Asvine V200 skipping

[David0966]

Hello,   I love this pen. I have 3 of them.  All of them skip on me.  Seems to be a problem w the ink coming out from the reservoir through the choke point, into the feed.

-(All my new pens get a pretty thorough cleaning w the standard pen flush solution, and then multiple rinses w tap water.  I took the first 2 apart and "cleaned" them really well.)

-The ink I use most is Pelikan 4001 RB.  Dry, but all inks do the skip on me in all 3 pens.

What fixes the issue is when I pull the plunger out about a quarter inch and push it back in.   Sometimes this results in ink coming out the feed-but I am good for a while.  How long?   My writing is intermittent, I would say a page over about an hour, then -skipping again.

So, as I go to work today, I will have my 3 V200s w me, each labeled- 1, 2, 3 and see if I can figure out how to enjoy this pen w/o having to fiddle w it.

 

Any help, no matter how basic-is appreciated.

 

David

[lvda]

I have had similar experiences with vac fillers. This is one of the reasons I prefer piston fillers.

[PAKMAN]

When the vac fill on the V200 is completely closed it separates the front chamber from the rear chamber. When the front chamber is empty or near empty you need to open the knob and lift to allow the ink to flow down to the front chamber. Alternately for long writing sessions you can leave the knob unscrewed and lifted slightly and you will get access to all of the ink in the pen. 

[Dillo]

The reason for the valve system is that when you have a large ink capacity, during times of pressure changes and when the pen is running low, it may drip or blot ink. That said, you need to make sure that the valve is open on pens that use this system unless you have a pen that has a double reservoir (like Visconti). On Visconti, the valve is to remain closed at all times until the front reservoir (which is quite large) runs out. On the Asvine, Pilot 823, and TWSBI Vac models the valve should be opened for regular writing to allow ink from the reservoir to run to the nib. If you don't open it, the pen will stop writing when the residual ink in the feed runs out. The Asvine, Pilot 823, and TWSBI Vac are more or less single reservoir pens. They are a combo of a Japanese-style shut off valve eyedropper pen and the vac filler rolled into one. Some of them have a small front reservoir, but it's not big enough to matter. Sheaffer Vac-Fils are single reservoir pens as well, but they have no shut off valve whatsoever.

[David0966]

That simple?   I have played w these pens enough, leaving the end cap unscrewed, shaking them, etc.   I do love them, is the only reason why I still have.  It's a shame we cannot get the Conid (original?) version.

[thirstyfish]

The cheapie plastic feed designed for cartridges/converters have the built in choke point as you have identified. It is the sole reason I don't buy pens with that feed design. Proprietary cartridge / converter pens eg: Sailor, Parker, Lamy are less problematic as they still have a choke point but are not as restrictive as the standard international design and allow an improved air/ink exchange to occur.  You are up against science and need to influence the feeds air/ink exchange to defeat your issue.  Try a wetting agent in your ink (or a wetter ink) to assist the compromised capillary draw you are facing.  It may resolve the issue... if not, feed modification is your other option.  Good luck.   

[Dillo]

7 hours ago, David0966 said:

That simple?   I have played w these pens enough, leaving the end cap unscrewed, shaking them, etc.   I do love them, is the only reason why I still have.  It's a shame we cannot get the Conid (original?) version.

How open is the end cap? On some pens if you don't open it enough, it may still prevent ink from flowing down. The other issue is that on your pen they may be some other obstruction that's causing the ink supply to air lock at that point. If you have to shake it, that often means that either the end cap is not open enough or there is an air lock problem

[David0966]

On 11/19/2024 at 7:02 PM, thirstyfish said:

Try a wetting agent in your ink (or a wetter ink) to assist the compromised capillary draw you are facing.  

I had some of the 4001RB w PhotoFlow mixed in, and it behaved a lot better-seemingly, problem solved!

On 11/19/2024 at 11:01 PM, Dillo said:

How open is the end cap? On some pens if you don't open it enough, it may still prevent ink from flowing down. The other issue is that on your pen they may be some other obstruction that's causing the ink supply to air lock at that point. If you have to shake it, that often means that either the end cap is not open enough or there is an air lock problem

Very true

The channel from the main ink chamber down to the feed is fairly narrow.  a small change in the diameter of this channel will make a huge difference in resistance to ink flow-for now, no reason to experiment w slightly drilling out (maybe make it 1/64" diameter larger) the channel-but in the future, especially w junker pens w flow issues-I'd like to do this.