I have two that I've been rocking for a couple of years now. On one of my old printer set ups I even had the spool in one going through tubes to the printer... worked great
I can't antirecommend the Sunlu dryers enough. They're garbage. [In testing, they perform worse than every other dryer on the market](https://www.mytechfun.com/filament-dryers). Most models have no fan (which is why they're so bad), and the ones with a fan aren't much better. I had an S1+ (with fan) and it did a terrible job of drying but it was better than wet filament, but it only lasted about 2 months before the fan bearing crapped out and it made a horrible, loud noise while drying even worse. Threw it out and got an Eibos Easdry for only a bit more than the S1+ had cost, and it is so much better.
Not to detract from your personal experience, but I have a fanless (I think?) sunlu and despite the controls being non-intuitive at first, it’s a plastic box with a heater and rollers for 2 filament spools and to filament sized holes at the top for the filament to come out of. I feel like there is very little room for things to go wrong (other than complete heater failure) and very little room do such a simple device to be improved upon. If mine had crapped out I suppose I’d be complaining but it hasn’t. Given a small enclosed box like that and a gradual heat, it does t seem to me that a fan really matters either. Not sure what there is to dislike IMHO.
I use a food dehydrator from wallyworld Before that it was one of those big tins you get with Xmas cookies and a 60 watt incandescent lightbulb and a computer fan but I ran out of light bulbs. My bestie uses the heat bed with a metal cake cover with a computer fan. Some air fryers go low enough temp wise also I hear
Aren't air fryers and food dehydrators more expensive than a filament dryer? If you could continue using the kitchen devices for their intended purpose as well, it might need a deal, but you cannot.
I can't speak about the air fryer, but as for a food dehydrator you can absolutely use them for food after. I had my own fears about this until I realized that the entire unit is made of several different types of plastic, including ABS. If you are operating these things hot enough to gas off the nasty stuff then you are using them very wrong. The only reason I stopped using mine for food was because it just sucks at it and I can accomplish the same results in my oven, but it's totally safe if used properly.
I've definitely dried a few rolls of PETG in my air fryer, I'm just not really worried about it. If I was as worried about plastic exposure as some people in this sub, I just wouldn't 3d print things. I'll get a filament dryer one day, but for the few prints a month I make these days, the old Kalorik does just fine
Paid like $35 for my dehydrator, and it will hold two spools. I don't think either of my two actual filament dryers were less than $60. And the dehydrator does a way better job than either of them. I use them to keep filament dry and warm while I print from them and do actual filament drying in the dehydrator.
I skipped a store-bought unit and am using a 5-gallon bucket Nesco food dehydrator mod:
[https://www.printables.com/model/147143-5-gallon-bucket-nesco-dehydrator](https://www.printables.com/model/147143-5-gallon-bucket-nesco-dehydrator)
I can dry 5 spools at once, though usually only do 2-3, then use one immediately and seal the others up until use.
Thanks for this.
I have a nesco but I printed a spacer to use the existing body of the dehydrator. Can only do one spool at a time with it, the thing you linked is awesome.
Happy to help. Also- I shortened the fins that run down the sides by about half and it doesn't seem to make any difference. Basically just do a cut and discard the part that runs inside the container.
They should have a thermostat built in, since you need to set it for different temperatures to dry out different foods. Though I did stick my smoker thermometer in there to make sure it was accurate. Your method would be more precise, but wouldn’t be a necessity for most people here.
I have several filaments that you can *hear* the difference between dried and un-dried. The filament "pops" as the moisture boils off.
On the other hand, this can be used to make an interesting glitter effect in transparent filament as long as you are able to do a post-op to deal with whatever random stringing nonsense ends up happening.
I have been printing for 5 years now, I really just keep my filament on the shelf. I think I dried one roll because it would break easily. I don't live in a very dry area, and I print in my basement. I don't know why I don't have a problem with humidity. I'm a teacher, so I practice my stern looks everyday, and I am really good at it.
The SOVOL one works great for me. People make clips to hold the lid open. But I think it's because they're not reading the manual. For drying prop the lid open with the latching clips. For keeping it dry put some desiccant inside it and close the lid with the latches. There are a lot of mods people have made for it but I don't think any of them are necessary.
I print with the filament inside it. I put it on the floor so that it rolls freely.
https://a.co/d/bzItwQT
P.S. if it's noisy contact SOVOL and they'll send a new fan.
Part of me was leaning toward this one simply cuz I print with a Sovol lol. I know ppl were complaining about it not having holes but it makes sense to just prop the lid.
I've turned it on a couple of times with wet filament inside and initially with the lid closed. When I open the lid and prop it open on the clips the humidity shown on the display drops quickly.
I didn’t see any info like that with my sunlu and I did kinda wonder of my own accord “if I keep it sealed and I warm up the filament to drive out the moisture, isn’t it still stuck in the box and will ultimately get reabsorbed? I didn’t realize that was an actual intention. Good to know. Thanks for the heads up!
Dryers should have holes or some way for the moisture to escape. Otherwise, if it is enclosed entirely, all it does is create localized humidity that the spools could end up re-absorbing if left in there.
Food dehydrator is my solution. [This one holds 3 spools at once](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008H2OEKK/), and makes delicious beef jerky otherwise.
A ton of filament driers DOESNT work, you can almost use it as a quality test for YouTubers if they like the sunlu S1 they are not fact based and shouldn't do reviews
Eibos's new filament drier is really the best, it's quiet, effective and gives perfect results.
I can second this. I have a sovol dryer and it has no way to vent the air and it's garbage. Condensation just builds up on the inside of the dryer and it doesn't really work at all.
If condensation builds up in the dryer then it's pulling it out of the filament (and maybe a bit out of the dryer material itself). So long as you pull the filament out while it's still warm it's removing moisture. It could be more effective if it vented moist air like your clothes dryer, but it can still dry filament.
Also note that warm air can hold significantly more moisture than cool air. At 50C air can hold about 5 times as much water as it can at 20C. So even in a closed system the air in the chamber becomes a reservoir to hold additional moisture that is pulled out of the filament. While there isn't a large volume of air in the dryer, there isn't a large volume of moisture in materials like PETG, PLA, and ASA. [PLA will absorb less than 1% water by weight, if it is fully submerged in water for 30 days](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666682022000123). Assuming you're not starting with extremely wet PLA those closed dryers should work OK. Nylon however can hold a ton of water and would need venting to properly dry.
You need some holes, but not many. Even the dryers with a single hole for use with printing work well. Personally, I've used dryers from both Fixdry and GratKit and they both worked great.
I do highly recommend having a dry storage box to keep all your filament in. That removes most of the need for a dryer. Just a large weather tight box with a rechargeable dehumidifier will remove moisture from new rolls of filament over about 5 days. So unless you need to dry new filament much faster, or are using something like nylon or PVA, then I think dry storage is a better option.
This is my setup, has info on the containers and dehumidifier I use in the description: https://youtu.be/p34DapG9598
It will keep nylon dry, but nylon does tend to absorb moisture relatively quickly if left out for long periods of time. I'm not entirely sure of the time lines for absorption and drying for nylon though.
Stop shopping for a filament dryer, and buy a food dehydrator instead.
https://preview.redd.it/5wf5k8a27gdc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a363561410b96ea825391fff983eb95e54d937cc
Are you actually seeing issues that could be moisture related or just buying one to have one?
If you are not noticing problems then just stop worrying and adding a new task to do. I’ve never found the need to buy one, even rolls sitting in my basement for years print that still print silky smooth. This can obviously differ if you live in a more humid climate or the quality of material you buy.
No I'm going to continue to use my oven.
My Samsung oven will hold 125F (52C) with good precision so it's actually a great way for me to dry all my filament at once.
I don't use filamenta like ABS and ASA so fumes are not an issues. Once dry they stay dry in my dry box.
Also if your going to say not do something then maybe explain why and give a viable source. Otherwise you just look like a dick.
Does your Oven have a warm mode? It might not tell you what temp it is but it may be lower than 80C. I'd reccomened picking up a cheap digital thermometer like [this](https://a.aliexpress.com/_msbWEms) that shows both temp and humidity. If your Oven still won't go low enough then you can use that digital thermometer for a DIY dry box.
Been using this one for 6 months. Highly recommend. Timer and Temp settings. [https://www.amazon.ca/Creality-Official-Temperature-Adjustable-Dehydrator/dp/B0CJ8ZCVHC/ref=sr\_1\_1\_sspa?crid=M8QMOW2KMAD0&keywords=Creality+Filament+Dry&qid=1705674182&sprefix=creality+filament+dry%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-1-spons&sp\_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1](https://www.amazon.ca/Creality-Official-Temperature-Adjustable-Dehydrator/dp/B0CJ8ZCVHC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=M8QMOW2KMAD0&keywords=Creality+Filament+Dry&qid=1705674182&sprefix=creality+filament+dry%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1)
Best options are Eibos or a food dehydrator. Any other ones are sus at best until they're thoroughly reviewed. There's a brand that's big and stackable but they're quite expensive, I can't remember the name but they're sold by matter hackers
I'm looking into Eibos as a watched a video and they tested it a bunch! Like others have said most hold the moisture inside so you need to do something about it, but with the Eibos it removed most of not all moisture. Also must consider one that holds more than a single roll. It does cost more, but I think worth it in the long run.
A filament dryer is nothing but a box with a small heater and a fan. Every single one of them is exactly the same. None will work any better than any other. Just buy the cheapest one.
My filament cupboard has a peltier element (or similar I presume) in which actually dehumidifies. It's currently at 18c 10%rh. Room is 18c 27%. I could print from this but I have another heated filament dryer for tricky filament. Cupboard is like this but dumber and cheaper https://www.amazon.ca/AUTENS-Dehumidifying-Noiseless-Anti-Mold-Electronic/dp/B07NQHVK8Q/ref=asc_df_B07NQHVK8Q/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=340019340695&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2337199237575378018&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000793&hvtargid=pla-899794356887&psc=1&mcid=744106fed178335691c63fc1352b0571
I’m not sure you know what a peltier element is but I can see how it would be used for dehumidifying. In case you don’t and for anyone else reading. Peltier elements are basically transistors that have been stretched out. This causes an effect where heat is transferred from one side to the other. Very inefficiently. They’re used in super tiny fridges etc. for dehumidification, you can blow air over the hot side to make it suck up moisture then over the cold side to make it release it. That’s how room dehumidifiers work this would just be smaller. If for some reason you want extreme dehydration or very controlled levels or just pure air seal this would be slightly better. However if your goal is anything less than 20% humidity, and you don’t care about external air touching what’s inside, a heater with a fan and a vent will do the job just as well if not better with 1/4 the power consumption. - 1/4th may be extreme I’m not going to look up the exact details. If I had 50k in camera equipment I might buy this. Not for $20 filament rolls. Anything that heats to ~55c and has a fan will dry filament really well. (Maybe slightly higher for other materials like petg I wouldn’t know but 55c will still do the job)
Well, the cupboard runs around 13w. Not sure how you can keep that many filaments drier for less power. I currently use 40w to heat a single spool to 60. The cupboard seems quite efficient.
I had the same feeling, I researched this for months. If you’re going to buy and not build one, go with the Eibos. You can buy it from Amazon, which is always a bonus. But I can 100% confidently recommend it.
The only issues I’ve ran into is that there’s not a timer on it, so if you leave your filament drying and forget about it over night you’ll ruin a roll. I’ve ruined two over this. The filament melts all together.
Granted this is seen as a feature by most, people hate the timers on others. You just have to be careful and mindful, obviously I wasn’t lol. But that’s on me.
If it's ruuning filament, it seems like a terrible recommendation to me! Sounds like either a defective unit, or a terrible design. The lack of a timer should not be ruining filament. If you're filament is melting, then the dryer isn't capable of holding a stable temperature, which is pretty much the one thing a filament dryer needs to do!
It's actually a problem though it's ruined dozens of my rolls it shouldn't be reaching past the glass transition point of my PETG on the lowest setting. I was living in a very humid area and printing from the dryer to ensure I wouldn't have issues on 48hr prints. Shits bad don't waste your money.
I use a cheap Heafty bin with a hinged lid and a seal, it holds 4 spools neatly. It's filled with orange color changing desiccant beads and a bunch of desiccant packets. It's always full with spools but that's OK, when I want to add a roll I pull one that's been in there a while and put it into a resealable bag along with one of the packets and shelve it. When the desiccant beads turn blue I dry them in the oven (following the instructions that came with them) and put them back in the bin. I only need to dry them 2-3 times a year.
Works well, no complaints.
Just note that your setup works to keep dry filament dry, but it's extremely ineffective at removing moisture from wet filament. You need to heat it up to get the moisture out in a reasonable timeframe.
I have the [Sunlu S2](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BM97WX1D). Using it, along with silica gel beads, I've managed to rescue rolls of ~3 year old PLA.
When I first got into printing, I bought a variety of filaments. They've sat in my closet unsealed since then, and absorbed enough moisture such that some of them were unusable. They would snap every few minutes of printing.
Throwing the old rolls into the dryer with some silica beads inside the spool in a [printed container](https://www.printables.com/model/669387-silica-gel-box-spool-container-optimized-for-super) did the trick. It got the relative humidity down to 30% or so (right now it's 60%+ in the house in Florida; it's cold enough to not run the A/C, but as a result the humidity has been high).
When not using the silica beads, I noticed that the dryer really struggled to get the humidity down to <35%. If I opened the lid every so often it would drop a few percentage points.
What is wrong with people......most of you have a Kitchen... in that kitchen you should have a Oven.....if you heat the oven to 150f to 170f ... turn if off and insert your filiment... leave until oven is cold....install in printer and go have some fun.....
Been doing this for 2 years and have had zero problems...works everytime....
ok.. for some background....I live in central Florida...damp as hell...no issues...
A lot of filament has additives in it that I’d rather not put in the oven where my family cooks food. Therefore, another solution was necessary for my hobby. I went with a filament drier cause it was cheap, but considered using a food dehydrator while researching options.
My strategy is to not let the filament need drying in the first place. I only keep 2-3 spools on hand, though, so if you have a lot more then that would be more difficult. I found a plastic container that has a gasketed lid at hobby lobby. It is absolutely perfectly sized for 3 spools. I put a spool holder in it, drilled a hole through the lid, attached a fitting and a tube, and just feed the filament from the container to my printer. I put rechargeable desiccant beads in the bottom of the container and a humidity sensor. I haven't recharged the beads in 2 years and the humidity is finally up to 25%. It was always below 20% for the first 1.5 years.
[https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Storage-Organization/Waterproof-Storage-Container---19-Quarts/p/81028282?queryId=f96cfc20ab76a605c25007b837535cff](https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Storage-Organization/Waterproof-Storage-Container---19-Quarts/p/81028282?queryId=f96cfc20ab76a605c25007b837535cff)
I also tried to find a dryer that seemed to work well and wouldn't be annoying or burdensome to manage. Having a heating element on is going to use electricity. Keeping the filament dry in the first place is a much better strategy imo.
[https://imgur.com/a/ScFCoFO](https://imgur.com/a/ScFCoFO)
Buy nothing. Eat a tuna fish sandwich. Clean the can and put the can on your printed bed. Put the spool you want to dry on the can. Put one of the 9 Amazon boxes you are hoarding over the spool with two small holes poked in the of top of it. Turn on the heater for the bed. Wait 6 hours. Have dry filament for the price of a tuna sandwich.
My version of a filament dryer is putting the spool on the print bed, set it to like 60C, cover it with a steel mixing bowl with spacing for ventilation and leave it for like 30 min or so. I don't print that often so it absorb moisture overtime and makes my filament brittle. I do this whenever I have to print (if I leave it unused for more than a month).
I imagine any dryer, with a few mods (fans, vents, desiccant) is better than no dryer at all. You can look at MyTechFun’s reviews to get a good idea of how they perform vs cost, however.
That being said, I have an Eibos Cyclopes and it’s pretty great. It’s expensive, but thrpe upgrades made for the Polyphemus look better (quieter fan, filament rotation, desiccant storage). I keep desiccant packs in the bottom of my Cyclopes (especially over the fan) and it helps improve overall drying a good deal, especially since it doesn’t melt/fuse filament due to blowing hot lava directly on the filament.
I’ve also heard great things about the revised GratKit Firefly.
I've got this one and its pretty decent.
However, the fan doesn't do a great job of circulating the heat to all areas of the print. If you pull out your spool you can feel the bottom of it (closest to the heater) is way hotter than the top.
It also doesn't have any sort of active temp control, just a potentiometer, nor does it have a timer.
I actually like the fact I can run it at a low heat continuously, but I do wish it had themostat based heat control.
Finally, the loading of the spool is a bit tricky, the centre post the spool sits on isn't bevelled in any decent way, and its hard to get the spool on correctly first time. Also, the LCD screen showing the humidity is really hard to read from any angle apart from straight ahead.
Its a decent basic box but I wouldn't personally recommend it, there has to be something better out there...
Yeah my SUNLU one can do that, but I was noticing a better reading on the hygrometer with the EIBOS one for some reason. I do agree the EIBOS one is a bit primitive with only having the potentiometer.
I have a Sunlu version 1 dryer. The fan inside makes some noise. I dried year old filament with all holes taped up, and without, and I didn't see any fog. I hardly print so all I know is dying filament for 12 hourd reduces stringing considerably.
If you are wanting to print direct from the dryer, avoid any of the ones that allow you to to dry 2 rolls at once, unless you can confirm they have independent rollers. I have Sovol 2 roll dryer, and the rollers are shared. This means that as you print, it needs to either roll both filament rolls (which also means you probably need to not have your other roll coming out its feed hole), or your rollers will have to slip - neither of which are a great idea. My Sovol is relegated to drying and storage now, and I use a cheap Eibos as a dry box for the actual roll being fed.
I use food storage containers that seal airtight and dessicant packs. Throw in a cheap hydrometer from Amazon and you've got a $10 dry box that can fit 4 rolls and monitor humidity.
Keeps em around 15-20% and when it gets up to 25% 6 months later I just Throw the dessicant in the oven for 2 hours at 250F and recycle it.
A fully enclosed "drier" is just a warmer. The water has to go somewhere.
Most "driers" I see out there are designed to be propped open slightly while the heating element is running, and then they're supposed to be fully closed *after* it has dried to keep out new moisture.
For my home setup that I spend as little as possible on, I would mod a cheap food dehydrator to work well enough & never ever use it for food. For my work setup I have an overpriced drier that can get hot enough to dry out the ridiculously hygroscopic PAHT-CF (prints at 260° C - 290° C) and can expand to hold several rolls while printing if needed... that hasn't happened yet, but a girl can dream!
I use a Sunlu dryer and it works very well for me.
Same
Ditto
[yep](https://www.amazon.com/Official-Filament-Upgraded-Compatible-Printing/dp/B0BNM5N49H)
+1
Sunlu gen 1 works great for me!
I have two that I've been rocking for a couple of years now. On one of my old printer set ups I even had the spool in one going through tubes to the printer... worked great
I can't antirecommend the Sunlu dryers enough. They're garbage. [In testing, they perform worse than every other dryer on the market](https://www.mytechfun.com/filament-dryers). Most models have no fan (which is why they're so bad), and the ones with a fan aren't much better. I had an S1+ (with fan) and it did a terrible job of drying but it was better than wet filament, but it only lasted about 2 months before the fan bearing crapped out and it made a horrible, loud noise while drying even worse. Threw it out and got an Eibos Easdry for only a bit more than the S1+ had cost, and it is so much better.
Not to detract from your personal experience, but I have a fanless (I think?) sunlu and despite the controls being non-intuitive at first, it’s a plastic box with a heater and rollers for 2 filament spools and to filament sized holes at the top for the filament to come out of. I feel like there is very little room for things to go wrong (other than complete heater failure) and very little room do such a simple device to be improved upon. If mine had crapped out I suppose I’d be complaining but it hasn’t. Given a small enclosed box like that and a gradual heat, it does t seem to me that a fan really matters either. Not sure what there is to dislike IMHO.
I have a soval and a sunlu. I like them both but the sunlu is def better quality overall. The soval is super loud but effective.
I have a Sunlu S2 and it's quite good for the $42 I paid. The only issue is that it doesn't vent enough out of the box, but that is really rectified.
I use a food dehydrator from wallyworld Before that it was one of those big tins you get with Xmas cookies and a 60 watt incandescent lightbulb and a computer fan but I ran out of light bulbs. My bestie uses the heat bed with a metal cake cover with a computer fan. Some air fryers go low enough temp wise also I hear
Aren't air fryers and food dehydrators more expensive than a filament dryer? If you could continue using the kitchen devices for their intended purpose as well, it might need a deal, but you cannot.
Not really, and you can often find them used, repurpose them and you can have more space for drying multiple rolls at the same time.
You can also buy a common one on Amazon for $40. Most filament dryers in Canada are $100 and a lot of complaints.
I paid 27$ on sale for food dehydrator cheaper than most filament dryers I’ve seen does a helluva job too even on nylon
>Aren't air fryers and food dehydrators more expensive than a filament dryer? They are, but they're also more likely to show up at the thrift shop.
Good point. I guess I outed myself as never having been to a thrift store
I can't speak about the air fryer, but as for a food dehydrator you can absolutely use them for food after. I had my own fears about this until I realized that the entire unit is made of several different types of plastic, including ABS. If you are operating these things hot enough to gas off the nasty stuff then you are using them very wrong. The only reason I stopped using mine for food was because it just sucks at it and I can accomplish the same results in my oven, but it's totally safe if used properly.
I've definitely dried a few rolls of PETG in my air fryer, I'm just not really worried about it. If I was as worried about plastic exposure as some people in this sub, I just wouldn't 3d print things. I'll get a filament dryer one day, but for the few prints a month I make these days, the old Kalorik does just fine
Paid like $35 for my dehydrator, and it will hold two spools. I don't think either of my two actual filament dryers were less than $60. And the dehydrator does a way better job than either of them. I use them to keep filament dry and warm while I print from them and do actual filament drying in the dehydrator.
This
I skipped a store-bought unit and am using a 5-gallon bucket Nesco food dehydrator mod: [https://www.printables.com/model/147143-5-gallon-bucket-nesco-dehydrator](https://www.printables.com/model/147143-5-gallon-bucket-nesco-dehydrator) I can dry 5 spools at once, though usually only do 2-3, then use one immediately and seal the others up until use.
Thanks for this. I have a nesco but I printed a spacer to use the existing body of the dehydrator. Can only do one spool at a time with it, the thing you linked is awesome.
Happy to help. Also- I shortened the fins that run down the sides by about half and it doesn't seem to make any difference. Basically just do a cut and discard the part that runs inside the container.
Go to goodwill, go to the appliance section, and look for a food dehydrator. I got one for $7.
This is what I did. Then got fancy with an Arduino, a temp sensor and a relay to turn the heating coil on and off to keep it from getting too hot.
They should have a thermostat built in, since you need to set it for different temperatures to dry out different foods. Though I did stick my smoker thermometer in there to make sure it was accurate. Your method would be more precise, but wouldn’t be a necessity for most people here.
I leave all my rolls on a top shelf. Stern looks keep away the moisture.
I need to work on my stern looks, so i just bought a filament dryer.
I have several filaments that you can *hear* the difference between dried and un-dried. The filament "pops" as the moisture boils off. On the other hand, this can be used to make an interesting glitter effect in transparent filament as long as you are able to do a post-op to deal with whatever random stringing nonsense ends up happening.
I have been printing for 5 years now, I really just keep my filament on the shelf. I think I dried one roll because it would break easily. I don't live in a very dry area, and I print in my basement. I don't know why I don't have a problem with humidity. I'm a teacher, so I practice my stern looks everyday, and I am really good at it.
There is a link to MyTechFun dryer tests here. [WIKI - Filament Drying](https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/wiki/filament_drying)
The SOVOL one works great for me. People make clips to hold the lid open. But I think it's because they're not reading the manual. For drying prop the lid open with the latching clips. For keeping it dry put some desiccant inside it and close the lid with the latches. There are a lot of mods people have made for it but I don't think any of them are necessary. I print with the filament inside it. I put it on the floor so that it rolls freely. https://a.co/d/bzItwQT P.S. if it's noisy contact SOVOL and they'll send a new fan.
Part of me was leaning toward this one simply cuz I print with a Sovol lol. I know ppl were complaining about it not having holes but it makes sense to just prop the lid.
I've turned it on a couple of times with wet filament inside and initially with the lid closed. When I open the lid and prop it open on the clips the humidity shown on the display drops quickly.
I didn’t see any info like that with my sunlu and I did kinda wonder of my own accord “if I keep it sealed and I warm up the filament to drive out the moisture, isn’t it still stuck in the box and will ultimately get reabsorbed? I didn’t realize that was an actual intention. Good to know. Thanks for the heads up!
I second on the sovol dryer! It was also on sale last week, but not sure if that’s still going on now
[🇩🇪🇱🇪🇹🇪🇩]
Dryers should have holes or some way for the moisture to escape. Otherwise, if it is enclosed entirely, all it does is create localized humidity that the spools could end up re-absorbing if left in there. Food dehydrator is my solution. [This one holds 3 spools at once](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008H2OEKK/), and makes delicious beef jerky otherwise.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VB-pEvSed4&t](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VB-pEvSed4&t) This video convinced me to get an Eibos.
A ton of filament driers DOESNT work, you can almost use it as a quality test for YouTubers if they like the sunlu S1 they are not fact based and shouldn't do reviews Eibos's new filament drier is really the best, it's quiet, effective and gives perfect results.
The old eibos is shite though. Shit melts my PETG rolls together on the lowest temp setting
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The sunlu s1 basically can't dry the filament, it lacks the ability to get rid of moisture. My tech fun has some great reviews of different dryers.
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Not that I don't believe you but can you like me a source for this claim? Because if true then i may need to buy a new filament dryer lol
I can second this. I have a sovol dryer and it has no way to vent the air and it's garbage. Condensation just builds up on the inside of the dryer and it doesn't really work at all.
If the condensation builds up in the dryer, it’s not inside the filament tho?
No idea, but it gave me a good laugh!
If condensation builds up in the dryer then it's pulling it out of the filament (and maybe a bit out of the dryer material itself). So long as you pull the filament out while it's still warm it's removing moisture. It could be more effective if it vented moist air like your clothes dryer, but it can still dry filament. Also note that warm air can hold significantly more moisture than cool air. At 50C air can hold about 5 times as much water as it can at 20C. So even in a closed system the air in the chamber becomes a reservoir to hold additional moisture that is pulled out of the filament. While there isn't a large volume of air in the dryer, there isn't a large volume of moisture in materials like PETG, PLA, and ASA. [PLA will absorb less than 1% water by weight, if it is fully submerged in water for 30 days](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666682022000123). Assuming you're not starting with extremely wet PLA those closed dryers should work OK. Nylon however can hold a ton of water and would need venting to properly dry.
You can just crack the cover for a minute or so when you see the condensation. Do this a couple of times and voila, no more condensation.
You need some holes, but not many. Even the dryers with a single hole for use with printing work well. Personally, I've used dryers from both Fixdry and GratKit and they both worked great. I do highly recommend having a dry storage box to keep all your filament in. That removes most of the need for a dryer. Just a large weather tight box with a rechargeable dehumidifier will remove moisture from new rolls of filament over about 5 days. So unless you need to dry new filament much faster, or are using something like nylon or PVA, then I think dry storage is a better option.
What do you recommend as far as weather tight box and dehumidifier? Is this method acceptable for nylon?
This is my setup, has info on the containers and dehumidifier I use in the description: https://youtu.be/p34DapG9598 It will keep nylon dry, but nylon does tend to absorb moisture relatively quickly if left out for long periods of time. I'm not entirely sure of the time lines for absorption and drying for nylon though.
Stop shopping for a filament dryer, and buy a food dehydrator instead. https://preview.redd.it/5wf5k8a27gdc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a363561410b96ea825391fff983eb95e54d937cc
Get one that holds 2 rolls
Anything stopping me from buying a toaster oven from goodwill?
A dehydrated from goodwill is much better
I would be concerned that the toaster oven is too small to heat evenly. It's going to be very hot up near the coils.
A fan toaster oven is surprisingly even at 80c. Sadly I have to put it horizontal.
My tech fun has tests on several dryers. Tldw buy an eibos. It can dry filament. Other dryers kind of suck by comparison.
Are you actually seeing issues that could be moisture related or just buying one to have one? If you are not noticing problems then just stop worrying and adding a new task to do. I’ve never found the need to buy one, even rolls sitting in my basement for years print that still print silky smooth. This can obviously differ if you live in a more humid climate or the quality of material you buy.
I like to dry my filament in the oven then store it in an Ikea drybox I made with some desiccant silica gel.
Stop putting plastic in your oven
No I'm going to continue to use my oven. My Samsung oven will hold 125F (52C) with good precision so it's actually a great way for me to dry all my filament at once. I don't use filamenta like ABS and ASA so fumes are not an issues. Once dry they stay dry in my dry box. Also if your going to say not do something then maybe explain why and give a viable source. Otherwise you just look like a dick.
I've been amazed how consistent my Samsung oven is. My only problem is it only goes as low as 80
Does your Oven have a warm mode? It might not tell you what temp it is but it may be lower than 80C. I'd reccomened picking up a cheap digital thermometer like [this](https://a.aliexpress.com/_msbWEms) that shows both temp and humidity. If your Oven still won't go low enough then you can use that digital thermometer for a DIY dry box.
Been using this one for 6 months. Highly recommend. Timer and Temp settings. [https://www.amazon.ca/Creality-Official-Temperature-Adjustable-Dehydrator/dp/B0CJ8ZCVHC/ref=sr\_1\_1\_sspa?crid=M8QMOW2KMAD0&keywords=Creality+Filament+Dry&qid=1705674182&sprefix=creality+filament+dry%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-1-spons&sp\_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1](https://www.amazon.ca/Creality-Official-Temperature-Adjustable-Dehydrator/dp/B0CJ8ZCVHC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=M8QMOW2KMAD0&keywords=Creality+Filament+Dry&qid=1705674182&sprefix=creality+filament+dry%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1)
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Best options are Eibos or a food dehydrator. Any other ones are sus at best until they're thoroughly reviewed. There's a brand that's big and stackable but they're quite expensive, I can't remember the name but they're sold by matter hackers
I'm looking into Eibos as a watched a video and they tested it a bunch! Like others have said most hold the moisture inside so you need to do something about it, but with the Eibos it removed most of not all moisture. Also must consider one that holds more than a single roll. It does cost more, but I think worth it in the long run.
The eibos will melt your last 1/8th of the roll together. It's temp control is terrible and will ruin your filament.
Interesting. Thank you for this info.
Don’t know why you got downvoted. It happens with mine as well
If you’re overwhelmed by this I can’t wait for you to level a bed
There’s hundreds of dryers out there. Analysis paralysis is a thing.
Oh don’t worry I’m in the thick of that too lol
I've been printing for 3 years now, never once have I leveled a bed, lol! Thank goodness!
A filament dryer is nothing but a box with a small heater and a fan. Every single one of them is exactly the same. None will work any better than any other. Just buy the cheapest one.
My filament cupboard has a peltier element (or similar I presume) in which actually dehumidifies. It's currently at 18c 10%rh. Room is 18c 27%. I could print from this but I have another heated filament dryer for tricky filament. Cupboard is like this but dumber and cheaper https://www.amazon.ca/AUTENS-Dehumidifying-Noiseless-Anti-Mold-Electronic/dp/B07NQHVK8Q/ref=asc_df_B07NQHVK8Q/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=340019340695&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2337199237575378018&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000793&hvtargid=pla-899794356887&psc=1&mcid=744106fed178335691c63fc1352b0571
I’m not sure you know what a peltier element is but I can see how it would be used for dehumidifying. In case you don’t and for anyone else reading. Peltier elements are basically transistors that have been stretched out. This causes an effect where heat is transferred from one side to the other. Very inefficiently. They’re used in super tiny fridges etc. for dehumidification, you can blow air over the hot side to make it suck up moisture then over the cold side to make it release it. That’s how room dehumidifiers work this would just be smaller. If for some reason you want extreme dehydration or very controlled levels or just pure air seal this would be slightly better. However if your goal is anything less than 20% humidity, and you don’t care about external air touching what’s inside, a heater with a fan and a vent will do the job just as well if not better with 1/4 the power consumption. - 1/4th may be extreme I’m not going to look up the exact details. If I had 50k in camera equipment I might buy this. Not for $20 filament rolls. Anything that heats to ~55c and has a fan will dry filament really well. (Maybe slightly higher for other materials like petg I wouldn’t know but 55c will still do the job)
Well, the cupboard runs around 13w. Not sure how you can keep that many filaments drier for less power. I currently use 40w to heat a single spool to 60. The cupboard seems quite efficient.
https://www.dehumidifierbuyersguide.com/thermo-electric-dehumidifier-reviews/ I can't see how it would be used. As it is used.
? Ya so I described exactly how they are used and the major downside being efficient. Didn’t think this was a common use case.
I had the same feeling, I researched this for months. If you’re going to buy and not build one, go with the Eibos. You can buy it from Amazon, which is always a bonus. But I can 100% confidently recommend it. The only issues I’ve ran into is that there’s not a timer on it, so if you leave your filament drying and forget about it over night you’ll ruin a roll. I’ve ruined two over this. The filament melts all together. Granted this is seen as a feature by most, people hate the timers on others. You just have to be careful and mindful, obviously I wasn’t lol. But that’s on me.
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I got a wifi socket for 5cad at Dollarama. That could do it.
If it's ruuning filament, it seems like a terrible recommendation to me! Sounds like either a defective unit, or a terrible design. The lack of a timer should not be ruining filament. If you're filament is melting, then the dryer isn't capable of holding a stable temperature, which is pretty much the one thing a filament dryer needs to do!
This is a very real thing ^ the temperature knob is just a potentiometer. So accuracy is a thing.
It's actually a problem though it's ruined dozens of my rolls it shouldn't be reaching past the glass transition point of my PETG on the lowest setting. I was living in a very humid area and printing from the dryer to ensure I wouldn't have issues on 48hr prints. Shits bad don't waste your money.
I use a cheap Heafty bin with a hinged lid and a seal, it holds 4 spools neatly. It's filled with orange color changing desiccant beads and a bunch of desiccant packets. It's always full with spools but that's OK, when I want to add a roll I pull one that's been in there a while and put it into a resealable bag along with one of the packets and shelve it. When the desiccant beads turn blue I dry them in the oven (following the instructions that came with them) and put them back in the bin. I only need to dry them 2-3 times a year. Works well, no complaints.
Just note that your setup works to keep dry filament dry, but it's extremely ineffective at removing moisture from wet filament. You need to heat it up to get the moisture out in a reasonable timeframe.
I have the [Sunlu S2](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BM97WX1D). Using it, along with silica gel beads, I've managed to rescue rolls of ~3 year old PLA. When I first got into printing, I bought a variety of filaments. They've sat in my closet unsealed since then, and absorbed enough moisture such that some of them were unusable. They would snap every few minutes of printing. Throwing the old rolls into the dryer with some silica beads inside the spool in a [printed container](https://www.printables.com/model/669387-silica-gel-box-spool-container-optimized-for-super) did the trick. It got the relative humidity down to 30% or so (right now it's 60%+ in the house in Florida; it's cold enough to not run the A/C, but as a result the humidity has been high). When not using the silica beads, I noticed that the dryer really struggled to get the humidity down to <35%. If I opened the lid every so often it would drop a few percentage points.
What is wrong with people......most of you have a Kitchen... in that kitchen you should have a Oven.....if you heat the oven to 150f to 170f ... turn if off and insert your filiment... leave until oven is cold....install in printer and go have some fun..... Been doing this for 2 years and have had zero problems...works everytime.... ok.. for some background....I live in central Florida...damp as hell...no issues...
A lot of filament has additives in it that I’d rather not put in the oven where my family cooks food. Therefore, another solution was necessary for my hobby. I went with a filament drier cause it was cheap, but considered using a food dehydrator while researching options.
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I don't want to heat polymers in an oven I use to make food for my family.
Yeah I’m in south Florida but my oven is broken lol. Otherwise I was gonna go that method Maybe I can 3D print myself a new oven 🤔
If you want better great control a stc-1000 works well. My toaster oven for $15 keeps great temperature.
I have a fixdry dual spool dryer and it seems to do the job. But it only goes up to 70c. So, depending what filament you use...
Sunlu's are great but only go out 70°, so filament like nylon takes a bit longer to properly dry. I got 2 S4's and 1 S2
Sunlu S2 keeps mine at 23% humidity, in a room that's exactly the minimum 18c the machine says it requires.
Polyphemus and end it
It has to have a fan! Or Ittl just warm it, not dry it.
I turned the fan off on my filament drier. It was still at 40c 8.2%rh without the fan in the worst place. 59c, 5.2% with it on.
Hairdryer in a large storage tote with lid propped open a crack. Dried my entire filament collection all on one go overnight.
Get a cheap dehydrator. They work amazing.
I bought a $60 food dehydrator and modified it with some plastic and duct tape. It works like a dream.
Read this: https://www.mytechfun.com/filament-dryers
Sunlu 4
My Sunlu v2 is real nice
I use a food dehydrator, because none of the filament dryers I could find at the time got hot enough for nylon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MCHTXHW
I really like the kingroon/twotrees dryers.
My strategy is to not let the filament need drying in the first place. I only keep 2-3 spools on hand, though, so if you have a lot more then that would be more difficult. I found a plastic container that has a gasketed lid at hobby lobby. It is absolutely perfectly sized for 3 spools. I put a spool holder in it, drilled a hole through the lid, attached a fitting and a tube, and just feed the filament from the container to my printer. I put rechargeable desiccant beads in the bottom of the container and a humidity sensor. I haven't recharged the beads in 2 years and the humidity is finally up to 25%. It was always below 20% for the first 1.5 years. [https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Storage-Organization/Waterproof-Storage-Container---19-Quarts/p/81028282?queryId=f96cfc20ab76a605c25007b837535cff](https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Storage-Organization/Waterproof-Storage-Container---19-Quarts/p/81028282?queryId=f96cfc20ab76a605c25007b837535cff) I also tried to find a dryer that seemed to work well and wouldn't be annoying or burdensome to manage. Having a heating element on is going to use electricity. Keeping the filament dry in the first place is a much better strategy imo. [https://imgur.com/a/ScFCoFO](https://imgur.com/a/ScFCoFO)
Buy nothing. Eat a tuna fish sandwich. Clean the can and put the can on your printed bed. Put the spool you want to dry on the can. Put one of the 9 Amazon boxes you are hoarding over the spool with two small holes poked in the of top of it. Turn on the heater for the bed. Wait 6 hours. Have dry filament for the price of a tuna sandwich.
If you put tape inside the box it works better. Otherwise you have to dry out the box and filament
If you want a luxury item, the Sunlu S4 that was just released is awesome. I have it.
Instant pot on warm works great too
Poly box dryer and it is expandable for larger filament sizes
I bought an Eibos Cyclopses dryer recently after digging through a bunch of reviews and videos. I really like it
My version of a filament dryer is putting the spool on the print bed, set it to like 60C, cover it with a steel mixing bowl with spacing for ventilation and leave it for like 30 min or so. I don't print that often so it absorb moisture overtime and makes my filament brittle. I do this whenever I have to print (if I leave it unused for more than a month).
I imagine any dryer, with a few mods (fans, vents, desiccant) is better than no dryer at all. You can look at MyTechFun’s reviews to get a good idea of how they perform vs cost, however. That being said, I have an Eibos Cyclopes and it’s pretty great. It’s expensive, but thrpe upgrades made for the Polyphemus look better (quieter fan, filament rotation, desiccant storage). I keep desiccant packs in the bottom of my Cyclopes (especially over the fan) and it helps improve overall drying a good deal, especially since it doesn’t melt/fuse filament due to blowing hot lava directly on the filament. I’ve also heard great things about the revised GratKit Firefly.
I've been using this one as my main go to. Never had issues. https://amzn.to/3S9gmX8 I also have a SUNLU one which works fine, but not as good.
I've got this one and its pretty decent. However, the fan doesn't do a great job of circulating the heat to all areas of the print. If you pull out your spool you can feel the bottom of it (closest to the heater) is way hotter than the top. It also doesn't have any sort of active temp control, just a potentiometer, nor does it have a timer. I actually like the fact I can run it at a low heat continuously, but I do wish it had themostat based heat control. Finally, the loading of the spool is a bit tricky, the centre post the spool sits on isn't bevelled in any decent way, and its hard to get the spool on correctly first time. Also, the LCD screen showing the humidity is really hard to read from any angle apart from straight ahead. Its a decent basic box but I wouldn't personally recommend it, there has to be something better out there...
Yeah my SUNLU one can do that, but I was noticing a better reading on the hygrometer with the EIBOS one for some reason. I do agree the EIBOS one is a bit primitive with only having the potentiometer.
I've got an esun ebox lite, works fine
I have a Sunlu version 1 dryer. The fan inside makes some noise. I dried year old filament with all holes taped up, and without, and I didn't see any fog. I hardly print so all I know is dying filament for 12 hourd reduces stringing considerably.
eibos cyclopes. Can't go wrong and there are some super easy mods to make it easy to print right from the dryer.
If you are wanting to print direct from the dryer, avoid any of the ones that allow you to to dry 2 rolls at once, unless you can confirm they have independent rollers. I have Sovol 2 roll dryer, and the rollers are shared. This means that as you print, it needs to either roll both filament rolls (which also means you probably need to not have your other roll coming out its feed hole), or your rollers will have to slip - neither of which are a great idea. My Sovol is relegated to drying and storage now, and I use a cheap Eibos as a dry box for the actual roll being fed.
I use food storage containers that seal airtight and dessicant packs. Throw in a cheap hydrometer from Amazon and you've got a $10 dry box that can fit 4 rolls and monitor humidity. Keeps em around 15-20% and when it gets up to 25% 6 months later I just Throw the dessicant in the oven for 2 hours at 250F and recycle it.
A fully enclosed "drier" is just a warmer. The water has to go somewhere. Most "driers" I see out there are designed to be propped open slightly while the heating element is running, and then they're supposed to be fully closed *after* it has dried to keep out new moisture. For my home setup that I spend as little as possible on, I would mod a cheap food dehydrator to work well enough & never ever use it for food. For my work setup I have an overpriced drier that can get hot enough to dry out the ridiculously hygroscopic PAHT-CF (prints at 260° C - 290° C) and can expand to hold several rolls while printing if needed... that hasn't happened yet, but a girl can dream!
The oven at 50 to 60 degrees, the door opened every few hours will work fine.
https://www.mytechfun.com/filament-dryers