Canon 245 and 246 cartridge refill issue

[fdm2000]

Using a Canon MG 2522 printer using PG 245 and CL246. I have viewed many YouTube refilling videos and none ever seem to address the problem I have each time I do a refill. To be specific - after filling either cartridges as shown in the videos, within minutes ink begins emptying out of the print head and creating a mess. I have no idea what I am doing wrong. In none of the refill videos I have watched does this happen? Because of this problem I can never proceed to complete the refill steps.

Can some one enlighten me on why this is happening and what can be done to to avoid this problem. I have so far been unable to effectively and cleanly refill these cartridges.

TIA Frank

 

[PeterBJ]

The cause of leaking from these cartridges is overfilling. The purpose of the sponge is to hold the ink so the printhead must actively draw ink from the sponge. Without sponge all the ink would leak from the printhead. But the sponge can only hold so much ink, if you try to fill in more ink than the sponge can absorb, the cartridge will leak.

YouTube instructions might be OK, but often they are not. Better instructions are found from reputable dealers of refill ink and accessories. Here are instructions for the refill of PG545 and CL546 and the XL versions of these cartridges. The PG545 and CL546 cartridges are the European versions of the North American PG245 and CL246. Apart from regional coding and name the cartridges are identical. Notice that it is important to avoid overfilling.

I hope this helps.

 

[fdm2000]

Kind of you to respond Peter - many thanks. I assumed the carts were empty and injected the capacity amounts for listed for each empty cartridge. Apparently Canon has set up the ink monitor to show empty when in fact they are not? I have previously filled until the ink appears at the entry hole I created. Will check out the instructions you provided.

 

[PeterBJ]

A problem with these cartridges is that the sponges don't fill the sponge compartments completely, there is an airspace above the sponge, and this space is bigger in the standard cartridges as the capacity is limited by using a lower sponge and keeping it in place by tabs on the lid. This makes it very easy to accidentally overfill these cartridges, as a lot of ink can be here before the ink will overflow the from the refill hole. XL cartridges are much better for refill as the risk of overfilling is less. Notice that when ink is visible in the refill hole that one or two ml of ink should be removed.

Here and here are refill instructions from a British refill ink seller. Notice that XL cartridges are recommended for refill and you should be careful with refilling the standard cartridges to avoid leakage.

We recommend sticking to the lower fill for the PG-545 as these cartridges have a smaller sponge and are physically restricted inside the cartridge. As such over filling them can result in ink spilling inside your printer.

The same applies to the colour cartridges CL546 (CL246)

Here is a post showing the capacity limiting by using different height sponges.

And here is a scan of a opened PG510 cartridge, that is similar to the standard PG245. notice the lid with tabs and that there is room for a lot of ink above the sponge:

 

[fdm2000]

Many thanks again Peter - your advice and guidance has been most appreciated.

Frank