refilling using squeeze bottles - w/pics and video(new)

[IanYY]

I have been refilling Canon cartridges for quite a long time using the German method with syringes. Recently I have tried the German method with squeezy bottles ... and need some advice.

Step 1
Turn cartridge over - insert needle - press sides of bottle to start filling - no problem.

Step 2
Ink chamber is nearly full.
I now want to turn the cartridge right way up and let it rest for a minute before finishing the fill. I don't want to remove the needle and then have to reinsert it to finish the job. So I let go of the sides of the squeezy bottle. Depending on whether the end of the needle is in air or in liquid (or sometimes in bubbles) when I release the pressure, either ...

Some ink that I have just injected will get sucked back into the bottle, or

Some air will be drawn through the sponge compartment into the bottle (possibly bringing some sponge-side ink with it).

Step 3
Finished filling.
I now want to withdraw the needle. But I find it hard to maintain a steady pressure on the bottle while withdrawing, so either some more ink is accidentally injected into the sponge, or some sponge-side ink is sucked into the bottle, or both.

----

Questions.
Am I making mountains out of mole hills, and there really is nothing to worry about?
Am I doing something wrong - maybe I should remove the syringe at step 2?
Is it something that just gets easier with practice, so just persevere?
Is this a basic problem with squeezy bottles - they are just not as easy as syringes with the German method?

Ian

 

[websnail]

Step 2
Ink chamber is nearly full.
I now want to turn the cartridge right way up and let it rest for a minute before finishing the fill. I don't want to remove the needle and then have to reinsert it to finish the job.

Unfortunately as you've found with your own experience, it is necessary to remove the needle so you can relax and allow the bottle to revert to normal (ie: reinflate) so in this regard if you feel happier leaving the needle in situ then a syringe has obvious advantages.

Step 3
Finished filling.
I now want to withdraw the needle. But I find it hard to maintain a steady pressure on the bottle while withdrawing, so either some more ink is accidentally injected into the sponge, or some sponge-side ink is sucked into the bottle, or both.

Chances are you are withdrawing the needle from the cartridge which requires a bit more dexterity than holding your bottle hand still and taking the cartridge off the needle with your other hand. I'm not sure how your cartridge is setup or stabilised though so that may be a non-starter.

Questions.
Am I making mountains out of mole hills, and there really is nothing to worry about?
Am I doing something wrong - maybe I should remove the syringe at step 2?
Is it something that just gets easier with practice, so just persevere?
Is this a basic problem with squeezy bottles - they are just not as easy as syringes with the German method?

I think it's one of those things where the answers are more down to individual comfort/choice than anything else... It's one of the reasons I don't list the SquEasyFill bottles and ignore syringes as refilling tools... Everyone is a little different, although in this instance you may find that practice and adaptation in style does help.

 

[jimbo123]

let me take a shot here, since i started this thread, here is what works for me:

1. flip cartridge over, insert syringe w squeeze bottle
2. refill/squeeze ink until there is about 1/2" of air left in the chamber
3. release squeeze bottle to re-inflate w tip in the 1/2 air pocket, usually get some bubbles, but no harm
4. top off refilling ink, leaving small air bubble in corner, re inflate again
5. i always leave a small bubble in there, not worth the mess to try to max out and overfill

i used to turn over and let settle for a while with the needle/squeeze bottle still in, but since its so quick to refill with squeeze bottles i don't even bother any more.

for whatever reason my 2 1/2 year old original Yellow cart(been refilled 18 times) seems to draw excessive ink into the sponge area when i refill as described above. if flipped over at this point i get a few ink drips. so........ when done refilling my Yellow, i just draw back the needle some so it is in the sponge area and re-inflate there so it draws out some extra ink from the sponge side and... no drips.

can be thought of as the "reverse german method" using squeeze bottles

J

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Printers: Canon MP830, IP4500, MX700
Method: German Durchstich Method
Ink: Hobbicolors
Misc: Squeeze bottles, needles, scabbards from Howard Electronics

 

[stratman]

I have been refilling Canon cartridges for quite a long time using the German method with syringes. Recently I have tried the German method with squeezy bottles ... and need some advice.

Step 1
Turn cartridge over - insert needle - press sides of bottle to start filling - no problem.

When my squeeze bottles are fairly filled with ink, gravity alone can do most of the filling. I still goose it along by squeezing.

Step 2
Ink chamber is nearly full.
I now want to turn the cartridge right way up and let it rest for a minute before finishing the fill. I don't want to remove the needle and then have to reinsert it to finish the job. So I let go of the sides of the squeezy bottle. Depending on whether the end of the needle is in air or in liquid (or sometimes in bubbles) when I release the pressure, either ...

Some ink that I have just injected will get sucked back into the bottle, or

Some air will be drawn through the sponge compartment into the bottle (possibly bringing some sponge-side ink with it).

I refilled two cartridges just before typing this post, so my info is "fresh".

Leave a bubble of air in the spongeless side prior to "Resting" the cartridge rightside up to allow ink to be sucked up by the sponged side so that when you release pressure on the squeeze bottle only (essentially) air is sucked back into the bottle. Obviously you need to release pressure on the squeeze bottle while the cartridge is in the refilling position, ie upside down with the ink ejection port facing towards the ceiling, so that the needle tip is in the air bubble. Otherwise, you suck up ink back into the squeeze bottle which sort of defeats what you intend to do in the first place. But, no biggie, just inject more ink!

You may form some bubbles in the spongeless side but they will go away in time and not be an issue. (There may be an issue if you have air bubbles in the channel/track created by the needle on the underside of the sponge between the ink exit port and the spongeless side, but that is not guaranteed even if there is a bubble in this channel/track.)

I leave the needle in the cartridge while the cartridge "rests" as it soaks up ink into the sponged side. If you want, you can pull back on the needle so that the tip is in the sponged side. For CLI-8 and PGI-5 cartridges, the ones I only use, there is enough clearance to leave the tip in the spongeless side for the ink to flow around it into the spongeless side. It's your choice.

Step 3
Finished filling.
I now want to withdraw the needle. But I find it hard to maintain a steady pressure on the bottle while withdrawing, so either some more ink is accidentally injected into the sponge, or some sponge-side ink is sucked into the bottle, or both.

This is a fine motor control issue that hopefully will improve as you become more experienced. Sucking ink back into the bottle is easy to fix - add more ink. Over-filling the cartridge can be a problem, one that can be resolved by either sucking ink out of the cartridge or sitting the cartridge rightside up with the ink injection port facing towards the floor and letting the pressure inside the cartridge equilibrate by dripping ink out the ink injection port. Messy, so do it over paper, sink, or a container to catch the dripping ink.

One thing to remember, underfilling a cartridge means less time between reills and is not a problem as long as you keep watch on the ink levels as you normally should, or, reset the chip with a resetter and let the printer monitor ink levels. Over-filling may resolve itself as described above, but may also cause ink leaking inside the printhead/printer and result in a mess inside the printer and on your printed materials.

Questions.
Am I making mountains out of mole hills, and there really is nothing to worry about?
Am I doing something wrong - maybe I should remove the syringe at step 2?
Is it something that just gets easier with practice, so just persevere?
Is this a basic problem with squeezy bottles - they are just not as easy as syringes with the German method?

1) A little bit, but that's what the forum is about - information exchange, asking questions, and problem solving.
2) Not necessary. Your choice but increases your risk of making a mess.
3) I think so.
4) I don't consider it a "problem" but circumstances related to squeeze bottles. I find squeeze bottles much easier and faster than syringes.

Hang in there. You'll perfect your system.

 

[websnail]

...But it would be even better if one could refill empty refillable carts for epson with those bottles.
And for this purpose a simple plastic nozzle would be better than a needle.

(snip)

With this part the SqEasyFill bottles would be even more useful.
But the plastic nozzle must have a cap to seal the ink inside the bottle. Or at least you need a bottle cap without hole.

Just to note that I now have a small supply of 18g plastic tapered tip needles along with air/liquid tight caps...



The smaller bottles are a better quality now that I've located a better supplier, plus they're 125ml so all good...

I'll be stocking something for pulling ink out the cartridge exit port in due course but currently waiting on samples.

 

[IanYY]

I have been refilling Canon cartridges for quite a long time using the German method with syringes. Recently I have tried the German method with squeezy bottles ... and need some advice.

Thanks to everybody for the comprehensive advice, which I took into account when refilling some more ip4700 cartridges yesterday.

Everything went OK - though it was slightly easier than normal because I was experimenting by refilling half-full carts which didn't need the "turn upside down and rest" step.

I think the best suggestion was to fill the cart a little bit at a time - squeeze a bit of ink into the cartridge, then release the bottle, and repeat. And don't try to get the cart completely full, so the last release can take place inside an air pocket.

----------------------

These were PGI-520 & CLI-521 carts for the ip4700, which are significantly harder to fill than the older PGI-5 & CLI-8 carts because of the poor transparency of the cases. Together with their smaller capacity, these are big step backwards for refillers.

Ian

 

[marceltho]

I started to refill with the squeeze bottles as well. To prevent any ink draw back problems, I just check my ink levels on a regular base through the ink status program, and when I see that one ( or two ) levels are nearly done, I just refill , fill the ink chamber to the top, take the syringe out, and that's it. I might not fill " to the max " this way, perhaps I am a few drops below the max, but no waiting time as well. Perhaps the battery in the resetter lasts less long, but what the heck.....

I like the squeeze bottle system, I only regret taking the 22 gauge needles, if again I would have taken one size bigger needle, why ? First of all the are fragile, but more important, I have to squeeze the bottle HARD to fill the chamber because of the small channel in the needle. LOL, I am always afraid the needle will come off......

 

[jimbo123]

glad to hear the "squeeze a little at a time, then release" suggestion helped.

wise to not attempt to max out and then overfill, just leave a small air bubble in there to avoid any mess.

understood about the concerns re the needles/squeeze bottle caps coming off. i've been using the same bottles and needles(18g) for nearly 2 years, so far no accidents. i do refill over a container, just in case.

see pics in post #1 to see: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4450&p=1

J

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Printers: Canon MP830, IP4500, MX700
Method: German Durchstich Method
Ink: Hobbicolors
Misc: Squeeze bottles, needles, scabbards from Howard Electronics

 

[avolanche]

Just got my squeeze bottles from Websnail!..........Very nice and really easy compared to syringes.

Fred

 

[irvweiner]

Any thoughts about inserting a check valve into the squeeze needle assy? Squeeze the ink into the cart, release hand pressure on sqz bottle and withdraw needle. To re-vent the sqz bottle, a half turn on it's cap should do. Then repeat until cart is satisfactorily filled.

irv weiner