Repurposing PGI-9 Carts

[InkMiser]

If my PGI-9 M cart has reached the end of its refillable life but I have plenty of, let's say, MBK carts, can I flush the latter very thoroughly and refill it with magenta ink? I suppose I'd need to to transfer the chip as well.

Also, in the past, I've flushed carts with distilled water. Is there any value to adding a little bleach and then rinsing it?

Thanks!

IM

 

[The Hat]

If my PGI-9 M cart has reached the end of its refillable life but I have plenty of, let's say, MBK carts, can I flush the latter very thoroughly and refill it with magenta ink? I suppose I'd need to to transfer the chip as well.

Also, in the past, I've flushed carts with distilled water. Is there any value to adding a little bleach and then rinsing it?

Thanks!

IM

I am very interested in your explanation as to how you know that your PGI9 magenta cart has roll over and is playing dead,
your answer would be very much appreciated.

You can use any of your PGI-9 cartridges to fill the magenta cartridge position, just as long as you use a magenta chip on it,
you can also peel off the top label carefully (Its easily removed) and stick it on your new replacement cartridge,
now you have a brand new magenta cartridge.

The flushing method you use is the right one so dont change it, add nothing to the water,
if your still worried about cross contamination then fill the new cartridge with one ml of magenta ink
and then flush it out again, now you good to go, just refill as normal ..

 

[InkMiser]

Thanks for the feedback. My question was actually along the lines of a hypothetical prompted by two experiences. In an absent-minded moment, I recently filled a cyan cartridge with photo cyan ink. I didn't worry much about contamination, as the colors are fairly close. I extracted the ink, using a syringe screwed into the orange clip, flushed and all was well. In the past, I've had a few carts that seemed to lose their pressure and filled very slowly. I've since learned how to recreate a vacuum within them for rapid filling. But those were carts that I likely replaced unnecessarily. I've also been curious about the white barrier that the ink flows through when we refill cartridges by the drip method. Is it a hard material that can be rinsed so that all traces of the original color have disappeared? My guess, from what you write, is yes.

Thanks again for all of your contributions here.

 

[websnail]

I suspect some of the inks may stain the sponge slightly but it should be possible to clear out all bar algae growth from a PGI-9 cartridge and frankly you would have to leave a PGI-9 in direct sunlight, filled with air and some water to get that kind of problem.

To really flush a cartridge you'd probably want to look at a modified cart clip that vacuums along different areas of the sponge/outlet port and then pump water in and out a few times but it shouldn't be necessary for all but the daftest of refill nightmares.