New Twsbi Eco-T Piston Problems

[evaisnotonline]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post - it's so great to finally make an account after lurking for so long!

 

I bought my third beginner fountain pen recently, a clear TWSBI Eco-T, which I have been lusting after for a long time, and finally arrived yesterday! I've already used one ink fill, and was screwing the barrel down to the refill it, and now it won't screw back up. the piston is at the bottom of the pen, near the nib, however there is no gap at the top of the pen where you should insert the wrench to unscrew the top.

 

When I turn the top one way, it tried to press the piston further down into the pen (and it can't move any farther) and when I twist it the other way, it simply tightens the end cap!

 

I've tried taking out the nib and using a thin crochet hook to push the piston up from the nib end of the pen, but it isn't moving and I don't want to force it.

 

Attached is a picture of the pen body, nib attached but cap off.

 

Any advice would be helpful, I'm new to piston pens and don't want to damage it! Thank you for your time!

 

Eva.

Edited December 31, 2018 by evaisnotonline

[Fermata]

I have had this problem myself, my pen went back to TWSBI and they blamed the Diamine ink I had been using and refused to assist. I see some red staining on your pen, is this due to Diamine ink?

 

If you have bought the pen from new I would send it back to the seller and ask for help.

 

Otherwise there are youtube vids on how to take an Eco apart, and I wish you the best of luck.

[evaisnotonline]

I have had this problem myself, my pen went back to TWSBI and they blamed the Diamine ink I had been using and refused to assist. I see some red staining on your pen, is this due to Diamine ink?

 

If you have bought the pen from new I would send it back to the seller and ask for help.

 

Otherwise there are youtube vids on how to take an Eco apart, and I wish you the best of luck.

 

Thank you!

 

It is Diamine ink! I have contacted TWSBI; but contacting the seller is a good idea, I will do that. I wish I could take it apart, but there is t no gap underneath the end cap to get the wrench into, and there isn't much else to take apart without this :\

 

And I was so excited about this pen...

 

Have a lovely day!

[Fermata]

I hope it works for you.

 

Mine went back to Pure Pens in the end who were great, fixed it perfectly. I had tried using the wrench, it just turned on the flats.

 

I suspect that your piston is simply stuck.

 

You may want to consider whether Diamine ink, especially the saturated colours, is your best option. I took a MB146 with a stuck piston into Montblanc for a service, their first question was 'have you been using Diamine ink?'

Edited December 31, 2018 by Parkette

[Brianm_14]

This is frustrating, when one hears of repeated inquiries from different pen companies about the use of a particular, established brand of ink.

 

"Have you been using Diamine ink?" Well, maybe, in some cases, yes, in some cases, no . . . But please let me in on what the issue is! Or might be. Then maybe I wouldn't be using Diamine ink in this pen. Or I might be having a dialogue with the Diamine folks about addressing what seems to be a series of recurring problems possibly associated with some of their inks. It is not as if TWSBI is in the ink business (are they?). Do they recommend an ink?

 

Richard Binder long gave us his sage advice on which are the safer inks to use, and those might be the brands to rely on with pens which tend to give this sort of trouble. (At least for now.) By chance, my three TWSBI ECOs are all loaded right now, as usual, with Waterman and similar "old faithful" inks. I like how these inks look in the pens as well as on the paper, that's all. But these pens have been issue-free as well. I can leave them for a week or ten days and they start right up.

 

It would be nice to have an exchange of information, between vendors and vendors, as well as vendors and customers, beyond a general acknowledgement (disputed, however, by some, sigh!) that saturated inks can lead to pen problems.

[Uncial]

I think this issue has come up before on brand new Eco's and was suggested to be a lack of lubrication on the rubber seals on the end of the piston causing them to stick at the bottom. Pull the nib and feed and push up gently with a blunt instrument and it should dislodge and be engaged again.

[Fermata]

This is frustrating, when one hears of repeated inquiries from different pen companies about the use of a particular, established brand of ink.

 

"Have you been using Diamine ink?" Well, maybe, in some cases, yes, in some cases, no . . . But please let me in on what the issue is! Or might be. Then maybe I wouldn't be using Diamine ink in this pen. Or I might be having a dialogue with the Diamine folks about addressing what seems to be a series of recurring problems possibly associated with some of their inks. It is not as if TWSBI is in the ink business (are they?). Do they recommend an ink?

 

Richard Binder long gave us his sage advice on which are the safer inks to use, and those might be the brands to rely on with pens which tend to give this sort of trouble. (At least for now.) By chance, my three TWSBI ECOs are all loaded right now, as usual, with Waterman and similar "old faithful" inks. I like how these inks look in the pens as well as on the paper, that's all. But these pens have been issue-free as well. I can leave them for a week or ten days and they start right up.

 

It would be nice to have an exchange of information, between vendors and vendors, as well as vendors and customers, beyond a general acknowledgement (disputed, however, by some, sigh!) that saturated inks can lead to pen problems.

 

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

I have taken this matter and similar matters up with Diamine.

 

1. Staining. I noticed that clear pens or those with ink windows became stained after using reds, blues and purple shades of Diamine, I sent photographs but Diamine didnt reply.

 

2. Stuck pistons. I asked for their comments on why there were reported problems on pistons sticking. I received a response along the lines of pens should be flushed after each fill. (not so easy if the piston is stuck)

 

3. Clogging and blocked feeds. The Diamine advice was to flush the pen after each fill and to throw the ink away if it blocked the feed. Diamine sent 3 bottles of ink as an apology.

 

MB wouldnt expand on their comment, TWSBI said that the Diamine ink was 'too' saturated. They blamed me for the pen failure for using Diamine and refused to accept liability under their warranty.

 

I would add that I have had no problems with Diamine Sherwood Green.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Parkette

[Uncial]

Which Diamine inks have been causing your problems?

[evaisnotonline]

Fixed the problem, thank goodness!

I had to force the end cap of the pen around anticlockwise a few times, each revolution clicking the opening for the wrench open a little more until I could fit the wrench in. Then the pen could be unscrewed as normal, and I screwed it back up with the piston in the right position. No more problems!

 

I am, however, very concerned to hear all this about the Diamine inks! I've always loved the purple, black and red inks that I've bought with them, but then I've never use them with a demonstrater barrel before... might be time to invest in some new inks!

[Brianm_14]

Thanks for the added details. Very helpful in forming hypotheses.

 

When someone says a dye-based ink is "too-saturated," as a chemist I must must presume that the dye concentration has now changed the phyical properties of the ink in such a manner, that the friction on the seals has been significantly increased. (This is assuming that TWSBI knows what they are talking about.)

 

Would diluting the ink with distilled water help? I am just thinking, to what degree is the ink "too saturated"? It isn't an all or nothing situation after all. That would make no sense. So what if one were to add 10% distilled water by volume to some of the ink? Or even 5%? The ink might not be all that overly-saturated. We might be very close to an "edge" here. Of course, too much dilution will negate the properties that drew us to use a saturated ink in the first place!

 

Can Diamine add something like what Noodler's puts in their "Eel" inks to help lubricate plungers? I have no idea how well those inks actually perform. Mixed reports have been posted, mainly negative or neutral concerning any success for these special properties. But this would certainly be a good time to introduce something clever. Do the Eel inks, if they work, leave a residual effect carried over to the next time the pen is filled with ink, even non-Eel? (Presuming the pen is not flushed with water, I suppose, between ink changes.)

 

Again, TSWBI and MB are not being of much -ANY- help; at least Diamine is responsive to some degree. It is what I expected.

 

(The problem is, ironically, that we really have to use some sort of ink in these pens; distilled water just won't cut it with our readers. Presumably, MB would suggest their own ink. But TWSBI? We still don't know what they consider is a good ink to use in their pens. Or are they playing safe and not risking being pinned down? After all, if they suggest an ink and the piston problem arises . . . . . . OOPS!)

 

This is an interesting problem. Before long, I'll be running ink samples in the Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer and drawing chalk outlines of pen bodies on the lab floor!

 

We should not leave this as it stands. Something is wrong! J'Accuse!

[minddance]

The Diamine red ink is still not mentioned, we need names. Diamine produces more than a hundred inks and many red inks.

 

in my experience, Diamine Matador doesn't cause this problem.