Debri inside my PGI 520BK

[OM2]

I used the big fat syringe and orange clip from Octoink to purge my PGI 520BK

This had been messing around for a long time - very hard to fill + I can never fill upto the top - always would leak

When I had clear water in the cartridge, I could see small bits of debri - I assume these were from the sponge

I would say it was excessive - but definitely there

I've left over night on a piece of tissue and the sponge seems dry

But... now I see bit of the sponge inside where the end of the need is

I've taken a photo to show:

Is this a problem?
What have I done to cause this?

I'm now going to put distill water through it as the last thing before draining overnight
Question: is this the right way to go about it!!??

Thanks


Omar

 

[PeterBJ]

It is hard to see from the photo, but it looks like there is some black stuff in the ink chamber. Could you describe this black stuff? If it is fibres from the sponge, I think the cartridge is too damaged by a needle to be of any use.

In my opinion these cartridges are more fragile than the older transparent cartridges, for which the German refill method works well. I have fewer problems with the PGI-520/CLI-521 cartridges after I started top filling them. But even when topfilling the cartridges, they still need flushing and drying after maybe each 5 refills. Don't over-dry the cartridges after flushing. If you use ghwellsjr's paper towel method to dry the cartridges, an hour of drying time is sufficient if you change the paper a couple of times. Compare a rag. A rag that is completely dry is difficult to wet; a rag that is slightly moist absorbs water readily.

Maybe you should discard all your problematic cartridges and buy some "new" empty ones from Octoinkjet UK and start all over, topfilling the new cartridges. If the new empty cartridges still have the ink outlet wet with ink, I suggest to refill them without first flushing them. Also remember to buy low profile plugs and aluminium tape.

 

[OM2]

@PeterBJ thanks for the reply
yes: it was fibres

top filling? for some reason, i thought the german method was the best

i will do as u advise and get another cartridge
the problem with octoink is that the postage costs are too expensive (not the fault of octoink of course - it's thanks to the greedy people at royal mail)
i might as well buy a new one from amazon or ebay - for a small amount more i am getting a new cart
i'll buy and try the top fill filling method from now (oh... i suppose i need the plugs as well u mentioned... i need to get these from somewhere!)

can u give any recommended video guides?
(only asking as there are many out there)