POTENTIAL PROBLEM: Carplan de-ionised water

[3dogs]

Its a long shot BUT.....
When I first moved up here where we use only rainwater from a tank the syringes I brought with me all failed within days. I had changed from "town water" (processed for public consumption) to "pure"water ( with added natural bugs and alge).

All the replacement syringes with the notable exception of a cheap set I bought, not at a chemist, have lasted for multiple uses BUT the rubber seals are NOT designed for multiple use FULL STOP......I have even used chemical free 'soaps' and the lifespan of a single use plastic syringe is still a gamble, and should not cause you to be alarmed that their failure may have ramifications for your printer or carts.

Cheers

MY two sense worth.

 

[CakeHole]

Yeah i do not expect any syringe to last forever, especially plastic ones. However before this i have never had one do what this has after just a few uses. Its only been used on a single set for flushing so not much use, though i do feel using it with the flush clips may put slightly more wear on them than just using them conventionally (IE requires slightly more pressure to force the water through the clip into the cart or maybe thats just a false perception i had). Initially i was just going to put it down to bad luck and move on. I was not even going to bother Martin/websnail with my minor issues, until he asked me to contact him. Probably good in one respect as it has now opened up the debate as to what may or may not kill a syringe and their lifespans. Any debate that adds peoples opinion and personal experience is always a good thing My next syringe im either sticking to tap water, buying some specific DISTILLED rather than DEIONISED water or going to go all ghetto and have a go at making my own distilled water (not sure on this yet anyone with opinions on that path they are welcomed). Ill report back either way.

 

[The Hat]

I am glad to see you have reappraised the situation and come to realise that many things could have caused your syringes to falter earlier rather than later.

Reading through your later interesting threads and explanations as to a probable cause I am inclined to put it down to your eagerness to get your carts clean, and you may have been a little bit heavy handed with excitement to get it right first time.

To properly refill you have to learn a little and fail a lot to gain the experience necessary and not to keep making the same mistakes twice and you’ll master the technique in no time at all, and the best advice I can give you is that patients is not just a virtue but a necessity.

The Halfords de-ionised water is only for everyday house/garage use and not recommended for quenching your thirst with but is ideal for tropical fish however, including Octopus..

 

[Emulator]

I remember (1950's) a recommendation that the melt water from fridge de-icing was distilled water and the suggestion that it could be used to top up batteries. Never risked it myself.

 

[Grandad35]

According to this link and this link, some types of deionized water aren't safe to drink, and even distilled water can be questionable.

 

[The Hat]

According to this link and this link, some types of deionized water aren't safe to drink, and even distilled water can be questionable.

I certainly wouldn’t drink it either, besides fresh clean tap (Faucet) water tastes far nicer even with all the possible impurities that maybe in it, not to mention a drop of Whisky..

O' It's good to have you back @Granddad35 !

 

[CakeHole]

I am glad to see you have reappraised the situation and come to realise that many things could have caused your syringes to falter earlier rather than later.

Reading through your later interesting threads and explanations as to a probable cause I am inclined to put it down to your eagerness to get your carts clean, and you may have been a little bit heavy handed with excitement to get it right first time.

To properly refill you have to learn a little and fail a lot to gain the experience necessary and not to keep making the same mistakes twice and you’ll master the technique in no time at all, and the best advice I can give you is that patients is not just a virtue but a necessity.

The Halfords de-ionised water is only for everyday house/garage use and not recommended for quenching your thirst with but is ideal for tropical fish however, including Octopus..

I promise you it was not eagerness i have been reading here for a while before i registered reading threads about flushing dating all the way back to when the canon flush clips first came about and your own first iteration of them. (even when Marin first supplied his ones to you for testing) I also watched the excellent video by Martin on his product page...
http://www.octoink.co.uk/products/Cartridge-Flush-Clip-Set-[Canon].html
Well before i made my order.

The actual refilling process with ink i have not even attempted yet. My set of inks still have the seals on their bottles. If it is one thing i do not do it is rush things. I am still not fully decided to go the German or top fill method. I was not decided on that when i ordered either, which is one of the many reasons i went for 2 sets of carts see i can try both methods. I am definitely not the type of person that goes charging in to things and not thinking first.

I was also not steadfast it is the water i have not been since the start i was simply relaying a potential issue (sorry if that still is not clear). It was a potential issue kindly mentioned by Martin along with a link he provided in his email to back up that it COULD BE a POTENTIAL issue. I reported the water for others to be aware of it nothing more.

Looking at Martins flushing video again at the above link, i see something else which may be another potential problem. The design of the plunger on the syringes since his filming of that flushing video may have changed. (AGAIN i make this clear, this is GUESS work nothing more, i am in no way saying this is the issue for DEFINITE, i may be entirely wrong, it may be an optical trick water can magnify things and video angles can make things look different etc)

If you look at his video and compare the syringe in it to mine here...

First sorry for the blurry picture (curse my phone and shaky hands)
Anyways...
1) The rubber plunger part looks thinner (mine being 4ml in thickness/height or there abouts) where the one in Martins video looks to be around double that
2) There clearly is a wider gap between the 2 rubber washer like parts (IE the 2 bits of rubber that slide against the insides of the syringe barrel) on the syringe in the video and mine.
3) Not easy to tell but mine has 2 plastic disc like pieces above the rubber plunger not sure the one in the video does.

Im actually not happy with that picture, (i wanted to also try to get close enough to show the wear on the rubber plunger) i may try to take a better one if needed but for some reason my phone does not want to focus properly at the moment. Hopefully its clear enough to make sense of the points though.

Oh and the water, earlier on you did say you could drink it, im glad i did not taste it now, bad The Hat trying to poison me hehe

EDIT:
PS @The Hat regarding the PM just to voice this publicly i appreciate all your advice and time, i most definitely have no issues with you, any user or any replies i have had. You have all been a great bunch helping with suggestions.

I also hope the drinking water jibe thing and you poisoning me is taken in the banter way it is meant.

 

[stratman]

...learn a little and fail a lot to gain the experience necessary...

That pretty much sums up life , though I'd rather learn a lot and fail a little.

I think I have forgotten more than I recall, if I remember right.

 

[stratman]

Oh and the water, earlier on you did say you could drink it, im glad i did not taste it now, bad The Hat trying to poison me hehe

The Hat is is a hardy soul. He's so tough he could eat mud, poop adobe bricks and build a house.

I would think in England, where so much is prohibited and controlled as compared to the wilds of the USA, you would have a warning on the container not to ingest if the water was potentially harmful. Believe me when I say that lawyers in the USA would jump on a class action lawsuit if the bottled water is not marked appropriately - we have 'how to use' instructions on ladders and coffee cups that warn the coffee is hot!

My plastic jug of distilled water is marked as produced by steam distillation and has no warning about ingestion. It is 2/3's empty and over 2 years old and there is neither malodor nor obvious contaminant growth. I would drink this water if the world went belly up, but, seeing how the world is still spinning on its axis for now, I'll just enjoy tap water, which is excellent in my city.

*DISCLAIMER*
While I may be comfortable here with my water, I am not recommending you sample your de-ionized water as I do not know the regulations of your country or the quality of the water you purchased.


***EDIT***
I wrote a detailed EDIT but lost it so now I'll paraphrase...

Harmful pathogens and/or chemicals can end up in distilled or de-ionized water depending on the source of the water and the process(es) used in manufacturing. For instance, the WHO discusses distillation in their paper Nutrients in Drinking Water and recommends pretreatment with activated charcoal before distillation.

Ultimately, a phone call to CarPlan to ask about potability will provide an answer. Also, the MSDS on CarPlan De-ionized Water is available to read as found on this site.

 

[The Hat]

I also hope the drinking water jibe thing and you poisoning me is taken in the banter way it is meant.

Just wait ontill your birthday and you receive my cake …