Leaking refilled BCI 3 and 6 Canon cartridges

[fdm2000]

I have been filling my Canon i560 cartridges for quite some time and wonder if anyone has an explanation for why some empty cartridges leak after refilling. The leakage occurs at one of two locations (sometimes at both) - at the vent hole at the rear of the cartridge above the foam filled chamber and at the exit port at the bottom.

I use the same technique for filling all cartridges and some fill without incident and others begin leaking sooner or later after filling. I use plastic electrical tape to seal the drilled fill port and the exit port which seems to work fine with some cartridges and not with others.


Any thoughts or suggestions.

Thank

Frank

 

[Manuchau]

If they are leaking, then some air must be getting in. I would suggest thst you buy a $5.00 small glue gun, which will seal any holes very well. I've been doing this for 3 years now, with no leaks.

Good luck!!

 

[fotofreek]

Manuchau is correct that air must be getting in. Although various tapes may work reasonably well most of the time, you are experiencing the fact that sometimes tape doesn't effect a complete seal. The glue gun can do a very positive seal. Read the series of posts on sealing the fill hole on this forum for a pretty complete discussion on this issue. My preference is the screw/o-ring technique.

As for the ink leaking out of the air vent (over the sponge chamber), You are probably overfilling the carts. You need to leave a little headroom when you fill the reservoir chamber to prevent ink from getting in the vent. Overfilling will cause leakage at the vent, as you've described, and can also cause the cart to not feed properly.

 

[fdm2000]

Thanks for the responses - I will henceforth go with the glue gun. Not sure what is meant by the screw seal - could you elaborate please.

Regarding the vent hole leaks, the problem is not related to overfilling because I always leave some headroom or free space - usually over 1/4 inch. Moreover the ink flows out of the vent hole long before even 1/4 inch of the tank has been filled. Just today I had that experience which caused all of the injected ink to flow out of the vent hole and I could not fill the tank - the ink merely flowed out of the vent hole?

Frank

 

[fotofreek]

Is it flowing out as you fill the cart? If so, you don't have enough space next to the needle of the syringe for air to come out of the fill hole as the ink goes into the cart. That would create positive pressure at the fill hole which would force air or ink out of the only hole that is open - the vent. If the cart is tipped toward the vent hole and you have an air leak at the fill hole (and the outlet hole is sealed) ink could conceivably come out of the vent while stored.

As for the various methods of sealing the fill hole, please do what I suggested and go to the index, click on "refilling inkjets", click on "sealing the refill hole BCI-6, BCI-3", and read all 15 pages that have varied approaches to what you have asked. I don't mean to appear rude - The information is there and I would invite you to read it as you will get far more information than any one individual can give you, myself included.

The screw/o-ring technique is stainless steel pan head sheet metal screws size #6-3/8 or 1/2 inch long with a tight fitting o-ring to create a seal when you insert the screw into the fill hole and screw it down hand tight to slightly compress the o-ring. It fits perfectly into the fill holw of Hobbicolors and MIS empty carts and most of the Arrow carts from alotofthings. Instead of punching out the seal on the fill hole of OEM carts I use a hot paperclip wire to make an initial hole midway between the OEM fill hole and the closest end of the cart and then insert the screw, which will cut its own thread in the plastic.

Before you latch onto one suggested technique, read through the above mentioned topic on this forum to see which approach might work best for you.

 

[Nifty]

fotofreek is right (as usuall).

Also, here is a link to the thread you must read:
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=28

 

[fdm2000]

Thanks for the advice and suggestions fotofreek and administrator. Read all the interesting posts you suggested and have expanded my learning curve.
It is increasing clear that there appears to be no foolproof method for refilling and sealing - I will begin the trial and error methods used by the others and hope that I can find a method that works for me.

Frank