Anyone successfully refill the new Brother LC51 carts?

[jimsimm]

I can't seem to find any info on how to refill these. It seems like it should be similar to the lc41's which stratitec says to insert the end of the syringe into the exit port and suck out some air then inject the ink but I was unable to do this on these cartridges. Any suggestions?

 

[drmike]

I have refilled and also created a continuous bulk ink supply for the lc51. I had to totally take the cartidge apart... very cleverly made !!!! They really tried hard to make it difficult for us in several ways without resorting to a "chipped cartridge." What a pain.

There is a small cart. INSIDE the large outer plastic case so you need to pry the outer case apart to get at it and then make an opening access through the outer case [ a "window"] and make a hole in the inner cart. that can be used as a refill hole and then it needs to be sealed up with tape or a screw or whatever after refilling. When refilled, the clear vertical plastic that shows in the front of the cart must show the ink level. Apparently the printer has an "eye" that looks for ink in there when it runs low it indicates empty. Hope that helps. BTW I found it interesting to see that the black LARGE looking cartridge contained a small inner tank that to me looks no larger than the SMALLER color tanks !!!!!! Good luck. PS Wear rubber gloves....

 

[jimsimm]

Thanks Drmike.

I also took apart the cartridge to find the smaller cart inside but I was thinking that it needed some air pressure or something inside it to work because when you put a NEW cart in the printer it makes a kind of air pressure sound. I figured this air pressure is what tells the printer that the cart has ink in it. I'm guessing I was wrong on that. Did you make your refill hole in the clear plastic window or on the other side on the hard plastic part?

 

[drmike]

Once the cart. is opened up you see there are several possible places to access the inner tank. I made the refill through the rear hard border of the inner tank for the continuous feed black cart. For the others I made a small opening through the soft clear plastic and closed it with electrical tape. I think the rear border might have been the better choice but I did nothing related to air pressure. Either way you need to create a window for later access for uncovering, refilling and closing the access to the inner tank. Let me know if you find anything else. Good luck

 

[jimsimm]

Thanks Drmike, I was skeptical that this would work, but so far it has worked fine on my yellow cart. I opened the outer case, poked a hole with a needle into the harder clear plastic on the inner case and filled it with ink using a syringe. I just used regular scotch tape to tape the hole closed, closed the outer case and it worked fine. I didn't make an access hole from the outer case as I figure I will just open the case again, remove the tape and refill when it needs to be done. This is great, I was ready to buy a new printer rather than spend 50 to $60 on all new ink carts (I already bought a new black one for $20 before I knew how to refill this one!)

 

[drmike]

I FIND PLASTIC ELECTRICAL TAPE WORKS BEST. Might have a problem removing the Scotch unless you folded over the end. Also a window in the outer casing is a help so you can view the ink level easier but you can also view it in the front where the printer reads it. Glad I got you going!

 

[crandy2]

Anyone care to speculate on how long it will take for a third party to start making LC51 cartridges?

Does anyone know how long it took for them to start making LC41's after they came out?

 

[crandy2]

What ink was used for the refills? Do you have a website for the ink?

 

[jimsimm]

I use any brand refill ink I find on sale. I used to use the Stratitec kit they used to sell at Sam's club but they don't sell it anymore. Most recently I just purchased some inexpesive refill kit at Big Lots. They all seem to work the same. By the way, I've now refilled my magenta ink in my brother printer and that is working fine too. I'm so glad we can refill these cartridges easily.

 

[drmike]

I also think most any inkjet cart. ink will work. I've been using "Mr.Ink Jet" bulk refill ink listed as for the Canon BCI cartridges and it seems to work fine. I've used it in other cart's in addition to the LC51's too and it seems ok. Might make a difference if you're into fine art creation or arachive copies but for most of the stuff we do everyday I don't think it makes a difference.