Filament dryer box, any recommendations?

WobblyHand

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I was listening to my wife extolling all sorts of gifts for those (of us) that seem to have everything. Heard about lots of gifts that didn't seem all that useful to me. Finally I said, I know what I could use, a filament dryer box and showed her one. She looked at me and said, umm, why don't you pick one out for yourself.

Any recommendations for something that works and is under $100? My needs are pretty simple. I'd like a unit that would allow me to print from the box. It should be heated, have a humidity sensor and I guess a fan that exhausts some air so the humidity actually is reduced. A single standard 1 kg reel is fine, although holding two wouldn't be bad. It's hard to know what works, is quiet and is cost effective. When not printing, I can store the filament in a bag with desiccant. I bought some vacuum bags and have a gallon of silica gel.
 
Most guys I know just use food dehydrators of the right size for how many spools they want in it at one time.

I just use a food saver vacuum bagger. Much like drying out a car ac system, I just pull it down and let it sit. The low pressure inside the bag allows water to “boil off” at room temperature.
 
I have I have one of these 50$ A.azon units.:

Upgraded S1 Plus Filament Dryer with Cooling Fan, SUNLU Dry Box for 3D Printer Filament Storage, Remove Moisture from Wet Filaments, Dehydrator, Spool Holder, Grey https://a.co/d/03PepKq

It works.
 
Most guys I know just use food dehydrators of the right size for how many spools they want in it at one time.

I just use a food saver vacuum bagger. Much like drying out a car ac system, I just pull it down and let it sit. The low pressure inside the bag allows water to “boil off” at room temperature.
I have something like that, but reusable. I will use that for storage. Need something to keep dry while printing.
 
A key question: is this used in a conditioned space or one that follows the weather?

If you get that desiccant too hot it let's go of the water...

My shop is only conditioned when I'm in it, so I built one with a little thermoelectric dehumidifier built in it, plus a 40 Watt bulb. It's otherwise sealed, except for the filament passage and the water drain line.

I need to rebuild it with a two stage thermoelectric unit...

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk
 
I have I have one of these 50$ A.azon units.:

Upgraded S1 Plus Filament Dryer with Cooling Fan, SUNLU Dry Box for 3D Printer Filament Storage, Remove Moisture from Wet Filaments, Dehydrator, Spool Holder, Grey https://a.co/d/03PepKq

It works.
Thanks. It is hard to tell on A if the product is any good. So many crappy or paid for reviews. Consequently it is hard to trust anything with only 100 reviews, because they could all be fake. It's good to hear that it works. I'm not doing nylon, just the easier stuff, PLA and PETG. I will take a look.
 
A key question: is this used in a conditioned space or one that follows the weather?

If you get that desiccant too hot it let's go of the water...

My shop is only conditioned when I'm in it, so I built one with a little thermoelectric dehumidifier built in it, plus a 40 Watt bulb. It's otherwise sealed, except for the filament passage and the water drain line.

I need to rebuild it with a two stage thermoelectric unit...

Sent from my SM-G715A using Tapatalk
Indoor conditioned space. The desiccant is for storage in vacuum sealed bags.
 
I have something like that, but reusable. I will use that for storage. Need something to keep dry while printing.
typically, you store your filament dry, pull it out to print and return it when done.

Humidity can get stupid here and I’ve never had a problem with moisture.

Nylon is about the worst for drawing water right out of the air and even that I don’t print from a dehydrator. Out of the bag, on to the spool holder, print and then back into the bag.

Honestly, if you feel you need to print from a dehydrator case, you need to sit down and seriously look at your printing process. Of all the guys I know that 3D print around here, no one uses a dehydrator printing case. Most actually just store their spools in rubbermaid type bins…
 
typically, you store your filament dry, pull it out to print and return it when done.

Humidity can get stupid here and I’ve never had a problem with moisture.

Nylon is about the worst for drawing water right out of the air and even that I don’t print from a dehydrator. Out of the bag, on to the spool holder, print and then back into the bag.

Honestly, if you feel you need to print from a dehydrator case, you need to sit down and seriously look at your printing process. Of all the guys I know that 3D print around here, no one uses a dehydrator printing case. Most actually just store their spools in rubbermaid type bins…
Maybe I'm "scarred" from my so wet it hissed and popped filament experience... Don't know. And that stuff was sealed in the bag from the factory with desiccant. Could have just been a bad filament, but I don't want to repeat the experience again. Ruined one of the sides of my satin steel sheet. That's my motivation for a dehydrator - obviously your experience has been different.
 
I have one like the one posted from Amazon. It works well. I had a really brittle PLA roll that I dropped in it as a test and it printed great after sitting in there overnight. I don't often have moisture problems, but it is one less thing to deal with. I have been leaving the roll I'm printing in there and running it for a while before starting a print. It has eliminated moisture issues for me. It's overkill, but it makes keeping it dry easy, which means it's more likely that I will do it. :frog:
 
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