Elusive Pilot Tank?

September 15, 2014

Wow, live and learn! That's definitely the pen we have. Yikes, I almost sold them all to Susan Wirth at the SF show! And we'd been removing the clear insert because it just managed to confuse (Amazon) customers who couldn't figure out how to get a cartridge in there.

One thing to note -- the squeeze converter from the 78G fits just fine, the sponge doesn't get in the way. And we only have them in medium.

Thanks, Louis, for helping to shed light on this model. Now to revise all my listings .... and create an instructional hand-out.

TERI

September 15, 2014

Hi Teri, also the pens listed by you are relatively recent. The older pens are identified by the JIS mark on the nibs and a golden colored sticker with stars on the barrel. HTH.

November 13, 2014

Would the 78G convert to an eyedropper with a little silicone grease in the grooves and maybe an O ring the way the Preppies do?

I didn't see that anyone answered this yet - the 78g is a lot easier to find, so would it work equally as well as an eyedropper? I understand that the Tank pen is designed as an eyedropper, but what, if anything, would make the 78g less optimal for this use? Or even the Pilot Kakuno, which is also all plastic?

I've yet to use an eyedropper - this thread is making me very eager to try one out.

November 13, 2014

The Tank has a white thing inside the pen, which, I think, acts as an extra seal inside the body. It replaces the O ring some people add to an eyedropper conversion. It also has a wedge of closed cell foam in the back of the pen, which may help stabilize air pressure in the pen, and prevent burps.

Those are pretty specialized things. I have a 78G now, so can say with a little silicone grease it should work as an eyedropper. I haven't tried; I'm not a huge fan of eyedroppers.

November 13, 2014

Thanks Lou, I appreciate the input. And upon further review (I actually have a Kakuno, and should have looked more closely), there are holes at the end of the Kakuno barrel. Less than ideal for eyedropper purposes, but I suppose they could be sealed (they are fairly small). It would hold a hell of a lot of ink if plugged up though.

So far then I'm looking at the 78g as a test project, since it's cheaper and easier to get a hold of than the Tank. But if anyone has experience to share, please chime in. I'd love to know how thin of a pen the Tank is too. It looks like a narrow pen in the photos I have seen.

November 13, 2014

It's almost exactly the same size as the 78g.

November 14, 2014

It's almost exactly the same size as the 78g.

Any comments on the weight of it compared to the 78G? The 78G is too light for my liking, unfortunately.

November 14, 2014

78g, with cap and CON-20 converter: 14g

Tank, with cap (no converter, of course): 10g

Very similar. The Tank is quite light.

Posted, they're exactly the same length. Unposted, the Tank is 2mm or a quarter inch longer.

The biggest difference I noticed is that the Tank is a snap-cap and the 78g a screw on.

Edited November 14, 2014 by Lou Erickson

May 31, 2017

The Tank has a white thing inside the pen, which, I think, acts as an extra seal inside the body. It replaces the O ring some people add to an eyedropper conversion. It also has a wedge of closed cell foam in the back of the pen, which may help stabilize air pressure in the pen, and prevent burps.

Those are pretty specialized things. I have a 78G now, so can say with a little silicone grease it should work as an eyedropper. I haven't tried; I'm not a huge fan of eyedroppers.

I have removed that cell foam from inside. Will it cause too much trouble? I assumed it for a packaging foam that got stuck and pulled it out and threw away.

Edited May 31, 2017 by sneeldip

June 2, 2017

I could imagine the foam being there to release the last ink more slowly to make it less likely that you end up with a large pool of ink on the page, which is common with eyedropper pens when they're somewhere between half full and nearly empty (depending on the model).