Top Filling Method For Canon Cartridges

[The Hat]

I think the German method (bottom fill) has been getting over publicised on this forum over the last while at the expense of the top fill (Original Method).
It was and still is a tried and trusted method of getting ink into a cartridge reality easy, but now its almost considered Jurassic.
Because top fill was so easy most guys tended to got a bit sloppy with it over time leading to Woops...

There are a few very careful steps to take to obtain a perfect fill without the Technicolor table top and high blood pressure syndrome.
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Start by putting down a protective cover over your table and then have your orange clip,
elastic band, ink and resetter ready before you remove the cartridge from the printer.

If youre using a chipped cartridge then the first thing to do is to reset it immediately

Now put back on the orange boot clip that came with the cartridge (when new)
to cover the outlet hole, securing it tightly using an elastic band.

Next either drill a small hole above the reservoir or remove the plug thats in the original filling hole under the label marked (Push).

You can at this point cover the air maze (Above the Sponge Area) with a piece of tape
if you wish too but on this refill I didnt and it just works fine without it. (Optional )

EDIT It not that important to cover the air maze while refilling the clear carts some do some dont,
but its imperative to do so when refilling the opaque carts because it will stop you
overfilling your cartridge which will lead to ink starvation later on (Blocked Air Maze).

If youre in any dough at all regarding your refilling procedures with your opaque cartridges
then go to this link where it is explained in detailed pictures.
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=62664#p62664

Now fill the reservoir using a syringe or SquEasy bottle (Use whichever method you find best and most comfortable with)
but only fill to about which is usually enough, and then leave the cartridge to sit for a minute or two.

Next just top up the ink level back to again (if necessary) and reseal the filling hole,
dont be tempted to over fill the reservoir as it can lead to other problems later.

The method for resealing the cartridge can be your own preferred choice; you can use
wax, glue, rubber or plastic grommets or even a screw, again your choice but be advised dont use tape.

It is however very important to make sure the seal is completely airtight;
otherwise the cartridge will most definitely leak and be useless to you. **

It has being stated many many times the best cartridges to use are Canon originals (OEM)
and rightly so, nothing comes near them for longevity and reliability.

Above all take your time when your refilling, patience can be a real asset and a friend.

Using the method described above will insure that there will be no ink or air flow problems in the cartridge
and it should lead to many more refills for the future, so happy printing.

** A good way to check if the refill hole is sealed properly after refilling is to remove the orange clip,
if the cartridge drips a few drops then you have a good seal, but if it leaks continuously (Then its definitely a no),
put the orange clip back on immediately and correct the problem by resealing the refill hole again.

If you ever have an ink flow problem with your cartridge, I.E. ink fails to drip when the orange clip is first removed
it would be advisable to purge (Clean out) the cartridge of ink and refill as normal.
Foot Note:

If your print output gets very poor or stops quickly is it advisable to stop all printing immediately
and try to resolve the problem yourself or seek advice on the matter before attempting to resume.

If you find yourself in this situation than nozzle checks are permissible as they wont do any harm to your print head..


Empty carts supplied by Mikling and Websnail..
E&OE.

 

[fotofreek]

Thanks, Hat, for restoring dignity to us old top-filling dinosaurs! With squeeze bottles, a cordless electric screw-driver to remove and replace screws for a seal, and a pair of rubber gloves, I don't know how much easier refilling can be. Having the top-filling hole makes purging and drying carts very quick and easy. While I can certainly see a benefit to the German method, What I''ve been doing for over seven years works well enough for me. (I also still drive my 1997 Camry) Whatever works!@!!

 

[on30trainman]

I am one who started with Top Filling, then tried the so-called German method because it was so touted on this forum, but switched back to Top Filling because I found it to be easier and quicker for me. Using those squeeze bottles makes it just so simple. Use 3/8" #6-32 stainless steel flat head screws to seal the fill hole. One thing I found switching back to the Top Fill method is that all those cartridges I modified for the German method can't be easily used for top filling. Luckily I have lots of spares. Since they are CLI-8s, I'll just remove the chips (labeled correctly so they don't get mixed up) to replace any bad chips in the future and recycle those cartridges through Staples.

 

[mikling]

There is an extra step that has seldom been mentioned for the top filling method.

When refilling the reservoir, leave the air vent open and quickly fill the reservoir about HALFWAY and no more. If you put the ink slowly, maybe stop at 1/4. As you put the ink in, the sponge will be absorbing.
Stop. The level on the reservoir will now decrease.
Now seal the air vent on the sponge side at this point. You can do this with either tape or as I do, just place my thumb over it.
Now continue to fill the reservoir till full.
If you are using the silicone plugs, you just lay the syringe down and install the plug with the other hand that operated the syringe.
You can now release the seal on the air vent by releasing your thumb over the vent.
You are now finished.

By sealing the air vent over the sponge, you stop the sponge from being oversaturated with ink. After the plug is installed, the bottom sponge is saturated properly and the top layer will absorb a bit more thereby bringing the internal pressures to equilibrium AND when the bottom stopper is released no ink drops out.

The part about sealing the vent is often omitted and it is this aspect that generally causes the ink to drip after refill thus having the reputation of being messy.

For cartridges that allow the top fill, I think this method is still technically superior as it does not force any air whatsoever into the sponge compartment. The key to this fill method is properly resealing the tank. With the silicone plugs available today it is both convenient and failsafe.

 

[emerald]

I've been feeling a bit lonely lately also. I'm not a heavy user. (of ink) For my own needs I use both methods. For others who come to me for refills I use the top method because I want to be sure I can easily flush their cartridges should trouble develop. I see advantages in both methods. If a set of cartridges are already prepared for top filling, adding another hole to the cartridge doesn't make sense.

I recently updated an early post I made more than a year ago to incorporate new knowledge of methods and materials acquired in the interim. I'm grateful for all the knowledge shared by you InkJet Masters. There's always something new.

 

[stratman]

Sorry gents. I think these posts demonstrate precisely why the Durchstich method is so popular. There is no comparison in ease and cleanliness.

Since you probably have been top filling before the German approach was available your not the Amish of the refilling world but the horse and buggy division.

Funny thing is, what comes around, goes around. Like fashion, the traditional method will probably make a return to popularity some day. Hang in there!

 

[l_d_allan]

By sealing the air vent over the sponge

This refilling newbie is unclear just what you mean by "air vent over the sponge". Is there a picture or diagram of a CLI-8 cartridge with labels for the different parts so we could have consistency in nomenclature?

It's been a while since I purchased an OEM Canon CLI-8, but my Red and Green were low so I bought one of each (ouch $$$).

First there was what I think of as the "removable wrapper tape":


Once that tape is pulled off, you can remove the "outer removable wrapping":


I removed the "Original orange outlet cap" by twisting to break it off:


Here are CLI-8G and CLI-8R unwrapped but with original Canon tape along the tape. Is some, most, or all of this supposed to be removed for refilling so the vent holes aren't sealed:


It seems like the original Canon tape is covering up one, several, or all vent holes along the top:


You can sort of make out the "serpentine labyrinth" under the tape above the sponge area. My speculation is that the "air vent over the sponge" on this CLI-8R Red cartridge is just under where the label "Red" is located. Is that correct?

Here's the 8R along with a refilled CLI-8M Magenta that has had the plastic ball pushed down into the reservoir, plugged with a R-Jet Tek #1916, and showing red electrical tape that will be used to cover the #1916 plug. It seems like there might be vent holes under the tape where the "Push" label is, and also below where the tape ends, which looks like concentric circles with a centered dot.


"Inquiring minds want to know". Are there better nomenclature terms for the above? Where are the two (or three+?) vent holes along the top, what are they for, and when are they supposed to be open and closed during refilling, storage, and use in the printer?

 

[ghwellsjr]

The air vent opening is shown in your fifth picture down as the "L" shaped grove on the untaped portion of the cartridges. The air vent includes the serpentine path and the "wells" it encounters on the way to where it finally enters the inside of the sponge chamber. You do not want to remove the tape covering this air path as it is vital to the design of the cartridge.

See this thread for more info about why you don't want to remove the tape covering the serpentine path.

 

[mikling]

The other 2 advantage of sealing the air vent hole during refill is that it prevents any possibility of having ink enter the serpentine during refilling. Trapped ink inside the serpentine will lock up the cartridge and it will not release ink to allow printing.

The other more subtle issue is that it minimizes the exchange of air that is above the sponge. This will minimize the drying of ink on the upper sponge and allow the cartridge to remain in top condition over a longer period.

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

There is an extra step that has seldom been mentioned for the top filling method.

When refilling the reservoir, leave the air vent open and quickly fill the reservoir about HALFWAY and no more. If you put the ink slowly, maybe stop at 1/4. As you put the ink in, the sponge will be absorbing.
Stop. The level on the reservoir will now decrease.
Now seal the air vent on the sponge side at this point. You can do this with either tape or as I do, just place my thumb over it.
Now continue to fill the reservoir till full.

...By sealing the air vent over the sponge, you stop the sponge from being oversaturated with ink.

Interesting. This sounds like an excellent method to saturate the sponge without danger of oversaturating. I have some comments on how and why it works.

In normal use, as the cartridge is drained, it reaches a state in which the ink level is low, below the top of the opening between chambers, and both chambers are then vented to the atmosphere. During filling, you are recreating approximately the same sate, and the sponge should not be oversaturated, as long as the final ink level is not too high while both chambers are still vented.

I like the idea of sealing the vent while refilling the ink chamber. But when you refill it, surely some additional ink will flow into the sponge, so I did a little calculation to find out just how much. After filling the ink chamber, the additional head in that chamber is around 3 cm = 0.03 m. Atmospheric pressure is 10 m. Thus, the increase in pressure is 0.03/10 = 0.003 atmosphere. Assuming less than 5 mL of air in the sponge chamber, that increase in pressure would decrease the volume by a factor of 0.003, or less than 5 x 0.003 = 0.015 mL. That should work very well indeed!

You may be interested in an analysis of the cartridge geometry and the internal pressures (message 226, http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=40658#p40658 ). In that post I suggested a slightly different procedure that should be approximately equivalent to yours.