plugging air vent on BCI-3&6 cartridges

Osage

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After using a third party prefilled cartridge vendor to acheive very good economy on my Canon printers, I am seriously considering buying the hobbicolor kits and trying refilling. In the process, I am reviewing various refill instructions available on line.

Common step one seems to be to create a fill hole above the ink reservoir---either by drilling out an existing cartridge and using a screw or rubber plug to later seal the hole. Or by using something like a hobbicolor blank that has a existing screw--one must have a refill hole and a good means of later sealing said hole.---and woe be to the refiller who has a ink injection hole seal that leaks air when the time comes to reseal the ink injection hole.

Then prior to refilling a cap or tape is used to seal the normal ink exit port on the bottom of the cartridge

There seem to be slight variances in the intructions in regard to the air vent above
the sponge-------all instructions state that new ink should be injected into the cartridge resevoir using the ink refill hole---usually around 8ml in a BCI-6---but some say inject that ink slowly and others don't address ink injection speed---some say tape over the air vent above the sponge before any ink is injected. Inject the initial 8 ml of ink---wait for the sponge to absorb ink--then top off the resevoir to 90%. And other say leave the air vent unsealed as the initial 8 ml of ink is injected---then wait for the sponge to absorb the ink----seal the air vent-----then add ink to a level of about 90% resevoir full level.

So I can get a mental handle on this, what happens if the air vent is never stopped up at any stage but ink is injected to the 90% full resevoir level?---because the cartridge when used will have the air vent unsealed else a vacume will develop.

But once the refiller gets to an end stage, the ink refill hole is sealed air tight and the cartridge is stored for later use. Some say put a piece of tape over the air vent and I also see the grand dad method of air tight food containers, rubbing achohol
on the bottom, and no need to seal the air vent.---------but of interest to any with rug rats or playful pets---what happens if the stored cartridges get accidently knocked upside down?

And three last questions----(a) does the low ink sensor in the non-chipped Canons continue to work with any transparent cartridge or does the third party cartridge needs some special prism at the botton of the ink resevoir that some third party cartridges may lack? (b) Is it much better to refill the cartridge before it gets to the low ink level or does it matter as long as the cartridge is promptly refilled? (3) Is it best to have a ready to go cartridge to replace the empty---or is it safe to wait the five minutes or so it takes to refill a cartridge leaving the printhead minus a cartridge meanwhile?

Sorry for the logish post but any help appreciated--tried refilling before on already empty HP cartridges with bad results.---really trying to get a mental handle on the variables involved.
 

fotofreek

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Lots of questions - some with multiple answers! I'm no expert, but I've tried several of the alternatives you mention.
1) I first followed Neil Slade's "on the fly" technique by removing the low cart, putting a gloved finger over the outlet hole, opening the fill hole, injecting ink, closing the fill hole, letting the cart drip til it stops, and replacing it into the printer. Worked just fine. No concern about slow injection, air vent sealing, etc. Two issues were air drying out the top of the intake screen in the printhead while the cart is out and slowing down a print run you were in the middle of. Also, it is ultimately more efficient to fill several carts at a time. I would guess that slow injection, tipping the cart, and other techniques that increase absorption of ink into the sponge area would permit you to add more ink during the refill and give you more prints before having to refill.
2) So - I went to having backup sets and replacing an entire set when one was low. I'd refill later when I had more time. I then capped the outlet, taped the vent hole, and stored in a sealed container with a moist paper towel in case there was any chance of evaporation at all. One assumption, probably correct, is that the more you take carts out for inspection or replacement the more potential there is for some evaporation at the print head ink intake area and the more possibility of eventual clogs.
3) I still try to follow the conventional wisdom of not letting the ink level drop more than 80% in the reservoir area as I think there will be less dried ink in the sponge area to deal with later. My recollection is that Grandad waits til the ink low warning and then changes the cart . His backflush technique takes care of the possibility that more ink has dried in the sponge area. I've backflushed all my carts and the technique works very well to renew the carts for another series of refills.
 

drc023

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Osage said:
After using a third party prefilled cartridge vendor to acheive very good economy on my Canon printers, I am seriously considering buying the hobbicolor kits and trying refilling. In the process, I am reviewing various refill instructions available on line.

Common step one seems to be to create a fill hole above the ink reservoir---either by drilling out an existing cartridge and using a screw or rubber plug to later seal the hole. Or by using something like a hobbicolor blank that has a existing screw--one must have a refill hole and a good means of later sealing said hole.---and woe be to the refiller who has a ink injection hole seal that leaks air when the time comes to reseal the ink injection hole.

REPLY: I've converted many, many cartridges to use a 10-32 nylon screw w/o-rings. But I also like the HobbiColors refill kits which include virgin blanks along with the ink at a very reasonable price. The ink is excellent. For someone without a supply of carts to convert, the HobbiColors way is what I recommend.


Then prior to refilling a cap or tape is used to seal the normal ink exit port on the bottom of the cartridge

REPLY: Correct. If that isn't done, ink will drip out during refilling.


There seem to be slight variances in the intructions in regard to the air vent above
the sponge-------all instructions state that new ink should be injected into the cartridge resevoir using the ink refill hole---usually around 8ml in a BCI-6---but some say inject that ink slowly and others don't address ink injection speed---some say tape over the air vent above the sponge before any ink is injected. Inject the initial 8 ml of ink---wait for the sponge to absorb ink--then top off the resevoir to 90%. And other say leave the air vent unsealed as the initial 8 ml of ink is injected---then wait for the sponge to absorb the ink----seal the air vent-----then add ink to a level of about 90% resevoir full level.

So I can get a mental handle on this, what happens if the air vent is never stopped up at any stage but ink is injected to the 90% full resevoir level?---because the cartridge when used will have the air vent unsealed else a vacume will develop.


REPLY: It really doesn't make a lot of difference if the vent is sealed or not while refilling so long as the fill hole is large enough to allow the displaced air to escape.


But once the refiller gets to an end stage, the ink refill hole is sealed air tight and the cartridge is stored for later use. Some say put a piece of tape over the air vent and I also see the grand dad method of air tight food containers, rubbing achohol
on the bottom, and no need to seal the air vent.---------but of interest to any with rug rats or playful pets---what happens if the stored cartridges get accidently knocked upside down?

REPLY: Putting the cartridges in an air tight container makes a lot of sense, but I usually just store the tanks in an open tray. Sealing the vent hole helps avoid evaporation, but doesn't prevent leakage. The key to preventing leakage is to make a 100% seal on the fill hole.

And three last questions----(a) does the low ink sensor in the non-chipped Canons continue to work with any transparent cartridge or does the third party cartridge needs some special prism at the botton of the ink resevoir that some third party cartridges may lack? (b) Is it much better to refill the cartridge before it gets to the low ink level or does it matter as long as the cartridge is promptly refilled? (3) Is it best to have a ready to go cartridge to replace the empty---or is it safe to wait the five minutes or so it takes to refill a cartridge leaving the printhead minus a cartridge meanwhile?

REPLY: (a) all the third party tanks I've used have the prism and work the same as OEM tanks. (b) IMNSHO it doesn't make any difference. If you have a spare set, the point is moot with the exception of the one cartridge which gave the low ink warning. (c) Yes. Not only is it more convenient, but having a spare set ready to go means minimal down time and it also cuts down on the extra cleaning cycles the printer runs when a cartridge is removed. It's best to keep the open time to a minimum, but I've left the cartridges out for extended periods with out the ink inlet drying out. A lot depends on the humidity conditions.


Sorry for the logish post but any help appreciated--tried refilling before on already empty HP cartridges with bad results.---really trying to get a mental handle on the variables involved.

REPLY: Canon tanks are totally different. Because of the reservoir design, refilling is essentially nothing more than injecting more ink into the reservoir. I guess you could compare refilling a Canon tank to putting gas in a car vs. refilling HP tanks which require much more steps - similar to fueling the space shuttle.
Ron
 
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