Epson 4900 Waste Tank Life

[Remo Nonaz]

What is the expected tank life in an Epson 4900? I recently acquired a used 4900 and the tank became full and needed replacing almost immediately after acquiring it. Upon installing a new waste tank, I ran an ink charge and a number of cleaning cycles to try and clear the multiple clogged channels. Before the day was over I got the "waste tank full" error again, which renders the printer unusable.

ONE DAY to fill the waste tank? There has to be something wrong here.

Has anyone used the wasteinkpads.com reset software? Can you confirm that it will reset the counter and make the machine run without using a chip resetter on the tank itself?

[Garnick]

What is the expected tank life in an Epson 4900? I recently acquired a used 4900 and the tank became full and needed replacing almost immediately after acquiring it. Upon installing a new waste tank, I ran an ink charge and a number of cleaning cycles to try and clear the multiple clogged channels. Before the day was over I got the "waste tank full" error again, which renders the printer unusable.

ONE DAY to fill the waste tank? There has to be something wrong here.

Hello Remo,

Considering the variety of Epson printers I have owned since 2004(4000, 2-7600s, 3800 and the 9900) I have never experienced the issue you are dealing with on your 4900.  I'm not familiar with that model but i cannot imagine that you could push enough ink through the printer in one day to fill the tank.  I'm pretty sure it uses the same tank as the 4000, 7600 and the 9900, which of course I am very familiar with and have never experienced what you have described.   I think we can rule out the chip on the tank, since you have replaced it with a new tank.  Therefore, I think it might be the chip in the printer or some sort of issue on the circuit board that controls the tank.  I'm sure someone will weigh in and offer more a precise comment, but I can definitely say there is something amiss with the printer.  One question I must ask is this.  Does the tank appear to be full when you remove it from the printer?  Try weighing the tank before you install it and again when you remove it.

Gary

[Remo Nonaz]

Gary: It is pretty clear that the physical waste tank is not full. It is still very light and batting that you can see is still clean and dry.

There is a piece of software available from wasteinkpads.com that is supposed to be able to reset the counter in the machine. It costs about $30 but it is available immediately and can be reused in the future. Can anyone comment on this software and confirm that it works as advertised? I also have the 4900 Service Program, which has a dozen or so counter reset functions. I went through all of them, though, and none is listed to reset the waste tank. Could there be a tool I am missing in this utility that would do the reset?

[Garnick]

Gary: It is pretty clear that the physical waste tank is not full. It is still very light and batting that you can see is still clean and dry.

There is a piece of software available from wasteinkpads.com that is supposed to be able to reset the counter in the machine. It costs about $30 but it is available immediately and can be reused in the future. Can anyone comment on this software and confirm that it works as advertised? I also have the 4900 Service Program, which has a dozen or so counter reset functions. I went through all of them, though, and none is listed to reset the waste tank. Could there be a tool I am missing in this utility that would do the reset?

I've been using chip resetters for the Maintenance Tank for many years on all of my previous Epson printers.  I just did a search of the two sites from which I have purchased these resetters, but haven't been able to find one that's compatible with the 4900.  Perhaps one of them will work for the 4900 but simply isn't listed for that printer, not sure.  I guess the only way to find out would be to email theses companies and inquire.  Also do a Google search, but I'm sure you would get more information from the two sites I mentioned.  There's also a link to a blog(Mike Henasey), describing a situation similar to what you have described.  Take a peek at that as well.  He has a link for the resetter for the 4900, but I couldn't find it there, at least not listed with all of the other printers.  As far as I know there is no counter reset for the tank on the printer itself, since that would be counter productive and could also be very messy.  Of course with the resetter you empty the tank and then rest the chip.  I'm still using two tanks that are at least 6 years old.  As long as you take care of them they will last a long time and you simply empty and reset when full.  Also, you do not need the absorbent material.  One caution though!  If you are going to be moving the printer, take the tank out and empty and reset the chip.  Moving the printer could cause the ink to splash around in the tank and possibly spill out if there are no pads.  When the printer is stationary there's really no need for the absorbent pads.  However, if you feel better using them, buy the cheapest feminine hygiene pads you can find, they work well also.

http://shop.inkjetmall.com/Chip-Resetters/

http://mikehphoto.blogspot.ca/2014/01/epson-4900-maintenance-tank-chip.html

Gary

[Remo Nonaz]

The software solution I was hoping would quickly solve the maintenance box reset issue turned out to be just a copy of the 4900 Service Program, which I already have. This program has a dozen or so reset features in it, but none of them do a reset of the maintenance box. I'm in the market for a chip resetter. There are a number of these, some of which only seem to work with partially full tanks and others seem to work with any tank, full or partial. Are there any strong recommendations for a particular source or brand for these devices?

BTW, I weighed my old, cleaned and dried tank - it weighs nine ounces. I weighed my new, now full tank and it also weighs nine ounces. How much ink do you think is really in there?

[Remo Nonaz]

Just to close out this thread, I ordered a chip resetter on eBay, eugeneartsus and received it very quickly. It correctly reset both the new, almost "full" tank and the old, completely "full" tank. So now I have two tanks I can keep washed  and ready to use. Also, wasteinkpads.com did give me a complete refund on the software that did not work, so I have no beef with them.