Canon PGI-520BK ink wont stay in refilled tank side

blondeme

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After days of reading many posts and instructions I decided to refill my Canon Pixma MP540 (larger than the other cartridges) for the first time.The other cartridges (magenta, yellow, cyan and a regular size black that doesn't seem to get used)are pretty full for now except my black had run out.I bought JETTEC Inkjet Black Refill Kit with 3 little 30ml bottles of ink.It is compatible with over 750 inkjet printers and Faxes.Refill your cartridge up to 6 times ( unfortunately not even once for me):(

Now after the second day of trying and 2 weeks of reading I figured time to ask for help...

I tried to do the German method first of all as it seemed the easiest.

I made a small hole as per photo instructions on this forum.....i have a baby sized drill piece that has a little flat plastic handle to turn with.The hole will just fit the skinny needle in...snug fit.

I then tried to inject the ink and it began to leak everywhere, from the bottom.I was slow and it didn't seem to fill up the empty reservoir.I then realized my needle wasn't long enough.
I am in a rural area and is hard to locate any needles that would be longer here in Australia.

So after reading more posts i figured the American method of piercing a hole in the top would work with my shortish needle.

More ink everywhere, from the bottom and also the hole i had made.

Ok, i figured screw a small screw in that hole and try again....ink poured from the circular pad underneath and still the smallest of ink in the empty reservoir.

Then that ink vanished.

More reading then i realised i had the hole directly above the empty tank side( the side with the sponge is blacked out due to the way they make the cartridge).

Next step another small screw in that hole then i made another hole in the sponge side and close to the wall separating both sides of the cartridge...i could feel where the wall was exactly.

By now i have used almost 50 mls of black ink.... which has ended up on me and the floor and the newspaper and many tissues.

I left the cartridge for 24 hours to try again...

This time i couldn't go any slower injecting and i almost filled the reservoir up then when i turned it upright with the pad onto the bottom as in the photos here the ink literally poured into my little vase i had sat it on to soak up in the sponge....another 30ml bottle of ink gone again.

I am sure there was no dried ink anywhere before i began as i use it regularly and had only run out totally the day before and i had not taken it from the printer until i had the ink in front of me.

Have i any chance of refilling? or have i totally messed the ink cartridge up altogether?
 

Token

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wow, what an unfortunate way to enter the forum :p

well, i reckon the best way to go from here is to use hot glue and properly seal up any and all holes that you have made in the cartridge (make sure to keep the air vent open [the german method drill hole can stay open if you wish]). This includes the ones that you blocked off with a screw. It is imperative that the hole in the ink 'tank' (the part without the sponge) is full sealed- that's one of the appeals of the german method: no hole is made in the tank. This is also the most likely reason as to why the ink "poured into the little vase", as air can rush in and replace the ink.

I, personally, havent tried the so-called american method. However, like you, i had immense trouble obtaining needles of the required size for the german method, and i eventually ended up buying them from the UK and getting them shipped over here [also, see below]. Trust me, it is much easier than filling and sealing the ink tank, especially if you only fill relatively infrequently.

If you want, try and message another member of the forum called Aussieinker, as he was able to send me some long needles that he had purchased, and he still may have some extras (if you ask nicely :p ). Dont bother with pharmacies; they dont have them. A local vet may have some longer ones, and you may be able to get some off them.

I believe that you can still salvage this cartridge, but, if you want, use this cart as a 'practice cart', and buy a new cart. I have a pgi-5 cart that i practice/test with (i dont use it it a printer), and it may come in handy later as you try new refiling methods and techniques. When you think about it, buying an extra cart now and perfecting your refilling techinique will allow you to save so much more in the future while ensuring that your print quality stays the same.

Well, the take home message: the ink tank portion MUST be perfectly sealed (or all hell will break loose), and you can possibly still salvage the cartridge.

Good luck, and dont heistate to ask the forums for more advice.
 

stratman

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blondeme:

There seems to be two central issues for you -

1) Not long enough needle for the Durchstich/German method

2) Air leak(s) in the other methods causing leaking of ink.

You state you have the PGI-520BK cartridge I have the older PGI-5 Pigment Black and CLI-8 Dye ink cartridges. I don't know the dimensions of your cartridges, but they appear to be similar, albeit slightly smaller from what I've heard. The Durchstich method requires a needle long enough to traverse from the sponge side to and into the spongeless side. This is critical, as you've found out, because infecting ink directly into the sponge side may cause bubbling and dripping out the ink exit port (the circular area at the bottom of the cartridge). Injecting anything into the cartridge displaces air and fluid (ink) and the only places to go are ultimately the ink exit port, the breather hole at the top of the catridge, and/or any holes you have made in the catridge. A needle at least two inches (or 50 mm) is required for the German method with my cartridges, and probably yours. Longer needles are fine, but guages of needles less than 18 (which means bigger diameters the loess the number) may not be ideal (ie may create leakage) though this is unknown to me. So, guages 18 to 22 may be best.

Additionally, over-filling the cartridge will cause leaking until equilibration between the ink and the air inside the cartridge (and atmosphere outside the cartridge). You don't want to fill up the sponge side, in fact, the sponge is not completely covered with ink when you buy them new. I have heard that your type of cartridge has an opacity to it, so guaging how filled the compartments are is dificult. Unless you can somehow see ink levels in the compartments, then the only thing you can do is trial and error, keeping track of how much ink you inject with the syringe, seeing if the cartridge leaks ink. Eventually, you will know your refilling patterns and leaking will be less an issue, hopefully resolving completely. Always let your cartridge sit upright and let it leak ink until it stops (equilibration of ink and air inside the cartridge) before you store it or put it back in the printer. Otherwise it gets messy!

Now on to the second issue you have - holes and leaks! The Durchstich/German method is great because the one hole made does not have to be sealed. I don't know about the "American" method, but you definately need to seal the hole made when done over the spongeless side or the ink will leak out. There are several methods of sealing the hole above the spongeless side which have been documented in this forum. I have used a hot glue gun with perfect results, though others in this forum have had problems with seal failure resulting in leakage. Otheres uses screws. Posts that discuss using screws are

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/sealing_canon_bci6.php

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=10216#p10216 (This link focuses on one great cumulative methood post, but the entire 18 page thread is all about sealing holes!)

There are also some nifty silicon plugs that fellow member Mikling sells on his eBay store - http://cgi.ebay.ca/Plugs-for-refill...&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_trkparms=|293:1|294:30. If interested, ask him if they will work with your cartridges before purchasing. He's a great guy and sells excellent ink (Image Specialists) if your Jettec supply dries up.

I use the Durchstich/German method and love it. Usually I have no dripping or stained hands, and it can be done quickly, especially since I use Leur Lock needles attached to plastic squeeze bottles that store up to 4 oz of ink (http://www.howardelectronics.com/kahnetics/squeezebottles.html). Howard Electronics also sells needles 50 mm and longer as well as syringes. Maybe the squeeze bottles would not be best for you if your cartridges are opaque and you can't see ink levels while refilling. Also, blunt or sharp needles work perfectly. I have only used blunt needles for the Durchstich method.

Your PGI-520BK cartridge may be sealed and used. Or you could take it apart and look at the innards for reference or curiousity if you can't already see what is inside. If you want to use it, why not flush the cartridge out with water while you have all those holes in it. At some point, you will need to flush the Pigmented Black cartridges since dried pigment can gum up ink flow. So now's a good time to try flushing. An excellent discussion on flushing begins at http://www.nifty-stuff.com/canon-BCI-6-cartridges.php. There is a link at the bottom which takes you to a thread on flushing. You will see people's various flushing kits. My own flush kit is posted at http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=17718#p17718. None of this is very difficult once you obtain the parts and do your first flush.


*** I wish Nifty-Stuff would make a sticky post with this basic info so that people could be easily directed to this essential data. Come on Nifty-Stuff!!!
 

jflan

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stratman said:
*** I wish Nifty-Stuff would make a sticky post with this basic info so that people could be easily directed to this essential data. Come on Nifty-Stuff!!!
x2 !!! This is long overdue. It should be compiled and locked with a sister thread that would allow for dicussion of addendum.

Well done post, stratman :cool:
 

stratman

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jflan said:
x2 !!! This is long overdue. It should be compiled and locked with a sister thread that would allow for dicussion of addendum.
Excellent recommendation about a sister thread too.

Is anybody listening at Nifty-Stuff command center?

Thanks jflan!
 

Blueiced

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I also have MP540 and plan to refill for the first time in about 2 days.
I plan to use the method with the top hole and will post pics about how it went.

I think the main mistake is that you didn't seal the hole on the bottom where the ink flows from the sponge to the printhead. Did you seal it before using any of the methods (you said that it leaked from the bottom)?
 

pharmacist

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Just to clear out: when the German Durchstichmethod is done properly, selaing of the refill hole is not compulsory at all !!!

As the TS has pointed out the problem is the length of the needle not long long enough to reach the ink compartment, whereby the ink being injected is oversaturating into the sponge, causing it to leak out from the breathing hole. When well performed, NO leaking should happen from this refill hole.

The Durchstichmethod is perfectly applicable to the CLI-521/221 and the PGI-520/220 cartridges see see these links:

http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel.php?ID=2192&seite=5&t=schritt_2_kanuele_einfuehren
http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel.php?ID=2192&seite=6&t=schritt_3_tinte_einspritzen

Blueiced, take care to keep your fingers clean and unstained with your top hole refill method...
 

dencar

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I then tried to inject the ink and it began to leak everywhere, from the bottom.I was slow and it didn't seem to fill up the empty reservoir.I then realized my needle wasn't long enough.
I am in a rural area and is hard to locate any needles that would be longer here in Australia.
Hello blondeme, I had the same problem here in Noosa and eventually bought catheter needles on ebay from a body piercing business www.lindysgoodies.com. You can get 16 gauge just the right length (60mm).
 

Aussieinker

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blondeme

Hit me with an email and I will send you some 50mm needles and flushed out 5's and 8's to cut up and practise on, It is much easier to visualise what is happening inside the cartridge once you cut away the side wall and strip out the fibre sponge, you can then see the hole for the tip of the needle
 

HAIRYBUM

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had an reset ink level alarm reset problem and Winston replied with the factory reset procedure see re canon mx300

How can he find that sort of info? if we all had access to it we could probably try it on our printers before we dump them!

And I dont mean just printers either ?
 
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