How long will the ink absorber last on a Canon MegaTank?

[ElectricXpert]

1 1/2 months ago I got a Canon Megatank G4200 at Goodwill for just $15. I turned it on and it had the 5B00 error and I was able to reset it by entering service mode. The waste ink absorber on the back of the printer under the paper feed tray was about to overflow. I refilled all 4 empty tanks with 3rd party BCH technologies dye ink after flushing the PGBK ink. I replaced the ink absorber with 4 maxi pads (one regular and 3 ultra thin) and a tampon. The nozzle check page was perfect with only 300 pages printed since new. I have since printed a 300 page textbook with it. If I print at least every week to avoid clogging/deep cleaning, How long will the pads last until I get another 5B00 error?



Was this printer from Goodwill a good deal or not?



The BCH brand ink plays along well with the OEM but it is really terrible when it comes to color quality and prints fade in a few weeks on plain paper. That ink is very easy to unclog in my experience using just a single regular cleaning.

 

[James Mike]

Canon rates the pads for 15K pages per the service manual but replacing only the pads that accesible from the back cover is rated 11K with the appropriate pads. Depending on the reset you have performed it will halt at those amounts with reductions for each clean/flush performed. You'll need to periodically check your printer for waste ink overflow as the printer only calculates how full its pads are based on how much it has fired its nozzles or performed cleanings with the assumption that the replacement pads are the same as the original ones.

Whether it is a good deal will depend on how much you use the printer and how willing you are to deal with its upkeep. What likely happened to this printer is that air got into its air tubes multiple times that the previous owner had to reprime the ink lines multiple times.

Printing a test sheet like this one every week sounds like a good place to start with. The printer would likely need more maintenance prints with low usage than a comparable cartridge-based printer owing to the need to prevent air getting into the lines(air leaks/ink outgassing).

If you are okay with DIY it probably be better to fit an external waste ink tank like the PrinterPotty since service mode works for your printer than replacing the pads for easier maintenance as well opting to use a syringe rather than the system flush function when need to reprime the printer arises to minimize ink waste although its better if it can be avoided.

 

[ElectricXpert]

Canon rates the pads for 15K pages per the service manual but replacing only the pads that accesible from the back cover is rated 11K with the appropriate pads. Depending on the reset you have performed it will halt at those amounts with reductions for each clean/flush performed. You'll need to periodically check your printer for waste ink overflow as the printer only calculates how full its pads are based on how much it has fired its nozzles or performed cleanings with the assumption that the replacement pads are the same as the original ones.
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Whether it is a good deal will depend on how much you use the printer and how willing you are to deal with its upkeep. What likely happened to this printer is that air got into its air tubes multiple times that the previous owner had to reprime the ink lines multiple times.

Printing a test sheet like this one every week sounds like a good place to start with. The printer would likely need more maintenance prints with low usage than a comparable cartridge-based printer owing to the need to prevent air getting into the lines(air leaks/ink outgassing).

If you are okay with DIY it probably be better to fit an external waste ink tank like the PrinterPotty since service mode works for your printer than replacing the pads for easier maintenance as well opting to use a syringe rather than the system flush function when need to reprime the printer arises to minimize ink waste although its better if it can be avoided.

The reset I did is the one with 5 STOP button clicks and resets the counter to 0% and not 30% like the service manual says. I will print 1200 flyers per semester when I join a student club and also future textbooks. I just do the maintenance prints in periods of low activity. I might install a Printer Potty since I am fine with DIY and also using third party ink.

This is the tutorial I used for the 5B00 reset. This method resets the counter to 0%.

 

[websnail]

The nozzle check page was perfect with only 300 pages printed since new. I have since printed a 300 page textbook with it.

Sounds like they were having problems with air getting into the CIS system. If you find that's a problem, check that the orange label hasn't been left on the top of the printhead. If it has, remove it... but make sure you clamp off the tubing first by lifting the blue ink reservoir cover so it's in the upright position.

If I print at least every week to avoid clogging/deep cleaning, How long will the pads last until I get another 5B00 error?

So long as you aren't hitting any issues with air ingress the printer should last quite some time (potentially best part of a year).

One small note though, I'd be careful with that tampon as it will swell considerably and may make getting it and other bits out "interesting" at a later date.

 

[James Mike]

The reset I did is the one with 5 STOP button clicks and resets the counter to 0% and not 30% like the service manual says. I will print 1200 flyers per semester when I join a student club and also future textbooks. I just do the maintenance prints in periods of low activity. I might install a Printer Potty since I am fine with DIY and also using third party ink.

This is the tutorial I used for the 5B00 reset. This method resets the counter to 0%.

The G4000 service manual discusses how to set a custom ink counter level in 10% increments although setting it to 0% should be a non issue for you if you are going to install a potty anyways although i'd probably do it sooner for reasons specified by websnail.

https://www.printerknowledge.com/th...mpliments-of-peterbj.5071/page-31#post-140244