Epson Stylus Pro 7900 all clogged up

[rfcomm2k]

Unit had ink cartridges removed but then sat idle for at least 3 years. I removed the damper and printhead and soaked the printhead in alcohol, but only deep enough to cover just above the foil face. A week later I reassembled, taking time to also spray down and swab the connections to the supply tubes.
Upon startup I ran the init fill procedure and then several cleaning cycles. Also ran the AID test.
The system fails the AID test. Also, upon startup in normal mode it says matte black ink is empty, but I know it is not. Also get message to replace waste unit, which is quite filled, but the ink is all dry in the felt.
So, I took waste tubes off and purged them with alcohol, using laboratory wash bottles. I then tried flushing the ink tubes the same way, but several were too clogged. I took a piece of #24 phone connect wire and pushed it thru each tube, working at it till I had the tubes cleared and flushed.

Before I start up again my question is, how do I fool the system into thinking the waste bins are empty? I know I will replace them but I cannot wait till the order arrives as I need to move this out of the way for Christmas and want to at least test it.

 

[Puch]

This printer registers maintenance cartridge usage via a chip, installed onto the cartridge itself. You have to obtain (via eBay) a 'chip resetter' to be able to re-use filled cartidges. IMHO the head is destroyed, after 3 years of neglect the whole thing is clogged up terminally. If cleaning, power cleaning does not help, you can start saving for a head replacement. Mine had 3 such repairs in 8 years.

 

[Lorenzo lab guy]

We had a 7900 and I agree with Puch. A fiussy machine when in regular service, but 3 years of non-use probably killed the head. You can spend a lot of time messing with it but I doubt you can get it going again. Here is a guy who spent months working on his:

 

[SoggyWinter]

You can get a new head from Compass Micro, but it might be more cost effective to buy a P6000 for a few hundred dollars more. I've been through four or five x900s that all went the landfill for trashed heads. Each time, it was only slightly more money to replace the machine outright with a current model. Word on the street is the P series heads are much more reliable.

 

[MacTwidget]

You can get a new head from Compass Micro, but it might be more cost effective to buy a P6000 for a few hundred dollars more. I've been through four or five x900s that all went the landfill for trashed heads. Each time, it was only slightly more money to replace the machine outright with a current model. Word on the street is the P series heads are much more reliable.

I agree. I had a 9900 that had to have 2 head replacements in 5 years. The x900 series has been discontinued. The SureColor P Series is EPSON's suggested successor.

 

[I.T. Supplies]

I see this is a few months old from last post, but the SureColor P series has updated inks and a Teflon coating on the head (same as x890/x900 series). Epson integrated a timing feature in all 24" and wider to help maintain the nozzles more accurately which has helped with clogging problems. It hasn't resolved the clog, but helps. Realistically, any aqueous printer will have clogs at some point since these are water based ink. If you're out of warranty with Epson printers, the cost to replace the head could average about half the cost of the printer, or more. This is based on the head price and labor time/cost.

But, you should also keep the printer turned on as much as possible and the printer will go into sleep mode, wake itself up if not used within the time it's set to (default is 60 hours and can be adjusted down to 8 hours). Sleep mode time is also adjustable depending on much you're using it. It will wake itself up, check the nozzles and clean them if needed. After not being used in the specific (go to sleep) time, it will go into sleep mode until it's being used or when it hits the time to wake up again and check nozzles.

If you turn off and back on, this method will use more ink aside from nozzle check/cleaning and the agitation process when turned on pushes ink through the head. This can use more than just doing a nozzle check and cleaning. You'd be pushing ink through and if nozzles are still clogged, more cleaning (ink used).

Hope this helps.