Experience with OCP nozzle rocket?

[l_d_allan]

I purchased a bottle of OCP nozzle rocket recently, and have been impressed with it for print-head declogging. It seems to be pretty strong stuff compared to a Windex+Alcohol d.i.y. concoction.

The instructions from OCP mentions to not put it in cartridges with foam/sponge, as the foam could deteriorate.

I'd appreciate hearing from others who have used it ... pros and cons? Best practices? What to avoid? Generic equivalents?

 

[emerald]

I bought a bottle of OCP Nozzle Rocket. It works no better than Windex with some added ammonia. If it was significantly better than DIY concoctions, you would hear about it. Save your money.

 

[fotofreek]

I purchased a bottle of OCP nozzle rocket recently, and have been impressed with it for print-head declogging. It seems to be pretty strong stuff compared to a Windex+Alcohol d.i.y. concoction.

The instructions from OCP mentions to not put it in cartridges with foam/sponge, as the foam could deteriorate.

I'd appreciate hearing from others who have used it ... pros and cons? Best practices? What to avoid? Generic equivalents?

I've never used anything but plain hot tap water to purge dye based carts. Works fine. Straight Windex has cleared some pretty nasty clogged printheads from used printers I've purchased. Using Windex came from an expert on clearing clogged non removable Epson printheads. He does mix a bit of alcohol and water with it, but straight Windex for the Canon printheads, followed by a complete hot tapwater flush has been just fine.

I haven't had much experience flushing the black pigmented Canon carts. One that had been empty for about a year was useless, even after a hot water flush. Perhaps pharmacist's concoction would work fro these carts. I've refilled freshly emptied bci-3eBk carts several times without flushing and they've worked perfectly.

 

[stratman]

AFAIK, no one has done a tolerance test on Canon cartridges, especially with sponges. Consequently, it seems more prudent to use lukewarm/warm water than "hot" in order to prevent deformation or loss of adhesion with and within the cartridge.

I would think the same for print heads.

 

[emerald]

The liquid is called "NOZZLE Rocket." The product is used to clean print head nozzles, not cartridges. OCP sells another product for flushing cartridges. There's no list of chemicals on the bottle. It smells strongly of ammonia, so I suspect it's similar to Windex except it has significatly more ammonia in it.

For unclogging printheads, adding ammonia to either Windex or distilled water is just as effective.

For purging cartridges, pigment or dye, it's hard to beat plain old HOT tap water.

If the sponge has lost absorbency, you might try Pharmacist's cartridge conditioning solution.