refilling hp 21 cart

[rogert]

I refilled the hp 21 cart on my wife's hp 2210 printer with 5 ml pigmented blk ink. Blotted the head with a paper towel & did a head cleaning... everything looked great. Print is dark & not streaked. After 4 or 5 hrs of sitting, the print was very light, I cleaned the head & it looked good again. After repeating this several times, I pulled the cart, blew lightly through the fill hole, until ink came out of the print head, reinstalled the cart & it printed great again. The next morning the print disappointing.. light again! This problem is probably very familiar to you old timers....I'm pretty new at this. Any ideas ?

 

[PeterBJ]

The problems could be caused by air trapped in the nozzle chamber or the sponge. A priming tool/vacuum clip may help removing this air and get the cartridge working. An example of a priming tool (vacuum clip) here: http://www.inkjetsaver.com/21_22.html and the use: http://www.inkjetsaver.com/78prime.html . And this post by Tudor has links to video instructions: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=54795#p54795

Leaving the cartridge to rest for several hours (overnight) for the the ink to distribute evenly in the sponge may also be helpful. These cartridges are difficult to refill and get working properly, my success rate is well below 50%.

 

[rogert]

Below 50% , wow ! I think I would be money ahead just going out & buy a new one. I must have been lucky, I used the same carts for over 2 years that came in a Canon MX 300...I have no idea how many times I refilled them, but I sure got my monies worth. I'll have to look into that vacuum tool. I thought about an air pocket, so that's why I lightly blew into the refill hole until the ink came out the printer head. Could the sponge have dried out next to the printer head ? This printer hasn't had a whole lot of use & that was a new cart. It has now become a challenge ! Thanks for your answer..

PS.. I just did a "clean print head" & it printed beautifully ! Now if I let it sit for about 3 hours, you wouldn't be able to read it. I would swear it was out of ink, but I just put 5 ml in it yesterday.

 

[PeterBJ]

You could try to repeat the blowing into the cartridge, it might help getting the cartridge working again. The cartridge printing maybe only one page and then stopping is typical of air in the lower part of the sponge or the nozzle chamber. In my experience using a priming tool is more efficient than blowing into the cartridge to remove this air. It is also a good idea to refill the cartridge as soon as it shows the first signs of ink getting low. Leaving the the cartridge empty for a longer time can cause difficulties with getting it to work again.

The cartridges 21 and 22 are similar in design to 27 and 28, 56 and 57, 300 and many more, so you might also find useful information in threads about these cartridges.

 

[rogert]

Thanks again...I never let my carts run out of ink. When they are getting low, it only takes a few minutes to refill them. I think I'll be buying a priming tool, 4.95 is not a big investment.

 

[rogert]

Got it !! My printer prints works like it was new. I injected 4 more ml of ink, all on the printer head end of the cart...leaked very little. Blew lightly through the refill hole until a small amount of ink came out, performed a head cleaning & then let the cart sit for a couple of hours. I may have over done it, I have learned a bunch playing with this cart & not giving up. Thanks for your help Peter