How To Dry & Store Your 3D Printing Filament

This video is sponsored by PCBWay www.pcbway.com/
Take care of your filament and it will take care of you. Nothing ruins a 3D Print more than wet filament. In this video, I'll demonstrate what happens when you print with wet filamnet, why to keep it dry and how to store it so that it stays dry.
Sealed Plastic Container www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084TN9GSV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Creality Vacuum Kit www.amazon.com/Creality-Upgraded-Filament-Moisture-Desiccant/dp/B0CJV651Q2/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=creality+vacuum&qid=1700708602&sr=8-5

[@Creality3D]

It’s really great that you produce such useful content, thank you very much. Creality is also committed to providing a variety of solutions for users to store filament.

[@pushingplastic7445]

Thank you for the kind words! They are very much appreciated. I agree with you about Creality's commitment to store filament. In fact I encourage viewers to check out the Creality website. You'll find that they are committed to all areas of 3D Printing beyond the printers themselves. Filament, scanners, filament dry boxes and filament vacuum seal systems to name a few.

[@zac2877]

@@pushingplastic7445 i like your channel sir, subscribed ;)

[@Enjoymentboy]

I've found home depot buckets to be a great, and cheap, solution. The 2.5 gallon buckets hold 3 spools perfectly and are air tight. The 5 gallon ones hold upwards of 5 spools depending on the width of the spools. Personally I am a cheap bugger so I took it as a personal challenge to come up with a dryer by spending as little as possible using parts I already had sitting around. I used a 60x60mm silicone 12V heating pad I had in a parts box along with an old pentium 4 heatsink and fan and a 12V thermostat. The buckets I just pulled from the shed. They were already clean but a quick wipe down and they were good to go. Printed off a few parts and it's all mounted in the 5gallon bucket. The fan draws air over a calcium chloride desiccant in a tub at the top, and then down the centre tube and over the heatsink warming it up. The warm, dry air slowly goes upwards over the spools pulling moisture out of them and keeps cycling this way. Thermostat keeps the whole thing at around 42°C. I'm shocked at how well it works. I just leave a couple of spools in it for a day or so, pull them out and move into one of the smaller buckets ready to be used whenever I need them. The only downside is that I can't see inside the buckets to know just which filaments are in which bucket. I COULD label them but that would make sense. lol

[@pushingplastic7445]

That's a heck of a setup! I like that idea. Even with the containers I'm using I can't really see what filament is in each container. I usually have to open them up, dig around only to find out the color I want is in the last container I check.

[@staceyroos2043]

Thanks. I especially appreciate the links to the products.

[@pushingplastic7445]

Hope it helps!

[@leenicoletti-jones8509]

Very helpful thank you!

[@pushingplastic7445]

Awesome & thanks for watching!

[@Mainuh]

New 3D printer owner here. Ender 3 V3 KE. One quick question: are the bags re-useable for many re-seals? Thanks for some really useful, no nonsense content! Hitting subscribe!

[@pushingplastic7445]

Awesome! I've been reusing the bags over and over. They are double zip locked. There is a slider on each bag that helps close the zips. After using the pump for a few months, I will say that it works weel. It's not real fast but does the job. I also found that when you screw the pump adapter onto the bag you need to make sure it is flat on that bag to get a good seal. Welcome to the club and thanks for watching!

[@colincampbell3679]

I've been doing storing of filaments ( all the types ) in e-sun branded filament vacuum bags for 2 years out of the 4.5 years I've done 3D printing, I have 2 Single spool Sun Lu S1 Filament Dryers which I use to dry for up to 16 hours due to the fact the PETG etc. need longer as the dryers only do up to 55 C where as PETG and other tough filaments like my Nylon need really 85 C to dry. So I do these filaments longer. I am hoping to get the new 4 spool advanced Sun Lu S4 Filament Dryer as it has better drying and a full details touch screen and goes up to 80 C. It is a bit pricey, But compared to the single version it works out better value as it hold 4 spools and can also be printed from. ( costs around £80 UK pounds. But it is out of stock I am not surprised at that price. The only thing is, I not seen any real help drying the filaments and storing them in the e-sun filament vacuum bags even though I put in big bags of desiccant gel? I still get problems with stringing and bad printing on and off. and we don't get year round humid hot weather here just for a short time in the last 2 years in summer! So no heavy moisture really. And the room the 4 printers I use are in stays at a roughly standard temperature and humidly so bit of a puzzle? Maybe when I saved up for the S4 and soon after my 1st enclosed core xy klipper printer, I may get better results.

[@pushingplastic7445]

It looks like you have a good system going!

[@anbu94]

I use that same gasket lidded tote. For desiccant I got a cup of Damprid. It's used to lower humidity in closets and small rooms, definitely overkill for a tote but it absorbs moisture fast, it's cheap and lasts a long time. I've had the same cup in my tote for 7 months and it's nowhere near used up. I stuck a spare reptile hygrometer in there and it reads 10% humidity, it may actually be lower because I think that meter reads a minimum of 10%.

[@pushingplastic7445]

Awesome! I was wondering how Damprid would work in there, now I know!! Thanks for the info, I'm going to give it a shot!

[@DollsandEverythingElse]

Doesn’t Sampras pull the moisture (water) into the container and are you worried about it spilling? Thank you. I’m a newbie and I think I’m going to purchase the double spool dryer.

[@anbu94]

@@DollsandEverythingElse the container has a gasket on the lid so it's pretty well sealed from the outside air. It could spill, it has never happened to me but just in case I put the cup of damp rid in a large unsealed zip lock bag. If it does tip, it should spill mostly in the bag and not in the tote.

[@DollsandEverythingElse]

@@anbu94 that’s an excellent idea and I’m going to do the same. Thanks for the quick response!

[@iangrogan5261]

Do you have a link to the dehydrator? Have been searching for a dry box that will be good for nylon but most on Amazon don’t go above 60c

[@pushingplastic7445]

The one I use is no longer available, but this one looks like a good match but check the size and make sure the trays are all plastic, no metal. www.amazon.com/Chefman-Food-Dehydrator-Transparent-Temperature/dp/B08RHF6WH1/ref=psdc_1090752_t4_B07Z1NYY3D?th=1

[@zac2877]

uphill both ways!😁👌👍

[@metacombs]

I just want 20 AMS boxes to dry store all my filament and so I can automatically switch between 80 different filaments for my bambu X1C. Too much to ask? 🤔

[@pushingplastic7445]

Probably

[@Roadsurfer2k11]

Surprised nothing about temp storage. I'm kinda of in a bind.. upstairs room I have a portable AC and fan but creates airflow. I have an enclosure for my new printer, but read enclosures aren't good for PLA. Then I read even PLA isn't good running in bedroom cause possible fumes. I can move it to other room above garage, but it can get towards 90 degrees in that room. I think I have to keep filament at 80 degrees max 🤷

[@pushingplastic7445]

Fair enough, I store my filament in a tote with a weather seal on the lid after drying. I get them on Amazon. I can fit about 18 rolls in one tote. I also have decadent packs in those totes to help keep it dry. Maybe overkill, but it's what I do. I print PLA in enclosures all of the time. It eliminates a draft that may cause a warped print. I do take the lid off venting. Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching. It's very much appreciated!

[@metacombs]

Decadent packs are only for special occasions 😋

[@hansherrera6969]

do you have to dry play?

[@pushingplastic7445]

PLA? Yes. No matter what people might say in the Facebook groups or discord rooms. PLA doesn't need to be dried as often like TPU or Cabon Fiber. But a few days out in the open, your filament will get damp. The Filament I was breaking easily in the video was PLA. I hope this helps!