How to Clean a 3d Printer Nozzle Correctly - Useful Tips To Save Money

In this video i'm going to show you two quick methods to clean out a 3d printer nozzle. One can be done with the nozzle still attached to your printer and the other is with the nozzle removed.
There are a few different reasons why you might need to clean your nozzle but a clog or partial clog are the most common. You may simply want to completely remove one colour filament before starting with another colour and don't want to push it all through the nozzle. Either way, these methods will help you do this.
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[@albertage1231]

I hate that bling sound…

[@rhysjones5473]

Extremely helpful. I’m new to the 3D printer scene and I dirtied my tip while messing around and trying to calibrate

[@justyouraveragenerd6237]

Could have worded that a bit better 😅

[@geronimo3451]

why? Is "tip" another word for "penis"?

[@xkenz9096]

@@justyouraveragenerd6237😂

[@nikushim6665]

Unless its a really nice harden nozzle or something. Just toss it and put on a new one, those cheap brass nozzles wear out quickly and cost pennies to swap out, not really worth the time cleaning it on a old nozzle.

[@mikesavad]

I've heated them up and ran a shot of compressed air through the top, most of it usually blows out. You can yank a bunch out doing that. Sometimes if your fast enough you can do that right after you remove it from the hot end. My torch died, but I may use that soldering iron idea, since it was hard to put the torch down and grab the air gun. The real advantage for using air is, you won't hurt the hole.

[@bmrigs]

Nozzles are too cheap to be doing all that. Throw it in the gutter and get another.

[@DaveDeCoursey]

Great information! I like that using the soldering iron and I'll have to remember that next time I get a clog.

[@Enjoymentboy]

I used to heat them but now I put them in a sealed jar of gel paint stripper. It removes every single trace of plastic and carbon and leaves them looking as good as new. It takes a while though but I just collect them and when I have 6 or more I'll put them in the jar, close it up and walk away for about a week. Come back, rinse them off and I have more nozzles to use.

[@Ho-Lee-Chit_Fu-Kin-Fast]

It's just not worth my time. They cost a nickle & a dime.. I bought a bag of 20 and throw 'used' ones away.

[@Liberty4Ever]

The cold pull is a great technique to clear a partially clogged nozzle. For a fully clogged nozzle, for example, from an hour or more of printing with no filament flow to created a charred plug, it may be possible to heat the nozzle to 240 C on the machine, push and twist a 100 mm long 0.4 mm acupuncture needle to displace enough of the clog to establish some flow in a partially clogged nozzle, and then use the cold pull method to pull out the partial clog. The soldering iron trick is clever but the only time I'd do that is on a new 3D printer when I wasn't yet able to buy replacement nozzles. Nozzles are inexpensive enough that it's not worth my time and aggravation to try to clean a nozzle with melted filament in the threads or a badly clogged tip. Any nozzle that needs to be removed will be replaced if possible.

[@MFToes]

I BOIL mine, i wait til i get 5 or so of different sizes and material, boil it in a small pot, plastic floats, tips like new

[@Wub892]

Carb cleaning kit or Welding Tip Cleaners anyone wants to know what to use to clean those small holes. Super cheap and reusable

[@larryfroot]

Detailed help for those inevitable jobs that are widely referred to but seldom tackled by educators. These little tips n tricks videos of yours are a mine of useful information and clarity.

[@RickyImpey]

Thanks Larry👍

[@BeyondPhotography]

Thank you! I happen to have to change a new hotend today!! Ricky drops a video, we click LIKE immediately!!

[@connorlancaster7541]

Ask Holy Spirit to teach you and to guide you. I would recommend the KZbin Cleveland street preachers and follow Jesus no man no religion. Be holy and obey Jesus. Hebrews 5:9 "salvation is for those who obey. Jesus says if you love me keep my commandments (John 14:15). Jesus even says if you keep my commandments then you shall abide in my love (John 15:10).

[@rogantu]

@@connorlancaster7541 The Bible also says to off your kids if they disobey you, and to go to war so you can take children as sex slaves. Don't just cherry pick the parts that you like now.

[@tylersheehy3918]

i dont clean i replace

[@nerobaal6655]

The solder iron idea is wonderful

[@graphguy]

noob here... if I have to take the nozzle off to clean it... why not just put a new one... they are cheap.

[@RickyImpey]

Go for it, some like to clean and re-use them but it's completely up to you.

[@jokesterfr]

Today I used a camping stove to clean up my nozzle. It got cleaned as expected, but I broke it while tightening on the hot-end. High temperature might have changed the brass properties... next time I'll surely opt-in a more secure option as shown in this video.

[@kevinp3310]

That soldering tip iron trick is such a bangin idea. I'll give it a run later this week and see if its any good. Thanks for the help boss!

[@DrFailov]

Раньше были перспективы, теперь же необходимо уничтожать эти продукты, чтобы помешать окупантам.

[@J.Severin]

thx, my first clogged nozzle and thx to your video i took me only a few minutes. 😊

[@billbrown994]

Thank you. Used soldering iron but still some left. With pliers held nozzle over gas burner while poking the pin nozzle tool through it.

[@tvideo1189]

I'm going to tell you two quick methods of changing a clogged nozzle. 1. Buy a new nozzle for LITERALLY a few pennies. 2. Replace the clogged nozzle and toss it in the trash. Now I just saved you more time, which is money, than screwing around with an old nozzle trying to "fix" it.

[@daliasprints9798]

Fine until you're using a CHT or some high flow abrasive resistant nozzle...

[@allffrommars6019]

​@@daliasprints9798They dont clogg 🤣

[@cyberpope2137]

Yeah you can totally replace a nozzle, it *definitely* takes less time than just doing a cold pull

[@conorstewart2214]

@@allffrommars6019 high temperature or abrasion resistant nozzles absolutely do clog too. Why would brass nozzles clog with PLA but high temp or abrasion resistant nozzles wouldn’t ever clog? Edit: also abrasion resistant nozzles are meant to be used with abrasive filament, which pretty much always means filament with additives like fibres, spheres or other things, they greatly increase the chance of clogging. A hardened steel nozzle with carbon fibre nylon is much more likely to clog than a brass nozzle printing PLA. Even some wood filament can burn and solidify in nozzles. CHT nozzles are even more likely to clog when using filament with any kind of additive due to their more complex geometry.

[@conorstewart2214]

Yeah that is only good advice if you are using cheap brass nozzles. If you have high temperature or abrasion resistant nozzles or even just decent nozzles then you will want to clean them rather than throwing them out.

[@buraksahin1094]

Bro i pulled the filament when my printers cold, 3 to 4 hours after print. So it make a sound like i am afraid that if i broke it. But i havent tried it again. I will try tomorrow. So thanks for that video, hope that i havent ruin my nozzle. I can buy one if i did it but it is still not ok. What you guys think nothing happened i hope. I bought a creality k1 with my friend and using PLA to print. How you guys clean your hot tables? What you do after printing done? How you protect filament to getting moistuirized?

[@That_Stage2STI]

If you're just using a standard nozzle that came with the printer just buy a new one you can get a 6pce for $10

[@dread-uy5uk]

No wonder all my prints have been fucked up I tried printing a karambit twice and octanes heirloom but with this I’m now gonna go re print wraiths heirloom and mabye now it won’t be a giant stribg

[@TheTomar33]

You didn’t explain how to move the nozzle up to clean it or what type of cloth should I be using to clean the nozzle.

[@hellfighter67]

Very useful video, never thought to use my soldering iron like that!

[@DJDa9L]

I've been using a heatgun serveral times even on the same nozzle, and while it works, i think your soldering iron tip is a much better way of doing this. Its also way more energy efficient!

[@jdulrich]

I had not considered the soldering iron. That's a really good idea.

[@Themheals]

Just blowtorch it and wirebrush it clean. Grow up. Soldering iron ahahahahahaha

[@IronBalls007]

Smart man, thx for the tip! I have a box full of 'wasted' nozzles, maybe even 40 or so and I have a tempcontrolled solderingstation, you just saved me some money :) Liked and subscribed

[@RickyImpey]

Excellent, glad to hear it👍

[@AndrewAHayes]

I use nozzle cleaning filament, the real stuff not just nylon, I then do a cold pull with this filament, it gets everything out of the nozzle, also when I do a cold pull I push on the cleaning filament at 100°C before doing the actual pull, this ensures that the filament is complete and does not leave anything behind.

[@BeyondPhotography]

Brilliant tip on using a filed down solder tip. But right after watching the video, i thot "screw it, i will just throw that deng nozzle away and buy a new one online" hahahaha cos there are that cheap, aren't they? Hahahahah

[@RickyImpey]

Sure, for some people nozzles are disposable but sometimes, particularly if you've bought hardened steel or another more expensive nozzle, you want to clean it out and reuse it. I've cleaned quite a few, maybe I'm cheap 🙂

[@connorlancaster7541]

Ask Holy Spirit to teach you and to guide you. I would recommend the KZbin Cleveland street preachers and follow Jesus no man no religion. Be holy and obey Jesus. Hebrews 5:9 "salvation is for those who obey. Jesus says if you love me keep my commandments (John 14:15). Jesus even says if you keep my commandments then you shall abide in my love (John 15:10).

[@GuyNamedMatthew]

Thanks. I'm about 6 months old on 3d printing. Having lots of fun. But this new petg I got keeps clogging. Good tips 👍

[@802Garage]

One trick I've found works pretty well if you just have thin gunk on the outside of the nozzle and lower heater block. Set the temperature to a little past the softening temperature of the filament, like 120C for PLA or 150C for PETG. Then use needle nose pliers, being careful not to gouge any of the metal, and grab some of the filament and pull. It will usually come off in stringy sheets and pull the rest of the nearby filament with it. Might take several little passes obviously, but better than heating it up so much it turns to liquid or trying to pick it off cold.

[@ruge.]

Why is Saul Goodman telling me how to clean a nozzle

[@xenobarbital]

Weird thing: I never had any problems with PLA cold pull. I remove the nozzle plug like 10/10 times. With PETG I have no success so far. No matter what temperature I use the filament breaks inside the hot end when I pull. (My machine is Ender-3 S1 Pro)

[@RickyImpey]

Yes, a cold pull with PETG is very difficult. It sticks to the nozzle too well and, when hotter, it goes very stringy.

[@xenobarbital]

@@RickyImpey So what's the trick with petg? Got to find the proper temperature?

[@RickyImpey]

@@xenobarbital To do a cold pull? I don't do them with PETG. I just flush it through with whatever I'm using next but with PETG temps.

[@xenobarbital]

@@RickyImpey understood. Was thinking something like that. Thanks

[@BeyondPhotography]

Ricky, hey, we shld do a channel cross -over video someday!! KBtw, I teach photography in the channel and i hv three 3d printrs, which i use to make photography parts and gears..... but i am yet to upload any video abt 3D printings so far)

[@RickyImpey]

Sure, that sounds fun. We'll have to think of a good idea for a crossover project.....

[@fenrir7969]

@@RickyImpey How about photogrammetry? Kinda the obvious combination of the two, use photographs to scan stuff then print it.

[@connorlancaster7541]

Ask Holy Spirit to teach you and to guide you. I would recommend the KZbin Cleveland street preachers and follow Jesus no man no religion. Be holy and obey Jesus. Hebrews 5:9 "salvation is for those who obey. Jesus says if you love me keep my commandments (John 14:15). Jesus even says if you keep my commandments then you shall abide in my love (John 15:10).

[@charlesfield9286]

Useful as always thanks

[@ATP-Flo]

Very helpful. Good idea with the soldering iron!

[@flexarnn]

Will definitely try out the soldering iron method.

[@lilcubo3355]

How hot should the nozzle be if you quick wipe it? And should the cloth be wet?

[@RickyImpey]

You want it hot enough to melt the filament so whatever the filament printing temperature is. PLA 200°C etc. It is better if the cloth is wet as it less likely to burn the cloth but I have to admit, I often use a dry cotton rag and it works ok.

[@TheMidnight366366]

Cold Pull is a classic, but burning plastic to the inside of your nozzle seems a bit counter-intuitive. Anything still inside that nozzle will find it's way out eventually.

[@PhilTheMeme]

Thank you, the soldering iron technique worked a treat!

[@chev_FTeam]

I have a load of nylon/CF and wood filament that has completly clogged a E3D V6 nozzleX nozzle, im going to give this a try tonight thanks

[@SuperLanyard]

Just install a new nozzle.

[@ArcanePath360]

Should have watched this before putting a blowtorch to my nozzle, lol. Tip to anyone out there thinking of a 2 in 1 out hot end.... don't bother. More hassle than it's worth with the amount of clogs you get from back flushing and mixing filaments. I can see now after buying 2 in a row why people stick to a single nozzle

[@rnelson3273]

Congrats on 1k 😁

[@RickyImpey]

Thanks, it didn't go unnoticed 🙂

[@awjaaa]

oh, man, THANK you! The cold pull worked! It looked just like yours, too.

[@vasia1961]

thank you

[@p.s.l7777]

hello i followed youre guide completely multiple times budt every time i load filament in it cloggs i watched youre video 100 times its really frustrating do you have eny tips why this issue keeps happening i cut the bowden tube straight with a special cutter i bought. quick update i figured it out i didnt load the filament correct i followed youre how to load unload filament and it worked if enyone face this issue go watch his video on how to load and unload filament it fixed it for me :)

[@derekbambenek7803]

Thank you for the tips. Do you have any suggestions for dealing with the gradual loosening of the heatbreak bolts from heat cycling? Mine has gotten all gunked up inside, and I replaced it once already.

[@tuskuulwolf3335]

i just use a small torch and heat it red hot outside, can't clog if anything side it is ash lol, then just clean it out with a little iso and good to go usually.

[@JohnyPatrick]

Very lovely video.

[@the4thj]

Had to revisit this video because I use PLA+ and the temp differ. So, got some thinking to do.

[@falsedragon33]

Use decent nozzles that can handle heat, and torch them with a propane torch. Been doing this for years with the Slice nozzles.

[@Chanselleur]

2:44 wouldn’t it be cool if we could use Sauter to 3-D print think about all the lead

[@zeal514]

but wouldnt that also mean that filament is also on the threads inside the hotend? what is the best way to clean that

[@nickes6168]

Thank you man. I wasn't sure if i should try gradually raising the heat, as i was in a literal tug of war with the machine and felt like something was off. 90-121 wasn't enough, 129 did the trick.

[@angelad9691]

Thank you

[@JonDohnson]

The soldering iron is an excellent idea, thanks!°

[@Dairy_Air]

cheers

[@tomcorey9833]

Nozzles are 35 cents. Just replace them.

[@RHMulia]

Need more tips cleaning for nozzle with direct extruder

[@valefor666]

nice trick on the 90°. I will check now, thanks Ricky!

[@laceygrainger8996]

thanks

[@spasticjackson9578]

Aren't nozzles like .40 cents each ?

[@joshs1709]

Nice video. Good job focusing on just the tip 😊

[@dack4545]

Get a blow torch and melt it clean 👍🇦🇺

[@calmarcalmar]

thx

[@dercrazed]

What Nozzle Company do you use?

[@stealthghost827]

thank you! subscribed to your channel. Very helpful information and tips from your channel

[@RickyImpey]

Thanks for comment, welcome to the channel 👍

[@phizicks]

can use a ho air gun. at least no carbon from fire and controlled through thin tip

[@RickyImpey]

100%, yes

[@EzProgrammingPro]

Love this guy

[@bruceyoung1343]

Thank You 😊

[@NoxmilesDe]

OK ok. But a nozzle is like 3€.

[@RuthlessRaDiCaL]

Ok, but not everybody has like 4 bucks for a nozzle after every print you buffoon.

[@pmassee18]

Going to cold pull my machine per recommendation. Just got through a clog at the entrance to my heat break that refused to melt despite multiple preheats. Being newer to the 3d community, I am finding when I load filament it doesn’t drop vertically to the heat bed but squiggles and starts a small cluster at the nozzle. Is this indicative of the beginnings of a clogged nozzle or a partially clogged one?

[@RickyImpey]

Hi Peter, not necessarily. The filament doesn't always fall straight down when extruding in thin air. Have you checked that the PTFE tube is pressed up hard to the back of the nozzle? This is the single biggest cause of clogs I find.

[@TOYBOX2008]

@@RickyImpey hi Ricky, I think this is the problem I'm currently experiencing. I am pushing hard down. I get a couple of good prints and the same issue happens. I'm convinced this is the problem but am at a loss of how to prove what I'm doing.

[@RickyImpey]

@@TOYBOX2008 What filament and temperatures are you printing with? Usually low temperatures are the first place I would start looking with a mid-print clog if you know everything is assembled correctly.

[@TOYBOX2008]

@@RickyImpey Makers Warehouse Black PLA at 200

[@TOYBOX2008]

Cleared clog, made sure PTFE tube was touching nozzle. Raised temp to 215. Print started well then began printing air at around 12%.

[@WaschyNumber1]

🖖 👍

[@WaschyNumber1]

@@connorlancaster7541 you need a Dr. and Jesus told also not to not harass other people.

[@armani007E55]

Excellent tip!

[@RickyImpey]

Pun intended?😁

[@armani007E55]

@@RickyImpey ha!

[@bleach_drink_me]

Found what I'm going to use my old junky soldering iron for now that I got a proper soldering station.