The Hat ReFilling Method Mark ll for PGI-9 Cartridge.

[The Hat]

Seeing Ghwellsjr successful attempt with his new refilling method start me wondering if I could use the same method on all my cartridges.
I am however quite happy with top filling my BCI-6, CLI-8 and CLI-521 cartridges and
the method of refilling the PGI-9s was on the same line but with the hole in the bottom instead,
it is a very successful way but a little crude and not for everybody.

I decided in the end to stick with my Neanderthal top fill method, however drilling a hole in the bottom of the PGI-9 cartridge
was still bothering me even dough it seemed to be the only way to fill these cartridges easily and quickly.

Dribbling ink onto the outlet hole in the bottom also works but very time consuming because it doesnt have anything to vent the air.
George got me thinking if his method works with a ridged walled cartridge
then it should work with the more flexible one (PGI-9).

So heres what I came up with.
The orange shoe clip on the bottom of the PGI-9 cartridge is held onto the outlet hole
with little hooks either ends so securing it on to the cartridge is not a problem.

I drilled a 3mm hole in the orange clip right through the O in the word Canon on the bottom.
There is a very flexible silicone washer on the inside of the clip that doesnt puncture very well, which in this case is very good.

Next I got a 20 gauge 30cm long needle and poked it into the new hole
I just had made and with the rest of the needle protruding through the silicone washer.

I sniped off the excess needle with a sharp wire snips and left about 1mm of it still showing through the silicone washer (less is better).
The barrel of the needle was flattened by the cutting so I rotate it around and pinched it just enough to reopen the hole again.

Next I put an old metal washer around the top of the plastic of the needle which is now sticking out of the bottom of the orange clip
and secured there with a small bit of hot wax just to hold the washer in place till I could glue it.

Then I mixed up some Araldite and dropped it into the sounding space between the metal washer and the top of the needle and left it set over night.
The moment of truth had arrived, would this work or not I didnt bother with any gloves and hadnt got a helmet so it was going to be colourful if it failed.

I was using a 10 ml. syringe because I had lots of them and couldnt get one any larger so I emptied one of my cartridges and resealed the hole again.
I put the orange clip on the bottom of this cartridge and put 5ml of ink into the syringe and then
attached it to the needle on the bottom of my orange clip that was now clipped to my cartridge and pulled back ever so gently and waited a few seconds.

I had now got quite a lot of bubbles in the top of my syringe so I then let go of the syringe plunger and only 3 ml of ink went into the cartridge,
I repeated this operation a few minutes later twice more and only got another 1 ml in which gave me a total of 4ml.

I removed the syringe a bit early and ejected a small amount of ink all over my keyboard
except for that my hands would have stayed clean and so would my now coloured keyboard.

It worked on my first attempt but not enough to declare it a big success so
I will work on it some more and try apply some other tactics as I need another 8 ml to go in to fill the cartridge completely

I tried to use only pieces that the average refiller would have in their arsenal except for the Araldite glue,
so anyone who wanted to attempt to duplicate it please do because is costs little or nothing to construct
but try and make it better than mine.

This information is out of date now and has been up-date here:- http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=47655#p47655
A complete up to date Video of the new filling method can be found here:- http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6999




Here is a link to the Original Freedom Method
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=45963#p45963

 

[Redbrickman]

Just goes to show that even the veteran fillers can get their hands dirty...

and the keyboard

Nice idea Hat, and easily reproduced by others.

Keep at it, and lets see the MKII version soon.

Gloves are an optional extra

 

[barfl2]

The Hat Nice to see you trying the Freedom method. I have now constructed 2 quite complicated gadgets which work but need in my opinion 1. a really good seal on the ventilation area, because the slightest push instead of pull back can lift tape, 2. a large syringe like 50/60cc which is why you could'nt get all your ink into the cart. 3. a really good vacuum is also important. You can test this by attaching an empty syringe and when you pull back it should return to almost the start position.

A great effort made from odds and ends like my own first creation. One further comment the needle you haver used is a lot smaller than the crosssection of the 60mm slip luer syringe and hoses used in the original design. Mine follows this idea, and I believe the I/D of the outlet is something like 0.070". When I fill a BC3-bk the ink pours in, your looking about 20ml in 4/5 pulls.

barfl2

 

[The Hat]

A great effort made from odds and ends like my own first creation. One further comment the needle you haver used is a lot smaller than the crosssection of the 60mm slip luer syringe and hoses used in the original design. Mine follows this idea, and I believe the I/D of the outlet is something like 0.070". When I fill a BC3-bk the ink pours in, your looking about 20ml in 4/5 pulls.

Thanks barfl2

I had a go at recreating another refill gadget this time with a much bigger needle and it work first time
because I was able to get another 5ml of ink into the cartridge which is now full.

I have ordered some 50ml syringes from octoink and when I got them I will then update the whole procedure
and the best way to fill these cartridges without problems using this new method..

 

[gigigogu]

The Hat

For your next attempt, consider also what I learned from my adapters: avoid repeated high changes in diameter of the path of ink, also keep the dead volume at minimum.
In one of my adapters I had the following sequence of diameters: outlet port, 2mm, 10mm, 2mm, 3mm, 1mm, 3mm, syringe luer, and it was a disaster. Only after removing the 10 mm and 1 mm sections it worked ok.

Good luck.

 

[ghwellsjr]

George got me thinking if his method works with a ridged walled cartridge
then it should work with the more flexible one (PGI-9).

I'm not familiar with the PGI-9. What do you mean by "flexible"?

Do they have a oval shaped outlet port that prevents you from wedging a piece of rubber hose over it?

 

[The Hat]

ghwellsjr I'm not familiar with the PGI-9. What do you mean by "flexible"?

Do they have a oval shaped outlet port that prevents you from wedging a piece of rubber hose over it?

The CLI-8 cartridge is made of ridge it plastic and water tight but the PGI-9 cartridge has a plastic membrane moulded to just one side of it
and acts just like a diaphragm but the outer frame of the cartridge in not water tight, its a bag inside the cartridge.

Yes the outlet hole is oblong but unlike the CLI-8s the orange shoe actually clips on to the edges of the hole
and gives a good airtight seal unaided, as your rubber hose does..

 

[ghwellsjr]

Pulling a vacuum on the outlet port of a rigid cartridge with the air vent sealed pulls in on the sides of the cartridge and the rigidity of the cartridge is what maintains the vacuum so the ink can be sucked in. If you do this to a PGI-9, won't it just collapse the plastic membrane leaving it incapable of sucking any ink in?

 

[The Hat]

ghwellsjr won't it just collapse the plastic membrane leaving it incapable of sucking any ink in?

As you can see from the picture, one side of the membrane has a large metal piece
which is cut to match the exact shape of the inside of the cartridge but a bit smaller.

Behind this metal sheet there is a large spring which keeps the bag fully open and it is this that needs to be compressed
by the vacuum to allow the ink back in when the spring is fully extended again.

This is not my area of expertise at all Im more of an elastic band and paper clip fixer
so I hoped I explained it all properly for you to understand it..

 

[ghwellsjr]

I understand, thanks.