top fill clearance

[pearlhouse]

Been reading this thread with great interest. Personally I use the German method using 8 oz. squeeze bottles with 2.5 lg needles that came with blunt tips. I sharpened these on a grinding wheel to be very similar to a medical needle point. These will then pierce the sponge material without a problem.

I believe the aluminum tape is a very good alternative for sealing the fill hole only if the hole is cleaned properly, has no burrs around the edges and the surrounding surface is clean with no marks or scratches. That said, I believe it will be almost impossible to meet these specs.

The only way to deburr the hole is to use a larger drill that will produce a slight chamfer on the edge of the hole. To keep from producing a burr on this chamfer it should be done with a very hi-speed drill. Like a Dremel tool or a drill press where the speed will be very high. Just a slight touch is all that is required. Doing the chamfer by hand will probably produce another burr at the chamfer.

Cleaning the surface around the hole will also be very challenging. Using alcohol will not do a good job. A good cleaner would be either Lacquer thinner or even Acetone. This stuff is highly flammable so please be very careful! This will not only clean the surface but dissolve any tape residue left behind from the tape or even the OEM tape that originally covered the hole. This will also leave the surface slightly tacky as the thinner will start to dissolve the plastic if its left in contact for a period of time. This tackiness will react with the adhesive on the tape and make a better bond. You should seal this tape using your finger nail or the edge of a metal tool and pressing very hard all over the surface. Keep in mind each time you remove the tape for refilling you must clean this surface just as clean as the first time you did this. Also when removing the tape make sure you dont scratch the plastic surface around the hole, especially if you use some sort of tool to lift the edge of the tape so you can grab it.

All in all this is quite a bit of time consuming work cleaning and maintaining, but I guess it will work if thats the way you want to go. Now I noticed J-1949 says he is using a 5/32 (.156) hole for his filler hole. I think this is way too big. I measured all my syringes and also my squeeze bottles. All my needles measure between .040 - .050 so a 3/32 (.093) should be big enough to allow air to be expelled when filling the chamber slowly with ink.

Now unless Im missing something here he also says you need to baby sit the cartridge and check the tape for leaks once it is sealed and installed in the print head . If the cartridge is installed in its normal position there should be no signs of a leak around the tape. If there is a leak it will only be drawing in air through it as the ink supply is used up. So Im not sure what you would be looking for here.

Another tip I can give you guys is to use a 3 hole paper punch to punch out small circular alum. tape disks which were the ideal size for placing over the fill hole. I dont mean to sound like Im picking on his methods here because I know hes on the right track. I spent many hours doing all this before I switched to the German method. I just felt I could add something here to this subject.

 

[Trigger 37]

I want to thank all of the people that have added additional information to this post. It has been very useful. I am going to try three techniques on my new MX860 since there is no way I'm every going to cut into the top cover. I just ordered a set of drills from CIS to use the German Method. "WHAT---IMPOSSIBLE--HE SAID HE WOULD NEVER USE THE GERMAN METHOD",... Like I have always said,.."Live and Learn". My primary objection to the German method has always been the added air hole,.. but that air hole can be sealed immediatley after refilling,..so that is not a problem. The other point was the possible damage to the exit port fiber but since I have the shart 2.5" needles and there is excellent history of success I am confident it will all work. I will try the aluminum tape methods as suggested and I will also try the Poster Putty method and we will see which one does the best job and which one is the simplest to do. One other major point for anyone looking to get into the newer Canon printers because they want the "Wireless" features,... this printer really EATS up ink. I've had it a little over two+ weeks and already my ink carts are half empty and I've only printed 3 documents and maybe 5 nozzle test prints. The MP780 that it replaced would last for 6 months without needing refill. The new ink carts are about 25% less ink and cost 25% more whick makes the total cost 100% more. I'm thinking a better way to get wireless would be to just get an MP830 and add a USB wireless access point.

 

[stratman]

I've had it a little over two+ weeks and already my ink carts are half empty and I've only printed 3 documents and maybe 5 nozzle test prints.

There is greater purging of ink in the scheduled cleaning cycles initially for new printers which then substantially decreases in future cleanings.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Durchstich.

 

[mikling]

I'm thinking a better way to get wireless would be to just get an MP830 and add a USB wireless access point.

I think an MX850 will also offer similar connectivity, so add that model to your list as well. I'm thinking direct ethernet connectivity to a wireless router or switch via the built in ethernet ports. I guess all sorts of connections are available.

 

[Trigger 37]

Mike,... You are absolutely correct,...and in fact since it has the built in wireless it can become a full "Network Printer" by just plugging it into most wirless routers since it also has the Lan connector. I don't even use the wireless feature of the printer,..just the LAN connector. A Network printer stays on all the time and provides full access to printing, copy, scan, and fax for the entire network.

As I mentioned above I was going to set up three different test for refilling and I just did two of them. The first was the German method and that went OK except for first time learning issues. The CIS kit I use made easy work of the hole and I used my own sharpe need to penitrate the felt pad. The I used the CIS kit and their ink to refill an empty ink cart but their little ink supply tube did not provide sufficient ink to fill half of the reservoir,...so I use a 2nd ink tube and that overflowed the ink out of the air hole,..bad news. If I had been using my syringe and needle I would have watched the window and made sure I didn't over fill,..but that is too late now. Finally I tried sealing the drilled hole with some 10 mil tape I have but there is VERY LITTLE SPACE on the back of the ink cart to put any tape at all. It took 3 times to get it to stick since as soon as I touch anything to that hole,..ink would FLOW out. Who said that hole would never leak ink?????

The next one I did I used the top fill method my removing the ball and filling with ink. Now for 8 + years I've been doing this on so many printers I have lost count, so you think I would get it right,...wrong,... I forgot to get the excess ink off of the needle so as soon as I started to fill it created a INK BUBBLE at the hole and of course Ink got all over everything including me. After a lot of cleanup I finally got the tape to stick to the top,..I don't have the Poster putty yet. It turns out the real problem is the new can twist lock orange tabs that are supposed to "SEAL" the exit port,...don't really seal it at all. Once a top filled ink cart is filled and the fill hole is open ink will just run out of those caps. I guess once they are broken off they really don't seal very good,..especially if the fill hole is open. It turns out the ink cart holders that come with the CIS kit do work to seal the ink exit port. I have both of them in the printer now and have done minimal testing and so far so good. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some Poster putty. I really need to find some clip holders that really work,.. I can use the CIS units but I want extras since I usually have 4-5 printers I'm working on and I have to keep those ink carts sealed.

 

[Trigger 37]

Tin Ho,... I know that,... this is the way I have had it hooked for years. However,..my wife and visitors,..who use laptops,..were always compaining that my main "Shared" computer was not on when they needed it. So now that I have created a Network Printer via the router,..it is on all the time just like the router. It is a secure network so My neighbor can't print at my house....LOL

 

[stratman]

Another network printer solution: Some newer wireless routers have USB ports to which a non-NIC card printer may be plugged into. The printer will be accessible to both wired and wireless LAN clients without a dedicated computer needing to be powered on. Caveat: Not all printers may compatible.

 

[Trigger 37]

I have just completed another set of tests on several Canon ink carts and several Compatible ink carts,..all of which use the same twist off orange caps to seal the exit port. The test was to see if these caps really leak so they have been laying around flat and some vertical all on paper towels and none of them with ANY REFILL HOLES. Of course the only air input is the original air intake at the top rear. The good news is that none of them have leaked a drop. The problem for me the first time was that with a top refill hole open they do seem to leak a lot. So I'm asking anyone that uses the top refill method if they have used the OEM caps and have you had experience with those caps leaking ink while you were in the process of refilling. Thanks in advance

 

[The Hat]

Trigger 37
I use the top fill method on all my cartridges and an elastic band to secure the
orange clip to the bottom of the cartridge; I dont trust the clip on ones.

Sometimes they do leak if the elastic band is not wound round enough times but mostly not a drop,
I use only how wax to seal my very small drill hole (not the Canon ball hole).

O and dont forget to reset your chip first thats when most leaks happen..

 

[Trigger 37]

The Hat,.. I assume you mean "HOT" wax. So do you just light a candle and drop it onto the hole or just how do you do it. It seems some would get into the chanber. I assume the very small hole is sufficient to pass the standard needle. My problem with small holes is that they tend to fill with a little ink and as you insert more ink it creates an external air bubble of INK and once that is formed the filling process is a mess. Then it is almost impossible to get rid of it and continue the filling.

Others have talked successfully about using the Poster putty so today I tried some "Plumers Putty" on an old ink cart. It seemed to work fine but since I pressed the putty so flat I got much of it inside the hole. In normal filling I would not have been able to get it out but since this cart was one I had purged and dried it just took a few minutes to get it out. My next attempt will be with some Aluminum tape. It seems that once the tape is contacted with any amount of ink it just won't stick.