Admiral (snorkel filler) performance

December 1, 2005

I finally got all the parts needed to rejuvenate my new (to me) snork. I used one of Tryphon's point gasket o-rings on top of the point gasket that was in there (to be safe), and a new o-ring for the barrel. I put in a fresh sac with the good old amber shellac. I put grease on the section threads where the barrel screws on, on the threads of the sac protector, on the outside of the metal tube that slides inside the barrel, and on the sac end of the snorkel tube (for half its length - to promote good seal around the point gasket).

The pen fills, though I'm not sure if it's filling 100%. The performance I'm seeing is that it will write for a short time, then seem to dry up. If I gently shake the pen up and down over paper a huge glob of ink will come out of the snorkel tube occasionally. When the nib dries up it is very hard to get it going again. The drying-up is unwanted, as are the blobs from the snorkel.

Is this a sign of an obvious problem? I plan to investigate further tonight, but any leads are welcome; that being, of course, why I'm writing this.

When the pen is filled and in "writing position" the snorkel tube sticks out of the feed just...maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of a mm. Maybe that puts it far enough out that the feed isn't getting a good supply of ink? Or maybe I don't have the slit in the snorkel tube lined up precisely enough with the feed? I mean, that slit is really close to being perfectly lined up, but it's not dead-on.

December 1, 2005

Congrats on the repair!

While not an expert (I've done a dozen or so snorkels) I do believe that the slit on the filler tube must be facing the nib, and since this is where the ink flows to the feed it needs to be all the way in. Perfect allignment isn't critical, but the closer the better.

You didn't say if this was a triumph or open nib, but with triumphs I get best result if the slant of the tube is flush with the surface of the feed. I have a NOS open nibbed snorkel that has the tube sitting up 1/2 mm out of the hole, but I'm not sure if that is correct.

When replacing the sac (if you pushed the nipple out of the end by sticking a rod in through the old sac) you might have pushed the tube out a bit. The tube can be adjusted to the right depth in the nipple, an the a touch of shellac around its base helps.

There is also a seal in the end of the pneumatic tube where the blind cap attaches to the metal tube. This too needs to be air tight to get a good compression of the sac. I understand that this is the seal that many restorers forget. Some people remove the screw holding the blind cap on (from inside the pneumatic tube) and put in a dab of rubber cement.

Again, others will know better, but these are some of the things that have worked for me.

I just love those old snorkels!!

Tom Scott

December 1, 2005

Oh, and the blob may indicate a leak in the sac somewhere.

Just another 2 cents worth.

Good Luck!

Tom Scott

December 2, 2005

Your snorkel tube may be clogged. When you replaced the sac, did you soak and blow through the snork tube until cleaned out? In order to do this you'll have to take the sack back off (or you can try just flushing with water.

If the slit is close to lined up that should not be the problem. I've got a few with teh slit maybe 15-20 degress off center and its fine.

Were you careful not to get the grease that you put on the outside of the snorkel tube INTO the tube. Grease in that tube is NOT a good idea. It will really screw with the flow. You don't need to grease the tube if you have a good gasket seal.