Fountain K Burping Issue

[Tedium42]

I just got my new Karas Kustoms Fountain K EF Friday. I haven't had it that long, but in the time I've had it I've made an observation on the issue of the pen spitting out ink on the page after refilling.

 

I made sure to read every review on the Fountain K, on this forum and every other review I could find, before making my purchase. Many of the reviews on this forum mentioned a "burping" issue whenever they first start writing again after just refilling the pen. Some of these reviews were older and I couldn't find any other reviews off-forum that mentioned the issue, so I hoped that it was just a quality control issue that had been fixed.

 

I found out when I first filled my new Fountain K that I was wrong.

 

First of all, the insert that comes with the Fountain K suggests keeping the converter attached to the nib unit while filling. This may be standard practice, but I wouldn't know. In my time with the Lamy brand I've always taken the converter out before filling. It just seems logical and way less messy. Since I've never had a problem, I never watched or read in-depth on how to properly fill a converter pen.

 

So, I decide to try it their way. They are the pen manufacturers and they must know what is what. When I did this with the K5 converter that came with the pen, there was not enough suction. There was a sizable air bubble at the top, no matter how slow or fast I filled the pen, or how much of the channel I covered.

 

When I started writing, there came the ink burps. Three good splotches on my paper. I un-filled and re-filled. Same issue. I dabbed and cleaned the channel and wiped the pen of excess ink, and it happened every time.

 

So I took the converter out and filled it directly. Not only did it fill to the top, but after a little blotting of the end, it wrote without issue. No burps, no mess. And I've done it this way several times. Now it writes like a dream.

 

I guess the discussion I'd like to have with other Fountain K owners is this: did you all have this issue? Do you think this is a quality control issue? Did you fill the pen like the insert says or strictly from the converter? Since a lot of the reviews were older, where are you guys now with your Fountain K? Did you resolve your issues? Are you happy with your pens?

 

Since the Fountain K uses the same nib unit as the Kaweco, do any Kaweco owners have any issues with burping pens? If so, how did you overcome them?

 

I guess I'm just hoping this is a permanent fix. The Fountain K is definitely the best pen I have used. I love everything about it, from the smoothness to the durability. I don't want this to be a flaw that continues to bug me years down the road.

 

ETA: Fixed messed up tags

Edited August 15, 2016 by Tedium42

[Bill Wood]

I've never had burping with a K pen, or Koweco's. All my standard converters are fine as well. This problem can be perplexing. Sounds like you've checked everything. I'd take a close look at the converter again and make sure it's seating into the nibble of the feed tightly. Next ink. Are you writing with a very wet ink like tanzanite? Ink blobs I feel are often caused by air pressure in the converter or the barrel if an eye dropper. So if writing fine now, just leave it. Don't change the nib or the converter.

[Tedium42]

I'm writing with Noodler's: Polar Blue, Upper Ganges Blue, Polar Black, Black. It spit ink with all of those.

 

I think you're right. I refilled the converter again last night with no issues, so if it's not broken don't mess with it.

 

I was just curious as to whether other users were having the problem, and of those that were, if they still experience it or how they fixed it. If the fix is as easy as filling from the converter directly, it might save people a lot of headaches down the road. I have a feeling it's not that simple, though. I'd still like to get down to what is actually causing the issue.

[TonyTeaBags]

I have been writing with my Fountain K for about 7 months. I fill it normally, that is, by leaving the converter attached and dipping the nib into the ink. It is in my pocket as I write this post, filled with Pelican 4001 brilliant black.

 

I have had the issue that you speak of the first time I filled the pen. The next time, however, I held the pen nib down over the bottle and waited. Sure enough, after 2 or 3 seconds, a globule of ink appeared dripping from the nib. I touched the nib to the bottle neck, wiped the nib and feed and waited again, nib down, for more ink to appear, but none ever does after the initial drip. I follow this procedure every time I ink my pen.

 

After the filling procedure described above, my pen writes reliably and without issue. It is a very nice pen.

[Bill Wood]

When you ink a pen thru the converter, nib down, there will always be a drop or two simply because the feed is full. I'd continue to do as you're doing. In regard to the Noodler polar inks these are made to resist freezing, so there might be something in the formulation that makes them free flowing.

[Misfit]

I have a Visconti Millennium Arc that burped out ink blotches. I read here about that pen to use a paper towel, grip the nib and feed gently between your thumb and index finger. That helped with the Visconti. I don't have a Karas pen yet, but it's ordered.

 

It might help, I don't know but perhaps worth trying.

 

Some pen manufacturers suggest wiping the feed after filling on the ink bottle neck.

Edited June 5, 2017 by Misfit

[Misfit]

I inked my Fountain K today and saw the burping. So I got the paper towel and gripped the nib with thumb and index finger. It has behaved since.