Refill after flushing cartridge

[MP640]

Thanks again, Joseph. Please allow me to explain why I didn't ask advice before trying. I am also on other forums and on some of these, you will get flamed for asking questions before trying yourself. So, I looked around on this forum, I watched some clips on Youtube and then made up my plan to flush the cartridges. It's good to kknow that one may ask before trying.

The reason to flush is that I decided to follow The Hat's suggestion in "my other thread" (http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7822) to switch to transparant cartridges. I had two sets of old 520/521 cartridges and bought 2 more sets. As I didn't know the history of these cartridges, I thought it was better to flush them to start from a known situation. I have flushed one set with with tap water (didn't know about the distilled water) and transplanted the chips from the opaque 525/526 cartridges (had done that before).

I made an opening in the cartridges by popping out the ball that seals the factory fill opening and used a 60 ml syringe to flush. I used ghwellsjr's paper towel method to dry. Everything seemed to go ok. As there was an opening in the cartridge top now, I abandoned the German Durchstich method and went back to top refilling. I noticed with the first cartridge that the ink wasn't absorbed by the sponge after a certain amount. I solved it by removing the orange clip and let the cartridge drip 7 drops of ink (i picked a random number, maybe it will work with other numbers too, I don't know. This worked for me). After that I mounted the clip again and found that the ink was absorbed again and the sponge changed color completely. With two of the other (six) cartridges I had the same issue that I could solve (?) again by letting it drip 7 drops of ink.
Because of the top clearance of the MG6150, I used the silicone plugs I got from Octoinkjet to close the hole. Over the plug, I put a piece of electrician's tape to ensure a tight seal. I found that electrician's tape only without the plug and a plug only without the tape would work as well, so to be safe I used both.

My current setup is that my 6150 is set with transparant 520/521 cartridges with 525/526 chips. The only thing I didn't do is flush with distilled water at the end, something I will do when I prepare the other three sets of 520/521 cartridges that I have.

Thanks again.

p.a. anyone know how I can change my name on this forum?

 

[The Hat]

MP640

My current setup is that my 6150 is set with transparant 520/521 cartridges with 525/526 chips.
something I will do when I prepare the other three sets of 520/521 cartridges that I have.

Glad to hear youre getting a grip on your refilling problems and youre now sorting it out.

p.a. anyone know how I can change my name on this forum?

I think youll just have to start again with a new name;
(Tip) put your old name in your profile at the bottom, just for recognition purposes.

Unless someone knows different..

 

[fotofreek]

I have never flushed my cartridges yet, so I wanted to practice with an old CLI521 photoblack cartridge that had been laying around for some time. I removed the ball that Canon uses to seal the cartridge and flushed it using a 60 ml syringe. I got the ink out of the sponge pretty well, it looked very white. I let the cartridge dry overnight and today I filled it with ink through the hole from the ball.

I expected the ink to be absorbed by the sponge immediately but that didn't happen. The sponge changes color very very slowly. The cartridge does drip from the ink outlet port when I remove it from the orange clip with open hole in the reservoir.

Is this normal or should the ink be absorbed faster? Maybe I didn't let the sponge dry long enough and it still contains water? I let it dry on the air overnight. I just found ghwellsjr's instructions on how to dry it using a paper towel, I am going to try that with another cartridge now.

Your advice will be highly appreciated!

I'd suggest that you go to the first thread on purging carts at http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=311&p=1. grandad35 originated the technique. On page 1 there is a link to a very comprehensive description by grandad35 . On page 2 there is a picture of the simplest of all devices by one participant, and on page 3 there is a photo of the device I made to purge the cart by flushing through the outlet port, plus a photo of my crude but effective drying technique. For people who top fill it does work very quickly and completely. For those who use the German techinque you can follow more recent posts. By far, I believe that the fastest and most efficient techique is to have the fill hole in the top open and the flushing technique described by grandad. Even with the German refill technique I would open a hole above the reservoir as you have done just for the purpose of purging. Of course, that involves the need to get a complete seal of that hole to prevent leakage.

To me it makes sense to flush the opposite direction as the ink flow occurs when printing. I've never had problems using the hottest tap water under moderate pressure from the faucet, followed by a thorough drying and clean storage. Even when completely dry, some color inks absorb very quickly, For those that don't absorb into the foam well I first try tapping the cart on a hard surface in a direction that assists gravity in moving ink into the foam. Don't tap on the outlet, however, as you might damage the surface and get a poor seal in the printhead. If that doesn't work well the next step is to apply very light vacuum to the air vent. That has always pulled ink into the foam sufficiently to print well. No wisecracks from the peanut gallery, but I gently suck on the air vent to get the ink to flow into the foam. Not enough, however, to get any ink into my mouth! The dye-ink color that is most problematic in saturating a completely dry cart foam is black. I've never found it necessary to use any solution but water, but the posts about a "conditioning" solution would certainly help in saturating the foam. Also, getting all visable water out of the foam but leaving some dampness would aid in saturating the foam.

I prefer to keep carts that need purging until I have a large number of them to do. I don't refill all of them right after purging, so they need to be completely dry before storing empty. Although the conditioning solution might keep them in a condition that would absorb ink better after being stored thoroughly dry, I began refilling and purging carts years before this information was posted and what I was doing worked fine for me. I definitely believe in the addage, "keep it simple, stupid", so I resist adding to my routine unless something isn't working.

 

[stratman]

There are many ways to flush a cat as ways to skin a cartridge, if you catch my drift. From running tap water over the ink exit port to hooking the cartridge to a contraption of some kind, whatever floats your boat on getting the job done is OK.

The fastest method involves a top hole and some contraption to force water into the ink exit port. The same contraption attached to the ink exit port but only a Durchstich refill hole is the second fastest that I've experienced. But any way you can move water through the sponge and out the cartridge will eventually result in a functional flush. (see link below)

Hot water is not needed and may be detrimental to the cartridge plastic, seals/welds, and/or sponge architecture depending on temperature. I don't know at what temperature pigment ink will cook into aggregates and block the sponge, but if lukewarm or cool water work then why go hot?

If you have hard water then consider flushing with distilled or deionized water. If you're anal about minerals or contaminants in your tap water then use distilled or deionized water for the entire flushing procedure.

Check out my post here for more.

 

[joseph1949]

To: The Hat
To: MP640, stratman, fotofreek

The Hat, thank you for your reply (#10)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MP640, stratman, fotofreek, thank you for your replies. I will be giving my thoughts on your replies in the very near future.

Thank you.

 

[fotofreek]

There are many ways to flush a cat as ways to skin a cartridge, if you catch my drift. From running tap water over the ink exit port to hooking the cartridge to a contraption of some kind, whatever floats your boat on getting the job done is OK.

The fastest method involves a top hole and some contraption to force water into the ink exit port. The same contraption attached to the ink exit port but only a Durchstich refill hole is the second fastest that I've experienced. But any way you can move water through the sponge and out the cartridge will eventually result in a functional flush. (see link below)

Hot water is not needed and may be detrimental to the cartridge plastic, seals/welds, and/or sponge architecture depending on temperature. I don't know at what temperature pigment ink will cook into aggregates and block the sponge, but if lukewarm or cool water work then why go hot?

If you have hard water then consider flushing with distilled or deionized water. If you're anal about minerals or contaminants in your tap water then use distilled or deionized water for the entire flushing procedure.

Check out my post here for more.

Stratman - Good additional information. I remembered Grandad35's early post and the thread that followed as it was the first one describing purging of carts. Since it worked well for me I just skimmed over any further threads about this issue. Your post that was accessd from the included link in the above email was excellent.

Hot water seemed to have worked very well. Grandad35 suggested hot water since most substances disolve more quickly in hot than in cold water. I would guess that warm or even cold water might work well although possibly a bit slower and with more water used. In another recent post I mentioned that San Francisco is blessed with fairly soft water, I've purged carts and washed out printhead nozzles with tap water for several years with no apparent problems, but there may be areas where tap water would cause problems.

I may be a bit of a dinasour - once I have a technique that works 100% of the time I rarely change unless there is a distinct advantage. My workflow for top filling and using a stainless screw and O ring is quite fast. When this technique was first described I went online and bought 100 unit bags of O rings for just a few dollars each, and I found a source of SS screws that were also very reasonable. When I stumbled onto the squeeze bottles and also bought a new lightweight cordless drill/driver with nimh batteries (for other purposes primarily) that completed the speeding up and convenience of top filling. Once I put together my "Canon Cart Enema Tube" there was no reason to do otherwise! My shop vac to get nearly all the moisture out and the table fan to dry the carts involves so little effort and works very quickly.

Perhaps if I had started doing these things a year or two ago I might have chosen different techniques that were posted on the forum. As you wisely stated - there's more than one way to skin a cart!

 

[stratman]

fotofreak:

Thank you. I have enjoyed reading your and Joseph's posts. Temperature of the water is certainly a factor, but the volume of water per unit time has a significant effect as well. I've tried cold, lukewarm and very warm water for flushing and the water pressure seems to be more important in the speed of a successful flush in my very unscientific observations using a contraption attached from the faucet to the ink ejection port.

I do not have hard water either. I wonder if we should recommend a diluted vinegar mixture as a penultimate flush for those with hard water, followed by a final distilled/deionized water flush to remove the vinegar? I have no idea the effects of vinegar on the cartridge plastic or the sponges.

I appreciate the flexibility and individuality that refilling affords. The only wrong way is the way you don't like or doesn't work for you. That doesn't mean that aren't certain efficiencies and safeguards that can't be implemented, just that you can experience a small measure of liberty refilling doing it your own way. It's all good.

 

[fotofreek]

fotofreak:

...the water pressure seems to be more important in the speed of a successful flush in my very unscientific observations using a contraption attached from the faucet to the ink ejection port. I.

...you can experience a small measure of liberty refilling doing it your own way. It's all good.

Stratman - I agree - the "Cart enema device" and water pressure is, in my estimation, the key to a rapid and very complete flush. I also agree that "whatever works" is the way to go!

 

[Emulator]

I wonder if the concern about hard water may be because it is expected to cause trouble, rather than because it has been found to cause trouble.

I live in an area with particularly hard water. Wash basins show a coating after a day or two.

I flush cartridges, only when a change of ink type occurs. No cart has had more than 3 purges.

I use hot water from the tap, probably 50C to 60C, (50C is regarded as only bareable on the hand for a short time) running on to all the cart openings in turn.

Hot is definitely more effective than cold water.

I can't say I have had any problems with the cartridges, other than one bottle of sub-standard ink, which when purged and replaced, worked normally again.

I think we need a scientifically designed test to determine the presence of retained hard water deposits and proof of detrimental effects.

I am sure there is someone out there who can think of a way. Cartridge weight might be a possibility, but very sensitive and accurate scales would be needed.

Regards Ian

 

[stratman]

Fotofreek:

"Cart enema device" I'll bet that gave The Hat a pain in his backside.


Emulator:

I would agree that

1) Warmer water seems to work better than cold water when small volumes of water are used for flushing. Hot water was not significantly better than lukewarm water, either results-wise or time required, when flushing with large volumes of water using a contraption connected directly to the faucet in my experience.

2) I also wonder if the hard water issue is overstated. There is no scientific analysis and probably will only be anecdotal information on this topic. The forum can only offer its best suggestions. We welcome your own experimental findings!