Tubing to Use Flushing Clogged Printhead Epson 650

vienna01

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I am planning to flush out the printhead of a Epson 650.
I already have Windex and several sized syringes.
I plan to use paper towels to absorb ink under printhead
I need the tubing to connect syringe to the printhead.


What size tubing do I need? 1/8" or 3/16"?
WHAT KIND[RUBBER,PLASTIC, OTHER]?
Please suggest source to buy needed short length?


FYI- I tried the printer's clean function about 10 times - no improvement. Most sites on the internet [such as on youtube] show commercial kits used to clean the cartridges.
Are there DIFFERENT methods that are better or safer?

Can I damage the printhead by connecting syringe to tubing to cartridge and then pressing the syringe to much?
 
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PeterBJ

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Can I damage the printhead by connecting syringe to tubing to cartridge and then pressing the syringe to much?
I don't know much about Epson printers, but IIRC I read somewhere that too much pressure could ruin the print head from de-lamination inside the print head.
 

The Hat

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Can I damage the printhead by connecting syringe to tubing to cartridge and then pressing the syringe to much?
If you connect the tubing to your print head and fill with Windex, then gravity will be sufficient to clear and dissolve any clogs you may have had in the nozzles, adding more pressure can only cause further complications...
 

arw4

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adding more pressure can only cause further complications...
Yes, and sometimes those further complications aren't always immediately evident - it is possible for problems to surface not long after seemingly solving the problem. "Gently" is definitely the way to go. What steps have you taken so far @vienna01?
 

Ink stained Fingers

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@vienna01 - how did you get into that situation - are you using refill cartridges ? - are you printing a lot or with longer idle intervals in between ? Are all colors affected ? and which ink ? Do you have some head cleaner available ?
If you go to try flushing the printhead with a syringe - please start with a pull action so that you don't try to push any potential solid particles through the nozzles which are the narrowest part in the ink path, and then do a few push/pull cycles with some cleaning agent - just slowly.
But before you do that you might try the WICReset utility which offers a function 'Ink Charge' for most Epson printers which is an extended cleaning cycle not available via the utilities tab of the driver.
 

vienna01

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Yes, and sometimes those further complications aren't always immediately evident - it is possible for problems to surface not long after seemingly solving the problem. "Gently" is definitely the way to go. What steps have you taken so far @vienna01?
Only have used the built in clean function about 8 times.
 

vienna01

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@vienna01 - how did you get into that situation - are you using refill cartridges ? - are you printing a lot or with longer idle intervals in between ? Are all colors affected ? and which ink ? Do you have some head cleaner available ?
If you go to try flushing the printhead with a syringe - please start with a pull action so that you don't try to push any potential solid particles through the nozzles which are the narrowest part in the ink path, and then do a few push/pull cycles with some cleaning agent - just slowly.
But before you do that you might try the WICReset utility which offers a function 'Ink Charge' for most Epson printers which is an extended cleaning cycle not available via the utilities tab of the driver.

Thanks for your informative reply
- Printer has been used for many years
-only OEM carts used-printer used infrequently
-only black affected
-No commercial head cleaner plan to use windex or make cleaner with ammonia.
- Any special formulas using ammonia that I should use?
==================================
How do I use WICReset utility?
Is it worthwhile if only black is clogged and I already used 8 clean cycles?
 

Ink stained Fingers

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How do I use WICReset utility?
Is it worthwhile if only black is clogged and I already used 8 clean cycles?
Most likely not, you may try to soak the nozzle plate for an extended time period as the next action.
 

arw4

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@vienna01, which black ink is affected? Is it the pigment or the dye cartridge? How long have you had the problem? When you carry out a nozzle check, do you get any trace with your black print cartridge, and do all the other colours print normally? Have you taken your print head out of the printer as yet? Sorry for so many questions, but knowing the answers will enable us to guide you.

At this stage, further cleaning operations are unlikely to have any beneficial effect, and will only consume more ink.
 

arw4

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Most likely not, you may try to soak the nozzle plate for an extended time period as the next action.
I would perhaps suggest first seeing whether the ink intake on top of the print head will absorb a few drops of windex. I use dedicated print head cleaner/flush, so don't personally have any experience using windex. What do you think @Ink stained Fingers?
 

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