Problem Refilling CLI-8 and PGI-5 Cartridges

[fotofreek]

Cannonvictim - Relax! Refilling is a simple task. 1) seal the outlet port 2) open the fill hole in the reservoir 3) refill, leaving a bit of headroom slightly lower than the sponge in the adjacent chamber 4) seal the fill hole 5) open the outlet and let drip until it stops 6) blot against a piece of toweling paper that is on a flat surface 7) seal the outlet and fill holes to store, or put in printer.

Lots of ways to seal the fill hole. I use the stainless steel pan head sheet metal screw/O-ring technique and, after three years of using this technique, had my first poor seal with some leakage into the printhead. Changed the O-ring, cleaned the printhead, and everything was fine. Mikling is right about O-rings. You have to be careful that you don't compress them too tightly or they squeeze out from under the screw head. The one that finally didn't seal was just plain worn out. It had comressed and widened and needed to be replaced. The beauty of this system is that all you need to set up a new cart is a hot paper clip to open a pilot hole and the self tapping sheet metal screw and O-ring. No drills, no taps - just a paper clip and a phillips screw driver. There are other equally valid approaches to creating and sealing the fill hole. The least effective, from what I've read, is any kind of tape. As I recall, Grandad35 uses flat head screws that have a tapered undersurface of the head, The taper seals without an O-ring.

When I started refilling there was very little information on techniques. I read the info from MIS, checked out Neil Slade's treatise, and just did it. Now you have so much information available on this (excellent) Forum that it may seem daunting when you start. After refilling several carts you will develop your own technique.

 

[SLR_65]

I use the stainless steel pan head sheet metal screw/O-ring technique and, after three years of using this technique, had my first poor seal with some leakage into the printhead. Changed the O-ring, cleaned the printhead, and everything was fine.

Hi fotofreek,

How many refills are you finding you can do on a cartridge before it gets gunked up?

Thanks!

Steve

 

[fotofreek]

I've never kept track, but I would guess around 6 to 10 times. It varies, but not to worry. If I don't get a good drip or two after refilling I know I need to purge the cart to restore it to good function. Check out Grandad35's purging technique. About $5 worth of stuff from a hardware store and a hot water faucet will do it.

Grandad mentioned that you should get the cart to drip by blowing gently into the vent hole. (of course, the ink outlet is open and the fill hole sealed) If you have to blow too hard to get a few drips it is time to purge the cart. I am still using the FIRST set of carts that came with my i960 printer over three years ago! I also have several backup refilled carts so I don't have to stop to refill one when the reservoir area is about 80% empty.

I'm not very scientific about how many refills, how may pics I can print per cart, etc. I just kind of wing it and it all works out OK. This forum is great for providing several choices of techniques and tips to ease the process, prevent problems, and solve problems when they occur.

 

[Netman]

I have carefully read all the advice there is, neatly drilled fine holes and refilled the carts and tried to seal the holes with Aluminum adhesive tape, which appears to stick well but apparently does not make the hole air tight, because the output ports drips and drips even though I made sure that I do not overfill, but the wick gets completely soaked before the level in the ink tank stabilizes and I understand that it is the normal process, then somehow the wick starts to drip through the output port.

1- Is it normal for the output port to drip after the cart is refilled and sealed in an air tight manner ?

2- How long should I let the output port drip before storing the carts or inserting them in the printer ?

3- In what position should I keep the cart after refill and sealing to minimize ink loss, yet to let it drip away as much as it is necessary for a clean install/use in the printer ?

4- I have read that after using refilled carts, the Canon printer using CLI 8 and PGI 5 carts turns off the ink level monitoring function, is this turning off permanent or does it come back when genuine Canon carts are installed sometime later on ?


Please advise,

Thanks

Netman

 

[SLR_65]

Hmmm, in my opinion if you drilled holes anywhere other than in the original fill hole plug then you made a mistake! I did the same thing to start with - my refill kit said to drill a small hole in the reservoir side and then gave you these little tiny rubber plugs to put in them after filling. Those plugs sucked as they were very hard to get in! I tried tape and it was hit or miss. Hot glue can work but be careful to not put too much on as there's not much clearance between the tops of the cartridges and the lip of the printer case.

IMHO you should follow the advice of the article on the nifty stuff home page and remove the plug from the original fill plug hole and then tap it and use either nylon screws and o-rings or the stainless steel flat top screws and no o-rings. The stainless steel ones have the advantage of not sitting up too high and the taper seems to make a good seal without the use of an o-ring. If you use the o-ring you may have a clearance problem with the case, but that's easily fixed by just filing down the case where ever it's hitting.

Anyway, those little holes suck and are hard to seal up. I was able to pick up an empty set of virgin cartridges so I modified them for the screws and o-rings. My original set with the small holes I haven't done anything with yet - I'm thinking I will wrestle those dog gone plugs in them and then maybe put a dab of hot glue over them for good measure, and then modify them with the screws and o-rings for ease of future filling.

As to your specific questions . . .

1) Yes, mine drip a few drops after filling, but then stop pretty quickly.
2) I wouldn't put a cartridge that was still dripping in my printer till it quit dripping!
3) I set mine upright while waiting for them to quit dripping.
4) No, the ink level disabling is only for that particular cartridge. If you purchase a new cartridge and install it then you will recover your ink level monitoring feature for that color.

One other thing . . . don't ever suck a cartridge dry - if you do you may damage the head at the worst and at the least you WILL air lock the cartridge and it won't work any more even if you refill the cartridge (well, by conventional means - I've read that if you vacuum fill suck a cartridge it will start to work again).

 

[ghwellsjr]

Yes, vacuum filling cartridges not only clears up any air pockets in the sponge that inhibits ink flow, it also avoids the problems discussed on this thread with making a fill hole and sealing it up again. Click on the Nifty-Stuff.com link at the top of this page and select the article in the middle of the page called "Cheap Vacuum Refill Canon BCI-6" to see how easy it is. The only real nuisance is that it tends to be messy and wastes some ink but you'll end up with cartridges that work just like Canon originals (assuming that you start with Canon originals). If you go this route, you'll want to refill several cartridges of each color to avoid the setup and cleanup hassles. I used to refill with a syringe and used plugs but never again.

 

[fotofreek]

1) about popping out the ball vs. drilling (I melt the hole with a paper clip) a fill hole. I believe that, to coin a phrase, it is "six of one and half a dozen of another." It is your choice. I've done both. When I popped the ball out (actually into the reservoir) I used the blue plugs sold by Computer Friends. I still have three year old OEM carts in use with those plugs. I still prefer leaving the ball in place and making a fill hole between the ball and the near end of the cart which I then seal with the screw/o-ring technique.

2) I've read, in more than one place, that tape doesn't seal the fill hole securely. Hot glue works but is not as neat as the screw/o-ring (or flat head screw, which I haven't tried)

3) ghwells technique of vacuum filling looks good. In previous postings he does acknowledge that it is best used when filling many carts of the same color as it wastes ink and requires a fair amount of cleanup. I've stopped using syringes and now use squeeze bottles from Howard Electronics. Much more efficient with less cleanup. If my printing volume were quite low, however, I'd probably still use syringes.

My advice - crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. Start out refining your technique with syringes. If your printing volume demands more efficiency, buy the Howard bottles (about $!5 with shipping for 10) or, for large numbers of carts to be refilled, consider the vacuum system.

 

[SLR_65]

Which bottles from Howard's are you using?

 

[fotofreek]

To keep my supplies fresh I use the 2 oz bottles. I called them and asked them to substitute longer needles as theirs come with 1/2 inch needles if you buy them together. A couple of suggestions - don't overtighten the luerlock needle as you can strip out the fitting in the bottle cap. Each time I use them I check to see that the needle is secure before turning it upside down and squeezing - self explanatory! They also have needle caps and if you ask them to include a cap for each needle they will oblige. Otherwise they come in 100 unit bags. No need to clean the needle after use. I just turn the bottle upright, cover the needle with a paper towel, and squeeze the bottle a few times to force the ink out of the needle.

 

[chrisdemont]

maximum height / thickness allowed ?
Hi everybody here ! Many posts have drawn attention on the question of the thickness (height) of the screw head or the plug used to close the hole by which the ink was introduced in the cartridge (because of the small clearance between the tops of the cartridges and the lip of the printer case, specially in the case of printing CD labels ....).
I intend to refill my CLI-8 carts (for iP4200) and rather than trial-and-error approach, I would like to have the benefit of the experience of others. Thanks in advance for any reliable indication (for CD printing, too).
Regards
(be indulgent for my poor english : I am a french guy)