I have finally gotten a maintenance tank almost full indication on the epson 4800. While I await the arrival of a replacement tank, is there any solution to extending the life of the existing tank? In other words, is it possible to partially empty the old tank and continue to use it for awhile?
I have a 4880 and had the same thought. It looks like you can pull the filter out but I did not want to possibly get ink spilled all over the place. Usually the indication comes up around
77% full. Should give you plenty of time to get the new maint tank installed.
not according to my guy at lexjet (where i buy ink and supplies for my 9800) or a friend with the same printer who also got the dreaded 'maintenance tank' light and tried everything under the sun to finish up a job before a new tank arrived. btw - these big ones don't give warnings that they're going full - we just get a light that sez 'you're full - change me NOW' and it won't print another inch til you do! LOL i learned pretty early on to keep an extra one on hand
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On my 4880 I have a program called Epson LFP Remote Panel. From this panel I am able to check the status of the mainetnance tank and inks. It show percentage left before I need to replace. I believe there is also a print test that also shows the status of the maintenacne tank. Do you not have this program for your 4800?
Ed,
Pull the foam out and just stuff it with paper towels. It will work the same and save you some money. Other than that, don't buy the whole tank, just buy the refill for about $60.
Buy a chip resetter for the 4880, you can find them online...Then you would just have to fill the tank with something absorbent, I heard tampons work. The chip on the tank is the reason you cant just empty them and use them again. T-Jet blazers have the tank, they come with a resetter.
Ed,
Pull the foam out and just stuff it with paper towels. It will work the same and save you some money. Other than that, don't buy the whole tank, just buy the refill for about $60.
$60?? really??? wow - it's only $45 for the whole tank for my 9800...but then there isn't a 'refill' option - gotta replace the whole enchilada LOL. give rob at lexjet a call - i don't know if they carry them for the 4800's or not but they might be less! 800-453-9538
Sorry, guess I assumed that most of us who use the 4800 already have a chip resetter. Thanks for correcting that. They are a lot cheaper on ebay, you're right.
I do recommend a chip resetter as it will allow you to recyle your tank for many years. Paper towels work
great. I recommend taking some Velcro and attaching the resetter to the side of the printer so that you
will always know where it is and keep from bending the pins on the resetter.
David
Last edited by Rodney; June 25th, 2008 at 09:37 AM.
Thanks everyone. That's what I like about this site. The answers come quickly and usually save some money. To those who asked, the 4800 does track the maintenance tank. So far I only have the "almost full" indication but I don't expect the tank to last too much longer. I like the paper towel refill option, so I guess the best course of action is to order the chip resetter, rather than the new tank. Keep up the good work. Hope to see some of you at the Fort Worth ISS.
I have finally gotten a maintenance tank almost full indication on the epson 4800. While I await the arrival of a replacement tank, is there any solution to extending the life of the existing tank? In other words, is it possible to partially empty the old tank and continue to use it for awhile?
Here is an amazing blog post regarding reusing your 4880 tank.
Only if you have an older printer like the 4000, 7600, 9600 printer. These printers allow the tank
to be reset from the front panel. I recommend a resetter. Let me know if you need those instructions.
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David Gross, Conde Systems www.conde.com
Ed,
If you are going to be at the ISS show in ft worth, meet at the impressions booth around 3:00. Anyone else attending too. We will be there Friday and maybe Saturday.
Jim, I'll try to be there. Just to let everybody know, I followed your advice and ordered a chip resetter. The tank finally reached the full warning, so I removed it, cleaned it, restuffed it and reset it. The only challenge was getting the tiny pins to touch in the correct position. All is well now.
Epson 4800 and maintenance tank? 
Re: Epson 4800 and maintenance tank? 
