Has There Been An Update To The Vac Mini?

[uchinanchukg]

Hello everyone,

 

I hope that this hasn't been covered before.

I tried searching for answers but couldn't find any information regarding this.

 

I bought a TWSBI Vac mini last week.

 

I disassembled the pen to take out the small o-ring at the bottom that acts as the shut-off valve.

I have seen a couple of videos to make sure I did it right.

 

Upon disassembly, I noticed that there was no o-ring (for the shut-off) at the end. The end of the rod actually looked quite different compare to the pics/vids I have seen.

In addition, I noticed that the Vac mini had metal parts (the part you use the TWSBI wrench) to instead of the black plastic that I have seen online.

 

I was just curious, is this an update that TWSBI has made?

 

 

Thanks,

KG

[Algester]

the only update I know of the vac mini were the metal threads for the vac mechanism not sure about the changes to the rod

[ele]

The original threads were metal as well, but had a black coating that wore off easily.

[Algester]

mine was plastic...

[uchinanchukg]

Hmm that's interesting. I didn't even know that the threads were changed.

 

KG

[HoosierGeek]

I contacted them because I noticed my TWSBI Vac Mini I bought a couple of months ago didn't have this smaller o-ring. They emailed me back and said that they had made a manufacturing change and no longer had this smaller piece. So there's no way to now fix the pen so that you can deactivate the shut-off capabilities, unfortunately.

[uchinanchukg]

Sorry for the late response.

Thanks for the information HoosierGeek.

 

Too bad about not having to option to deactivate the shut-off capabilities.

On the positive side I've gotten used to unscrewing the blind cap when needed.

 

KG

[johnsi02]

Cold someone with one of the newer ones tell me, did they also fix the cross thread issue on posting that people were complaining about?

JS

[HoosierGeek]

I can tell you that no matter how I start the cap, when posting I never have any issues with cross-threading.

[johnsi02]

I can tell you that no matter how I start the cap, when posting I never have any issues with cross-threading.

Thanks for the reply. That pen might make it onto the buy list after all.

JS

[Dally]

I can second what Hoosiergeek said about the lack of cross threading. I bought one even after watching a review (Dr. Brown?) in which the cross thread issue was discussed. The price is good and it is a vac fill pen, so why not? Fortunately, the cap screws on easily every time and the clip never gets in the way, because I have to post it to write comfortably with it.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Dally

[1pen2pen]

Over Christmas I bought and received my first Mini, a Vac. To make a long story short it's basically a Frankenpen -- Diamond Mini looking parts with a plunger pump instead of the usual Diamond screw pump. I've detailed my observations here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/301413-vac-mini-compared-to-twsbi-mini-and-others/page-3?do=findComment&comment=3762430. The most surprising thing is that this Mini Frankenpen can happily take an ECO nib! The bottom line is that the Vac Mini I received bears almost no resemblance to the Vac Mini photographed and detailed earlier in that thread. That sure sounds like "production update" to me.

 

As I said it's my first Mini so I have no real frame of reference but I've had no cross-threading issues when posting.

 

Can't comment on the O-ring question because I haven't (yet) disassembled any of my TWSBIs.

[Jamerelbe]

The fact that the Vac Mini takes the same nibs as the Eco is no surprise: apart from the Vac 700 (which takes a #6 nib) and the Diamond 580 (which takes a larger #5 nib), ALL TWSBI's newer pens (the Eco, the Classic, the Diamond Mini and the Vac Mini) use the same smaller #5 nib. Unfortunately, the nib assembly units aren't interchangeable between the pens - you can thread a Vac Mini assembly onto a Diamond Mini and vice versa, but the "outer tubes" are designed slightly differently, so it's not a perfect fit.

 

As per my response on the other thread, the newer Vac Mini looks much the same as the older Vac Mini, *except* for the piston knob / blind cap / vacuum plunger actuator or whatever you want to call it: this *does* look squarer than on the original (clear) Vac Mini, and a little more in keeping with the aesthetic of the Diamond Mini. Hopefully they've also addressed the cross-threading issues when posting the pen: I haven't found this to be a major issue, but the Diamond Mini certainly threads-to-post a little more "cleanly".

 

@1pen2pen, how many turns does it take to post the cap onto the rear of the pen? It takes 1 turn for me on my Diamond Minis, and 1 1/2 turns on the Vac Mini.

Edited January 10, 2017 by Jamerelbe

[1pen2pen]

The fact that the Vac Mini takes the same nibs as the Eco is no surprise: apart from the Vac 700 (which takes a #6 nib) and the Diamond 580 (which takes a larger #5 nib), ALL TWSBI's newer pens (the Eco, the Classic, the Diamond Mini and the Vac Mini) use the same smaller #5 nib. Unfortunately, the nib assembly units aren't interchangeable between the pens - you can thread a Vac Mini assembly onto a Diamond Mini and vice versa, but the "outer tubes" are designed slightly differently, so it's not a perfect fit.

 

As per my response on the other thread, the newer Vac Mini looks much the same as the older Vac Mini, *except* for the piston knob / blind cap / vacuum plunger actuator or whatever you want to call it: this *does* look squarer than on the original (clear) Vac Mini, and a little more in keeping with the aesthetic of the Diamond Mini. Hopefully they've also addressed the cross-threading issues when posting the pen: I haven't found this to be a major issue, but the Diamond Mini certainly threads-to-post a little more "cleanly".

 

@1pen2pen, how many turns does it take to post the cap onto the rear of the pen? It takes 1 turn for me on my Diamond Minis, and 1 1/2 turns on the Vac Mini.

 

to post is two full turns on my new Vac Mini.

 

i replied to your thoughts in the other thread and explained that I think there are more differences in the new Vac Mini than you might think. i'm no expert but aside from the piston knob / blind cap / vacuum plunger actuator / whatever there are barrel differences and the nib section is most certainly a different critter than either the Vac Mini or the Diamond Mini originally detailed in that thread.

Edited January 10, 2017 by 1pen2pen

[1pen2pen]

ps. i take your point about the ECO nibs being more interchangeable than i'd thought. in my experience the ECO was the only TWSBI i know -- i freely admit i've never handled a Classic or a Diamond Mini -- where you can easily tug out the steel nib + ink feeder and swap around nibs. it was that ease of yanking and replacing that i found a surprise in the Vac Mini because it certainly isn't true for the Vac 700s nor the 540/580s. if it is true for the others -- Classic, Diamond Mini, etc -- then that's great 'cause it's a feature i love (let's me use higher risk inks yet know i can fully clean the nib section if i need to, not to mention the option of customized nibs, etc).

[1pen2pen]

please excuse the fragmented posts: i've since learned that some folks have found the "easy tug" thing to be true for lots of TWSBIs including the Vac 700s and 580s. that was so not the case with my pens that i guess i assumed it was universal. apparently not, so live and learn i guess. my mistake and apologies for it.

Edited January 10, 2017 by 1pen2pen

[1pen2pen]

"the nib section is most certainly a different critter than either the Vac Mini or the Diamond Mini originally detailed in that thread."

 

turns out this is not at all true. details here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/301413-vac-mini-compared-to-twsbi-mini-and-others/page-3?do=findComment&comment=3764551 and thanks to Jamerelbe for taking the time to point out exactly why.

 

the upshot being that there have been a few cosmetic changes to the Vac Mini but nib section and apparently the barrel remain more or less unchanged.