Pen-bladder

[John Stiles]

I used to fly my planes using the pen-bladder fuel delivery system.........I'm interested in doing that again with a couple applications. Is there any specific hobby stores where I might get them......any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Howard Rush]

We used to get them at the Kentucky Pen Shop in Louisville.  Much better is the yellow tubing that Phil Cartier sells: http://home.earthlink.net/~philcartier/ .  Most folks tie a knot in one end.  If you do that, make the tube a little longer than you did for a pen bladder.

[John Stiles]

Okay, I understand your link as geting me his email addy?

[Chad Hill]

Home Depot carries 1/4" ID x 3/8" OD surgical tubing which produces less fuel pressure than Phil's. If you are using a 25-ish size engine with a somewhat coarse thread nva it can make needle setting easier. Phil's material usually lasts longer, though.

[Brett Buck]

Home Depot carries 1/4" ID x 3/8" OD surgical tubing

   They do? What department? I would like to get some.

     Brett

[John Stiles]

Home Depot carries 1/4" ID x 3/8" OD surgical tubing which produces less fuel pressure than Phil's. If you are using a 25-ish size engine with a somewhat coarse thread nva it can make needle setting easier. Phil's material usually lasts longer, though.

What about if you use glycerin?

[Howard Rush]

   They do? What department? I would like to get some.

   What about if you use glycerin?

Being a wise guy, I was going to answer both these questions with, "You don't need any."  This reminds me of a story.  Where I worked there was an electronic box that performed different functions when plugged into one airplane than it did in when plugged into another.  The exact same box had different names, depending on which airplane it was plugged into, yet it had a common acronym: SAM, I think.  Writing a document to explain all that was amusing.

Now back to the questions:

Brett, if you can't find any at HD, you don't want much, and you can convince me that your purpose in having such tubing is for the benefit of Stunt, Mankind, or some linear combination thereof, I'll send you some. 

We used glycerin on bladders to try to keep them from breaking, so I guess that's what you have in mind. Even hardware- or fishing-store latex tubing is so much stronger than pen bladders that nobody messes with a lubricant.  Phil's stuff is even better.  He also sells little fittings that go into the proximal end of the bladder to which you attach the fuel hose.  If you give me your postal address, I'll send you some tubing for Christmas.   

[George]

Getting back to the original question, DOES anyone still make pen bladders?

I don't want them for models but I have some antique fountain pens I'd like to restore. No modern fountain pens seem to use bladders. Most use refillable or replaceable cartridges.

George

PS I'm surprised that noone mentioned pacifier tanks.

[John Stiles]

Getting back to the original question, DOES anyone still make pen bladders?

I don't want them for models but I have some antique fountain pens I'd like to restore. No modern fountain pens seem to use bladders. Most use refillable or replaceable cartridges.

George

PS I'm surprised that noone mentioned pacifier tanks.

Okay, I'll bite; what about Pacifier tanks

[Chad Hill]

Our Home Depot sells surgical tubing where the valves and fittings for outdoor sprinkler systems are. It's about $15 for ten feet.

Texas Timers (free-flight suppliers) in Johnson City, TN sells bladder fittings that reduce pressure. Jim Carpenter told me about them. I was having trouble getting consistent needle settings on LA25s and Fox 25s using OS-10 and -1A remote nvas. One click too lean, one click too rich, etc. from one flight to the next. Using these fittings with the lower pressure HD tubing really helped with the metering.

Last time I checked Gerber made a pacifier that looked identical to the old binkys. They were about $2 a piece, however. SSW had a long thread on pacifiers a while back, it may still be in the archives...   

[john e. holliday]

I take it he has googled pen bladders.  A fellow I worked with used to make the ink pens for the pen bladders with the bladder installed.  Would ask him, but he left this world a couple of years ago.

[minnesotamodeler]

Pacifier tanks...Binkies were the berries.

I still run one on my single remaining 60s combat wing--Fox Rocket .35.

[Jim Thomerson]

So far as I could tell the Binky was the same as the squeeze bulbs for pipettes.  Much cheaper as there were many in the department stockroom.  A search for pipette bulbs might turn them up, but I think they have been crushed under the wheels of progress.

[Dwayne]

http://www.pensacs.com/New%20Pages/catalog.html

Hi John here's a site I found.

[John Stiles]

http://www.pensacs.com/New%20Pages/catalog.html

Hi John here's a site I found.

Outstanding, thanks!

[Paul Smith]

We used to use genuine PEN BLADDERS in the early 1960's.  Even then they were bordering on obsolete.  I found a stach in an old time stationary shop in Detroit.  I tried to buy him out and he asked me why I wanted so many.  When I explained about model airplanes, he refused to make the sale.  He explained that he needed them to support his fountain pen customers and wasn't sure if he could get more.

Anyway, pen bladders were A LOT less reliable than baby pacifiers, pipette tops and surgical tubing bladders.   The low pressure was nice, but the frequent breakage was not.