Flushing OEM cartridges

[andy_48]

I am about to embark on refilling a bunch of OEM 550/551 cartridges that I have bought on Ebay. They were sold as used once and not refilled but I have no idea if they were sealed or how long they've been hanging around. I think it prudent to flush all of them.

Also, during lock-down I have limited ability to acquire cleaning solutions so wish to make sure I don't waste my dwindling consumable resources.

I have been scouring this forum to make sure I get it "right first time" so a big thank you to all the experienced and wise heads that I have learnt from and apologies for any unaccredited plagiarism!

I think think I've cracked it but would be very grateful for any pointers if I've made glaring errors:

For all cartridges except yellow:

• Flush with Tesco de-ionised water (as many times as required) to remove the ink
• Fill with Pharmacist's solution* and let it stand overnight
• Flush with Pharmacist’s solution and empty by blowing out with empty syringe
• Use ghwellsjr's wicking method** to remove all moisture that it is possible (for about 30 mins)
• Refill the cartridge with ink and store in a cool dry sealed container.

For yellow carts:

• Flush with Windex (with ammonia) (as many times as required) to remove the ink
• Fill with Windex and let it stand overnight
• Flush with Pharmacist’s solution and empty by blowing out with empty syringe
• Use ghwellsjr's wicking method to remove all that it is possible (for about 30 mins)
• Refill the cartridge with ink and store in a cool dry sealed container.

* Pharmacist’s solution 3% propylene glycol, 20% isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and 77% distilled water
** https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/draining-a-canon-cartridge.4760/#post-33958

 

[ninj]

I've done something similar with my 551s and they seem to be working OK. When refilling a cartridge for the first time, I like to start by slowly dripping ink onto the outlet port (about 2ml). This helps to prime the sponge between the outlet and ink chamber and also gives you an indication as to how well the sponge is accepting ink. One quick tip (courtesy of @The Hat ): if you find, despite using the conditioning fluid, that any carts are refusing to accept ink, a quick squirt of IPA on the outlet port works wonders. I had this problem with a grey that I bought professionally cleaned and dried (bone dry, intended for vacuum filling). The ink just pooled on the outlet and wouldn't absorb. Pharmacist's solution didn't help. But one spray of Isopropyl alcohol made it accept ink easily, and it has been performing well ever since.

 

[The Hat]

I am about to embark on refilling a bunch of OEM 550/551 cartridges

I really admire you guys that use these OEM 550/551 cartridges, because it’s a real hit and miss when it comes to refilling, you don’t really know if your got it right or not..

It must be a constant pain in the ass to be watching out for ink starvation all the time, I got so fed up with it that I dumped the printer and bought a Maxify for my grandson, no problem since..

 

[andy_48]

I really admire you guys that use these OEM 550/551 cartridges, because it’s a real hit and miss when it comes to refilling, you don’t really know if your got it right or not..

It must be a constant pain in the ass to be watching out for ink starvation all the time, I got so fed up with it that I dumped the printer and bought a Maxify for my grandson, no problem since..

Surely, with a resetter and scales (to ensure it's full) it's just like a new one from Canon?

 

[The Hat]

Surely, with a resetter and scales (to ensure it's full) it's just like a new one from Canon?

Even I had quite a few difficulty’s with those darn OEM carts and switched to compatible ones, they turned out to be just as troublesome… No resetter at the time..

 

[palombian]

Surely, with a resetter and scales (to ensure it's full) it's just like a new one from Canon?

Indeed, and refill when the ink chamber is empty (yellow sign).
If you are very meticulous it works for a number of refills.

But I had much more trouble with these (dye) sponge cartridges than with the (pigment) printers with bags in the cart.

 

[andy_48]

I've been flushing some older cartridges this morning to practice and get used to the process. All but one have previously had the ball seal removed so flushing was relatively straight forward. The final cart I tried was a sealed (ball seal intact) PGBK550XL. This was a lot tougher to flush and I'm still not sure the flush was thorough. As all my remaining carts are still sealed, I would like to ask if there is a tried and tested method for flushing sealed carts?

 

[andy_48]

As all my remaining carts are still sealed, I would like to ask if there is a tried and tested method for flushing sealed carts?

From the lack of responses, should I assume that there isn't? I'm not that fussed about not removing the ball seal for flushing, but somehow it just seemed neater to keep the carts as Canon intended.

 

[palombian]

From the lack of responses, should I assume that there isn't? I'm not that fussed about not removing the ball seal for flushing, but somehow it just seemed neater to keep the carts as Canon intended.

You have to refill them some way, don't you ?

So either you have to remove the ball, or have to drill a hole on side of the ink exit to reach the chamber horizontally with a long needle (Durchstich aka German mode).

I used the latter (but am not sure anymore if it is the best, since you tend to destroy/relocate the sponges).

 

[andy_48]

You have to refill them some way, don't you ?

I've been top-filling for years (never tried the German method) but I'm going to have a crack at vacuum filling via the exit port. The vacuum would probably be more assured with the ball seal still in place rather than a removable bung.