A Parker 51 Question

[The_Beginner]

So I had purchased a parker 51 from an antique store for 10$( i know it was a steal) I cleaned it up made sure everything was working, added some diamine ink in it but at times when I was writing notes, the pen would completely stop writing. At first, I presumed it was not enough ink so I refilled it but after the problem still remained.

 

Do any of wise men and women of FPN know as to why this is?

[WhiteStarPens]

It could be a blockage with the feed, causing the exchange of air and ink to fail and thus hampering capillary action.

If you think it's not filling properly, perhaps there is a detachment of the breather tube. The tube is designed to help the sac fill more efficiently and you might be simply running out of ink. Does the pen rattle or can you feel like there's something loose within the ink sac? You don't need to shake it like a mad thing, you'll soon know if there's a problem.

 

Also, did you fully disassemble the pen and clean the individual component parts?

 

If you're confident, there are many books and online resources on the subject - SBRE Brown and Grandmia Pens have disassembly videos - to guide you through the steps.

 

If not, you might like to send it to a pen repair person. Battersea Pen Home, Vintage Fountain Pens or Peter Twydle, to name but a few in the UK.

 

Hope this was of some help,

 

WSP

[Driften]

In the Parker section of the forums there is a pinned topic for what to do after getting a "51" in the wild. You might start there with the instructions for soaking. In many cases the collector is clogged...

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi TB,

 

Before you disassemble anything, try the simple approach first... it helps if you're simple-minded, like me... pump out as much of the ink you filled it with as you can... then REFILL it with a product called Rapido-Eze... and then let the pen lay horizontally for a couple of days... pump it out... see what color it is when you pump it out... if it's dark, it's loaded with ink remains yet, repeat cycle until it pumps out near clear... then try regular ink again and see how it performs.

 

If its still acting up... you'll probably want to look into disassembly. But, you may find you've solved your problem w/o that.

 

Be well and enjoy life.

 

 

- Anthony

[ParkerDuofold]

Just to follow-up...

 

I had the same exact problem you described with my "Fox51," the protocol I described above did the trick for me.

 

 

- A.C.

[The_Beginner]

Thank you for replies,

 

PD I did reclean oddly enough using your method I found that when I pressed the sac a few air bubbles came out the side of the well. I have as now no clue what this could mean.

 

Also WSP I was able to remove the hood/nib. But the remaining parts including the sac were on pretty tight and I was worried they would break or snap. I had tried dry heat with water and hair conditioner but to no avail.

[ParkerDuofold]

PD I did reclean oddly enough using your method I found that when I pressed the sac a few air bubbles came out the side of the well. I have as now no clue what this could mean.

Hi TB,

 

You evidently have a breech somewhere that's permitting air into system... hence the bubbles... unfortunately, that's beyond my scope of expertise... I've only had Fever51 for a very short time.

 

You may want to bring this problem up in the Parker forum where the Parkophiles gather around the big Quink hole.

 

Be well, I hope its an easy fix.

 

 

- Anthony

[pajaro]

Why remove the sac? If you haven't solved the problem with the things you have done, what do you think sac removal will help? If you tear the sac, you will need a new PVC sac. Refer to Parker forum, or just send it to The Write Pen and Tom Fudge.

[Paul80]

When you cleaned it did you pull out the feed from the collector to clean the breather tube, did you put the breather tube back the correct way around.

 

Did you remove the hood, is the hood o-ring present and in good condition, if it was one of the models that had the o-ring.

 

Be careful if you try the get the sac off, it's easy the snap the breather tube, so best to pull the collector and feed out first to save the accidental damage.

 

Paul

[sandy101]

It could be a simple filling problem. You need to "burp" the pen after filling, or you'll get air locks.

 

After filling, you take the pen out of the bottle and squeeze the sac so some drops of ink come out. This primes the feed, and gets the air out of the ink, so you don't get airlocks.

 

I had this problem, and changing the filling routine seemed to fix it.

 

in addition, Diamine inks vary with degrees of wetness. it may be that the ink you are using is too dry for your P51.

 

It might be worthwhile trying a fill with plain old Quink and see if you get better results.

[The_Beginner]

When you cleaned it did you pull out the feed from the collector to clean the breather tube, did you put the breather tube back the correct way around.

 

Did you remove the hood, is the hood o-ring present and in good condition, if it was one of the models that had the o-ring.

 

Be careful if you try the get the sac off, it's easy the snap the breather tube, so best to pull the collector and feed out first to save the accidental damage.

 

Paul

i removed the hood o-ring suprisingly was in good condition, and i didnt move the sac due to it being on very tightly

[vinniekowalski]

I do second Danny Fudge from The Write Pen if you end up needing repair work -- he's quick and dependable, all at a reasonable price. No connection other than a satisfied customer several times.

[Parker51]

Parker 51 ink is very damaging to breather tubes, so it is not unheard of for Parker 51 pens that were used heavily when Parker 51 inks were available have damaged or even dissolved breather tubes. This supposedly caused such a problem for Parker in regard to warranty repairs that they discontinued making the special Parker 51 ink.

[Conradandhispens]

That's strange, I would think that the feed is flogged pr the breather tube has snapped of and thus the pen won't fill properly and your simply running out of ink. Have you taken the hood off and inspected everything?