How Do You Know When A Parker 51 Vac Is Full

[Jobesmirage]

I ended up winning a bid for a Parker 51 Vac on EBAY and I spent about 30 min flushing the pen till it is clear but I havent filled it yet. The nib is very fine and pretty smooth, I can see myself using it a lot however... I am really not that familiar with vacs...

 

1. I was wondering if there was any way to tell that the pen is full of ink or if there was a "best" strategy to using a vac, since I have never encountered one before. I understand that you put the nib into the ink and you press up and and down for 10 times and then youre good to go?

 

2. A side question is also, once in a while when I push the vac down it comes up halfway and gets stuck for a little. If I leave it there it eventually comes back up but gets stuck for a sec., should I worry about this? If it gets stuck, should I just pull it back up till the tip or will that damage the sac?

[kirchh]

When you first depress the plunger, some air is ejected and you'll see bubbles in the ink; when you release the plunger, a bit of ink is taken up. At some point (if everything's working properly), no more air can be evacuated, so when you push the plunger down, no bubbles will be seen (ink is actually being pushed out); at that point, best practice is to keep holding the plunger down, withdraw the pen from the ink, and then release the plunger to suck some of the ink clinging to the front part of the pen (primarily the collector) into the reservoir so there is some free space in the collector to, well, collect excess ink that might end up there during use.

 

Generally, if the plunger sticks as you describe, the diaphragm is either too long (they must be trimmed to length before installation, but they are often cut or left too long) or it's twisted, in my experience.

 

--Daniel

[zaddick]

Daniel covered the answer well. I would just add that 8 to 10 strokes is about the right amount.

 

Even when the pen runs clear after flushing and the plunger expels no water, there is a lot of water left. I empty it over a sink by taking a firm grip on the body (like a golf club) and shaking it out or flicking it like and old mercury filled thermometer. This keeps from diluting your ink with water.

[jpierson]

Was the pen sold as restored or with a new diaphragm?

Edited May 21, 2016 by jpierson

[Flounder]

I agree with Daniel about filling.

 

2. A side question is also, once in a while when I push the vac down it comes up halfway and gets stuck for a little. If I leave it there it eventually comes back up but gets stuck for a sec., should I worry about this? If it gets stuck, should I just pull it back up till the tip or will that damage the sac?

 

I have come across this scenario in a pen with a 1 year old 'good' diaphragm, (deb size, talced, cut to the accepted length, shoulders lubed with glycerine, decent spring, polished collar). I'd left the pen standing upright empty but not cleaned for too long, and ink had dried on the diaphragm.

 

The drag on the return action was cleared by a few days filled with water, leaving to stand nib up, and cycling the filler.

 

I *don't* flick the 51 or any pen over a sink to clear out water BTW. That needlessly risks dropping or bashing the pen and breaking something. I clear out the majority of the water by depressing the plunger slowly, then standing nib down in a beaker lined with paper towel to wick out the rest.

[Beechwood]

You have had some very good advice already, I have one 51 that is a little sticky on the return but that doesnt seem to affect its filling performance.

 

Ol Griz used to maintain that as long as the pen produced 7 good drops of ink when you emptied it then it was full enough, particularly with your fine nibbed pen, you will be able to write for a mile.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Beechwood

[ac12]

Remove the blind cap.

Put your mouth over the end of the pen and blow.

If you can blow air through the pen, the diaphram has a hole and is in need of replacement.

 

Generally, when I get a Vac, if I do not KNOW that the vac has been recently restored, I will restore the pen myself. Even if the diaphram seems to hold air (the above test), a 70+ year old diaphram could fail next week. So better safe than sorry, I replace the diaphram. If you only have this ONE vac, send it out. The cost of the special vac tool is not worth it for just one pen.

Edited May 21, 2016 by ac12

[pajaro]

When you first depress the plunger, some air is ejected and you'll see bubbles in the ink; when you release the plunger, a bit of ink is taken up. At some point (if everything's working properly), no more air can be evacuated, so when you push the plunger down, no bubbles will be seen (ink is actually being pushed out); at that point, best practice is to keep holding the plunger down, withdraw the pen from the ink, and then release the plunger to suck some of the ink clinging to the front part of the pen (primarily the collector) into the reservoir so there is some free space in the collector to, well, collect excess ink that might end up there during use.

 

Generally, if the plunger sticks as you describe, the diaphragm is either too long (they must be trimmed to length before installation, but they are often cut or left too long) or it's twisted, in my experience.

 

--Daniel

 

I have read the advice to hold the plunger down while withdrawing the pen from the ink before. Since pushing the plunger expels ink, are we expelling too much ink, or does ink in the nib and feed system that gets pulled back in result in a full pen, or are we losing a lot of ink? It requires a leap of faith to push the plunger again and withdraw the pen from the ink holding the plunger down. I have restored a few of these, and have seen the internals, but, like the OP, I feel I have little idea of how much ink is in the pen after filling. It was helpful to restore a Vacumatic with transparency in the barrel, so that I could see the pen actually had some ink in it. These pens seem like magic, and I think Parker could have called them Vacumagic.

[kirchh]

You're not expelling too much ink.

 

--Daniel

Edited May 21, 2016 by kirchh

[ink-syringe]

8-10 is on the low side in my opinion. Vacs exchange air for ink somewhat slowly.

 

To be sure 10-15 is what I found filled the pen full up to the tube (after which it is expelling the exact same amount of ink as it is taking in and will just more or less stay the same).

 

I would do a dozen or so pumps, hold the last one down, pull the pen out of the ink and ten let go which will suck some air in and move some of the excess ink in in through the pen to the ink reservoir. This sacrifices a tiny amount of ink but will mean your feed is not flooded. This is especially helpful if you plan to cap the pen and stick it in your pocked or bag right away. Fill a vac totally full like that and you will likely end up with excess ink dripping into the cap from jostling around.

 

YMMV.

[ac12]

As I understand it, to fill you press the button quickly, to eject ink you press the button slowly. And that seems to be how my vacs behave.

[pajaro]

You're not expelling too much ink.

 

--Daniel

 

Thanks. Assurance from those like you who are knowledgeable is appreciated.

 

As I understand it, to fill you press the button quickly, to eject ink you press the button slowly. And that seems to be how my vacs behave.

 

I didn't know this. Thanks.

 

I have found it is helpful to fill a pen in the morning if I am going to use it that day. This sidesteps issues like the pen drying out overnight and the risk of running out of ink. I don't need to fill the pen full, but it's nice to know there will be enough ink, and the pens don't use a whole lot of ink in a day. A Vacumatic with transparency in the barrel offers some assurance there is ink in there, but I found it got about one third full on eight plunger strokes. That's enough, though. As long as I know I'm not pushing all the ink out, I'm OK with holding the plunger down while pulling the pen out of the ink.

[pajaro]

I had to review this again, because I didn't seem to be getting much ink into my Vacumatic. If I had more of these pens, I would probably remember these points.

 

[parkergeo]

A small, battery-powered digital scale (100 gm capacity with readout in 0.01gm increments) can be purchased for very little money these days, and such a unit can be quite helpful when you are getting used to the filling behavior of a new pen and tracking ink consumption as you use it. Write down the dry weight of the pen after you have cleaned, rinsed and dried it, and you then have a reference value to use to determine how much ink is on board.

[Ron Z]

This article may be useful. The 51 and the Vacumatic (Major and Jr) hold about the same amount of ink. The only real difference in the amount of ink expelled is because the 51 collector is so efficient.

[RalphP]

Good information above - just one additional thought...

 

In the early 1940's or so on a very few speedline vac filler units Parker printed filling instructions on the ink pump rod. They were something like "To fill pump 9 times & Pause Between Strokes".

 

Most people, including myself, tend to pump too rapidly and don't give the the vacuum created an adequate time to draw in the ink... waiting 3 or 4 seconds between pumps really makes a big difference.

 

If you have a translucent vac you can see the process by using a clear plastic cup of water and filling the pen while holding it against good light....

[Manalto]

8-10 is on the low side in my opinion. Vacs exchange air for ink somewhat slowly.

 

To be sure 10-15 is what I found filled the pen full up to the tube...

 

No wonder I run out of ink so often! Since I can't see what's going on inside the pen, I've been plunging 3-4 times and considering it "probably full." It hasn't been a problem; in fact, I enjoy the ritual but it's good to know the proper procedure. Thanks!

[corgicoupe]

I had to review this again, because I didn't seem to be getting much ink into my Vacumatic. If I had more of these pens, I would probably remember these points.

 

This is an interesting pen. Never seen one quite like it.

[ac12]

I would just watch the bubbles.

Practice with water in a clear glass or jar.

• Submerge the pen to the middle of the section. The entire nib+feed has to be submerged.
• Push the plunger down with a quick stroke, watch for bubbles, release the plunger, wait about 3-4 seconds,
• Repeat pushing the plunger down until you see no bubbles.

If you do not see bubbles on your first stroke, the pen has a problem.

 

If you put a light on other side of the pen, you can see the level of the water/ink in the pen (except for the BLACK Vacs and 51s).

The ink level will be as high as the end of the breather tube, when held nib down.

Every once in a while I find a Vac with a disconnected breather tube. I do not think those will fill much ink.

[pajaro]

This is an interesting pen. Never seen one quite like it.

Jaxxon made and sold the brass filler units, with or without a sac installed. I saw them offered here and on ebay, but haven't seen them offered in a while. I liked the look of it. I bought a nickel finish one for a 51 vac.