Epson EcoTank Clogging Troubleshoot Part 2 - Unclog Tubes and Prime Dampers

Today, I’ll finish a story I started about one of my customers. They had contacted Epson’s notoriously tedious support team about a warranty. Epson’s solution to the situation was to have this customer keep the printer, and Epson would send $120 their way. That seemed like a good deal, so the customer accepted and came to me to fix the printer (which was still not working).

Fortunately, this turned out to be an easy fix. I located the clog causing the printer’s issue in the tube, which is much simpler than the one in the printhead. To fix it, I started by disconnecting the tubes from the printhead and pulling the other side out.

If your tubes aren’t as easily fixed as the ones in this story, you can visit my website for a new set. You should be able to find them listed as “Ecotank tubes” under the Epson category of the Printer Parts tab.

Cleaning out a clogged tube isn’t too hard. Just remove the lines from the printer, soak them in warm water, massage them (especially around the area of the clot), and then use a syringe to suck air from one end of the tube. Ideally, the ink will come through really smoothly when you do this. You can get an appropriately sized syringe and needle from my website under the “accessories” tab.

Check the Tubes

After you’ve checked each tube and found them in working order, reconnect them securely and to the right places onto the printer and the damper.

Now, prime the damper. Take a 10ml syringe and cut a small angled piece off of the tip of it. On the back of the dampers are little tabs that keep them in place in the printer. Pry those tabs gently but firmly, and they should come out fine.

If you look at the dampers, you’ll see that they have a lot of air in the chambers. That’s exactly why they need to be primed. Hold the damper hole-side-up, insert the syringe, and suck slowly. The ink should easily come into the damper. Keep going until some of the ink gets inside the syringe.

Now, if you put everything back together and try to get something to print, it should print out perfectly.

I hope this blog helped! You can access a video walkthrough of this tutorial if you’d prefer that format. For more DIY printer tips and tricks, follow me on YouTube at Kevin at BCH. Happy printing!