"The Yellow" strikes again

[floK]

But which is the proper solution, @The Hat?! All those that I've tried were recommended by you and others on this forum, not my inventions!

Let's look, for example, to the pharmacist's post, from the link you have put just above:

-3 ml propylene glycol (or 2 % glycerol)
-20 ml isopropylalcohol
-distilled water up to 100 ml

The cleaning solution to free up clogged printheads is by adding 20-25 drops of concentrated ammonia to each 100 ml of cleaning solution.

The formula that I've used - but only as the last resort, after trying without success all other more soft solutions, including "warm water and a squirt of fairy liquid" - is not so radically different.
It can be written as:
33 ml isopropyl alcohol (well, instead of 20 ml)
33 ml of Windex - which formula is <5% ammonia, <5% isopropyl alcohol, <1% other components and, the rest, distilled water - instead of 20-25 drops of concentrated ammonia
33 ml of water

What do you see so bad here?

 

[mikling]

If it is yello gello, then one can use a strong solution of detergent to break it down. Some vigorous passes back and forth though the inlet will break it down.
If there is some furry like material floating inside the ink bottle. Then stop using it immediately and you have been hit with a growth of biological material. This can form a network inside the inlet filter on the printhead and also inside the nozzles in the prinhead, where the presence of air/oxygen promotes faster growth than inside the bottle where there is little dissolved oxygen. Most times this is fatal to the printhead.
If one has decided that the printhead is gone and has reached the decision to dispose. There is one last course of attempt to recover that could be fatal to the printhead but it was already decided it was fatal anyways. That is........use full strength bleach and drop it into the printhead inlet with an eyedropper with a tissue on the underside.. When the bleach reaches the tissue, continue a little bit more. Then put the printhead in a very shallow bath just enough to submerge the plate no higher and make sure there is no bubble trapped under the plate. Leave for 2 hours. then rinse thoroughly with water. Test, if some improvement is noted, then you are on the right course. Repeat, each time shortening the soak time in bleach. if left in there for too long, it could be fatal. So again, this is not a failsafe method as it involves risks.
After this dispose of the old ink and bleach everything the yellow ink has come into contact with. ..
OH, yeah bleaching the cartridge itself is mandatory in this case. make sure the best before date is adhered to.

 

[The Hat]

But which is the proper solution, @The Hat?! Al those that I've tried were recommended by you and others on this forum, not my inventions!

Correct, but only after you used your own solution first, and had you posted a nozzle check as requested earlier, we could have given you a more definitive answer a lot quicker.
Again, sorry for the loss of the print head...

 

[floK]

use full strength bleach and drop it into the printhead inlet with an eyedropper with a tissue on the underside..

Thanks @mikling! But could you, please, be more precise about what "bleach" means?
I've found this definition:
"a chemical (typically a solution of sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide) used to make materials whiter or for sterilizing drains, sinks, etc"
is this what you refer to?

Correct, but only after you used your own solution first, and had you posted a nozzle check as requested earlier, we could have given you a more definitive answer a lot quicker.
Again, sorry for the loss of the print head...

Dear @The Hat, I posted the nozzle check when I was able to have one with a bit of yellow in it, what sense would have had to put one with that space completely white?!
Regarding the printhead death, I can understand your satisfaction for a (new) solved case
The real problem, however, is that this happens a second time (with two different printers) within one year, and no one here could identify a plausible cause. Maybe you can think about this...

 

[The Hat]

I was just stating the obvious things you failed to help us with at the outset, and now blaming members here for your print head loss is pointless when we had no hand, act or part in its demise, we arrived too late because the damage was probably already done.

No one here gets any satisfaction from you losing your print head, because we endeavour to help guys just like yourself solve your print problems before it can get any worse or damage your print head, and on your behalf we failed, what more can I say..

 

[floK]

I don't blame anyone, sorry if you understood this.
What I say is that it was a cause for the missing yellow, before any repairing action was taken.
My question is simply why this happened to me twice (and to others, too), although I'm trying to use the best quality inks (from Octoink) and to respect all the procedures?
I think this is the issue that we should focus on now, to be helpful at least for others...

P.S.
And I don't think that the damage was already done.
Otherwise, how do you explain that I now get some yellow in the nozzle check, after two weeks without any trace?

 

[floK]

Not what I said in post #3. Flushing the cartridge - yes. Over night - no. Using Windex - no. If you are concerned about Yello Gello then @The Hat recommends a specific regimen in flushing the cartridge. He can tell you his regimen for combating Yello Gello.

But it's just what I did, I followed step by step the indications of @The Hat from post #2 of this :https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/ink-refilling-questions-on-cli-251-printers.11587/

"The best way to overcome Yellow Gello in the cart is to fill the cart with Window cleaner that contains small amounts of ammonia or add one drop of pure ammonia into your syringe mix, don’t start with water.

Rinse a couple of time with the window cleaner and leave the cart to stand overnight still full, then rinse with normal water and finally fill the cart with pharmacist solution, 3 % propylene glycol, 20 % isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and distilled water up to 100 %.

Wick dry the cart and you can then fill with ink, good luck..."

So...???

 

[The Hat]

The best way to overcome Yellow Gello in the cart

You’re still clutching at straws here, you can use some of the ways mentioned here to prevent Yello Gello but not to cure the problem once you’ve got it, this problem creeps up on you before you know it and is caused by the mixing another ink with OEM yellow ink.

Your print problem wasn’t Yello Gello, but most likely caused by a poorly preforming cartridge that went unnoticed and was not detected in time..

 

[floK]

You’re still clutching at straws here, you can use some of the ways mentioned here to prevent Yello Gello but not to cure the problem once you’ve got it, this problem creeps up on you before you know it and is caused by the mixing another ink with OEM yellow ink.

No, I posted this just because I'm accused (by you, by stratman, etc) that I didn't respect the good procedures and that's why I damaged the printhead. I wanted to show that all I did was as recommended by the reputable members of this forum, not the inventions of my stupid/childish mind (as suggested between the lines).
Even what I've tried before opening this thread were two solutions that both have consensus on the forum - one based on Windex/ammonia and the other based on Isopropyl alcohol.
So I think it's a bit unfair to hear again and again "you didn't listen to our advice", "you used your own solutions".
I'm not a beginner, I'm here for about three years and I've read a lot, even several times!

I wrote this just to conclude this chapter, not for blaming someone...

Your print problem wasn’t Yello Gello, but most likely caused by a poorly preforming cartridge that went unnoticed and was not detected in time..

Well, this could be a good start to find the cause.
However, as I have explained, the cartridge that I was using when the problem occurred was a new original one (I bought it when I changed the printer, about eight months ago) and I refilled it only once, just before the original ink was totally consumed (to prevent any drying).
Moreover, after the refill, I used this cartridge for over one month, without any problems.
The problems appeared only after I left the printer unused (but turned on) for three weeks, during my vacation.

So, after all the trials and observations of these two weeks, I am pretty convinced that the cause is... something in the ink, that has clogged the inlet of the printhead.
As you said, it's unlikely to be about the "yellow gello", what I suspect now is that the real cause is the forming and growth of bacteria in the ink.
And, as I have the same set of inks (bought from Octoinkjet) for more than two years, it is very likely that the same culprit was in the case of the failure of my previous printer, 9 months ago.

What do you think about this?

 

[stratman]

But it's just what I did

We're getting into the weeds here. My comment in Post #3 referenced soaking the print head over night, not the cartridge.