How long should hotend socks last?
How long is normal for genuine e3d hotend socks to last? I've had under a hundred prints on my Mk3 (less than a month) and installed a sock from day one to help keep things from becoming a black mess when printing sticky PETG.
Was doing some hotend maintenance today and had the sock off - I noticed the nozzle opening was rather chewed up/rough, and an oily substance inside the sock.
I've only printed PLA and a little bit of PETG, so nothing high temp where I'd expect faster degradation.
Re: How long should hotend socks last?
Is this a Pro sock with the tiny opening, or the regular one with the nozzle exposed?
They start to sag, but you can resolve that by wrapping some wire around the sock, carefully avoiding the wires.
If the opening isn't distorted, clean it out and it should be fine. If it's a Pro, watch out for filament being trapped and creating a Blob of Doom.
The socks are ultimately consumables, so better to replace one than risk a mess.
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Re: How long should hotend socks last?
I damaged one with too vigorous scrubbing with a brass brush when I had a leak problem between the heat brake and the nozzle caused buy my messing up a nozzle change after about 2 months of use (about 3 kilos of PETG) I should now remove the sock for brushing but with the new E3d plated copper heater block and nozzle I have had far less PETG getting stuck on the nozzle it still happens a bit I get little deposits of discolored plastic on my print several hours into the print so when I can I pause the print every few hours and lightly brush the nozzle with soft brass brush to collect any of this before it can drop onto the print and cause a blemish.
Re: How long should hotend socks last?
It is the pro sock, though I guess it's semi-pro now since I used a knife to clean up the ragged edges where the silicone had hardened and crumbled. I'll see how it continues to hold up. I have to agree they don't hold too well by themselves and I did indeed do the wire trick.
There was some black crud on the nozzle but not from a leak, it's only near the tip, no signs of seeping from under the threads.
I guess I'm just surprised it started showing age this quick; if it was a monthly/weekly replacement job I'd expect to see larger packs than a 3-pack 🙂
Re: How long should hotend socks last?
Mine last a couple months.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog