A wet-vac is great for post-purge evacuation...

[RWP]

I finally got around to purging some BCI-3e and BCI-6 carts that had been sitting dry in a recycle bin for several years. Used a solution of 20% isopropyl alcohol and 80% distilled water to dissolve the old ink, worked great -- particularly for the 3e pigment black carts. Flushed them out until clear discharge was seen exiting the bottom, by using warm tap water running from a kitchen faucet into the cart's ink tank fill hole. Then ran some distilled water though to help remove the minerals present in our local hard water.

Now at this stage many DIY refillers will blow out the sponge by mouth via the top vent port or let the carts sit in the sun a day or two... but I decided instead to use the suction of a wet-vac applied to the cart's bottom discharge port -- works great! Two precautions though: don't use if the solution in the carts is flammable (no chance here since the alcohol used at first was all flushed out) and don't apply full vacuum to the cart (could collapse structure or suck out some sponge).

Nice to have a freshly purged cart without much remaining water in the sponge...

 

[pharmacist]

RWP,

thanks for the tip. Keep in mind to add the propylene glycol or glycerol (2-3 %) when you have suffer from decreased absorption by the sponge and then suck this solution out, WITHOUT having a second distilled water flush. The reason is that the propylene glycol/glycerol acts as an humectant to condition the sponge structure, enabling to absorb the ink much faster and better. When you reflush again with distilled water this substance is removed from the sponge.....

Do not be afraid of having a spontaneous combustion of the isopropanol, since 20 % is far to low to achieve this: when you suck out this solution both the water and the isopropanol will be removed leaving a very tiny amount of this propylene glycol/gycerol behind, conditioning the sponge.

 

[mrelmo]

if you aquire used cartridges it is always good to flush them , but if you are not going to use them for months or maybe a year or so, how should they be stored, i do not think filled with ink is the best way to go, nor dry, should they be filled with distilled water or the water/glycerol solution until needed

 

[ghwellsjr]

I have used cartridges I purchased on eBay years ago most of which I have stored in ziplock bags but I don't worry about these problems. I believe that vacuum refilling takes care of all the problems for which purging is the usual solution. I've never had any problem with the cartridges I refill for myself or several of my friends.

 

[Tin Ho]

I refilled many used PGI-5bk ink cartridge I bought on eBay. None of them worked without a purge first. Perhaps vacuum fill method does make a difference. I think it is still a risk. I had a few that were completely faulty. They were completely revived after a purging. It is so clear to me that a purge is no question a good thing to do. I have not tried vacuum fill. I do not know how it could take care of the problem.

 

[pharmacist]

mrelmo,

not with distilled water as this will cause fungus and algae to grow inside your cartridge. My special conditioning solution acts as an antimicrobial solution as well and prevents nasty algae and bacteria to grow inside your cartridge. Do you need to fill up the cartridge with this solution ? The answer is no: just blow out the excess solution and put the slightly moisturized cartridges into a well sealing box (type: Tupperware or similar).

If the solution is completely evaporated ? No problem: the tiny amount of glycerin from the conditioning solution still remains after the isopropanol and the water are gone and this glycerin is conditioning your sponge and when you inject the ink inside cartridge the ink is very rapidly and evenly distributed into the sponge, thanks to the tiny film of glycerin in the sponge.

 

[mrelmo]

the solution is 3% glycerin, 20% alcohol to 100% water (distilled) correct

 

[pharmacist]

yes it is: best to take high quality isopropyl alcohol (=isopropanol) as some rubbing alcohol (denaturated ethanol) contains some additives which may interfere with the inks (especially denatonium chloride, used to make it unpalatable/unpotable). So check if your alcohol is clean enough and does not contains perfumes and other additives. However sometimes rubbing alcohol is rendered non potable by adding some of the toxic methanol, but this is ok for the sponge/ink (but be careful not swallow it !)

 

[qwertydude]

Hmm is rubbing alcohol in Belgium ethanol? Here in the United States rubbing alcohol is de facto isopropyl.

 

[RWP]

RWP,

thanks for the tip. Keep in mind to add the propylene glycol or glycerol (2-3 %) when you have suffer from decreased absorption by the sponge and then suck this solution out, WITHOUT having a second distilled water flush. The reason is that the propylene glycol/glycerol acts as an humectant to condition the sponge structure, enabling to absorb the ink much faster and better. When you reflush again with distilled water this substance is removed from the sponge.....

Do not be afraid of having a spontaneous combustion of the isopropanol, since 20 % is far to low to achieve this: when you suck out this solution both the water and the isopropanol will be removed leaving a very tiny amount of this propylene glycol/gycerol behind, conditioning the sponge.

I was too lazy to get glycerin (and can't buy propylene glycol locally) for the purge formula and that must be why the ink didn't fully absorb into the sponge in a few of the carts I did. (Perhaps the sponges that absorbed best had some residual humectant left over from the old ink). Lesson learned... :/