Ink running away when off? - Canon iP7250 (CLI550-551)

Mxmixer

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Hello dear forum members,
I have searched for answer to this problem, but i haven't found it.
I used refilled original cartridges, bought cartridges for reffiling, and used bought already full replacement cartridges.
Ink that I used to refill with was also from canon (original) 490 type bottles, and one replacement company.
All of the options above, give the same problem.
Quality of the prints is great in any of these scenarios, colors good, no clogging, and I have no complaints to that.

Problem is that the ink is going away fast when i don't use printer (i use it very rarely, let's say every two weeks for two pages).
After two months, all the ink in cartridges runs out (some sponges are dry, some still wet, bu the ink is not in ink chamber any more)
If there is no ink, I have to clean the head first and then use it again - which i had success with.

I have tried using hot glue on ventilation ports on cartridges, different colors, different cartridges, but the ink always runs fast when not using the printer.
Original cartridges that came with printer lasted a long time for my usecase - they didn't seem to lose ink when powered off.

Is there anything I can do about this?
Thank you!
 

PeterBJ

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It seems something is wrong with the refilled OEM and refillable after market cartridges and strangely also the prefilled after market cartridges.

The most likely cause of the ink leakage is air leakage into the ink reservoir. It is necessary that the filling/sealing plug in the ink reservoir is 100% air tight, else the ink will leak out of the cartridge. The vent port must be open else you risk ink starvation.

So could you please link to the different cartridges and tell how you do refill, both the OEM and after market cartridges?
 

Mxmixer

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Thanks Peter for quick answer!
I have refilled both original cartridges that came with the printer, and bought ones for refilling of aliexpress.
For original ones, i take out the ball on the cartridge, refill with 6ml of color or 12ml for black, put back the ball into groove, and then put the hot glue over that - just to be sure that air is not going in. I leave the small ventilation channel opened on the side of the cartridge near electronic contacts.
When I hold them, they don't leak after refilling through sponge, if that means something to you.

The refill type of cartridges are these - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/330...2d!67322994342!sea&curPageLogUid=K6IS3YaOyBh0

For them I just fill them up, close the filling port with included soft rubber plugs and use them.

Third type were compatible type of cartridges, and they also lost all of their liquid in two months time without using the printer.

I have just cleaned the head once again yesterday, and filled original cartridges with ink, as I am afraid to let the head dry. I cleaned also the rubber sealing for cartridges inside printer. But ink consumption is enormous if I take number of printed pages into account.

So only problem should be with air coming in the chamber with liquid inside cartridge?
 

PeterBJ

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For original ones, i take out the ball on the cartridge, refill with 6ml of color or 12ml for black, put back the ball into groove, and then put the hot glue over that - just to be sure that air is not going in. I leave the small ventilation channel opened on the side of the cartridge near electronic contacts.
When I hold them, they don't leak after refilling through sponge, if that means something to you.
Using a needle you can pop out the sealing ball from the OEM cartridges without damaging the hole the ball is seated in. Instead of hotmelt glue I recommend 3M aluminium tape over the ball. Even better than reusing the ball is using a low profile silicone plug and as an extra seal a piece of alu-tape.

The electric contacts on the bottom of the OEM and also other cartridges is the chip. The chip is located under the ink reservoir, and there are no air channels near it. Drilling a hole here will cause leakage from the ink reservoir as air enters through the sponge and through slits at the bottom of the partition between the ink reservoir and sponge chamber. The vent opening is placed on the top of the sponge chamber on both OEM and most after market cartridges.

It is hard to see but I think the linked refillable cartridges also have the vent at the top above the sponge.

I think no error in the printer causes the cartridges to drain as the original cartridges that came with the printer didn't leak.

The refill method you are using is topfilling. Sealing the ink chamber properly after refill is very important. Another method that does not open the ink reservoir is the "German" method. Here and here is more about this method. You can use Google translate if you don't read German.
 
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Mxmixer

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Dear Peter, thank you very much for such clear explanations!
Yes, i used top filling method, and I saw the "German" method here on forum before, which looks also very nice.
I have aluminium tape, and I will try with using it, thanks!
And yes, I thought about that air channels on the side of electronics, but on top of cartridge, I didn't mess with them.
I will concentrate now on that air leaking problem around filling point.

Also, is it possible that refill ink is lower viscosity than the original one, and because of that ink runs out spontaneously?

Thanks!
 

PeterBJ

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........And yes, I thought about that air channels on the side of electronics, but on top of cartridge, I didn't mess with them.
I will concentrate now on that air leaking problem around filling point.

Also, is it possible that refill ink is lower viscosity than the original one, and because of that ink runs out spontaneously?

Thanks!
I don't get that about air channels on the side of the electronics. The air channel for the vent is like a labyrinth but is placed on the top of the cartridge. Its purpose is to allow the cartridge to breathe but minimize evaporation of water/solvent from the ink in the sponge.

A refill ink with a lower viscosity than OEM ink will not leak from the cartridge. My prime suspect cause of the leak is an air leakage.

Here is a scan showing the top and bottom of two OEM CLI-551 cartridges. Notice the chip and the vent opening,

CLI-551 C-M.jpg
 

Mxmixer

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Thank you for pictures! I probably explained badly, but I understood you correctly - yes, that is the vent i was talking about, above sponge chamber. I was thinking that he is above electronics on that side of cartridge, as opposed to filling hole above opening of the cartridge. I left him as it is - opened.

Thank you for viscosity explanation, I was thinking about that for a long time as the possible culprit for the problem.

Ok, then i will do my best to cover the filling hole, maybe use elastic glue above ball and add aluminium tape over that - that should be enough.
I still don't get why replacement cartridges leaked, but maybe they were lower quality...

Thank you for your help, it meant a lot! As someone who used many inkjet printers (from Canon BJC2000 onward) and love them, this is exactly the help I needed.
Have a great day!
 
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