Science Experiment

[Water Ouzel]

Having recently moved from central California to central Minnesota, we've discovered that we need to pay attention to things here that were never an issue there.

 

Like inks and cold weather.

 

We arrived in mid-August here, and most of our worldly possessions remain in unheated storage. There was just no room to bring much into our current temporary residence ("we're living in our kids' attic, why do you ask?") until my son-in-law and I (and several friends on occasion) finished the addition above the kitchen.

 

Finally enough room to bring in some of my pens, inks and paper.

 

What we hadn't considered was that our belongings had been subjected to somewhat lower temperatures than we were used to before. In this case, low- to mid-20s, a couple nights down around 0º or so.

 

Here's what we discovered:

 

- Most ink survived being frozen and thawed out just fine. Shaking the bottles briskly before using didn't hurt in a couple of cases.

 

- A full bottle of Diamine Burnt Sienna shattered. Several boxes of various sorts got bathed in the ink as it thawed out. It didn't help that that happens to be one of my wife's very favorite inks.

 

Note to self: if this happens in the future for some reason, inspect all ink bottles while still frozen hard, before any broken bottles can thaw out.

 

Fortunately, all my inks were packed in a plastic storage bin, so the notebooks and other fp paper were not bathed in the flood.

 

- Most ink in cartridges came through just fine. The only exceptions being a couple of Platinum cartridges that were very full; the ink expanded on freezing, popping the ball bearing out of the top of the cartridge.

 

As the ink hadn't escaped the cartridges, mostly, I was able to press the ball bearing back into the top of the cartridges affected, and the two I've started using work just fine.

 

Fortunately, none of my vintage or expensive pens were packed in the box with the ink and paper. I'm not very optimistic that old celluloid or styrene pen bodies would fare well in the cold.

[linearM]

Welcome to the tropics! We usually suspend ink ordering this time of year also.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Bummer! Glad most survived ok.

[WaskiSquirrel]

As much as I love ink, this North Dakota resident doesn't order ink this time of year. I'm about at the same latitude as you. I've been lucky so far...

[inkstainedruth]

Even before reading this thread I was a bit nervous about leaving the inks I bought last week out in the car so I went out about 10:30 last night and grabbed the bag they were in. That was after seeing the photo of the bottle of Iroshihzuku in that split in half that was posted to another thread. But somehow didn't get back in the hotel room with the bottle of Eclat de Saphir I just bought. And I can't find the small nalgene bottle of water (I did find the large bottle).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Charles Rice]

As an old Minnesota boy myself, I guess I take a lot of what you mention as just par for the course. I know a couple of stores in Minneapolis that won't order ink in the winter.

 

I bet you just can't wait for your first -40 degree day.

 

Oh yeah, a few years back on the range (Tower, I think) it got to -60. Enjoy!!!!

Edited January 3, 2015 by Charles Rice

[Runnin_Ute]

Welcome to the land of real winter.

 

I live in northern Utah, and have ordered inks a couple of times during the winter with no issues. I also realize I was lucky. Although having them delivered to my office rather than my home probably helped some as there would be no sitting out on the porch/in the mail box for hours in sub freezing weather. (the mailman brings stuff right in the building at work) Of course, Minnesota is colder/farther north than where I live too...

 

Sorry to hear you had some shatter on you.

[Kataphract]

Makes note to self with unfrozen ink, "visit snow, don't live with it." Going back out to my backyard barbecue...