Cold Weather And Sac Fillers

[takkun]

So for the last couple of weeks, we've had a bit of cold here in Boston. It even snowed yesterday, though, oddly enough only here in the Fenway and not downtown. I hear the big stuff is on its way, but it's been mostly clear and windy.

And sub-freezing.

 

I've been using my Heros more and more over my piston fillers, and on my commute last week (which involved a 10 minute walk from the subway) I came in from the cold, and my pens were leaking just a bit. Nothing catastrophic, but enough to coat the sections and the inside of the cap (and subsequently the end of the barrel after posting) with Baystate Blue. This happened a couple days in a row. I can't say for my pistons, since they've been at home and warm.

 

Today, I had a fair bit of writing to do, so I kept a pencil with me (gasp!) just in case, but kept my pens in my pocket instead of my shoulder bag. Just fine.

 

Even with the breather tube, is the thermal cycling causing the leaking? Just wondering. It would make sense that the warmth of coming inside would increase the volume of air in the sac, but that would be negated since I filled them indoors.

[LedZepGirl]

That's all normal and it does occur because of internal pen pressure changes due to temperature fluctuations. I'm all to familiar with it, trudging around on a frozen campus then entering a roasting hot, steam heated building and finding that one of my pens has puked ink into the cap. Keep a pack of tissues with you to clean up messes and maybe refrain from carrying pens in your pocket, where a mishap will be more obvious- if it gets out of hand.

[Ipno Tizer]

I can only imagine that as the pen cooled down air was drawn through the feed into the sack. As this would take some drops of ink into the reservoir you wouldn't notice it. But then, when you go into a warm building, there is now mow air in the sack than when you filled it and it's expanding.

 

In the ideal world, as the pen cooled, it would take all of the ink into the sack. But in the real world, there could still be ink in the feed when the air begins to expand again. At this point the pen leaks.

 

But you've found the solution. Keep the pen in a warm pocket.

 

In the last few weeks we've been getting a lot of snow and ice here in the UK and the temperatures in Derby have been down to -15C (5 F).The forecasts say that the temperatures are going back down again from tonight on.

 

So maybe I'll leave my sack fillers at home for the time being.

 

Chris B.

 

 

[bassopotamus]

My solution is just not to take sac fillers out in the cold (although it is only one of my 51s that has done anything bad to me this winter, a sheaffer and pilot 78 didn't).

[Paddler]

This can be more of a problem with pens that have feeds without large fins that go all the way round the underside. Anyway, store the pens overnight nib up. In the morning, transfer them, without tipping them, directly into your shirt pocket where they can warm up without ink in the feed. It also helps to keep pens full in cool weather. The smaller the air bubble in the reservoir, the less expansion and less burping.

 

The Parker 21 is notorious for burping during warm-up. Keeping these pens nib-up with an empty feed during warming gets around this little "feature".

 

Paddler

Edited December 17, 2010 by Paddler

[teej47]

...but kept my pens in my pocket instead of my shoulder bag. Just fine.

 

 

There's your answer, both to problem and solution. Your pens should always be riding point up in your pocket. Remember that regardless how large a pen may be, it's a relatively small reservoir that the ink rides in... so it 'feels' the impact of pressure and temperature differences more than something that's bigger. Think about how a 20 ounce plastic water bottle expands and contracts under the same conditions and it's what, 600 times greater volume? Since the ink reservoir in a pen has an opening designed to facilitate the exchange of atmosphere and fluid, that's always what it is going to do. If the pen isn't point up when that happens, ink will be forced out along with air whenever internal pressure exceeds external. Doesn't matter whether there is a breather tube or not.

 

If your pens are in your pocket they will be far less exposed to rapid temperature change (assuming you wear a coat, anyway), so you negate the issue right there. Also, unless you're prone to doing a lot of jumping jacks on the subway, your shoulder bag is subjected to a lot more jarring than your shirt pocket ever would be. No doubt far more than one would imagine. Try giving your pen a good shake and see what happens. That's kinda what it's subjected to in a pack, bag, or satchel.

 

If I'm carrying a pen anywhere other than my shirt pocket, it's either in my hand or empty. When I walked from the bus into work this morning it was at least 45 degrees warmer inside than out. My Skyline never even noticed, since it remained toasty warm in my shirt pocket.

 

Tim

[burmeseboyz]

Wear a pocket protector just to be safe and keep your pens in your shirt pocket to help maintain their temperature.

[psfred]

I had a problem a couple years ago where all my Parker pens burped ink into the cap at the same time. I finally figured out that leaving them lying on their side on my desk is a bad idea. Large temperature fluctuations from the fairly cold room and sunlight on the desk in the afternoon caused them to inhale and exhale air, and because they were on their sides, ink.

 

I now keep them in an old coffee cup and warm them up before using them. If it do not, every pen I have will barf ink sooner or later, including my Parker 61s, otherwise perfectly behaved pens. "51"s will also ooze ink while writing if I pick them up cold and start writing. When held nib down, there is nowhere for the air to go as the collector will fill with ink.

 

If you must carry them outside a shirt pocket, make sure they stay nib up, and that you warm them up before using them to write.

 

Peter