Flushing with distilled water, possibly vinegar?

[Paul_Ozzello]

Is this possible ? I’ve gone through tons of ink trying to clear one single nozzle. It’s getting expensive, even with Piezoflush. I thought I could fill my flushing carts with distilled water with a dab of food coloring, or some RIT dye. Would this work ? The food coloring is water soluble. Or maybe a few drop of MK Ultra dark ink ? Then do Initial Fill after Initial Fill and try to unclog the nozzle… I haven’t seen anyone use vinegar. Could this work ? Or would the vinegar damage some rubber seals ?

Paul

[jon]

Distilled water is going to be safer than diluted vinegar. With just one single nozzle are you sure it is not an impact on the jet surface rather than internal? Have you tried cleaning the surface of the print head?

[Paul_Ozzello]

I did the Bounty piezo routine like in dana’s video - and also did the same using a microfiber cloth. Are there any more aggressive cleaning methods?

Can I add food or RIT dye to distilled water to flush the carts? That would really save on ink costs trying to clean a stubborn clog.

[jon]

Just the method of using the small format cleaning kit which is a direct injection method. You do not want to force PiezoFlush through the print head if you meet resistance. So it is done gently and often the best way is to gently push and then gently pull - never forcing or you might blow out the side wall of an impacted channel. In your case with only one nozzle I would not think you would meet resistance. I would still use the gentle back and forth method. Let it sit in the head. Then again. This is of course, done over a paper towel. You mentioned you saw the video so I am assuming you have already done this, right? If not it is a first line of action process…. If you have an it has not released it - there is always the potential that that one single jet’s piezo crystal is dead.

[Paul_Ozzello]

Yes, I already tried this several times, gently. I even tried heating the piezoflush to 85C first. There was a ton of dried ink on the head and I’d really like to clean the surface of the head, what can I safely use that won’t scratch or damage the head ? A soft sponge ? a sensor swab ? Kim wipes ? Pec pad ?

[jon]

Foam swabs are what are used with Epson print heads when they are sold into extremely expensive printers. The print head moves over to a cleaning station and the user cleans the head with a foam swab. So, if it is good enough for a $35,000 printer with Epson print heads, it will be food for a $500 one! Don’t go crazy on it. Dip it in PiezoFlush (which has softening agents) and gently wipe it twice on one side, turn the swab over and wipe it twice on the other side. Allow the swab stick to bend so do not hold it so it can not.

[Paul_Ozzello]

What foam swabs do you recommend ? Anything from amazon ?

I was able to get that nozzle to partially fire - then it disappeared again after a cleaning. What can you tell from this nozzle check ?

[Paul_Ozzello]

I’m making progress - I finally got the nozzle cleared but my nozzle check looks very strange - have you ever seen something like this ? Why are the some of lines split out like that ?

[walkerblackwell]

These are deflected nozzles from small debree still on the nozzle outlet plate

-Walker