Where did my ink go when refilling a virgin cartridge?

[ThrillaMozilla]

If you overfill the sponge, ink will leak out through the print head, and it is likely even to contaminate the other cartridges. On the other hand, it's easy to test to make sure you haven't done this. Just put the cartridge upright for a few minutes on a glass to see if it's dripping.

 

[Big_Al]

BTW where did you find the instructions telling to fill in only 5 ml of ink? It looks to me as if they are intended for another type of cartridge, maybe HP 364 non-XL?

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7483

Ok, so it seems we are arriving at consensus: I should put another 4-5mL in (on top of the 5mL already in there).

So, I'm curious as to what's wrong by overfilling by a small amount.

I was thinking that overfilling could plug the air vent.
Al

 

[The Hat]

Big_Al
I was thinking that overfilling could plug the air vent.
Al

Me too..

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

Yes, it can do that too.

 

[PeterBJ]

Overfilling is absolutely to be avoided. If the vent is blocked it can cause ink starvation and if the vent is not blocked it can cause leaking. Leaking can cause cross contamination, and even worse a film of ink can creep under the conductors at the bottom of the printhead and cause a short that ruins the printhead and maybe the logic board as well. This has happened to me with a Pixma 4200, not because of overfilling, but because of leaking bad quality third party cartridges.

The 5 ml is the amount of ink I suggest you draw into the syringe so you will have enough ink to top up the cartridge. You will most likely not need all of it. If using German method don't try to force it into the cartridge after the ink chamber is filled or you will certainly overfill the the cartridge.

The idea of using the windowed cartridges instead of the opaque ones, is that they are easily refilled without you have to think about millilitres or grammes of ink. If you want to use the German method for refill then follow pharmacist's instructions. If you want to use top fill you can follow the instructions given by The Hat or ThrillaMozilla in posts #4 and #5. None of these instructions mention millilitres.

If done properly, both German and top fill methods will not overfill the cartridge, but it is still a good idea to test that the cartridge is not leaking.

So I suggest you forget about millilitres. Just follow the instructions given and have peace of mind.

 

[stratman]

One of the benefits of the Durchstich method is that you can fill the spongeless side to the top with ink. However, if you prefer, filling to within 2-4 mm from the top works perfectly too.

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

?? I can't imagine any reason not to fill it to the top with the topfill method either.

 

[rodbam]

In the few top fills I've done I've found getting the last few drops in to full starts leaks & pushing ink out of the vent maze. I just stick to the German method now & fill em right up.

 

[The Hat]

In the few top fills I've done I've found getting the last few drops in to full starts leaks & pushing ink out of the vent maze. I just stick to the German method now & fill em right up.

Stone the flaming crows rodbam,
but you have your cartridges upside down to start with, no wonder they leak..

 

[ThrillaMozilla]

I see. Makes sense. Here's what I think is going on.

It means you have filled BOTH chambers up to the tippy-top, or at least you have liquid up over the top of the sponge. The only way that could happen is if there is air escaping from the vent. I am guessing that sealing the vent with a finger might allow that to happen. If you were to try this again, you might try using tape or putty.