Pilot Custom 823 Cleaning

[rlraymondluo]

Right now I am right on the verge of buying a Pilot Custom 823 (Goodness that vacuum-filler is awesome). But I was wondering if anyone had experience with the cleaning the 823. From what I can see from the vacuum-assembly your not able to fill it with water and then empty it over and over again (because the piston ends up at the bottom of the barrel, and liquids are uncompressible). Are you then, able to clean a Pilot Custom 823 without disassembly?

[Abner C. Kemp]

I have always wondered this as well. What do you want to do if you need to expel ink from the pen??

[Sham69]

kind of not really, not in under an hour of flushing at least; this is the disadvantage of vacuum fillers. Most of the time I get frustrated and disassemble mine with the TWSBI wrench so i can just literally hold it under the tap then let it dry. To empty it of ink you pull the rod to the top then push it down really slowly a couple of times.

Edited January 18, 2014 by Sham69

[novarider]

It has a valve built into the piston. You can pump the piston as many times as you like to flush it.

[novarider]

kind of not really, not in under an hour of flushing at least; this is the disadvantage of vacuum fillers. Most of the time I get frustrated and disassemble mine with the TWSBI wrench so i can just literally hold it under the tap then let it dry. To empty it of ink you pull the rod to the top then push it down really slowly a couple of times.

 

If you remove the nib and feed (it's friction fit and really easy to remove) you can thoroughly flush the pen easily

[Sham69]

If you remove the nib and feed (it's friction fit and really easy to remove) you can thoroughly flush the pen easily

yes however doing this over and over again will make the nib move when properly fitted in. friction fit nib units are not meant to be removed every time the pen needs a clean; after a while you while have the issue that the nib and feed won't stay in the section at all. much better to unscrew the mechanism as threads are meant to be used however both methods are undesirable

[WaskiSquirrel]

I haven't taken mine apart yet. But, I flush it with water by filling and emptying a little slowly several times. Then I'll set it, nib down, on a piece of paper towel. This seems to work, but then I've only ever changed colors once. I usually have my favorite pen filled with my favorite ink!

[novarider]

yes however doing this over and over again will make the nib move when properly fitted in. friction fit nib units are not meant to be removed every time the pen needs a clean; after a while you while have the issue that the nib and feed won't stay in the section at all. much better to unscrew the mechanism as threads are meant to be used however both methods are undesirable

 

How often do you clean you pen out? I have had my pen for about a year and it has been inked constantly. The only time I have flushed it is when I swapped the nib.

[Sham69]

How often do you clean you pen out? I have had my pen for about a year and it has been inked constantly. The only time I have flushed it is when I swapped the nib.

I have a lot of pens... too many>.> mine has probably been cleaned out about 5-6 times with a full disassembly. I cycle through my best daily writers every week or so. The 823 does not get as much work as it should, I am going to have pendleton butter smooth grind done on it and i definitely see it becoming a mainstay in my rotation. I do love it i have the smoked colour in broad

[hari317]

From what I can see from the vacuum-assembly your not able to fill it with water and then empty it over and over again (because the piston ends up at the bottom of the barrel, and liquids are uncompressible). Are you then, able to clean a Pilot Custom 823 without disassembly?

The piston on vacuum fillers are one way. To clean the pen, simply fill the pen with clean water and expel it. do this several times till the pen runs clear, you might want to leave the pen filled with clean water overnight to dissolve some of the dried ink sticking to the knob end in the barrel of the pen. There should be no need to disassemble the pen in any way.

[heymatthew]

Yep... With my TWSBI Vac 700s all I did was fill and empty them a handful of times. You can also fill with water and then give it a good shake too dissolve and loosen any stubborn ink.

 

In my opinion, vac fillers are extremely easy to clean. The large volume means you get lots of water in and out of the pen faster. With piston fillers or C/C fillers, there's an awful lot of twisting involved with less volume.

[Flounder]

I thought one of the advantages bandied about regarding vacuum fillers over vauumatics was the ease of cleaning? Plenty of pressure to be had on the downstroke (hopefully the link below is fast forwarded to the relevant time) :

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=itbqhzZGvPQ#t=4m51s

[rlraymondluo]

Now that you speak of a valve, everything makes perfect sense. Quite genius, it is.

[bluejay]

You can unscrew the nib out and flush it out easier this way. Although pilot says you shouldnt do this every couple of weeks.

[The Good Captain]

The TWSBI spanner fits the flat sections at the piston knob end, perfectly.

[Pensei]

Following the old adage of "When in doubt, read the instructions," we find this: "To clean the reservoir flush several times with cool water." For those who are cautious in nature, the next bullet point says: "This pen contains custom made precision parts. Do not try to repair yourself." I think they mean "do not try to repair *it* yourself." I assume Pilot does not object if anyone wishes to repair himself or herself.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Pensei

[JedBrown]

On 6/2/2016 at 6:59 PM, Pensei said:

Following the old adage of "When in doubt, read the instructions," we find this: "To clean the reservoir flush several times with cool water." For those who are cautious in nature, the next bullet point says: "This pen contains custom made precision parts. Do not try to repair yourself." I think they mean "do not try to repair *it* yourself." I assume Pilot does not object if anyone wishes to repair himself or herself.

I realize this thread and comment are older, but I just wanted to recognize for posterity what is perhaps my favorite comment on this entire site. Gold star to you, sir or madam! 😀 Glad to know the manual writers at Pilot know their place in the world . . . 

[PhiloPlume]

I know, I am replying to a ten year old thread.

 

I heard nothing about what a pain and lengthy process it is to clean a Pilot Custom 823 and switch inks.  It was not for me!

 

I just watched a YouTube video where a guy gets out a wrench and takes the pen apart in order to flush it, clean it, and put a different color ink in it.

 

I did no such thing!  I unscrewed the nib part (the actual nib did come off but there is only one way it can go back on so not a big deal) and flushed it under the faucet with hot water.  I then plunged out all the current ink (Wizard's Pencil Gray - very nice if you like dark gray ink, by the way - looks just like a graphite pencil) into the sink.  Turned it upside down under the faucet and ran water into it.  Then I filled up a glass of water and kept pumping and flushing the ink out of it.  It didn't take long for it to be totally clear.  I did put the nib back on and flushed it by pumping the piston.  Now everything is totally clear.  Took the nib off again and used a can of air to blast out the drops of water in the ink compartment and the nib.

 

Granted, I did not go from a light colored, or red or pink, ink to Pilot Blue but there is no residue of the previous ink when I write with it.  I also put a little silicone grease on the nib just in case.  By the way, it pulls out, not screws in and out. Easy.

 

You do NOT have to take the pen apart to clean it!  The process really isn't any different than cleaning a pen with a converter.  Or buy a Custom 743 because you are afraid to change the ink in the 823 🙂