Success!! A great solution for LC-51 cartridges.

[BOYNTONSTU]

A huge success.

Working backwards, I found this LC-51 extended refillable cartridge on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130352312654&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I placed an Wanted Ad on Craigslist and I bought a Brother MFC-440CN in perfect condition for $25.

The eBay ink shipment came in today and I installed it.

It is exactly as shown in the eBay ad.

The extended cartridge tab tricks the printer into thinking that the ink door is closed.

Works like a charm.

A CISS printer for $45!

Beautiful photo prints with the dye ink.

Highly recommended.

See the ink level and just pour some more ink in when needed.

Wow!

 

[embguy]

Great find! With the clear cartridges, you can monitor the ink level easily.

 

[BOYNTONSTU]

The extended LC-51 cartridges come filled with dye ink.

each color is the equivalent of 7 stock cartridges.

If the heads are still good by the time the ink runs out, I will order more ink from the same source.

 

[mharris127]

I don't think the heads will be a concern. My biggest concern (although I haven't run into this yet) is that Brother claims that there is a waste ink tank in the printer that eventually fills up and needs replacing (while most other printers use a sponge -- when it fills up you have a mess but the printer is still usable and you just replace the sponge with a cleaning sponge cut to fit). I haven't found a source for those tanks yet and Brother claims that you have to take the printer to a repair shop to fix the problem. I have had my MFC-295CN for a year and three months or so and printed at least 5000 pages and 200 pictures with it and haven't run into this tank filling up problem as of yet. However, since the printers are less than $100 new I think this tank is a way for Brother to sell a new printer every other year or so. I just bought a MFC-5490 for the living room, so I hope someone figures out how to make these tanks so in two years I can just replace it rather than the printers.

For the record, I have had three HP printers and the printers failed before the "sponge" filled up -- one lasted about 7 years and the other two about two years each (and even new you could tell that the newer models were made cheaply). Hopefully the Brothers last the 7 years and this ink tank concern is moot as the printers themselves seem well built and work well.

 

[BOYNTONSTU]

Use a diaper as the ink sponge.

 

[mharris127]

Use a diaper as the ink sponge.

That is actually not a bad idea. Make sure you have enough room for the diaper piece to expand, however. The thing about modern disposable diapers is that when they absorb something, they grow to five times original thickness. I hope someone actually tries this on a printer that takes a sponge (the Brothers do not to my knowledge, they take a tank instead), I am very interested in seeing how it would work.