How to Refill Hewlett Packard Inkjet Cartridges

Please read these entire instructions first before you begin this project.

You will need a spare sports ball air filling needle from your tire pump, one with a long straight tip that pushes the valve open on the sports ball (such as a basketball or soccer ball).

You will also need some five minute epoxy (or any brand of epoxy you feel comfortable using).

You will need a large medicine dropper, the kind used to give babies and small children medicine. It has a tube for measuring and administering the medicine and a rubber or vinyl ball end to squeeze and release for filling the tube with medicine.

Drop the tire pump needle into the medicine dropper with the needle side down to see if the needle will fit through the narrow end of the dropper. It should protrude out the bottom of the medicine dropper.

If it does not fit, you may find a larger medicine dropper at your local pharmacy.

If it fits, remove it.

Now comes the tricky part. You will have to figure out how to get the epoxy coated needle down into the tube of the medicine dropper without smearing the dropper's insides up completely with epoxy. You may choose to practice inserting the needle and removing it a couple of times before you add the epoxy.

Find a Popsicle stick or other thin applicator that you can discard after using it. See if it is long enough to fit into the dropper near the other end, and still long enough to remove.

When you feel comfortable enough to proceed, mix a small amount of epoxy (use the manufacturer's directions), about the size of a penny. Apply the epoxy to the tire pump needle at the large end, around the threads. Carefully drop the needle down the tube.

Use the stick to prod the needle so that it comes out the other end and seals tightly. You can pull on the needle to get a snug fit. The epoxy should form an airtight seal around the tire pump needle. If it does not seal, you may have to apply more epoxy with the stick.

If you got epoxy into the needle, remove it before the epoxy sets up. It will be difficult to remove later, and the device won't work if the needle is clogged.

If you have smeared epoxy on the inside of the medicine dropper, use the stick to remove as much as possible. The epoxy won't hurt the refilling process, but it will discolor quickly from the ink.

Wait until the injector dries, and put the rubber ball end in place.

You now have a large capacity ink refiller.