Problem With Air In Converter

[lordfkiller]

Every once in a while, my Waterman goes dry and I open the barrel to see this situation:

 

I've tried washing the converter with a bit of dishwashing liquid. I don't have this problem with my Parker converter with the same ink (Waterman).

 

EDIT: The picture needs to be rotated to the right!

Edited October 17, 2016 by lordfkiller

[jar]

That is surface tension. There are several cures. The easiest is simply add a surfactant. Get a wooden toothpick, dip it in dishwashing detergent, wipe it off and then insert it into the converter until it is in the ink. Remove it and all should be fine. The long term solution is to get a soft compression spring with a diameter lees than the internal diameter of the converter. cut the spring until is is about a quarter inch in length and thread it in through the mouth. A compression spring will collapse to allow you to fill the converter yet still be enough to break the surface tension.

 

The reason you have more problems with the Waterman/International Standard converters than with the Parker/Aurora standard is that the neck of the latter is wider than the former.

[lordfkiller]

That is surface tension. There are several cures. The easiest is simply add a surfactant. Get a wooden toothpick, dip it in dishwashing detergent, wipe it off and then insert it into the converter until it is in the ink. Remove it and all should be fine. The long term solution is to get a soft compression spring with a diameter lees than the internal diameter of the converter. cut the spring until is is about a quarter inch in length and thread it in through the mouth. A compression spring will collapse to allow you to fill the converter yet still be enough to break the surface tension.

 

The reason you have more problems with the Waterman/International Standard converters than with the Parker/Aurora standard is that the neck of the latter is wider than the former.

So I take it there's no point in getting another converter?

[jar]

So I take it there's no point in getting another converter?

I always like to have an heir and a spare on hand, kinda like in a Monarchy. BUT, the issue may show up in any converter; it is simply a matter of the diameter of converters, size of the aperture and fluid dynamics.

[LizEF]

...prev replies answered it...

Edited October 17, 2016 by LizEF

[lordfkiller]

I always like to have an heir and a spare on hand, kinda like in a Monarchy. BUT, the issue may show up in any converter; it is simply a matter of the diameter of converters, size of the aperture and fluid dynamics.

Hmm I would have thought a Waterman pen would work like clockwork with a Waterman converter with Waterman ink in it! haha

[TheRealMikeDr]

Hmm I would have thought a Waterman pen would work like clockwork with a Waterman converter with Waterman ink in it! haha

 

It's the Waterman surface tension that gets you

[FromTheNetherlands]

That is surface tension. There are several cures. The easiest is simply add a surfactant. Get a wooden toothpick, dip it in dishwashing detergent, wipe it off and then insert it into the converter until it is in the ink. Remove it and all should be fine. The long term solution is to get a soft compression spring with a diameter lees than the internal diameter of the converter. cut the spring until is is about a quarter inch in length and thread it in through the mouth. A compression spring will collapse to allow you to fill the converter yet still be enough to break the surface tension.

 

The reason you have more problems with the Waterman/International Standard converters than with the Parker/Aurora standard is that the neck of the latter is wider than the former.

I like this advice! Never known about the toothpick. Thank you!

[jar]

I like this advice! Never known about the toothpick. Thank you!

Remember you don't need much; if you see a drop of detergent on the toothpick it's too much.

[Kelly G]

Remember you don't need much; if you see a drop of detergent on the toothpick it's too much.

 

As someone once told me regarding good single malt whisky; 'you need only a hint of water'. The same goes for ink and liquid detergent.

[ac12]

I put a stainless steel ball into my converters to solve the problem.

The problem is that some converters cannot be opened. I think they may have been factory sealed/glued together.

So far, I have not been able to open: Parker screw piston converter and Sheaffer screw piston converter.

The Lamy Z24 (red knob) does not work with the SS ball, as the ball will seal the front of the converter when it falls forward, and makes it a pain to fill.

 

I need to find some SS compression spring to try what 'jar' suggested.

[pajaro]

Usually with these converters I either open them up and lube the inside of the tube with a minute amount of silicon lubricant, or I put a little dot of lube on a stiff wire and put it through the opening and lube the inside. Note well: a minute amount of silicon lube.

 

The balls in the converters do seal off the opening, and I remove them if at all possible, because a small spring works better.

 

In some cases I have been able to substitute a squeeze converter.

[PAKMAN]

I'm having this problem with a Tactile Turn Gist right now. May have to try the spring trick.

[pajaro]

I usually have some version of this issue with piston converter pens except for Montblancs. The Watermans, from Kultur to Phileas to Carene are an annoyance. The best solution I found was to put a Carene into a Sheaffer Imperial desk base. There, head down, it is always ready to write immediately. I leave the cap on the desk base so I can take the pen with me should I want to.

[ac12]

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The balls in the converters do seal off the opening, and I remove them if at all possible, because a small spring works better.

 

 

Next step is to get some SS expansion springs to replace the SS balls.

But the fit has to be better, so it won't tip over and jam inside the converter.

 

Then some SS compression springs to try jar's suggestion for the converters that I can't get open.

[lordfkiller]

Re adding detergent:

1. Could this damage the pen? Since the detergent obviously wasn't "made" for this application!
2. That sounds like a good solution for my Lamy, which is also dry. But the Waterman is a wet pen already. Doesn't adding a surfactant make it even wetter?

[creeder14]

I believe that Goulet has a video on youtube about breaking surface tension in converters

[tinta]

For me, a thoroughly cleaned converter (with dish washing fluid + water), then well flushed with clear water should be the first step, to get rid of the mold release compounds used in manufacturing & other lubricants.

 

I then introduce a cannibalized plastic/glass? pellet that can be cut out of an international cart. Some say this pellet is not heavy enough (you have to use at least four pounder cannon balls ).

Seriously, some steel shot can work quite well, but is noisy.

 

The way I see it, the international standard cartridge manufacturers may have figured out what seems to work in their carts, & if these pellets help to break surface tension in the carts, it could also work inside a Schmidt K5 converter or the OPs Waterman converter. Hope he's able to take apart the head of the converter, pull out the piston plunger, then introduce the pellet to the unit.

 

Soft springs can also work. I have found though that springs may take up too much space inside the converter's limited capacity tube, not allowing the piston to travel as far as with a pellet in place. This means less ink inside the converter.

Just my 0.02 CAD.

Edited October 25, 2016 by tinta

[ac12]

The plastic balls inside the international cartridges seem to be part of the sealing mechanism. When you push the cartridge onto the nipple, the ball pops out of the neck of the cartridge to allow the ink to flow. I do not think the balls were meant as an agitator to break the surface tension.

 

Some of the Chinese converters have this plastic ball, which in my experience it does nothing. The ink still gets stuck in the back of the converter.

IMHO, I think someone thought that the plastic balls in the cartridges had a function, after the cartridge was opened, so they put a plastic ball into the converter.

 

I think part of the problem is the plastic. My cartridges do not get ink stuck in the back as my converters do. My Lamy Z24 (red knob) gets ink stuck, but my Lamy Z26 (black knob) does not.

 

Sticking to the same brand does not help either, as I use Sheaffer ink in a Sheaffer converter, and I still get ink stuck in the back of the converter. I have not tried this with Waterman or Parker ink and converters ... yet.

 

As for loosing some of the limited ink volume in the converter to a SS ball or spring, yeah I would rather not loose the volume. But it is more than made up by not having to hassle with the ink getting stuck in the back of the converter.

Edited October 25, 2016 by ac12

[SpecTP]

I build mechanical keyboard as a side hobby, and I've taken the gold plated springs from the keys and cut it in half and stuck them inside all of my converters. Works like a charm. https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1350