nice tool for drying carts after flushing....

[lowepg]

So I had followed several steps here to dry out a set of purged/flushed CI-8's.

They had been sitting, drying, for about 3 days when it occurred to me to use the air blower/duster I have for gunsmithing work. Its filtered and has attachments to finely focus the air stream.

Well, I figured after 3-4 days of sitting, after wicking out water with a towel ,etc, that the carts would be pretty dry.... as soon as I directed the air blower into the top-fill hole, about 10 drops of water were expressed out the exit port!

So, morale of the story- drying would have taken a LONG time the way I was going about it.... and the power duster worked awesome

 

[The Hat]

lowepg So I had followed several steps here to dry out a set of purged/flushed CI-8's.
So, morale of the story- drying would have taken a LONG time the way I was going about it.... and the power duster worked awesome

That seems a very extreme way just to dry out a few cartridges all right.

What was wrong with the method that ghwellsjr came up with because when I followed his few easy steps
it only took me of an hour to dry out a single cartridge not 3 days.

Are you sure that you are following his instruction correctly,
have another go at it again and see if it works any better for you a second time..


http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=34175#p34175

 

[lowepg]

Well I didn't consider it extreme since I already had the blower. Only took about 2 minutes.

Perhaps I didn't have good contact between the sponge and my paper towel when I tried that method. However- unless the blown air is detrimental to the cartridge- I don't know that I'd bother with the folded towel method.

Any concerns with blowing a large volume of warm air through the cart?

 

[websnail]

Could have been the quality of the paper towel and/or its ability to wick moisture away to other sections...

Just a thought... but whatever works... Knock it not!

 

[rodbam]

it only took me of an hour to dry out a single cartridge

How can you be sure the sponge is dry with only less than an hour wicking? Or does a slightly damp sponge not affect the new ink?
If I can refill this quickly after purging it will solve the problem I have of not having a backup cartridge for some colours.

 

[lowepg]

Well, you could always do a final step of zipping the cart in a ziplock bag with a small dessicant pack to soak up any remaining moisture

http://www.amazon.com/Uline-Silica-Gel-Desiccants-Inches/dp/B0038N30OY/ref=pd_cp_hi_2

 

[The Hat]

rodbam How can you be sure the sponge is dry with only less than an hour wicking?
Or does a slightly damp sponge not affect the new ink?

I put a wood screw under the paper towel with its head positioned in the cartridge outlet hole
and rotate the towel after ten minutes in that position.
I like to leave the sponge slightly damp (10%) if I can as it makes the sponge take the ink faster and easier, it works for me..

 

[ruffin]

One can utilize ordinary shop vacuum cleaner in reverse mode to expel remaining water in cartridges. See this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtqutxm_oiM

 

[lowepg]

One can utilize ordinary shop vacuum cleaner in reverse mode to expel remaining water in cartridges. See this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtqutxm_oiM

Saw that.... really liked the holder he rigged (back-scratcher) . I tried that method and it seemed like it took a LONG time for the sponge to fully clear up. Some ink found its way into a few nooks and crannies and was stubborn in rinsing. I found a piece of plastic tubing that just barely fit the exit port and just held it tightly to my faucet (no special fittings). That seemed to clear our the cart in like 60 seconds!

I dunno if Id trust just a piece of cloth over a shopvac to keep it from blowing junk into the tank.... those things are usually pretty filthy to begin with (at least mine is!).

But, that's essentially what I accomplished with my air duster...

 

[lowepg]

I put a wood screw under the paper towel with its head positioned in the cartridge outlet hole
and rotate the towel after ten minutes in that position.
I like to leave the sponge slightly damp (10%) if I can as it makes the sponge take the ink faster and easier, it works for me..

How are you determining the dampness/dryness? Weight?

BTW- tried this method again (took more care to ensure better towel-to-sponge-contact and it work marvelously! Now just trying to determine how dry it truly needs to be.