Help understanding Max Chamber Temperature
Hi all,
Completed my build a few days ago, and I've done a handful of successful prints. I'm a first time printer, and I'm just now paying attention to the temperature values on the LCD screen. One thing curious to me is the chamber temperature. It seems to have a max default of 20C, but is flashing blue with a reading of 32C.
- I'm printing PLA
- Live in Florida
- Entire family (except me) likes the house temp "mild", so the ambient temp is 26C (77F). Nothing I can really do about this
- LCD Menu (I've changed nothing here):
- max chamber temperature = 20c (default)
- print fan speed = 98%
- chamber fans = auto
- chamber fans limit = 40%
So far, I'm not noticing anything that seems "wrong". I'm just printing what I consider simple things like hooks and sponge holders. But I'm curious if this is indicative of a problem, or do I need to adjust some settings, or is sometimes normal?
Uploaded a pic for clarity.
Thanks!
RE:
Nothing is wrong. The reason the chamber is 6 degrees above ambient is because the heat bed and hot end are heating up the chamber. For the filament types that require a heated chamber, the heat bed temp is increased to 110C which acts as a surrogate chamber heater.
For PLA, it's sometimes necessary to also (besides opening the top vent) leave the door open.
RE: Help understanding Max Chamber Temperature
Thank you! The explanation makes sense.
RE: Help understanding Max Chamber Temperature
I don't understand this either. If "nothing is wrong", why is the LCD showing 32/20C in blue, where 20C is clearly the target temperature ? Blue is used on the LCD for other sensors to show temperature which are not yet correct / reached.
RE: Help understanding Max Chamber Temperature
If the ambient (room) temperature is 26C then the chamber temperature can never reach 20C. The first number is the current chamber temperature and the second number is the minimal chamber temperature not the nominal temperature. The heated nozzle and heated bed will both raise the chamber temperature above ambient. Which would explain why the current temperature is 6C above room temperature. As temperature is increasing both numbers are shown in red and as the temperature is decreasing, both numbers are in blue. So in the OP's case, perhaps the chamber reached 35C (for example) and then the chamber fans kicked on, decreasing it to 32C which turned blue.
RE: Help understanding Max Chamber Temperature
Also wanted to add that when the nominal temperature is reached, the both numbers will be green and flashing.
RE:
OP here. My take (in agreement with hyiger) 2 weeks later:
In my case:
- My room is 26 °C (pretty warm already).
- Bed at ~60 °C and nozzle at ~200 °C both radiate heat into the enclosure.
- 6 °C above ambient is exactly what I could expect for an enclosed build chamber with limited ventilation.
- And... the color coding is just a UI cue showing that the temperature is drifting, not a warning.
On the last point, I think the LCD flashes blue because the firmware treats the chamber sensor like the other temperature sensors. The lowest allowed chamber temperature (the “target” ) for the print is 20C. However this “target” is not an actual controlled set-point because there's no active cooling control for the chamber (short of opening the vents or increasing fan speed). The software thinks it's above target, can't do anything, and uses the same logic as the other temperature controls - therefore flashes blue. I don't believe the printer actually wants, or needs, the chamber to be cooler (at least in my specific case, in my home, in FL, with PLA) and is just reporting what the temps are. That's why I also believe "Nothing is wrong".
Having opined on all of this, with my newbie knowledge, and talking out of my a--, I reserve the right to be 100% wrong; however, I'm so far happy with the printer and results!
RE: Help understanding Max Chamber Temperature
OK understood, sort of, thank you. The fault, in my opinion, (if there is a failure) is the use of those blue numbers in a context different to any other (blue numbers) on the LCD. Better might something like green for a temperature in the acceptable range (with the range shown too), and blue for outside the range. I've never seen green flashing !
RE: Help understanding Max Chamber Temperature
Camster, thanks. Newbie here too. I think we're both sort of in agreement that the colour-coding of those LCD numbers (in the case of the chamber temps) is slightly misleading. One for Prusa sometime when they run out of "better things to do" ? Likewise another happy Core One owner.
RE: Help understanding Max Chamber Temperature
I very rarely print PLA but others here have reported that PLA can clog HF nozzles if the chamber temp is too high. In this case, the top vents are not enough but the door also needs to be wide open. This is most likely the case in warmer climates.
RE:
Camster, thanks. Newbie here too. I think we're both sort of in agreement that the colour-coding of those LCD numbers (in the case of the chamber temps) is slightly misleading. One for Prusa sometime when they run out of "better things to do" ? Likewise another happy Core One owner.
IDK, I think for me at least it makes sense: temperature decreasing blue, increasing red, target reached green. It's probably not consistently applied though. To test this, just do a Preheat for any filament type. You'll see the nozzle and bed flash red as it's increasing, green when target is reached and if you then select cooldown it will turn blue as it's decreasing. The physicist in me would want blue to be warmer and red colder but then that would really be confusing 🤨