Problems Flushing Magenta Cartridges

The Hat said:

O’ I don’t know about that @Emulator, you just need to find the right frisky filly and... BINGO..

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Emulator said: ↑
at 80 years, I am not in that sort of business!


Well guys - Good news. I just read an article in a health magazine that said all senior citizens can have good sex at 85.

Luckily I live at number 75, and won't have far to walk home afterwards.

RS

It helps when I got the Names right.
See what happens when your getting old…

The Hat said:

See what happens when your getting old…

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You are in good company. old friend, at least those of us that still remember.

stratman said:

You are in good company. old friend, at least those of us that still remember.

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I motion for a "how old are you" thread

PeterBJ said:

That is the way I would suggest. Maybe filling the cartridge with a window cleaner with ammonia and leaving it overnight before flushing again will remove the last ink?

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I tried this, as promised. I've soaked it in W5+Ammonia for about 5 days with no discernible change to the stubborn ink stain up the inside side of the bottom sponge.

So, in the interest of research, I've cut the offending Cli-8 cartridge open. I would urge any budding re-filler to do the same - I wish I'd done it months ago. I've seen mikling's videos showing how a cart works but there's really no substitute for personal hands-on experience. I kind of "get it" now!

I was quite surprised at how big the hole between the two chambers is - about 2x4 mm. There would have to be a lot of sludge in the ink chamber to stop it getting through.

Secondly, the inside of the sponge chamber by the bottom sponge, where my ink stain prevailed, is ribbed. I suspect this is to aid capillary action. I'd be interested in opinions on my conclusion that if these ribs are clogged (as in my case), the performance of the sponge is compromised.

The grooves are indeed for air exchange: Air should be able to flow through the air vent (on top of the sponge chamber) - through the upper sponge - through these grooves (which leads from where the upper and lower sponge meets down to the opening of the ink chamber) - into the ink chamber.

I doubt that a little stain could really block these grooves...would you post some photos of your dissected CLI-8? I am curious to see the gap between the sponges and also the stained grooves...

martin0reg said:

...would you post some photos of your dissected CLI-8? I am curious to see the gap between the sponges and also the stained grooves...

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Thanks, Martin. You can see the ink on the end of the sponge although it was more evenly spread when I first dismantled it. I'd already soaked it in W5 again before your post (which is why it's blue)! The ink stayed on the sponge (i.e. the grooves were clean) when I first removed the sponge.

I'm not sure what you mean by "gap between the sponges". I don't think there was one.

andy_48 said:

..
I'm not sure what you mean by "gap between the sponges". I don't think there was one.

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My misunderstanding .. you wrote "the hole between the two chambers" (not sponges)

Finally I think a cart not virgin white could work fine annyway .. while on the other hand there could be other issues with a totally white one .. (like bad sucking or over filling or whatever)

These are nice photos clearly showing the problem.

When ink is used from the lower sponge, the sponge draws new ink from the reservoir and upper sponge. Ink drawn from the reservoir must be replaced by air that passes through the upper sponge and between the ridges shown in photo #3. If the magenta gel (?) shown in photo #1 blocks the passages between the ridges, air cannot enter the reservoir so ink cannot be fed to the the lower sponge and ink starvation happens.

I wonder if the magenta gel (?) is the result of a chemical reaction or microbial growth?

How can one tell if microbial growth is the problem? More importantly, how is it avoided? Ink storage conditions?