R1900 orange cart not flowing

[Panduhmonium]

Hi everyone! I've been a long time lurker and have had many questions and issues resolved just by searching the forum. This time though I need a bit of advice! I'm gonna try and give as much info as possible...so this post may be a bit long.

I have refill carts for my r1900 from precision colors. For months my orange cart was leaking and nothing I did would stop the leak. Mike graciously sent me a new orange cart about a month ago and everything was great!

But...my computer broke 2 weeks ago and was unable to print for 2 weeks (it was fixed this past Tuesday). Last night I did some nozzle checks and the first two were fine and then the orange just stopped flowing. I cleaned the purge pad using jtoolman's video and parked the print head over it for 3 hours or so. I also did the windex soaked paper towel under the print head.

At this point I am thinking it's not dried ink and think it's air caught somewhere. I noticed a large air bubble in the priming chamber of the orange (I think that is what its called) and used jtoolman's other video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh2wuzwezxM) to try to prime it and get the air out. All my carts are like the ones in the video except the problematic orange cart which has the chamber up higher so I don't know if the technique in the video is sufficient for this specific cart.

Anyway...I've done probably 10 cleanings now and still isn't flowing. I managed twice now to get a decent nozzle check but still had some missing lines. Each time this has happened and I ran another cleaning then nozzle check and the orange stops flowing altogether once again.

At this point I am not sure what to do!! I don't want to throw it out and buy a new printer after I had to spend over $300 to fix my computer. >: Not sure what my next step is though. Is it possible the cart is bad?

 

[jtoolman]

You can not prime a cart by running cleaning cycles. All you are doing is wasting more and more ink.
The carts that I demonstrate are basically self Priming/ You just add ink and they do the reset. I always help with a bit of vacuum priming.

Why do you have a different Orange cart when the others are of one kind.
If your Orange has a priming chamber on the top then it must be fully primed.
The chips on most carts tend to not report the actual volume of ink in them. The carts will almost always have less ink than what is reported. So if allow the carts to run to empty, the priming chamber will empty out. That's what probably happened to you.

Bottom line is you have to Vacuum Prime that cart. Which means you have to 100% reseal the air vent and the exit port. Insert a 20ML syringe loaded with about 10ml of Orange ink.

Insert in the fill port making sure you are sealed. Pull the syringe plunger back fully to create a good vacuum. Gently release the plunger and repeat unit no more ink will enter the cart.
You can some times inject ink directly into the exit port and that will work to prime the priming chamber on some cart designs.
But the best solution is to NOT run different style carts together.

Joe

 

[Panduhmonium]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your response. As I said, the reason the orange cart is different is cause that is the replacement orange cart Mike sent me. I'm confused now cause I assume Mike from precision colors knows his stuff, but you're saying I shouldn't run that cart with the type shown in your video. So I need to ask Mike for a new cart to match the ones I have?

Edit: also I am aware these carts do not correctly report the amount of ink. I can assure you that is not the problem cause Mike sent the cart to me full of orange ink and I checked the cart last night and it was 90% full.

 

[jtoolman]

At this point I need to know what you are actually running. What type is the Orange one and what type are the other 7?
Either one is good. One type will self prime. Another type needs to be manually primed if you run them very low.

It has happened to me too many times to even count.

Some shots of both of your cart types would better illustrate the whole situation.
Oh and Mike is one of top experts here!!!
Joe

 

[Panduhmonium]

Alright, I took some pictures of the orange cart and one of the other seven. Oh and don't mind my finger! I'm recovering from surgery on my pinky finger. If you need more pictures let me know.

This is the orange one which has the chamber up top. As you can see there are air bubbles in the chamber, but not sure how to prime this cart.

This is the my red cart and all the other carts match this one. I believe these are the same carts that are in your refilling video. I haven't really had any issues with these carts, except the orange leaky cart that was replaced.

Thank you for your help Joe! I really appreciate it.

-Miranda

 

[jtoolman]

Your other 7 carts are the auto priming type.
Your Orange one requires priming. The upper left chamber seems to have enough ink in it. You will never truly remove all the air.

One suggestion is to fill it up once again and the insert a plain syringe into the exit port. Holding the cart upright. Aspirate a bit of ink and that should remove any possible air you may have in the priming chamber and the line serpentine ink line that leads back down to the exit chamber.

You haven't said what you are currently using the R2000 for. Photos? Graphics?
Do you know that EBAY sellers sell complete sets of OEM carts for the R2000 for about $15 to $25 a set? The R2000 is the new Direct To Garment ( T-Shirts ) printer. They do not use OEM inks but use other type. They resell the inks from the dozens and dozens of printers that they go through for cheap.
I am not a huge OEM fan boy but in this case I have to admit that there is nothing that can compare. Performance, color and Gloss wise OEM simply is the best way to go. If the price was higher, I would be forced to choose 3rd party inks and carts. But the price is indeed right so for the R2000, it is OEM for me till these deal run dry.

I used to use refillables on mine but not any more.

Joe

 

[Panduhmonium]

Alright, I feel really silly now! I didn't realize this cart had a vent plug, cause all the others just had tape that you removed before putting it in. I removed the vent plug and I'm sure after a few cleaning cycles it will work fine.

Thank you for your help...probably wouldn't have realized that without it!

And I have a R1900, but I don't believe the R2000 has the same carts right?

 

[jtoolman]

Most of these cart either of your design. Whether they are for the R1900 or the R2000.
The R2000 chips are set differently that the R1900!
But I now CLEARLY see that YOU had the vent plug in place right on your photo of the culprit cart!

Shame on me too, for NOT seeing that!

BUT.... you still should go to bed without your supper!
And no printing for you until tomorrow!

Joe

 

[Panduhmonium]

Haha, yep. No more printing for me for tonight!

 

[stratman]

BUT.... you still should go to bed without your supper!
And no printing for you until tomorrow!

Were you on the TV show Seinfeld?