To: Allespecially newbies
I agree on whole with the information that is found in the internet address in reply #18. I do have some caveats though.
My thoughts:
Note: I will be discussing the Top-fill method.pdf(s). I have no experiencing using the German method. If you intend to use the German method, please search this site for information on the German method. For the record I use a Canon PIXMA MX 870 printer. The printer uses the following carts: PGI-220BK; CLI-221C, M, Y, BK.
1. The pdf says that one should use hand protection or use a vise when removing the ball from the fill hole. If you use hand protection (and you should) you should wear a super heavy-duty leather grove or a welders glove (if you can find a pair). As for the vise, I would be very careful. You will need to apply a great deal of pressure to the cart so as to remove the ball. The pressure could damage the cart. Because of the pressure you will be working on a ink bomb. I suggest that you use the vise outsideespecially the first time you use the vise.
Or you can do something else.
2. The pdf(s) tells you to remove the ball from the fill hole so as to fill the ink reservoir. When you remove the ball you will have 5/32 hole. I believe that this hole is too big. A 3/32 hole is all that you need. You can drill a 3/32 hole just to the right of the OEM fill hole.
With the new location there is no need to remove the label over the OEM fill hole. Just remove enough of the label to drill the 3/32 hole and remove enough of the label so as not to interfere with the plug. It is not good to remove part of the label that covers the OEM fill hole (the label seals the OEM fill hole) and to remove the part of the label that covers the air vent.
3. The pdf(s) does not tell you when to remove the cart if you want to fill the cart. I believe the best time is when the ink reservoir is empty or nearly empty. Do not wait until you get a low-ink warning or an out-of-ink warning. I believe that you will have the best results (i.e. no leaks) if you fill the ink reservoir (you should fill to the mark) when the reservoir is empty or nearly empty. Trying to get as much ink into the cart will lead to ink leaking from the air vent and the ink outletless is more!!!!!!
4. When you are filling the cart keep the cart in the horizontal position (as it is in the print head). If you are creating a fill hole you cannot keep the cart in the horizontal position from start to finish. In this case, (after the fill hole has been created) with the cart in the horizontal position fill the reservoir to the mark, remove the tape over the air vent and remove the orange cap, and WAIT FOR AT LEAST FIVE MINUTES before placing the cart into the print head. This will stabilize the cart. If you place the cart into print head as soon as you fill the cart/remove vent tape and orange cap, you may experience leakage inside the cartnot good. If you are a newbie, I would wait TEN MINUTES. In short, the longer you mess with a cart the longer you should wait before placing the cart in the print head.
5. The pdf(s) tells you to cover the air vent with tape at one time and some other time the pdf tells you to remove the tape. I suggest you cover the air vent as soon as you remove the cart from the printer and keep the tape on for the entire procedure. Remove the tape after you have filled (to the 3/4 mark) the reservoir. If you like you can follow the pdf instructions to the letter concerning the tape and the air ventknock yourself out!!!!!
6. It is not a big deal if you have ink coming from the air vent. The ink tells you that you have overfilled the cart. Just remove the ink from the vent with a tissue. If you have bubbles coming from the air vent, I cannot tell you what the problem is (i.e. it has never happen to me). Read the pdf and search this site for the reason for the problem and how to fix the problem. If you have ink coming from the ink outlet, this is no big deal if the leak stops in a short period of time (a few seconds). If leak does not stop, you probably have a bad seal around the plug. You can fix the seal or remove the plug and start over.
After fixing the leakage problems you should wait for at least ten minutes before placing the cart into the printer.
7. I would not attempt a nozzle test or a print out until the cart has had plenty of time to stabilize. I would install the cart right before I went to bed. After you get up you can do a nozzle test/print out. I believe the reason that people have had bad nozzle tests/print outs is because they do not wait long enough for their carts to stabilizepatience, grasshopper, patience!!!!!!
8. If you have a newer Canon printer there is a good chance that you will have a clearance problem. The problem arises with Canon designing the printer so that there is very little space between the top of the cart and the printers case. This was done on purpose. If you use the top fill method to fill a cart and you use a plug with a top of average thickness, the printer will pull the plug from the fill hole. There are so-called low profile plugs, but they are not low enough in my opinion. You will need a top with a thickness of not more than 1/16 thickness.
How can you solve this problem? There are a number of ways. They are:
1. Do not use a Canon printer.
2. Use a Canon printer that does not have the clearance problem. This would be an older Canon printer.
3. Use hot glue to create a plug. I suggest that you use my penny (coin)/paper disc method to create the plug. My method creates a plug with a top thickness of 1/32 or less. Also, you will not have a problem in removing glue from the fill hole. The paper disc keeps glue from filling the fill hole!!!!!!
4. Use the German method to fill the cart. With the German method there is no need to create a fill hole on top of the cart. I believe that this is the best way to go if you have a printer with a clearance problem. There is one caveatbased on what I have read on this site when a person has had a problem using the German method it can be a real pain figuring out how to solve the problem.
Thank you.
