advice from the experts…

[mp830]

Hoping this will be seen by the resident cli-8 gurus, you know who you are:

I recently got two MP830s both in not-much-used/excellent condition for next to nothing. One of them is now my new machine. The other is in reserve. And my original still prints docs OK if not 100% on photos.

I also picked up for free a pair of MP830s with shot logic boards, thinking I'd maybe get good printheads out of them, but no on that. Still, I can probably replace the dead scanner on my original machine.

I can't really afford the space needed to keep whole carcasses around on the off-chance that one day I'll break a bit of plastic trim. I'm not an electronics person, so I'm thinking I should just keep those things that can be swapped fairly easily that are most likely to go wrong.

In addition to waste ink pads, scanner bulbs, power supply… what else do you recommend I should keep for spares?

thanks for your thoughts

 

[PeterBJ]

Canon printers contain a number of micro switches used for door sensors etc. These switches are not hermetically sealed so over time they will corrode and cause problems with error messages. I suggest to keep some of the switches. Don't try to unsolder the switches if you cannot loosen the connectors, but cut the wires instead. You might have luck in cleaning a switch, but it is a very fiddly job, so a spare could be nice to have.

I would also keep a few gaskets from the defunct print heads. Else you will have a problem if you lose one of the gaskets.

If you have the CD printing trays, I would also keep or sell them.

Removing a purge unit and cleaning it to keep as a spare is very involved, maybe not worth the effort.

This is what I would add to your suggested list.

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Tear it down to learn how to do it without risk?