FLUSHING....WHY?

[The Hat]

LOL
I was thinking more along the lines that the centrifugally removed water might leave the sock and spray all over the room walls, floor and ceiling.

Ops @stratman did you not remember me mentioning above to wrap the cart in a paper towel before inserting it in the sock, it saves having to use an umbrella indoors..

It seems to be that the BCI's are more prone to this issue than the newer CLI's ...but I have to refill these damn air blocking BCI's for my old ip4000...no success yet...

Why don’t you just switch to the CLI-8’s instead and not use the problematic BCI-6’s

 

[martin0reg]

You funny people playing with your socks...while I am struggling with a sponge...ggrrrr

Switching to CLI's would be possible, but "sub-optimal" as the BCI's has one more "nose-pieces" to hold them in the printhead
http://www.printerknowledge.com/attachments/bci-cli-jpg.1308/
The holding clip of the big pgk cast is also slightly different.

Anyway CLI will be my last chance - when I'm tired of flushing empty and stained BCI's without success..

 

[jtoolman]

Sorry but... why not just top fill.
Joe

 

[CakeHole]

Yeah im puzzled now why not just top fill (the hole you make would stop the air pocket/block/whatever it is issue you have) or why not just insert the syringe via your german method with no ink and draw back on it, thus removing any trapped air first.

Reading again are you sure the needle is long enough to reach the ink chamber, ive never in all my time reading here heard of an issue where you can not get NO INK at all into the ink chamber, that would have to be one serious air pocket or air blockage/problem for all the ink to suddenly flow upwards and straight to the sponge. Even with air issues you should be able to at least 1/4 to 1/2 fill the ink chamber.

I think the issue may be something else entirely.

 

[stratman]

Ops @stratman did you not remember me mentioning above to wrap the cart in a paper towel before inserting it in the sock, it saves having to use an umbrella indoors..

No, I did not forget about the paper towel.

 

[PeterBJ]

You funny people playing with your socks...while I am struggling with a sponge...ggrrrr

Switching to CLI's would be possible, but "sub-optimal" as the BCI's has one more "nose-pieces" to hold them in the printhead
http://www.printerknowledge.com/attachments/bci-cli-jpg.1308/
The holding clip of the big pgk cast is also slightly different.

Anyway CLI will be my last chance - when I'm tired of flushing empty and stained BCI's without success..

With the PGI-5/CLI-8 cartridge generation a groove at the bottom of the cartridges was introduced to help establishing an "ink bridge" from the reservoir to the sponge. The top cartridge is a BCI-6 and the bottom cartridge is a CLI-8

Probably this will cause the sponge to absorb ink more readily when refilling? The CLI-8 cartridges can replace the BCI-6 cartridges, but the PGI-5 cartridge needs a slight modification to replace the BCI-3e cartridge.

Sorry but... why not just top fill.
Joe

I think this is a good idea. I have read somewhere on the forum that top filling is better for saturating the lower sponge in case of over-dried cartridges. I have done some tests indicating this is true, but more tests are needed to get to a conclusion.

Inspired by this thread and mikling's videos about dry cartridges, I have also tried what might be called a hybrid Top/Freedom refill method. Instead of doing a traditional Freedom refill, I inserted a needle through the silicone plug replacing the seal ball using a 50 ml Luer-Lock syringe, and did a Freedom refill directly into the reservoir. The cartridge is held in the normal upright position for top filling and both the ink outlet and the vent is sealed. This method quickly drew ink into the sponges, but when the reservoir was filled about half, foam started to form in the reservoir. I then removed the silicone plug and finished the refill as a traditional top fill.

Maybe the foam in the reservoir was caused by my use of a Luer-Lock syringe and a thin needle? A Luer-Slip syringe fits perfectly into the fill hole, after the removal of the sealing ball. Maybe the use of a Luer-Slip syringe and no needle will form less or no foam?

I think this hybrid refill method looks promising for refilling over-dried cartridges, but more testing is needed.

 

[stratman]

There are reports of sponges moistened with water more readily taking up ink than a bone dry sponge. Could slightly hydrating the sponge help?

Will these sponges not absorb ink over time if the cartridge is left to set?

 

[CakeHole]

Looking at this post http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/flushing-why.9217/page-4#post-73025 it appears we all are/were barking up the wrong tree, he does not seem to have issues getting the sponge to take the ink but actually getting ink into the reservoir.

 

[martin0reg]

Thank you all for tips and hints...cakehole is right, it is not an issue of the sponge taking no ink..quite the contrary...
http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/flushing-why.9217/page-4#post-73025

@jtoolman: with top fill I sure would be able to fill the reservoir - but the "bad sponge" will probably behave like mikling explains in his new video, too much ink in the upper sponge while the lower sponge gives no ink (because of blocking voids or what ever)

@PeterBJ: As I said CLI will be my next step...
...and regarding your link
http://www.printerknowledge.com/thr...purged-and-thouroughly-dried-bci-6-cart.8721/
...grandad describes two cases of top fill a flushed and dust dry sponge, the first is exactly ONE of the issuues which happens to me :
"I have always noted that the first refill on a purged and thoroughly dried cart (> 6 months in my basement) will cause the ink to be immediately wicked into the sponges - all the way to the top..."
..but while refilling german in this case you are not able to fill the reservoir because you will press the ink through the upper sponge into the vent...

I think this all depends on good or bad sponges...lower and upper...flushed with water or with cleaning solution...the lower should be able to suck ink till dripping wet, without any "voids" ...the upper should more or less repel (!) ink and letting air exchange...
This week I will flush a few more old BCI's to see if this "missbehaving sponges issue" or "blocking air exchange issue" continues

 

[stratman]

Have you tried a simple forced breath of air through the top vent of these troublesome cartridges? This should force air through the sponges and out the ink exit port, possibly breaking up recalcitrant 'air voids'.