Why I have given up on vacuum refilling.

[ghwellsjr]

Hi Rob,

actually the amount of ink to be injected I already explained minutely on my refill guide for the CLI-221/5521/821 cartridges. One should let the sponge passively suck as much ink as it needs and refill again very slowly towards the end to prevent displacement of ink from the sponge through the breathing hole.

I agree when filling one of those cartridges, you should let the sponge passively suck up the ink it needs because you cannot see through the sides of the cartridge, but with the tranparent cartridges, you can easily control the amount of ink the sponge gets. Here is a link to the refill guide for the CLI-221/5521/821 cartridges:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=26249#p26249

There is no difference between injecting ink into the sponge part of the chamber using GRM and what is done with the traditional refill method (through the top of the reservoir) when ink flows out of the reservoir into the sponge chamber. The only way to prevent this in the traditional method is to seal off both the outlet port and the air vent, which I don't think anybody does.

 

[ghwellsjr]

The sponge will "wick" ink from the spongeless side until its equilibrium is reached regardless of method used.

As I pointed out in the previous post, with the traditional method of refilling through the top of the reservoir, the sponge does not wick ink from the spongeless side, it's the same as if the ink were poured into both compartments of the cartridge, unless both the outlet port and the air vent are sealed. I never heard of anyone doing that. Do people seal the air vent when refilling the traditional way? If not, why is nobody concerned about too much ink in the sponge when refilling the traditional way?

 

[ghwellsjr]

I think stratman is right about the awl being pushed too far into the cartridge. Just stop when you get through the wall.

Maybe my needles are thicker than some others but if I don't push the awl in as far as I did, the hole wouldn't be big enough for the needle to enter. My awl is tapered so that it produces the correct size hole for my needles when pushed in as far as I did.

There are many ways to make the hole and it is not critical how it is made. Some people use a drill bit. Some people apply a flame to a pointed object and melt a hole. Some people use a hot soldering iron tip. Some people use various pointed objects like I did.

In the traditional method, it is critical how you make the hole and you have the added complication that you must seal the outlet port before you start making the hole and up until you seal the refill hole with a plug or a screw or hot glue or whatever. The hole must be the correct diameter for what ever method you seal it with. The traditional method needs to be sealed vacuum tight before you remove the seal on the outlet port. With GRM there are none of these concerns.

But I do recommend sealing the refill hole to prevent drying out of the ink and to remove the possibility of air flowing down into the outlet port.

 

[stratman]

The sponge will "wick" ink from the spongeless side until its equilibrium is reached regardless of method used.

As I pointed out in the previous post, with the traditional method of refilling through the top of the reservoir, the sponge does not wick ink from the spongeless side, it's the same as if the ink were poured into both compartments of the cartridge, unless both the outlet port and the air vent are sealed. I never heard of anyone doing that. Do people seal the air vent when refilling the traditional way? If not, why is nobody concerned about too much ink in the sponge when refilling the traditional way?

I was not referring to the traditional method of refilling.

I was referring to Nifty-Stuff's first question about the Durchstich method of refilling as you showed in your two videos.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I've currently got an ugly mix of carts, OEM and non-OEM sitting in my printer. Whichever ones empty next I'll give this process a go. If they are non-OEM I'll probably need to go through the sponge above the exit port sponge.

I really don't know if it would be any different with non-OEM cartridges but I wouldn't use them no matter what. The best thing you can do with non-OEM cartridges (here in the USA) is take them down to your nearest Staples store and get a $3 credit for each one. There is limit of ten per month and if you work it right, you can accumulate $90 worth of rewards. You don't even have to pay sales tax on what you buy with your rewards.

By the way, Office Depot will also give a $3 credit but they have strings attached: during any quarter in which you want to redeem your credit, you must have spent that amount in the previous quarter. So, if you can work it out correctly, the most you can get is a 50% credit. At Staples, it is 100%, you don't have to use any of your own money.

 

[ghwellsjr]

The sponge will "wick" ink from the spongeless side until its equilibrium is reached regardless of method used.

As I pointed out in the previous post, with the traditional method of refilling through the top of the reservoir, the sponge does not wick ink from the spongeless side, it's the same as if the ink were poured into both compartments of the cartridge, unless both the outlet port and the air vent are sealed. I never heard of anyone doing that. Do people seal the air vent when refilling the traditional way? If not, why is nobody concerned about too much ink in the sponge when refilling the traditional way?

I was not referring to the traditional method of refilling.

I was referring to Nifty-Stuff's first question about the Durchstich method of refilling as you showed in your two videos.

I stand corrected and I apologize for misinterpreting your comment.

 

[stratman]

ghwellsjr:

Thank you, friend. No problems.

If I had a nickel for everytime I misinterpreted someone else, I wouldn't be as financially anemic.

 

[Nifty]

I took in 10 carts to Staples today on ghwellsjr's recommendation! Thank you sir!!

 

[ghwellsjr]

1) I noticed in your first video you were injecting ink as you withdrew the needle to get ink into the dry sponge. If the cart was simply refilled in the manner you did in the second video and then left right-side-up would ink have naturally wicked into the sponge properly?

I decided to fill another dry cartridge but not inject ink into the sponge, just fill the reservoir, remove the needle, turn the cartridge right side up and see how much ink is absorbed into the sponge. After two minutes it looked like this:

Notice how much ink was drained out of the reservoir to saturate the sponge.

I noticed that the ink did not completely fill the lower sponge all the way across to the other end where the refill hole is. But then, I took another look at the first cartridge I refilled in which I injected ink into the sponge and on the other side it had a similar dry spot although not as deep:

Next time, I'm going to look at both sides when I inject the ink into the sponge. I don't know if there is any adverse effect from having the dry area of the sponge so close to the outlet port and so close to the refill hole (if it were not covered). When I get some time, I'll investigate that.

 

[Nifty]

That "dry" area to the far right of the first image is even more of a testament to keeping carts topped off with either traditional or German method.