Reset+Maintenance+Tank

=Can the Maintenance Tank Be Reset?=


 * Question:** Is there a way to reset the maintenance tank?


 * Answer:** Yes. However, you have to perform the reset before the Maintenance Tank is completely full. Once it is marked full, the printer won't start, even in Service Mode, until you replace the Maintenance Tank. If this happens, you can still reset the tank by inserting a new Maintenance Tank, start in service mode, then put the old cart back in and reset it.


 * Note:** It isn't generally recommended to re-use a Maintenance Tank for a long period of time. This is more of a stop-gap measure when the tank is getting low, you don't have a replacement handy, and you need to continue printing. It isn't recommended to try to clean the Maintenance Tank, due to concerns about the environmental impacts of washing ink down the drain.


 * Disclaimer:** Proceed at your own risk!

Be aware Canon *may* have a counter to count the number of clearings!

After digitally flipping though the iPF5000 service manual, I deduced how to reset the maintenance cartridge (called "W-INK" in the manual) usage count for my 6100. For those who wonder, the 6100 will no longer operate once the maintenance cartridge hits 10%. I verified this by reading the W-INK usage counter after the printer insisted on a new maintenance cartridge.

1. Start the printer in service mode

2. Press "Menu". There will be a new entry called "SERVICE MODE" with a different menu structure and navigation system.

3. Familiarize yourself with the following facts while in this menu:
 * Left and right change the categories.
 * Down and up go into, and out of (respectively) submenus.
 * From what I've read, the service mode is very powerful - lots of opportunities to really mess things up. Be careful.

4. Select "Service Mode" as you normally would, i.e. scroll down, then press OK.

5. Press the right arrow until you see "Initialize".

6. Press the down arrow.

7. Press the right arrow until "W-INK" is displayed. (**Note:** be sure you select "W-INK" from the "Initialize" choices instead of "W-INK - CHG CNT" which sounds like just the thing, but doesn't work.)

8. Press OK.

9. The display should show "=W-INK" for about half a second, then plain "W-INK".

10. Press up until you get back to the main menu. Press information until the maintenance cartridge capacity is displayed.

11. The maintenance cartridge capacity is now 100% (aka empty).

12. Press and hold Power to turn off your printer.

13. Turn it back on normally.

14. Maintenance cartridge capacity (not usage!) should still be at 100%.


 * Note:** Reported to work so far with Canon iPF5000, 6100, 8000, 9000 and iPF700. Other models have not been reported yet, but are presumed to work.


 * NOTE:** There is a single report by a Wiki poster that the reset caused a refill of all ink lines, wasting $180 worth of ink. However, in the two years since that report there has not been any other reports of this problem, so it is very likely that the repeat initial fill was unrelated to the reset. Many people have performed the reset without problems. See [|this thread] for discussion on this topic if interested.


 * COMMENT FROM TGOMEARAJR:** Here is what I found when I went to reset the maintenance tank. The "full" waste tank was not NEARLY full. As a matter of fact, the left side partition was almost completely empty. The (larger) right side was where all the waste ink was. A brand new waste tank for the ipf6100 weighs 751 grams. The tank the printer said was "full" weighed 1247 grams. That is 496 grams of waste ink captured in the tank.

That is hardly any ink at all compared to the huge tank capacity. :( Some of the absorbent pads were hardly touched by ink at all. There were no ink "puddles" anywhere, meaning the absorbent pads were still doing their work.

It appears that for people that do not want to do the messy job of cleaning and re-using a tank, all they have to do is re-set it once just as it is. There is NO WAY a second use cycle can put anywhere near enough in in the waste tank to make it overflow. So just re-set the tank and use it again as if it were new. Then for the next cycle, either clean the tank or put in a new one if cleaning still does not appeal to you. At least that way you have cut in half the cost of waste ink tanks forevermore.


 * ADDENDUM:** If in spite of the environmental concerns you still want to clean the Maintenance tanks, here are a few hints about cleaning the five absorbant pads after getting the top off:

1. DON'T GET THE CARTRIDGE ITSELF WET - remember the electronic chip in the backside right "horn"! And don't touch the contacts.

2. Keep the pads in some order you will remember for re-installation.

3. Makes a huge mess, but cleans up with water.

4. The goal is not the unobtainable lily white, or anything near, just to thin the "black lagoon" slime to aqueous consistency so the pads can be dried as much as possible. I used the soak-fold-compress method, but a rolling pin or equivalent would have made a much quicker job of it. Too late smart...

5. Re-install the first three pads in order on the underside of the TOP, as it has registration tabs for slits in the pads, studs, etc, and the ink outline of the cutouts to guide you. Then put the two remaing pads in the bottom, replace the top, and you're done.

6. When you replace the MC in the printer, be sure it is seated all the way back for the ports and chip to register properly. Mine had a need for an extra push to feel it seat.