Designjet 1050c ink tube leak

[D Hook]

Got rid of the leak but now can't seem to get the ink to draw through the tubes.  At first it was just the yellow that didn't want to come through, using a syringe.  Then the black wouldn't draw.  It would start to show in the tubes by the carriage, then would start to retreat back towards the ink tank (away from printhead).  So I have a refurbished ink tube system coming from LPS and am just going to replace the whole thing.  They supply a different style syringe tool with the hole in the side of the "needle" that they recommend using.  So I thought I'd try that tool before replacing the whole system.  I'll post up the results.

[D Hook]

Had a question though.  I'm pretty sure the leak came when I removed the printhead to replace with a new one.  I think I unseated the nozzle from the elbow.  The tube and elbow are intact.  If I put some kind of lubricant on the printhead needle before inserting into the nozzle, maybe that would prevent the two from becoming stuck together.  Opinions?  Thinking of just using synthetic oil like what's used on the rails.  Or maybe vegetable oil?

[meat1820]

I wouldn't use any kind of lube on that!! you might introduce the possibility of flowing with the ink through the printheads and coming out in your prints and cause fisheye look in your colors on media that won't dry!!

them chemicals in the ink itself is harsh enough on the seals in the nozzles and the sleeves without introducing something else!!

I hope you didn't use to much silicone and clog the barbed fittings or the nozzles. when you insert your syringe, do you move it to an angle so your not right over the top of the ball inside the nozzle? Is your air pressure running for the ink cartridges when you perge the lines?

[D Hook]

I was going to use a cue tip and just put a light coating on the silver nipple that goes into the nozzle to keep the steel from becoming stuck to the inside of the nozzle.  I'm pretty sure that's what happened to cause the leak.

I ended up not putting any silicone on the rubber fittings.  The leak stopped once I got the nozzle reassembled onto the elbow.

I don't think I was using the correct method for purging with the syringe.  I didn't know the ink tanks need to be pressurized to pull the ink through.  I have a new tool coming, like I mentioned earlier, and will try again with that one.

About pressurizing; if I have the printer turned on, I'm guessing the tanks stay pressurized unless you go into the 
"Change Ink Cartridge" mode.  If that's true then I should have been able to draw ink but it wouldn't go.  It could also be the "needle" was a too small for the opening and letting air get into the syringe from outside instead of the ink.  I noticed, as soon as I pulled out the syringe, the ink would retreat back towards the ink tank, making me suspect the check valve ball wasn't seating properly, which may have been caused by my heavy handed work with the syringe.

[D Hook]

By the way, here's an intersting tool I found:

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Pcs-Printhead-Ink-Drawing-Tool-For-HP-DesignJet-500-800-510-1050C-5000-550...

I like this one because it has an attachment point so you can keep both hands on the syringe and not worry about shoving the needle too far and knocking the ball/spring out of alignment.

This is the tool I'm using with little to no succes:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10ml-6-pcs-Syringe-6-XTRA-LONG-Blunt-Needles-for-Ink-Refill-/400253867910?ep...

[davidzuts]

I do not know where they get them, but the company in the link below who we have used for 3 of these assemblies over the last year has a syringe included whose needle is more like the pin on a printhead where it is short, slides right in and very easy to draw ink. I have saved mine and use them all the time and have never had an issue of one of these damaging the connection. The ones you get on ebay with the long needles can very easily damage the connection.

https://www.ebay.com/i/222026867930?chn=ps&dispItem=1

[D Hook]

The key to the LPS tool is that it looks and acts exactly like the printhead pin itself, in that it's rounded on the end and has the fluid hole drilled into the side.  I'm sure it will work better than the blunt end syringe needle I've been trying to use.

The black printhead is where the printer developed the leak when I changed out the printhead.  I think I somehow dislodged the nozzle stem enough when removing the printhead to make it leak.  This time I'm going to lubricate the pins with a little teflon spray on a q-tip to keep them from sticking to the inside of the nozzle.

[D Hook]

So I rec'd the new ink system from LPS today, along with the priming tool.  Used the tool on the old system to see if I could salvage it and it worked great.  Printer is back up and running.  Didn't have to install the new system at all.

But I'm going to keep the new ink supply system from LPS to have as a back up in case something else goes south on my present system.  I have another much older ink supply system that I use for parts and for "practicing" on repairs, which came in handy because I think I had a bad black nozzle.  Replaced it with one from my spare parts bin and all worked just fine.  As long as I had it out, I went ahead and sealed the connection together w/the silicone caulk.  Should prevent separation in the future when changing printheads.

Found the nozzles on ebay so I'll have some new ones in the parts bin as well.

[walshyuk]

Sorry to come in on an old post but wondered if you guys could help me. Bought a 5500ps and its clear to me that the nozzle seals have gone. I have found your post and it has really helped me get to the bottom of this problem and I am sure it is the nozzles that are causing the ink not to be drawn. So thanks for your post. Nozzle's are available but the clips dont seem to be availble. Does anyone know where I can get the clips from as no matter how much care I took getting them out they were too brittle and snapped. I dont really want to have to glue them back and re insert them 
Thanks in advance 

[D Hook]

Good question.  Doubtful HP sells those individually.  Couple ways to try would be to look on ebay for used printhead systems that have the tubes and whole assembly.  They can sometimes be had for pretty cheap and then you have a whole parts bin readily aviailable.

You could contact LPS and see if they might have some extras they'd be will to sell individually.  I've always found them to be very helpful with both parts and advice.

As far as ink not drawing, what all have you done to test for this?