What is difference in Pilot Converters

[Butch46]

I have some Pilot (or Pilot style) converters, one of which I put in my Pilot Custom and it fits and works fine. I see various Pilot converters listed as CON-20, CON-40, CON-50, & CON-70, but have no idea how they differ. Also, I have no idea which one of them I have in my pen (the others that I have appear to be the same model).

Are they interchangable, differing only in their ink capacity, and I can use any of the above models in my pen? Or are there differences between them which dictate which converter can be used in a specific Pilot C/C pen?

 

[Beakerz]

The 20 is a squeeze-type bladder converter... holds just under 1ml if memory serves me right. Since it has no screw on the top, it’s shorter and should fit in most pens.

The 40 holds 0.4ml of ink, screw-type. It is as short as the 20, and has a little metal piece in it that is supposed to help prevent ink starvation. That being said, I’ve heard of a lot of people having issues filling them up all the way.

The 50 is screw-type, and holds 0.5ish ml. It also may not fit in the smallest pilots, due to the screw handle on top.

Think of the 70 as a larger version of the 50.... I’ve never used it, but I would assume it holds 0.7ml, given the previous two. It likely won’t fit in any but the larger pilots.

 

[Butch46]

Beakerz,

Thanks for explaining the differences among the Pilot convertrs. Now, allow me to ask another thing about them - the ones I have contain sever small "ball bearings". What is the purpose for them? When I fill the converter with ink I don't observe any action by those little balls to aid in the process. They make me think of the ball in a rattle can of paint, but if I were to shake the pen in the manner of a paint can I would suspect that ink would splatter everywhere out of the nib.

Smiff

 

[Beakerz]

From what I’ve been told, they’re there to break the surface tension between the ink and the side wall of the converter, which could lead to ink not flowing properly down the converter to the feed. That being said, I haven’t had much issue with flow in any of my pens that don’t have a widget in them. It’s the standard YMMV, and would likely depend on your writing style and what ink you liked to use.

 

[Butch46]

Thanks again, Beakerz!

 

[tankerjohn]

The Con 70 works by pushing a button at the top and sucks up the ink by a vacuum action. It only fits in the larger pens (Custom 74 and up). I don’t own one, so that’s all I know. People seem to either love it or hate it. Some people find it hard to use and a pain to clean, but other people find it intuitive and easy to clean. Sounds like YMMV.

 

[Beakerz]

John's right (that would have been an error on my part). To be honest, I don't even know of anyone who's used one.

 

[Cl3anShav3]

they'll all fit on the same feed. the length of the converters is what makes the difference in fitting in pilot pens.

 

[Jut]

If yours has "ball bearings" in it, you probably have the con 40, which is total ****e in my opinion.

The con 20 is an "aerometric" style converter. Mine was all silver in color.

The con 40 and con50 are both piston type converter. The com 50 has a black piston nob whereas the 40 has a clear nob.

The con 70 is a push button type filler.

Pilot phased out the con 20 and con 50 in favor of the con 40

To complicate things more, I believe pilot makes a converter that only comes on the metropolitan, but I have never owned one, nor do I know what it looks like.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Beakerz]

To complicate things more, I believe pilot makes a converter that only comes on the metropolitan, but I have never owned one, nor do I know what it looks like.

I have a couple Mets at home - I know I have a 20 in one of them, but I’ll see if I can take a look at what came with them.

 

[tankerjohn]

To complicate things more, I believe pilot makes a converter that only comes on the metropolitan, but I have never owned one, nor do I know what it looks like.

Actually, Goulet now sells that converter separately. They call is the "Con B". Looks very similar to the Con 20. I'm not sure why anyone would buy one separately. Its okay on the Metro. But its major weakness is that you can't see the ink level. I suppose that's okay if you use the same pen everyday and fill it regularly with the same ink. But not ideal if you're working through a rotation or change inks often.