Refill of HP-26

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p4o2

I am pretty sure I screwed this up but I am not sure. Filling a HP-26
ink cartridge I drilled the filling hole in the middle of the back of
the cartridge (where it looks like the factory filling hole was)
instead of on the corner as shown in the instructions.

It looks like the ink is outside of a bladder in the cartridge
instead of inside.

Any chance the cartridge will still work?
 
p4o2 said:
I am pretty sure I screwed this up but I am not sure. Filling a HP-26
ink cartridge I drilled the filling hole in the middle of the back of
the cartridge (where it looks like the factory filling hole was)
instead of on the corner as shown in the instructions.

It looks like the ink is outside of a bladder in the cartridge
instead of inside.

Any chance the cartridge will still work?
Click to expand...

If you have the ink outside the bladder you will only make a mess. This ink
will never make it through the nozzles.

- Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
 
Better to go to the store and get genuine HP ink carts so it does not
leak all over the printer.
 
If you have the ink outside the bladder you will only make a mess. This ink
will never make it through the nozzles.

- Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
Click to expand...

You are the expert but the ink is already comming out of the cartidge
do you mean it will not go to or thru the print head?
 
p4o2 said:
I am pretty sure I screwed this up but I am not sure. Filling a HP-26
ink cartridge I drilled the filling hole in the middle of the back of
the cartridge (where it looks like the factory filling hole was)
instead of on the corner as shown in the instructions.

It looks like the ink is outside of a bladder in the cartridge
instead of inside.

Any chance the cartridge will still work?
Click to expand...
The center hole is a ventilation hole, used to regulate air pressure
within the cart. You should have drilled the hole on in a corner of the
top. Or better yet, get a refill kit that fills from the bottom. I've
always had better luck with that type. No hole-drilling required.

Your cart is probably ruined.

TJ
 
TJ said:
The center hole is a ventilation hole, used to regulate air pressure
within the cart. You should have drilled the hole on in a corner of
the top. Or better yet, +
Click to expand...
get new HP OEM carts and not have a mess.
 
measekite said:
get new HP OEM carts and not have a mess.
Click to expand...

I did not drill the vent hole out. The hole I made is behind the vent
hole. After some thought the indentation where I drilled is most
likely from the injection molding of the plastic part and not the
original fill hole. Anyway after a while it stopped dripping and I put
it in the printer and IT WORKS ! So; never mind. LOL
 
p4o2 said:
I did not drill the vent hole out. The hole I made is behind the vent
hole. After some thought the indentation where I drilled is most
likely from the injection molding of the plastic part and not the
original fill hole. Anyway after a while it stopped dripping and I put
it in the printer and IT WORKS ! So; never mind. LOL
Click to expand...

Ah. I misunderstood. You were lucky you didn't hit the bladder. If you
had, that would be the end of it. The air within the bladder is used to
provide and regulate the ink pressure. Too much air and the cartridge
drips. Too little and the ink doesn't flow. The valve I thought you had
drilled out cycles as the ink runs out to keep that pressure constant,
drawing in more air as the ink level goes down. Most refill kit
instructions for these carts have a procedure for adjusting that air
content. Don't skip that step. It's important.

TJ
 
TJ said:
Ah. I misunderstood. You were lucky you didn't hit the bladder. If you
had, that would be the end of it. The air within the bladder is used to
provide and regulate the ink pressure. Too much air and the cartridge
drips. Too little and the ink doesn't flow. The valve I thought you had
drilled out cycles as the ink runs out to keep that pressure constant,
drawing in more air as the ink level goes down. Most refill kit
instructions for these carts have a procedure for adjusting that air
content. Don't skip that step. It's important.

TJ
Click to expand...

Thanks. Just to be clear. I had the refill kit for quite a while and
did not bother to read the instructions again before doing this one.
(dumb) Looking at a "good" one, I could not tell if the ink was inside
or outside the bladder.(too much ink) Anyway it is worth the $34 I
saved by fooling around with it.
 
p4o2 said:
Thanks. Just to be clear. I had the refill kit for quite a while and
did not bother to read the instructions again before doing this one.
(dumb) Looking at a "good" one, I could not tell if the ink was inside
or outside the bladder.(too much ink) Anyway it is worth the $34 I
saved by fooling around with it.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you had good luck with it. Those old 26 carts must be getting
hard to find. The time may come soon when refilling may be the only
option if you want to keep that old printer going. Perhaps you should
look into a newer printer. Plenty of them around.

I still prefer the refill kit type that fills from the bottom for that
cart, though. It's pretty easy to not get that drilled hole sealed
properly again. InkTec is one brand of kit that works that way. They're
pretty easy to find on the web, and relatively inexpensive. Once you've
used up the ink from the kit, bulk ink is also easily available. Be sure
to use ink designed for the 26 cart, though. The ink used in the newer
HP black carts is different. I'd advise against using "universal" ink, too.

TJ
 
I'm glad you had good luck with it. Those old 26 carts must be getting
hard to find. The time may come soon when refilling may be the only option
if you want to keep that old printer going. Perhaps you should look into a
newer printer. Plenty of them around.
Click to expand...

I would expect the #26 cartridges to be sold for a good long time, there
were a *large* number of printers that used that cartridge.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
 
Bob said:
I would expect the #26 cartridges to be sold for a good long time, there
were a *large* number of printers that used that cartridge.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
Click to expand...
Good to know. I still have an old Deskjet 500 here, still connected to
my old Atari STe. I did quite a bit of productive work with that, back
in the day, and I fire it up every once in a while just for old time's
sake. The DJ500 still works, except that the paper rollers don't pick up
the paper very well any more. I would think that even though a lot of
printers used that cartridge, many, if not most, have been retired in
favor of the newer, faster, more capable printers just because the
rollers only last so long.

TJ
 
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