I just bought a Parker Duofold Vac off Ebay in working condition with a perfectly functioning diaphragm. I got it today and I was quite dissappointed. It holds about 2 drops of ink, and it does not write unless a lot of pressure is put on the nib. I filled it by the directions off Richard Binder's web site. Is there something I can do to fix this? Also, there is just a tiny bit of ink on the plunger? Is this supposed to happen?

I can't pretend to be an expert, but Vacs are sometimes harder to fill than people imagine, sounds to me that it isn't in working condition, if the diaphragm is fully intact and working as it should I wouldn't expect to see any ink on the plunger. If working properly it should hold quite a lot of ink (it's main selling point)

The plunger may move up and down freely and I had a Vac where you could see the diaphragm moving but it had split so didn't create a vacuum. I would approach the seller to see what he says, but if sold in working condition, you may have grounds for requesting a refund.

No doubt one of the experts will chip in with a more informed opinion.

Andy

UPDATE: As I said earlier, the pen will write when a lot of pressure is put on the nib. After doing this, the pen writes wonderfully under normal pressure, but the ink flow stops after a line or so.

If there's ink on the filler, then the diaphragm has failed in some way. Hard to say what or how - it may have even pulled off of the cone.

There was just a tiny tiny bit of ink on it the first time I filled it. It could have just been dried. So, do I have a good argument to get a refund from the seller if it was supposed to be in working condition?

Don't know.... Has the ink on the filler gotten worse?

The real test is how much ink the pen draws in. Parker used a graduated tube to measure this. Use a test tube, syringe, anything that's fairly small in diameter but that the pen will fit into. Fill to a mark with water, empty the pen by shaking it, then put the pen into the tube and fill. When the bubbles stop, see how much was drawn into the pen. It won't be a gallon, but you should be able to say that it is indeed drawing in liquid. If not, see about a refund or some compensation. It could be that the diaphragm was replaced but the feed and breather tube weren't cleaned - another reason why I don't like to do "sac only" repairs.

O.K., I don't know what has happened, but the pen does fill know. There is still just a tiny bit of ink on the plunger, but nothing major. One thing which I noticed is that very small amounts of ink come up into the inside of the plunger when I push it down. So, anyway, the pen seems to hold ink, but it writes extremely dry when held correctly. If I rotate the pen about 30 degrees counter-clockwise, it writes much better. I checked the tines, and they are aligned, so I don't really know what to do. I don't want to play with it too much because I am thinking about returning it to the seller for a refund. So, anyone have any ideas?

Ink in the plunger means diaphram failure. If you do not replace it, you'll have no one to blame but yourself when it dumps on you!

Additionally, sounds like the nib/feed needs adjustment. If it were me, I'd get some kind of adjustment from the seller. A diaphram replacement is $25-35. If minor, the nib tweak may be tossed in with the diaphram or might cost additional $.

The sooner you contact the ebay seller the better.

JJ

O.K., I'll empty the pen right now. Thanks for the help everyone, I had almost forgotten about the diaphragm and I could have been reminded by having ink splattered on me! I think I have a pretty could case for a refund if the seller said the filler is in "great working condition."