Hotend clogged by Fillamentum Crystal Clear Iceland Blue PLA
I tried to print Fillamentum Crystal Clear Iceland Blue PLA on my MINI+. After reading posts from people having trouble printing this filament, I tried to print at 230 C (i.e., the upper limit written on the box) and at 69% speed, as multiple people seemed to get successful prints with these settings.
However, after about 5 minutes the extruder started clicking and stopped extruding filament, as was described in many of the posts related to this filament.
Unloading/loading the filament didn't work, so I tried the "force the clog out" steps from the "clogged nozzle/hotend (MINI)" guid. First, I tried to unclog the hotend by heating it up to 270 C for some minutes. One drop of filament dripped out, but it did not solve the problem. Then I tried the acupuncture needle. This removed a tiny bit extra molten filament, but I could still not push the filament through the hotend. Then I tried to pull it straight up from the hotend while hot (perhaps this was a mistake, and I should have let it cool down a bit?) I think it moved a couple of centimeters up but then got stuck again. Then I tried to push it down again, but it was stuck and broke off just at the level of the brass fitting. So, I cannot reach the filament anymore without removing the brass fitting.
Then I saw some molten plastic around the nozzle, and I tried to clean the plastic from the hotend with a soft brass brush (while hot). Unfortunately, I must have hit the thermistor cables on the side as all of a sudden the fan started spinning at full speed and soon after that I got a MINTEMP error. So, the thermistor is broken now and I must wait for a replacement (the spare part is out of stock in the Prusa E-Shop). See my other post in the MINI+ hardware forum.
I guess the next step is to start disassembling the hotend, starting by removing the brass fitting. Is it ok to start doing that while I cannot heat it up anymore before I get a replacement thermistor? Or is it better to wait for the thermistor to arrive (hopefully I find a way to get a replacement soon)?
Does anybody have good advice on how to proceed next?
Thanks in advance,
-Sven.