220/221 cartridge clearance

[joseph1949]

To: All

I have corrected my post #13, etc.

I have not tried wax. I may do so in the future. See what happens!!!

Thank you.

 

[stratman]

Before this devolves into a war (a colourful war, that is)...

Nah, no de-evolution here.

 

[joseph1949]

To: mrelmo

Here are some methods to remove a hot glue plug.

Note: A hot glue plug means that hot glue is the only material used in the plug. There is no soft rubber plug or hard plastic plug. Just hot glue.

Materials needed:

cotton swabs
paper clip
cigarette lighter
isopropyl alcohol
a set of precision screwdrivers. Should be able to buy the set at Radio Shack.
Third-hand clamp/vise. I would not hurt to have two third-hand clamp/vises.
a large pair of pliers
patience, grasshopper, patience

mrelmo, it would be a good idea if you would be in a Zen-like mood when you start to remove the hot glue plug. Yes, you will most likely fail, but treat this like a learning experience. I suggest you practice on a cart that you do not want to fill. As they say: practice makes perfect.

The methods:

Important note: It is very important to let the glue set-up before attempting the methods you see below. These methods will not work on soft glue. I would wait at least fifteen minutes. Two hours would be better.

1. Use the hot wire method to remove the hot glue plug. With this method you will not be using the isopropyl alcohol. Heat-up the paper clip and place the hot tip of the clip into the hot glue plug. The glue cap will cover the fill hole, but you will need to place the hot tip into the center of the fill hole. Use your x-ray vision or whatever, but you will need to find the fill hole and place the hot tip in the center of the hole. The tip should be a 1/4 of an inch below the hole. With the tip in the center of the hole keep the wire steady for at least five minutes. You will need to give enough time for the glue to cool around the wire. Patience, grasshopper, patience. When the glue has cooled enough to support the wire without your help carefully place the cart to one side and let the cart rest for at least 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, using the pliers pull on the wire. If you are lucky you will pull-out the plug. You will need to have a death grip on the cart. You will be surprised on how hard you need to pull on the wire to pull-out the plug. A pair of third-hand clamps/vises will come in handy to help you steady the wire and hold the cart when pulling out the plug.

2. Use alcohol in Method #1. Using a cotton swab place a small amount of alcohol around the cap of the hot glue plug. You do not want to get alcohol on the wire. If you get alcohol on the wire the alcohol will loosen the glue around the wire. The wire will not pull-out the plug. You will have to start over againnot good. Give the alcohol a minute or two to do its job. Pull on the plug. The purpose of the alcohol is to make it easier to pull-out the plug.

mrelmo, I would experiment using Method #1. with and without the alcohol. Hopefully you will find the best way for you to remove the plug.

3. Use the mechanical method (i.e. no hot tip) to pull-out the plug. Using a cotton swab place a small amount of alcohol on the plug. Wait five minutes. Use a tissue to clean-up the alcohol. You need to see what you a doing. Using a 1.4 m/m flat blade screwdriver (very small) gently place the screwdriver under the plug and pry-up. Do this all around the cap. Do not go in very far and do it gently. Once you have gone all around the cap add a small amount of alcohol again to the cap. Wait for a minute or two. With the small screwdriver gently pry-up the cap until you see the fill hole. Stop. The reason you are being so gentle is that you do not want to separate the cap of the plug from the glue in the hole. You want to pull-out the plug as one piece and thus not leave any glue in the fill holenot good if you leave glue in the hole. Once you see the fill hole add a small amount of alcohol to the fill hole. Again, be gentle. Give the alcohol time to work. I would give it at least 3 minutes. This is an important step. Do not rush it. While you are doing all of this you do not want to separate the glue cap from the glue in the hole. Take the small screwdriver and gently push the screwdriver into the hole. Start at the rim and lifting on the end (your hand is on the end) of the screwdriver push the tip of the screwdriver into the hole. Do not go anywhere near the center of the hole. Go in a small distance. Stop. Now with the end of the screwdriver in the up position pry-up gently. Stop. Pull out the screwdriver. Place the screwdriver in another spot next to the original pry hole. Follow the same procedure. Be gentle. Gently pry-up and the glue in the fill hole should come loose. You should pry-up gently a few times in each of pry-up holes. Make a new pry-up hole if you wish. But do everything gently. Now gently lift on the glue cap and the glue from the hole. All of this should come out as one unit.

Wasnt that simple!!!!!!

4. Glue in the fill hole method. If Method #3. fails which means there is still glue in the fill hole you can use Method #1. to remove the glue.

5. I pulled on the wire and the glue is still in the hole method. You will need to add a glue cap over the fill hole. Wait for a few hours for the glue to completely set. Use Method #1. or Method #3. to remove the hot glue plug.


Now some of you may be thinking that it would be a lot easier to use a soft rubber plug or a hard plastic plug. The problem with these plugs is that you will either make the fill hole bigger over time because of wear and tear on the hole or you will make the plug smaller because of the wear and tear on the plug. The result of all this wear and tear is leakagevery bad. A hot glue plug will eliminate the wear and tear.

I see a raised hand saying that tape is the answer to the wear and tear. The problem is that the best tape will come loose over a matter of time. If ink comes in contact with the tape you will have a leak in a very short period of time. The ink will dissolve the adhesive on the tape over a matter of time and thus the leak. Tape is good for covering the air vent hole. It can be used to cover the sponge outlet for doing a fill. The tape can be used to cover the sponge outletl on a spare cart, but you will need to be watchful to see that the tape does not come loose. If this happens remove the old tape and cover the outlet with new tape. I would wrap the tape around the cart thus covering the air vent and outlet at the same time. Three or four wraps around the cart should be sufficient. Using the orange cap with the tape would be ideal. The newest orange caps do not fit tight over the outlet. I would place an appropriate material over the outlet to make a tight fit so you can use the orange cap and the tape.

Thank you.

 

[gigigogu]

Once I had a clearance problem with a too tall soft plug in a compatible PG-5BK. My solution - cut it at same level with cartridge top. It is still working well.
As a side note for top filling, for years I used only the original ball plug in CLI-8 carts, removed and reinserted at each refill, and the seal is still airtight.

 

[Redbrickman]

To: mrelmo

Now some of you may be thinking that it would be a lot easier to use a soft rubber plug or a hard plastic plug. The problem with these plugs is that you will either make the fill hole bigger over time because of wear and tear on the hole or you will make the plug smaller because of the wear and tear on the plug. The result of all this wear and tear is leakagevery bad. A hot glue plug will eliminate the wear and tear.

If you use a good quality silicone plug in the original top fill hole it will last the lifetime of the cart and in my opinion not damage the refill hole either.

Good quality and well designed silicone plugs deform to fit the bottom of the fill hole in the reservoir and seal it perfectly. Even after months in a cart you can pull the plug out and it is back to original shape almost immediately.

Our forum member Mikling I'm sure will confirm this since he has used them for a long time.

Nothing wrong with using hot glue, just wanted to point out that not all plugs are the same and some are better than others.

Whatever works for you is what matters

 

[lowepg]

Now some of you may be thinking that it would be a lot easier to use a soft rubber plug or a hard plastic plug. The problem with these plugs is that you will either make the fill hole bigger over time because of wear and tear on the hole or you will make the plug smaller because of the wear and tear on the plug. The result of all this wear and tear is leakagevery bad. A hot glue plug will eliminate the wear and tear.

I cant imagine how many THOUSANDS of insertions it might take for a silicon plug to actually wear another surface.... Id say its impossible. I would think the more likely failure (if ever) is wear on the plug- not the hole. But even that will take so many repetitions.... seems unlikely.

A more likely issue (for me) is me cutting/nicking the head of the plug trying to pry it out with my fat fingers. Id like to find some plugs with slightly larger diameter heads- to make grabbing them easier.

The other issue I found that assisted good sealing is taking a few extra moments to clean up around the hole that's made before plugging it. Smooth out any rough cuts from the drill and make sure the top the of the cart is perfectly flat around the hole..... Those things (I think) will help lead to long and happy seal life.

 

[Redbrickman]

A more likely issue (for me) is me cutting/nicking the head of the plug trying to pry it out with my fat fingers. Id like to find some plugs with slightly larger diameter heads- to make grabbing them easier.

The other issue I found that assisted good sealing is taking a few extra moments to clean up around the hole that's made before plugging it. Smooth out any rough cuts from the drill and make sure the top the of the cart is perfectly flat around the hole..... Those things (I think) will help lead to long and happy seal life.

I agree with you, silicone is the best plug.

If a hole is drilled instead of removing the ball then as you point out it is very important to remove any sharp edges or extraneous material around the hole, otherwise any plug will not seal correctly.

That is why I prefer to remove the ball, as the longer plugs actually seals the cart at the bottom of the original hole (where the ball was fitted) and does not rely on a perfect seal around the top of the hole.

Time spent with a hot pin and a small eye hook to extract the ball and leave the inlet hole undamaged is worthwhile.

Of course that was in my early refill days, and I have converted to the German method now, but still fit silicone plugs if the cart needs a purge/flush.

 

[mrelmo]

well that was a quick experiment with the foil tape, over night the one cartridge i filled and taped went completely dry, i didn't see any ink flooding the print head, it must have gone into the waste pad it just seems to have disappeared did a nozzle check and the cyan looks a little purple and the yellow has faint stripe through it, so maybe i did get a little cross contamination oh yeah the cartridge that i taped was the magenta checking the other cartridges it looks like the magenta wicked into the yellow so i guess i have a set of cartridges that need to be flushed

 

[The Hat]

joseph1949 Here are some methods to remove a hot glue plug.

Your methods of using and then removing hot wax are extraordinary.
Anyone reading it would be put right off completely ever thinking of using hot wax altogether.
It certainly makes interesting reading but the simple method got lost somewhere in the explanation.

So in case you missed it the first time.
When using hot wax just squeeze enough onto the cartridge rather than into the refill hole
and then when cold it is easy enough to remove with the edge of a sharp knife.

Just slip the knife under the edge of the wax just a little and lift slightly
then the wax will release its grip and youll be ready to refill your cartridge again..

 

[gigigogu]

A more likely issue (for me) is me cutting/nicking the head of the plug trying to pry it out with my fat fingers.

Removing the plug with bare fingers?
For this I am using a woodscrew tool (woodscrew + handle) I got from a refill kit. It is really handy, also for removing the ball from original hole.
The plug I am using is not damaged by this as it already has a small hole on topside.