Help on refilling Canon BC-03 and BX-3

sophia

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I'm a newbie and I find the site very helpful and the tips are interesting. But I can't seem to find any topic on refilling Canon BC-03 and BX-3. I popped the ball bearing into the cartridge and injected 20ml of ink and left it for 20mins. Then I sealed the hole using electric vinyl tape. Then I sealed the printhead with a blue tape. Then I transported it to a friend and it started to leak. What have I done wrong? Any tips?
 

Nifty

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Sophia, welcome to the forum! Your post reminds me of my Canon BCI-1000 printer that I refilled like a madman. Great little printer in its day and the cartridges were so robust!

Anyway, back to your question. From my experience the "blue tape" doesn't work as well as the "orange tape" for these cartridges. When I was refilling the BC-02 and BC-05 cartridges (which are very similar to your cartridge) I used the orange tape on the head and then little tiny orange clips that snapped onto the printer head like the ones at the bottom of this page:
http://www.inkjetparts.com/canon.shtml

Hope that helps.
 

Craig Ross

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Sophia
I think your problem here is the tape used to seal the hole,normally when the ball bearing
is pushed in it is then replaced with another ball bearing for a good seal I think the tape you are
using is not sealing properly and allowing a flow out the head.
or alternatively, as I do, drill a hole on top refill then seal with a hot wax gun so a new ball bearing is not needed
Once a good seal established and the cart is primed on a warm wet paper towel any tape you put over the
head is for protecting the head rather than stopping leakage, although replacement orange clips are probably
better as tape residue may clog the head.
 

sophia

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Thanks much for the tips. I wonder if someone reading this link knows where I can get those orange clips here in Manila. I ordered my ink from abroad together with HP transport clips and it took 2 weeks to get here plus the tax costs more than the ink. The orange tape I think is available locally. I didnt know there's a difference with the orange and blue ones. I will definitely try these tips. Another follow-up question is... I use the black electric vinyl tape ones. I wonder if that provides enough seal. I dont have a hot wax gun. Will a glue gun serve the same purpose?
 

BlasterQ

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Hi sophia, nice to see a fellow filipino in this forum!
I think black electrical tape won't be a good seal. A hot glue gun will work just fine.
However, I use the rubber plugs that came with the bulk ink i've ordered from alotofthings.
After inserting the rubber plug tightly in the fill hole, I just put a scotch tape over the rubber plug just to make sure it doesn't pop out later.
Alotofthings doesn't ship outside the US though, but I was lucky enough a friend of mine was going back to the philippines from california and he ordered the inks and plugs for me and brought it with him.
 

Manuchau

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Hi..

Here is what I do - and I do a lot of these...no muss, no fuss.

Do not fill in the recommended way.
Instead, leave the cartridges as-is. With a small finger drill, drill a small hole at the top center of the cartridge through the hard black plastic, and slowly fill it from there....usually about 20 ml.

Then, just seal the small hole at the top with black electrical tape.

This will work well every time..but...do not overfill, or it will not print.

When you are done, take a paper towel, fold it 3-4 times, and put some hot water on it. Hold the print head against the paper towel for a few seconds. When you see a big black spot, put the cartridge in the printer, run a test print...and you should be fine.

Remember, DO NOT OVERFILL....if the cartridge leaks, there is just too much ink in it.
Take out a few ccs..it's always safer to underfill....always!

good luck!!
 

Craig Ross

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I believe a glue gun and a hot wax gun are the same thing they use a stick of hard wax feed
to a heated nozzle .they are very cheap to buy I got mine from a stationary store but hardware
stores and supermarkets also sell them.
 

sophia

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Hi! Thanks for the tips Nifty Administrator, Craig Ross, BlasterQ (hi kabayan!), Manuchau...

I guess it's the sealing tape I have to review.

On Manuchau's advice... I'm not good at drilling (errr I once cracked a cartridge top making it entirely useless haha). Promise I won't overfill. Thanks;)
 

nick38

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HI Sophia,Im a British expat living in Manila with a ink refill biz,i currently buy all of my clips for canon and hp carts from Hong Kong as it is much cheaper than ordering from the States.If you would like to know more just let me know
Nick
 

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I have to admit, this is my menace (well, that and Samsung M40, but that can be solved by solutions). It always comes to be done "on the spot", so I have no time to apply any cleaning solutions and such. The thing is, with BC-02 even VERY old and dried cartridges can be usually restored, but that bugger BX-3 just keeps leaking/airlocking all the time! Refills of those work only with a lucky charm in hand, meaning "- is it fresh?" "- if not, it won't be any good"...

I'm drilling a hole on the clear plastic side (no ball removal), 20ml of ink, then seal it with hot glue, then a prayer, and check, and if it bleeds normally I'm game, if not all I can do is pressurizing and hope for the horror (cause injecting more air into the cartridge causes more leaks) to be over. Usually 10 min of work into the bin... :(

How to level inner pressure of the cartridge, and remove air from it? I think I even tried to fill it under vacuum once, but then it had nozzles clogged (or was it simply air?), so I had to pressurize it, and the whole hell breaks loose again... If I try to leave it, I'm wasting ~5ml of ink and cartridge can leak again, or not print.
 
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