.

 

Make sure your replacement diaphragm if from new stock, especially if you are wanting to stick with Noodlers ink.

 

Paul

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for sharing your experience and providing us with a photo.

 

My personal practice for handling pens other than my daily writer is to cleanse them after completing the document for which they were chosen, typically less than three days. I realise that is not common practice, so I cannot add any insight based on personal experience.

 

I do make a very strong effort to keep the pens in my custody in good nick, so am very interested to find out more how this came about; and if specific action/s can be taken to avoid such a dreadful turn of events in the future - adding to the 'Lessons Learned the hard way' file.

 

I would like to ask a few questions to get a better sense of things:

1. Was Noodler's Navajo Turquoise the only ink used in that pen?
2. Was the pen used and repeatedly refilled during that year? or Was it filled but once a year ago then used intermittently?
3. The type & source of the sac.

 

I'm sure other Members will be along shortly to add their thoughts and experience in a constructive manner.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited October 18, 2013 by Sandy1

[Bo Bo Olson]

What an ugly picture.

I only have Apache Sunset and Golden Brown which takes a full second page for the first to dry using Clairefontaine Veloute or Oxford Optic.

 

What sort of complaints happen with piston pens?

Is there window staining? I expect that in red inks, have heard it can with purple. Don't know about orange.

 

I think Rick the Pelikan man, revokes his guarantee for Noodlers.

 

Guess I'm lucky I have a couple C/C pens, then.

[slippery when wet]

Hi Sandy1

Yes Noodlers Navajo Turquoise was the only ink used in the pen from the time I installed a new diaphragm.

From memory I believe it was filled only once and used intermittently.

As for question # 3, I have bought diaphragms from a number of suppliers and could not say with any certainty where it came from. (sorry)

Hope this helps.

Edited October 18, 2013 by slippery when wet

[Paddler]

I had that happen to a rubber sac in a desk pen. The sac only rotted where the ink stayed near the nipple. The upper part where the air bubble stays did not decompose. The only ink used in the pen was Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Green. The pen was used a lot, writing drafts. It took about 1.5 years to show symptoms. The sac came from the Pen Sac Co. I replaced it with another sac from the same order and changed ink to Levenger's Gemstone Green. That was about a year ago and the sac is still in good shape (I checked it just now).

[slippery when wet]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for sharing your experience and providing us with a photo.

 

My personal practice for handling pens other than my daily writer is to cleanse them after completing the document for which they were chosen, typically less than three days. I realise that is not common practice, so I cannot add any insight based on personal experience.

 

I do make a very strong effort to keep the pens in my custody in good nick, so am very interested to find out more how this came about; and if specific action/s can be taken to avoid such a dreadful turn of events in the future - adding to the 'Lessons Learned the hard way' file.

 

I would like to ask a few questions to get a better sense of things:

1. Was Noodler's Navajo Turquoise the only ink used in that pen?
2. Was the pen used and repeatedly refilled during that year? or Was it filled but once a year ago then used intermittently?
3. The type & source of the sac.

 

I'm sure other Members will be along shortly to add their thoughts and experience in a constructive manner.

 

Bye,

S1

I have had some time to think over where I might have purchased the diaphragms from and I do recall that I purchased a small amount from the

Pen Sac Co around the time I installed the new diaphragm into the 51 demonstrator.

No certainty which ones went where though.

[pelahale]

not an expert but in talking with some over the past year, there are many repairmen who have mentioned that there might be a problem with the latex sacs themselves from a certain supplier.

[psfred]

I am currently six months or so into a test with new Pen Sac Co. diaphragms, one of which is in a plastic bag in my desk after I lost three "51"s in a week.

 

So far I have no trouble at all, they have all worked fine, just refilled everything last week. However, a #16 sac attached to a section but not installed in a pen sitting in my desk turned into slime, then crystallized into the same glassy stuff I find in old pens. Never had any ink in it and was probably never even coated with talc by me.

 

I've also had quite a rash of Snorkels with rotten sacs, all unfilled, that I replaced when I got a large lot of pens six or seven years ago. At least 5, maybe 6, of them melted right there in the empty pen having never even had water in them.

 

I do not believe it's the ink, I suspect it's something wrong with the sac. There is, to my knowledge, nothing unusual in Noodler's "regular" inks like Navajo that would cause trouble, and I've been using a Burgundy Snorkel since 2008 with Noodler's Black (and nothing else) with zero problems.

 

If you think it's the ink, use something else, but when you have exactly the same issue, it more or less has to be the rubber, eh?

 

Peter

 

Peter