Discussion Crrect way to pull ink through the heads?

[Jim Hill]

I am asking this question to see if there are different ways of pulling ink through the heads with the capping station in place under the heads.

I have used this method many times but today for the first time I am having problems.
My SP-300V no longer let's me know when an ink cartridge is running low so the yellow ran out of ink and now I have cross contamination between the yellow and magenta head.

I have replaced both dampers along with a New cap top but I still cannot pull ink though from under the heads with the capping station parked in place.
I also pulled ink from the dampers by putting a small plastic fitting into the bottom of the damper where it connects to the manifold and that worked fine to get ink into the dampers.

Does anyone know of a vendor who sells the syringe, the correct size hoses, and fittings needed for this job?
Are there any tutorials on the correct way to draw ink from under the heads?

I have also replaced the drain hoses to the pump and drain bottle thinking that they might be clogged but the pump and the hoses appear to be working just fine.

I believe the problem is I do not have the proper connection from the syringe because when I try and draw ink the syringe there is almost no Resistance which tells me there is an air leak some where.

Over night I put some cleaning fluid on top of each cap top to make sure the heads would not dry out and that pulls though the syringe with no problem.

Any ideas on what's wrong?
Thanks Jim

 

[Solventinkjet]

I use a tapered syringe because it fits in pretty much any sized tube nice and snug. Here is a link to one on our website.

When the head is capped and you pull from the cap top tube, you should feel resistance and then if there is ink in the dampers already, you should see ink flowing into the syringe within a second or two. You should also see the dampers crush from the pressure change. If all you pull is air and get no resistance, the cap top is not sealing with the head properly. Usually from a bad cap top but since yours is new I would suspect ink build up on the bottom of the head causing the break in the seal.

 

[Jim Hill]

VanderJ:

I now have the magenta and yellow ink working fine but the black and cyan are still not working yet!

I noticed that each time I raise the capping station manually up into the heads the black & cyan cap top is in a slightly different position and appear to move. Not sure if I am raising the capping station to high or it is not raising up correctly.

Another question does it matter which way the small electrode in the cap top is facing? Should both cap tops have the electrode located on the top or bottom or does it not matter at all.

All of my dampers now have the proper ink back in them so I am doing a head soak over night on the black & cyan head. I have clamped off the tube coming from the cap top.

Another question is I purchased different sizes of hose and connectors just for pulling ink through the lines but I think I might have made a mistake in buying the clear plastic hose because the ink and the Roland Cleaning solution appear to be making it very soft.

I need to purchase the syringe and the correct clear hose for pulling ink through the lines. Do you sell these items?

Thanks for you great advise and help. Jim Hill

 

[netsol]

vander, i like your tapered syringes, just bought a couple from your site

 

[Jim Hill]

I also placed an order for the tapered Syringes.

I was finally able to pull ink through both heads and the printer is once again working but this time was it was really harder then other times trying to pull ink through the lines.

Jim