Schmidt 888 cartridge issue

[knowltoh]

I have 35 Schmidt 888 refills that were in my shop over the winter. I know most if you don't deal with the northern MI cold, but all of the refills incurred a slight bulge at the business end of the refill from 0.245" to 0.248". They no longer fit and I will be replacing them with 5888 refills. From now on, i will put all of my refills in the house for the winter.

 

[mecompco]

Ouch! I wonder if they would withstand being chucked up and taking off a couple thousandth (or whatever) so they'll fit?

Regards,
Michael

 

[knowltoh]

I did that on a couple and it works fine. The only issue is that all of the "Schmidt" printed detail on the cartridge is removed. I didn't want to present a new pen that way, but will keep and use them as spares. I am going to go with the 5888 refill.

 

[alphageek]

Wow... I assume that means the ink inside froze???

If you replace with the 5888, the metal body may keep its shape better, but I'd still be worried that freezing may not be great for the ink. Storing indoors sounds like a good plan!

PS - I am NO expert on ink, so this is all just a guess on my part. I have no idea the temp that ink freezes at or if it hurts it, just better safe than sorry.

 

[knowltoh]

I spend the winter in FL leaving my shop completely shut down for 6 months. Temperatures last winter were as low as -30F.

 

[Smitty37]

I don't think anyone would willingly guarantee any refill to -30 degrees. I think I would find a way to store the refills (all refills) in a more "human" environment.