Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator  

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

@bobstro

Thanks. So if a dehydrator can handle only between 95-158c, it won't be suitable for PLA. I am having a hard time in finding one that works, below $100 and in stock. The one in the first post cannot be purchased in my city nor via amazon.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Posted by: @peter-c20

@bobstro

Thanks. So if a dehydrator can handle only between 95-158c, it won't be suitable for PLA. I am having a hard time in finding one that works, below $100 and in stock. The one in the first post cannot be purchased in my city nor via amazon.

Hi Peter. I just want to make sure you are not mixing up Fahrenheit and Celsius. For instance, I recently bought the dehydrator below for $40. It has a temperature range that will work for basically all common filaments. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018UR4XJI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  

(Note that this particular version will only fit one or maybe two spools at a time.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Looks very similar 😀 

I've been using one of these dehidrators from Amazon for over 12 months now and it works very well for drying a reel of filament and or desiccant bags, but be aware, there are quite a few of what look like exactly the same dryer available, just branded differently, but not all have removeable trays.

https://oypla.com/home-electrical/kitchen-appliances/food-dehydrator-machine-with-thermostat-control

This is the one I bought in the UK and it does have removeable trays, so you leave the first lowest ring one in, then remove the next two and put the lid on, this gives the necessary space for the widest reels of filament.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Posted by: @chocki

Looks very similar 😀 

I've been using one of these dehidrators from Amazon for over 12 months now and it works very well for drying a reel of filament and or desiccant bags, but be aware, there are quite a few of what look like exactly the same dryer available, just branded differently, but not all have removeable trays.

I've got one of the PrintDry units, and it's definitely related. The temp range is good (45-70C IIRC). The one thing I'd shop for in a new unit would be a shutoff timer. I think @guy-k3's Gourmia types are just about perfect. 

Gourmia Died

My Gourmia died after just over a year and a couple months. Noticed over last few weeks that pushing the on button sometimes would just result in a short beep and 1000 flashed briefly. Pushing again usually got it running. Tonight, it completely refused to start. Just beep and 1000 flash. It was effectively dead.

Ripped it apart and found the problem. The main circuit board has a Samc 470 mfd, 25 volt cap that literally blew apart. It's on the main board that is housed in the rear portion of the top piece. I didn't trace out the circuitry, but it's probably a voltage rail smoothing cap. Requires taking apart the rear and top of the dehydrator to reach, but quite doable.

Replaced the blown cap with a Panasonic 470 mfd, 35 volt, 105C electrolytic that is about 5 times bigger physical volume than the original cap.

She's running nice and reliably starts again

.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Hard to find Gourmia.  They are 3D printer's favorites so we must have put too much demand.  

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

@guy-k2

Wow!  You are luck to find something these days with discrete components!

Good job!

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

@charles-h13

Amazon told me that a lot of customers have complained about a defective fan issue so they returned all the units in stock to the manufacturer and asked them to fix. Could this be the issue?

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Anyone tried one of the sunlu filament dryers?

They cost $60-$80 on Amazon and have gotten mostly favorable reviews for things like PETG.  That's a higher price than a food dehydrator, but it's reportedly either silent or nearly so, whereas a food dehydrator is anything but quiet.  Of course you could DIY something similar with a reptile heating pad and an inkbird closed-loop temperature regulator, so I guess what I'm really asking about is what are people's thoughts on this class of device?  Does it work?  Is there a way for the baked-off moisture to escape, or is it still trapped in the container with the filament?  Does it matter?

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Nobody?

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

I own both the old (round) and newer 2.0 (square) Printdry systems just the basic ones, and they work, Oh and bobstro if you see this, the new 2.0 version has a timer. I like the newer one because of the upright position of the spools it makes it easier to retract the filament back in the holder when its not being used and the filament stays put better. On my older unit the filament lays horizontal and tends to fall (of course) down to the bottom edge of the spool and if I try to just tuck the couple of feet worth of filament that was extended to the printer back in without opening it up and winding the spool it falls down past the spool and becomes a pain in the ass, but I still like the unit and its smaller and fits on my desk very neatly.

Another habit I have that I'd like to convey the idea of here, is that I re-vacuum seal my filaments, the ones that I know I'm not going to be using for a time. In my work I often have to buy product that ends up not being what I hoped it would be, or a better way to say this is, it ends up not having the right properties for the product or part being developed. but you can't know till you get it and test it, unfortunately the filament industry is a lot like the nutrition industry, theirs A LOT of disinformation out there. But I digress, my point is I've tested them now I know their properties and may need them again at a later time, so I re-vacuum seal.  I do this fairly inexpensively with a foodSaver. (FoodSaver Link)  They have an 11" bag that fits almost every spool I've come across, with a few acceptations. I normally make my bags 17 to 18" long so I can open and reseal them several times if needed and if I use the entire spool next time I open it, I just save the bag for another spool, I bought mine 4 yrs ago and it was $129US at Costco for the starter kit, and a new box of large 11" rolls is still $30 today. I think the FoodSaver website has the machine @ $200US and they have different models. BTW it also dose a real nice job with my steaks. :  ) 

I resealed this one awhile ago, I have some that have been sealed for about 3yrs now. the bags are not as though as what you maybe used to from the manufacture but as long as your not going to play football with it you shouldn't have a problem.

Maybe someone will find this information useful, I've never seen other mention of folks using these for this purpose.

Enjoy

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Thanks!  😎   I just today received my sunlu filament dryer, and I've given it a handicapped spool of PETG to see if it can revive it.  The heater appears to span about ~120 degrees of the 360 degree spool, so maybe advancing it 120 degrees twice during the heating cycle will give it a more uniform heating.

I'll report back after I've tested the re-animated spool.

PS.  At least so far it appears to be 100% silent.  I definitely do appreciate that aspect of it.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Reporting back:  I tried the Sunlu dryer on PLA, and I didn't notice any meaningful improvement.  It set it to heat a 52C, which is what the manual recommended.  Maybe it's not hot enough?  Or maybe because it's PLA?  When he did drying experiments, Maker's Muse said he noticed the greatest improvement on PETG far more than other materials.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Reporting back again:  I tried the Sunlu dryer on PETG this time, and it did seem to yield improvement, but only on the outer layers of the filament spool.  Perhaps part of the reason why is that I removed the spool from the Sunlu Dryer and mounted it on the printer?  To answer that question I'm now starting a new experiment, where I keep the filament spool in the Sunlu dryer and feed the filament from there to the printer, so that filament which is at deeper layers of the spool are given at least some amount of time to dry out as the outer layers are stripped away during printing.  Whether or not those deeper layers have enough time to dry out before printing using this method is, at this point, an open question, but I'll try it experimentally and see if it is or isn't.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Thanks guys.  Very informative thread.  I store open filament is a photographic dry box.  It seems to help a little.  

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Posted by: @dimprov

Reporting back again:  I tried the Sunlu dryer on PETG this time, and it did seem to yield improvement, but only on the outer layers of the filament spool.  Perhaps part of the reason why is that I removed the spool from the Sunlu Dryer and mounted it on the printer?  To answer that question I'm now starting a new experiment, where I keep the filament spool in the Sunlu dryer and feed the filament from there to the printer, so that filament which is at deeper layers of the spool are given at least some amount of time to dry out as the outer layers are stripped away during printing.  Whether or not those deeper layers have enough time to dry out before printing using this method is, at this point, an open question, but I'll try it experimentally and see if it is or isn't.

Final reporting back:  I had only enough old PETG to complete one experiment, and it was just marginal improvement.   In addition, running the filament out the SUNLU created a screeching sound during printing (from the filament rubbing on the edge of the hole) that resembled pulling fingernails down across a chalkboard.

So, I think Swiss Cheese's idea of vacuum sealing in all the goodness wins, and I'll be returning the Sunlu because it seems not effective.  

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

I would like to mention that both the Printdry system seems to be working fairly well for me, as I imagine any active dehydrator might. active meaning forced air, high heat.

@dimprov

thank you for your testing.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

@swiss_cheese

I have to agree.  Printdry appears to work at keeping my filament dry while printing.  I use a Camera Cabinet between prints.  

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Just got and modified this guy off of Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MPC7C8G
Figure for $50.00 with a digital display and 48H Timer, it was the best bang for the buck.  The modification is a bit more permanent (have to cut out the grills) but I have no intention of ever using it as a normal food dehydrator. Works great, can hold up to 2 Spools plus any random non spooled bits that you may have laying about.

RE: Drying Times and Temps in Dehydrator

Hello

there You can refer to this product

Hope it helps you

dehumidifying dryer

The structure is designed for two desiccant beds and close cooling system of regenerative zone.