Hot end lifespan
Hello -
My MK4 -> MK4S converted printer has been working very well. It took a little time to dial in a few things but overall I am very pleased with the results. Today, I powered up and immediately had hot end issues. After running calibration many times, I kept getting the hot end temp failure error. I also tried the option to bring the printer up to temp, selected PLA or PETG and either way it would only make it up to a certain temp... Then it would start falling back.
At first, I thought the firmware was at fault so I dialed it back a release and that did not help matters. I have a brand new spare hot end, installed it and ran the calibration again. This time, all tests completed with the green checkmark and all is good.
I bought my printer about a year ago. When I upgraded it to MK4S, I took extra care not to pinch any wires when it came installing the new fan assembly. So I have a few questions...
- How long does a hot end last? I realize these are consumable parts that won't last forever. Has anyone replaced their hot end assembly?
- What can be done with the 'bad' one? Toss it, or can I replace the parts on it? I noticed there are three small hex screws - I take it that is what holds the heater element in place. Is this something that can be replaced?
- Finally, are there any tricks to make these hot ends last longer?
Thanks for any info...
RE: Hot end lifespan
I have machines that have run for years and never needed any hotend components replaced. I don't consider the hotend a "consumable". But heater elements and thermistors do break. You can check out the Prusa Knowledgeable articles for how to replace them. It's pretty easy.
https://help.prusa3d.com/guide/how-to-replace-a-hotend-thermistor-mk4-mk3-9_635632
https://help.prusa3d.com/guide/how-to-replace-a-hotend-heater-mk4-mk3-9_634849
Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...
RE: Hot end lifespan
Thank you @fuchsr for the links. After reading the links you gave me, we have this:
It looks like the thermistor might have had an issue. I expected that to come out like the heater did in one piece, but it looks like the ceramic-like material separated. Perhaps that lead to inaccurate readings? At any rate, I have ordered a new thermistor and heater and will be putting this together when they come.
One final observation: when I put all this back together it will be assembled with some high-temp copper anti-seize. This should help those threads - you don't want to have any of this galling...