Don't forget or ignore cartridge flushing.

[mikling]

As stated before, it is difficult if not impossible to predetermine but if there is a feed problem, flushing fixes it. I have seen cases where flushing has not been required for more than 10 refills and I have seen cases where in as little as five refills. The amount is not easy to predict and that is why awareness of the situation is all one can do.

The pioneers of flushing like Grandad seem to flush on a fixed period whether or not it is required and that prevents any surprise print quality issues from arising or at least any print issues related to ink feed as other problems could crop up.

It's like changing the lubricating fluids of an automobile. Some people own cars and never change the transmission fluid for a long time and they are fine, some attempt a similar feat and they end paying dearly for that neglected maintenance. A bragging lucky user can be a dangerous happy user to others not so lucky and attempt the same feat. That is why maintenance schedules are wise pieces of paper. What can be said though is that those who know to change it seldom experience the breakdowns that would occur had it not been changed.

Devise any method of doing it or not doing it but be aware that ink feed problems could occur ( but does not have to) if it is not done.

Stratman, that is a difficult question because the occurrence has been all over the map, but what I would say is that if you discover that you need to flush after 8 refills, maybe backing that off to 6 gives you a safe limit that you could be comfortable with. The colors that need flushing also varies as well...............only an intense, well run study could make conclusions. The scope to do that would be huge as time is a factor in one of those conditions.

Keep in mind that even Canon recommends that you consume or not use cartridges that have been installed for more than 6 months. That indicates to me that they know that eventually the drying ink within the sponge will cause something. What is that something...........I don't exactly know. Is it a ploy to get users to throw cartridges away? Could be, but I doubt it.

If you think this effect is only related to Canon, it is not so. HP sponge based cartridges typically have a refill kind of limit of approximately 6 times or so and then they experience feed problems which mask themselves as clogged or burnt out nozzles. Better remanufacturers typically flush out these cartridges to revitalize them again to gain reliable ink feed. Again that is telling of a process that is going on within the sponge or absorbent material.

 

[stratman]

Mikling:

Thanks for the response.

I figured to flush cartridges between every 5-10 refills even if no issues presented. I may just do it at after the 5th refill since refill ink is cheaper to purge than buying a new Canon OEM cartridge or a new printhead. Having two sets of cartridges guarantees no waiting for a fresh refill when the time comes even when purging the other cartridge.

BTW, how long do your silicone plugs last when removed for refilling/purging or even if left alone in the cartridge?

When you remove the plug for refilling/purging do you need to replace with a new one, ie are they one time use only?

Also, what size drill bit is required if you don't care to pop out the ball in the cartridge?

 

[mikling]

The silicone plugs should last a very very long time as silicone rubber is very high grade and one of the most inert material to use.
The silicone plugs are very reusable multiple times. If you nick them, they will tear if you force them too much.

This is what I have surprisingly discovered and really is not a surprise when I think of it, the holes on the Canon bodies actually vary a very small amount between cartridges. Well, moulds do wear and they must use multiple moulds and none will be exact exactly the same so this is really no surprise. The consequence of this is that due to the tight fit, some plugs may seem tighter than others.

When flushing, take the opportunity to use a 5/32" ( more common) or try a 9/64" (less common) drill to make each hole identical and the fit will now be perfect amongst all the bodies. this is best done when flushing so that any stray plastic removed can be rinsed away.

 

[billcf]

Quick and easy

http://underside.110mb.com/Carclean/

 

[stratman]

Mikling:

Thank you for the detailed explanations. I am considering purchase of the plugs. I already use and like your ink, so your experiences and products are appreciated.

 

[Defcon2k]

I bought my ip5200 1,5 years ago and own 2 sets of carts.
The first one was delivered with the printer: I refill them since the beginning using the "Durchstich" method and never had to flush them until now (I do nozzle checks from time to time and after inserting a fresh refilled cart). The second set of carts I bought from ebay, flushed them using Grandad's method, let them dry thoroughly, sealed the hole with hot glue and also refill them using the Durchstich method. (Btw: when flushing I did not care if the chip gets wet. After the procedure, I flushed the chip with distilled water and a syringe (to remove any unwanted things which might be in tap water and might be eletric. conductive or corrosive), and let the whole cart dry thoroughly, until I was sure that the chip was dry at the front and the back).

I will flush my carts as soon as I notice problems with the ink feed. Until now, there were none. I can't say why: perhaps because I don't print that much (refilled my 1st set of carts only 10 times in these 1,5 years), or perhaps because of the ink (Inktec) or because I refill as soon as there is but a little ink left in the ink chamber (to prevent the sponge becoming to dry), or because I put a cart on it's sides and let it rest for some minutes to saturate the sponge with ink (if I had the feeling that the sponge was too dry).

My text above is just a description of what I am doing. I don't know if everything is right, but so far it all works fine for me.

 

[panos]

I no longer purge my cartridges. I just squeeze the sponge area while refilling to remove air bubbles from the sponge. I am using the same cartridges and rubber plugs since I last posted here (except a problematic magenta cart that was replaced) and haven't purged since then. That's more than one and a half year I think.

 

[jru]

Defcon2,

I recently purged 10 cartridges that someone gave me. This was the first time I purged carts.

All seemed to work well. Because I am using the german refill method (which I learned from you), I preferred not to make a hole over the reservoir for purging, which could be a potential source of future leaks. So I used pharmacist's suggestion to fill the reservoir with clean water prior to purging. This worked well.

But when it came time to dry, because there was no hole over the reservoir, it was harder for the droplets of water in the empty reservoir to evaporate.
So I left it to keep on drying...
By the time that most of the water droplets were gone, the sponge was now very dry.

When I went to refill, the ink has had a hard time absorbing into the sponge.
(A day and a half after refilling, most of the sponge is now absorbed, but it has been very slow at doing so).

I am curious whether you had similar experience when the sponges were very dry?

Since we are using the german method with no hole over the reservoir, I am considering if it might make more sense to get a hand vacuum pump to remove most of the water from the sponge after purging, but leaving it slightly wet so that the ink can be absorbed easier.

I know that pharmacist posted a formula to put into the sponge to help absorption, but a vacuum pump seems preferrable and seems like it would speed up the purge/refill process.

 

[Defcon2k]

When I went to refill, the ink has had a hard time absorbing into the sponge.
(A day and a half after refilling, most of the sponge is now absorbed, but it has been very slow at doing so).

I am curious whether you had similar experience when the sponges were very dry?

Oh sorry, I think my post above was a little bit inaccurate. I flushed the carts as Grandad suggested, and also refilled them as he suggested. After this initial refill process, I sealed the new holes with hot glue and use the Durchstich method to refill them.
This means: After flushing the carts, I pressed a syringe on the refill hole to make this more or less airtight. Then I made some movements with the syringe to generate some high pressure/low pressure to force the ink into the sponge. (Only opening in the cartridge: the normal vent hole at the top which every cart has) So it took only about 2 minutes to saturate the sponge.
You can see my first refill after flushing here (starts at ~3:00).

I don't have any experience how to flush or refill the carts for the first time without a special hole for that. Perhaps you can just put a cap on the ink outlet and refill normally using the Durchstich method. But this time, you try to press the long needle to the hole where the needle enters the sponge chamber to make it airtight. Now you make some up/down movements with the syringe to generate some high and low pressure to force the ink into the sponge.

But: probably you are not able to seal the syringe strong enough with the small refill hole to make this really airtight (or "inktight"). So ink may get pressed out of the refill hole when you force the ink in.
Well, I did not put much thought in alternatives... I just used Grandad's method


edit: Transferred the imageshack pic to a different hoster. Hopefully it works now.

 

[jru]

Defcon2k,

I had seen your video before, but it helped reviewing it again.
I can see how you were able to push the ink into the sponge with the syringe.

Was the sponge completely dry in your video?

Your post really helps clarify...
(however, I was not able to load the PNG image from the address above. ERROR: Request URL could not be retrieved).

Makes me reconsider making a hole over the reservoir, however I will try pushing the syringe against the small german method fill hole first to see if I could accomplish the same without ink coming out of the hole... Maybe it will work.

Thanks for clarifying!