Sunlu S1 Filadryer Turbo Mod (They should have made it like this)

[@RickyImpey]

The Mark 2 version of the Turbo Mod is now live here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bna3aniAp6ZjrJI I used a lot of your comments below for ideas for this video.

[@CL-gq3no]

I think an easier solution would be a couple of vent holes with caps/plugs to cover them when not needed. If one vent hole is near the top and the other near the bottom (ideally in opposite corners), the air would exchange passively through convection currents. You could start with very small holes and enlarge them until you find the ideal size to maintain maximum heat while still allowing humidity to escape at a fast enough rate.

[@dreamvisionary]

Good idea. I suspect that slowing down the fan will achieve similar drying results but will have less of an impact on the temperature.

[@Kimballgoss]

Love the video, it was super helpful to see the difference in all the tests. But I can’t help but feel the last test wasn’t done properly providing double the moisture. I could absolutely be wrong, but I don’t think the moisture loss rate is linear, and so would like to see all the tests re-performed with consistent starting points. I actually believe the mod would still perform the best, but it might provide a more realistic number. Thanks for the video! Keep up the good work.

[@OtioseFanatic]

You are absolutely right about your hypothesis in truth his modifications do very little and would get the same if not better results just pulling out the vent plugs from the lid (like you are supposed to but no one ever does).

[@zk_6312]

I have a dual roll Comgrow dryer and I have never seen the condensation that you show. I usually dry my PLA at 45 degrees C. It's top temp is 50 degrees though I do wish it went up to 65 as some of the filament out there require higher Temps or at least it is recommended anyway. I saw one youtuber modify the same one you modified, but he was concerned about the temp at the bottom vs the top. He relocated the temp sensor to the back top and added a fan to circulate the internal air. I have never been able to get the humidity in the box below 35%. I had to fix the fan as it was really noisy so I decided to try your trick of leaving the lid open a little. Surprise, surprise the humidity went down to 20%. Thanks, that was really helpful.

[@pawelw.9172]

and so many people, still before the mod was known, had praised the efficiency sayinng how could I eve live without it😁😁

[@stevehutchesson1321]

This is well done, recent into 3D printing and chasing down a range of problems, the cheap Sunlu drier solved a couple of problems for me. I could get rid of the arm and park the drier along side the printer (Ender 3 Max) with much smoother feed so no more broken filaments and with the stock unit, no noticable deterioration of PLA and PLA+ while printing. Your mods are interesting in that sooner or later I will be printing with higher temperature filaments that are fussy about absorbing moisture. Thanks for the video, always a pleasure to find something useful.

[@NigelPeart1]

Nice mod! I also bought the same box but did wonder where all the moist air was actually going? Thanks for all your efforts- just bought you a coffee and bought all your recommended parts 👍👍👍👍👍

[@RickyImpey]

Thanks Nigel👍

[@BoWhitten]

Thanks for all the information on dry boxes and printing. It has helped me get an idea of how to approach issues when they arise.

[@flex-ranger2]

This is a bloody good, informative video. Thank you for taking the time!

[@RickyImpey]

Thanks for your comment 👍

[@BeyondPhotography]

Ricky, i hv been binge watching your videos for hours now!! You need more subs!! You contents are superb!! U just got a loyal fan now!

[@RickyImpey]

Ha ha, thanks very much. There's a lot more coming, hopefully you'll like it as much. Welcome to the channel 👍

[@rsilvers129]

Good job. It’s useful for people who already own some of these, but for $5 more you can buy the eSun one that includes a fan.

[@stephencutajar2548]

I think that by just drilling holes at the top will also solve the problem of the condensation, as warm air naturally rises it should do the job without a fan. I would start with one hole and gradually increase the number or size of holes until I get the best result. Blocking the extra holes or decreasing the diameter of the holes should be easy enough when the best compromise is found.

[@dela909]

Was thinking the same thing but with slits

[@BeyondPhotography]

Amazing video. I am so gonna do this mod. Subscribing to your channel now

[@icenode]

Thanks for all your work on this. I dried some reusable silica sachets in a stock S1 and there was so much visible condensation, not to mention the sachet indicator beads were still dark which suggests they weren't actually properly "recharged" anyway. I agree it's more important to actually get the moisture out of the box, rather than circulating (still moist) air internally. I'm drying a reel with the lid propped open for now as a quick improvement until a thermal switch arrives. Looking forward to the follow up video you're planning on the best approach to an intake too! One quick bit of feedback - a step by step walk through of to how to actually apply the mod (tape and drill the hole, connect the printed parts with x sized bolts etc.) would be a bit easier to follow, I had to roll it back a few times to put it all together from observation. :)

[@RickyImpey]

Thanks for the feedback, I didn't do a tutorial on how to do the mod as I didn't know if people would want to do it themselves. Once I've got the next stage out I'll look at a build video guide👍

[@armani007E55]

@@RickyImpey subbed and would love to see a "build guide". As I'm sure everyone who finds this video would also like to see it. Thanks! Hopefully you can do one soon. Greetings from Boston 🤙

[@RickyImpey]

@@armani007E55 Welcome, build guide in the making for you👍

[@armani007E55]

@@RickyImpey That just made my Friday! Thank you! I'll be sure to post pics on FB and share the link!

[@RickyImpey]

@@armani007E55 cool, cheers 👍

[@cheffress]

Thanks for the insight. To make it more scientific and reliable, you need to control room temperature, room humidity, volume of water, size of sponge (more surface area will naturally evaporate more) etc. Would be interesting also to capture electricity usage across the different versions.

[@BobPalmetto]

Nice, but I thought we were going to keep it simple. Why not just poke some holes in the top? Never mind...you answered that already!

[@Enjoymentboy]

This is pretty interesting. I've very new to 3D printing so I'm taking in all the info I can and now that I've finally become affected by moisture in filament it's something I've had to look into. I'm a cheap bugger though and I outright refuse to shell out money for stuff I can either scavenge or build for free, so I've been steadily working on my own drying system. I've cobbled together something that works very well, although it is not what anyone would consider to aesthetically pleasing. But it sure is cheap. The only parts I've bought directly are a $6 (with taxes) 8L pail and lid from homedepot and a $3.12 USB powered carbon felt heating pad from ebay (and this is in Canadian dollars). The pail perfectly fits 3 filament spools with room left at the top. For storage of dry filament I use these same pails (unmodified) with a calcium chloride moisture absorber and a tight fitting lid. Does an amazing job and I find the calcium chloride to be far better than silica gel. I use it a lot in my chemistry hobbies so I always have it on hand and I'm really familiar with it. But for drying I have a 60mm 5V USB powered fan (salvaged from some random piece of electronics - can't recall exactly what) that draws the air out of the top of the bucket through holes that are only open to around 1/3 of the area (so assume a 20mm fan). This minimises the air flow and slows it down. At the bottom I have a tube connected that is filled with the calcium chloride pellets and the incoming air is drawn in past the pellets drying it before it enters the bucket. The dryer air then draws the moisture away from the filament and then out the top of the bucket. It makes a HUGE difference if the room humidity is high. I saw no point in drawing humid air into the bucket just to try and pull humidity out of it as well. The USB powered carbon felt heating pad is on the outside of the bucket at the bottom and heats the filament bottom upwards which further helps draw moisture out and it's nice and gentle. It warms everything up to 40-45°C but it does it quite slowly seeing as it draws little power. Everything powered by a cheapie $1 1.5A USB charger. All in all, for a $10 solution it works amazingly well. Even the calcium chloride is fully reusable. I just put the liquid that collects into a pyrex dish and into the oven when I cook. It'll dry down to a crust which I can scrape out and put back into the tube and let it start working all over again.

[@RickyImpey]

Sounds like an awesome solution. I was thinking of a similar setup with drying incoming air but haven't actually done it yet. Drying filament is a must for me with the humidity we have in the UK. Makes a big difference. I prefer Calcium Chloride too although I don't recover it...... yet🙂

[@chubbyadler3276]

What I've done with my Sunlu S1 is cut out the extrusion circles from the top half and bottom half, leaving a 1 inch or so hole in both. These are conveniently at both the extreme top and bottom of the dry box as well. It does go to temperature, though I also wonder how much moisture this would get, as I haven't tested it. I do know, though, that before, a kg of nylon would cause the inside of the box to fog up, whereas now it doesn't. I also seen in the instructions that they tell you to prop the door open while drying wet filaments.

[@RickyImpey]

Really, that must be a new thing they've added to the instructions. They told me they had seen my videos so maybe that's what made them change🤷‍♂️🙂

[@adhdengineer1970]

Wonderful video! I really appreciate all the testing you did to validate the design. Along with Paul, I'm excited to hear of an intake mod. Liked & Subbed!

[@RickyImpey]

Thanks ADHD. It's good to see that it was all worth it.

[@adhdengineer1970]

@@RickyImpey the link for the thermostat switches is all sold out though.

[@RickyImpey]

@@adhdengineer1970 I guess a lot of people are modding their S1🙂 Are you using the US or UK link? I'll see if I can find something else.

[@adhdengineer1970]

@@RickyImpey US

[@RickyImpey]

I've added some 40°C ones from Amazon but there doesn't seem to be a lot of choice right now. If you need to buy from somewhere else, just search for 'Normally Open Thermal Switch' and try to buy something between 40°C and 60°C. Anything in that range will work but they must be normally open.

[@euroriderdk]

I am seriously surprised, that you only got 9K+ subscribers, you are definitely one of the best 3D printing KZbinrs out there. Not so much bla bla, but good old proven facts and some fun sprinkled all over. Just the way I like it. But yes thanks again for a great video. I was just about to buy a Sunlu S1, but now I am not so sure anymore. I really don't want to mod something I just buy, just because of the fact that the producer is too lazy or too stu***d to make it correct from the start. Would you happen to have any idea what filament dryer is better and straight out of the box, just working correctly ? Would save me tons of time. Thank you one more Ricky for another great video. Keep them coming, and never give up, I am sure you are going to be one of the big 3D KZbinrs one day. You are on the right track as I see it.

[@RickyImpey]

Thanks for this comment. Seriously, I'm fine with my subs and views etc. I get great comments like your all the time and my bills are getting paid each month. I'm not trying to be the next Mr Beast😁 I wish I could finish with a great recommendation for you but I haven't done much filament dryer research lately and for some reason nobody wants to send me one for me to accurately test🤔 Try to find one that, at the very least, vents the warm air out. Ideally you want a fan to help with circulation and extraction and you probably want to be able to use the filament while it's drying. I've heard good things about Eibos units but I haven't tested myself and they are not cheap.

[@euroriderdk]

@@RickyImpey Thank you for your honest answer. I am just sure when you keep doing like you do, it will come to you by it self, if you know what I mean. Take a guy like The Kifness, a great guy from south Africa, who do music from animal voices etc, he was just like you 1 year ago, a youtuber with great content, but now he just finished a music tour in Germany, and he is been mentioned on some US talkshow. So things has to evolve by them self, if the person stay truth to what he does, that was my point. So just keep doing what you already do so fine and great, and you give us (or me at least) a lot of help with your great guides on how to etc. I will try to see if those Eibos dryers are in my budget, once again thank you for your help. (I wrote eLbos) :)

[@RickyImpey]

@@euroriderdk Thanks for your support 👍

[@sns348]

Very nice mod! I'm planning to implement it. Going to try to use a different fan (blower type, likely there will be no need for additional details as it's in off state blocks air flow somewhat good enough) and incorporate a potentiometer (variable resistor) for 0-300/400 ohms to adjust the speed of the fan (will also prolong the fan life).

[@RickyImpey]

Nice, let me know how you get on👍

[@sns348]

@@RickyImpey As soon as I have almost finished the mod - found out another video regarding the need of convection inside of the drier, so. I have installed a blower fan outside of the drier (a small one, like in the video about convection), did a return path for airflow (about 6mm hole with a printed part for directional airflow downwards inside of the drier) and an output path (approx. 4mm hole). Did also installed some old (1kOm) variable resistor (waiting for a better one with copper wiring for 100 Ohms, so it will do 0 to approx. 250mA just for the full range of the blower fan consumption). Tried to take best out of the two mods and hope that an option to fine tune speed and airflows will be a valuable (and cheap) addition.

[@bwloawesome]

I wonder if you wired the fan to the element with a step down converter in-between to lower the voltage just a tad, say 20-22v, would save the fans from burning out.

[@wildboy1983]

I am looking to make a super simple mod.. am I right in thinking that if I drill a hole in the top to allow moisture to escape this will somewhat improve the efficiency of the dryer?

[@RickyImpey]

Yes, but it will be better still if you also put a hole or two in the bottom to allow a convection current.

[@greenveg42]

While your workshop is suspiciously clean the content was good! Have a subscription! The heater elemnt is likey PWM-controlled and probably on a frequency not suited for the fan.

[@RickyImpey]

Ha ha, you have no idea how much is piled up behind the camera! I came to the same conclusion about the fan. Thought I'd just give it a try though as it was easier and the fans were cheap 🙂 Thanks for your comment.

[@stephensantoliquido5350]

Nicely done. But it does seem a bit overkill. I did the internal fan mod. And I place a couple 20g desicant packs in the centre of the spool. Relative humidity inside the dryer box is always down around 30% whilst the room is at about 55% to 60% rh. Store your filiment in sealed bags with dessicant, and you will never need such extreme measures as this. I mean, unless you want to do it just for the fun of it...

[@ethancase1872]

great video, very well put together

[@marcbuzz4161]

when you compare the dessicant method, you should alos consider the quantity of humidity got stuck in the dessicant, not only the quantity of water lost by the sponge ;)

[@TheGeordietheWitchandtheWench]

You look like a younger Bruce Willis that knows much about 3d printing :-)

[@RickyImpey]

Ha ha, thanks..... I think 🤣

[@DanielSanPedro]

Well done video and informative. Thank you!

[@hugoblin2309]

Really interesting video! I must say that I do not think you are comparing apple to apple when it comes to open box vs fan since you do not start with the same condition (amount of water). I have done some math here and I actually found the the open box is more efficient than the fan mod strangely enough! Open box removes 25.9g out of 30 that is a reduction of 86.5% as the fan removes 43.7g out of 60 and this is "only" a 72.8% reduction. Can someone correct me if I am wrong? otherwise the open box is the most efficient option. Thanks!

[@mukeshmhatre6014]

Just an query, i read ABS drying temp is 80C, how u managed to dry it with sunlu s1. It's Max temp is 55C.

[@1967friend]

I suspect the whole fan situation is probably overkill. And potentially also preventing the dryer from reaching its peak potential because it prevents it from reaching maximum temp. My thoughts are two vents. One on the bottom, or bottom sides of the box. And one on the very top of the lid. Thus establishing a natural thermal convection to happen. Hot air naturally rises out the top. Taking the moisture with it. Cool dryer air flows in from the bottom. And perhaps a printed slider over one or both of the openings would facilitate controlling the flow of air to find the sweet spot between flow and temperature.

[@RickyImpey]

Yes that was my first thought too but I didn't want to have to manually close the vents. Then I started thinking about using an Arduino with servos to move the vent mechanisms and it all started to get very complicated. You're right in that the fan stops the air reaching it's maximum potential but actually the heating element gets hotter as the sensors read a lower temperature because of the airflow. It's far from a finished product and there is more to come. I put the video out as it was because of the massive improvement. I'm currently working on improving the fan setup but will probably also look at some passive vents too. Watch this space

[@triXsolarflare]

my thoughts are a small DC timer circuit, cheap on Amazon that you can cycle to come on for a given amount of time every hour to suck out any moisture build up and then shut off to let the box heat up again?

[@RickyImpey]

@@triXsolarflare watch this space🙂......

[@critical_always]

Interesting. I have four of those dryers as I permanently keep filament that is in use in these things. It seems to me that you pull way too much air out of the box. I wonder if natural convection would be more than plenty. A few holes in the bottom and a few in the top. I probably will spray paint the inside of the lid as well to stop UV degrading the filament.

[@RickyImpey]

Yes, convection is absolutely fine until there is no more heat. Then the moisture works it's way back in. I don't leave mine powered all the time and I don't like having to constantly transfer from a dryer to a vacuum bag/dry box. I like that very little air can get back in once the drying is done.

[@ryanbabros7981]

These things look great and I love the improvements. However, I wish they could hit higher temperatures. I use a lot of polycarbonate and typical drying temps are 80-100c+. I'm sure this works great, but I'm not printing PLA Mandalorian helmets.

[@RickyImpey]

Hi Ryan, yes, that will be the next hurdle to overcome. It may just be that to dry the filaments that need a higher temperature, we might have to invest in one of the more expensive options. I won't stop playing with the Sunlu S1 until I've maximised what it can do though. It has a 50w heater that should be capable of reaching the higher temperatures but it's then possibly going to be limited by other things like other materials used in the box construction.

[@ryanbabros7981]

@@RickyImpey From what I've found pertaining to similar heating elements, 24v/30w heaters can hit a maximum of 170c. I think you're right. I think the limitation is the fancy enclosure they use. It's possible that it's made of PVC, which has a max temperature rating of around 140f which breaks down to 60c. So if it's some sort of PVC, then they're very close to that materials limitations. Prusament PC CF filament extrudes at 285c, so I wonder if recreating the lower part of the enclosure would be worthwhile. I've got some ideas about using a dehumidifier inline with something like this to recycle and dry the air as it runs, which is essentially what injection molding companies do with pellets. That or pouring desiccant into the bottom of something like this so that the heating process recharges the desiccant for storing the filament and actively dries the filament. Thanks for this video, it definitely gets the gears turning in my head! Your stuff is great!

[@RickyImpey]

@@ryanbabros7981 Thanks, it sounds like we think alike. I'm currently working on the MK2 version of the mod and have the MK3 in mind. Long term we need more heat, good airflow but also dry air coming in. We'll get there one day👍

[@DOCWHOK9]

Brilliant analysis, youve saved me a lot of work and testing. Could I suggest a more streamlined Fan/Flap assembly, one that utilises the wasted rear upper corner space of the box. I'd also like to factor in outside Humidity somehow, as I believe some days we could just be sucking in moistER air. I thought I had a SUNLU, but I have the SOVOL DUAL FILAMENT DRYER BOX, could you advise on doing the same electrics mod for this model.?

[@RickyImpey]

I don't have a Sovol box, what voltage does it run on? It will say on a label or at least on the power supply. If it's 12v then you can use all of the same electrics, you just need to tap in to the low voltage feed.

[@paultakoy7091]

Another great video. Suggestion, What about putting a louvre at the top of the box in front but turned around. This way when the fan turns on, it will pull open this louvre and draw in air from the outside. This might remove more moisture from the SunLu dryer but it might also introduce some moisture. I’m just thinking that it will move more air through the SunLu enclosure. Let me know your thoughts.

[@RickyImpey]

Hi Paul, yes 100%. I was thinking if printing another flap vent the same but as an intake on the other side. I'm toying with the idea of making a smaller one and putting it in the bottom somewhere so that there is more convection. Great minds think alike sir👍

[@RickyImpey]

I tried your ideas out Paul kzbin.info/www/bejne/bna3aniAp6ZjrJI

[@ryanl9978]

amazing.. time to get one !

[@WaschyNumber1]

🖖 👍 I was thinking about the same modification, Befor I have seen your video. I have subscribed. 🤗

[@michaelphillips-nxs]

T0 be more effective on the filament you would need to keep more heat in and just enough fan to exhaust the accumulated moisture. note that you need the heat to penetrate the filament to the core Aswell. try adding a PWM circuit to adjust fan speed and run the variables

[@kenlysons4430]

do you think that having a small motor rotating the spool slowly would help stop hot spots?

[@RickyImpey]

Well yes it would but I don't think it's much of a problem. I print with mine after its been drying for a while so it rotates while I'm printing.

[@ProfessorOzone]

What about just cutting vent holes in the top? Hot air rises. Takes the moisture with it, no?

[@RickyImpey]

Yes, would definitely work but then moisture will come back in those holes once the heat goes off.

[@ProfessorOzone]

@@RickyImpey Yes of course. For me though it might work since I plan to store separately.

[@RickyImpey]

@@ProfessorOzone go for it then. Drill some holes in the top surface but don't forget to put a few down low in the base so that you get the convention current going👍

[@ProfessorOzone]

@@RickyImpey I just bought an S2, so I'll have to see about that. But thanks for the video. I always wondered about this.

[@thenoddingturtle]

​@@RickyImpey would it be helpful to drill some holes and just put some tape over them when the power is off as a ghetto solution?

[@CollinBaillie]

The only extra testing that I feel could make the results more complete would be to test after drying and then leaving the filament in the dryer for 24 hours, to see if the flaps really did help to keep moisture out.

[@RickyImpey]

I know what you mean but filament absorbs moisture so slowly that I think you'd have to leave it in there for weeks and possibly have a control outside too. Very difficult to do scientifically 🤔

[@denklie8498]

Very interesting, bought one and found the same issue, for once it accumulated moisture and then just heated the filament from the bottom. I saw on KZbin a different approach, where you use a fan inside to circulate the warm air around. Now I am between both options. Do you have any experience with the other method? If yes, which one is better?

[@RickyImpey]

Hi, yes I saw the circulation mod but can't say I've tried it. I didn't see how moving the air around would solve the basic issue, that the moisture doesn't go anywhere, it just stays in the box. I think the idea of the circulation fan is just to try and heat the filament evenly rather than just from below but that doesn't really worry me too much. I have just focused on the science of how drying works and am trying to maximise what's possible. I'm currently working on the mark II version which should improve things further. Watch this space.....

[@denklie8498]

@@RickyImpey Thanks, I will definitely keep an eye on your Chanel for the mark II. Have fun and keep the printers printing ^^

[@Menshinin]

Здравствуйте. Я думаю, что важно обеспечить сильную циркуляцию воздуха внутри коробки. Для осушения будет достаточно 5-10% от объёма внутренней циркуляции добавления свежего воздуха. Вентилятор должен подавать подавать воздух внутри, чтобы в коробке получалось избыточное давление. Перед вентилятором надо установить фильтр для пыли.

[@mick2d2]

Thanks for all the effort! I've just bought a "Jayo" S1, which seems to be a rebranded Sunlu S1. After watching your video, I think I'll send it back! It should do it's job without having to DIY it. Could you recommend any boxes that actually work? (without DIY) Cheers!

[@RickyImpey]

Yes, it's the same box. It does work, just not as well as it could. Unfortunately none of them do everything we want, the perfect one doesn't seem to exist just yet. I don't know how much you paid but I got mine at a discount and for the money I don't think there is anything better. Hopefully someone will incorporate all of the best features into one unit but then it will probably be really expensive. Until then, I'll keep trying to improve this one.

[@mick2d2]

@@RickyImpey Thanks for the reply. I paid 40€. My intention is to use it as the feeder for my new QQs Pro Delta (I'm a complete noob at this). I suppose, that when it's printing, the heat will be distributed better as the reel will be rotating. I don't have a problem with humidity, as it's very dry where I live all year round. I thought to keep the other reels in a sealed box with desiccant.

[@RickyImpey]

@@mick2d2 My advice would be to put any new filament in your dryer for 24 hours and then either run from the dryer or move to another dry box to print. If it's not very humid where you live then you probably don't have to be as cautious as me. It is often around 80% humidity here summer or winter so I have to be more careful. You would probably get away with printing with the filament out then putting away when you're done. If in doubt, dry it again 🙂

[@mick2d2]

@@RickyImpey Thanks for the advice, I'll do that. My printer arrives today! 😁

[@baljazz]

Do you have a fix for the horrible rolling pins?

[@scoty7392]

Great data during your tests. However, one important factor that I don’t recall being mentioned is the relative humidity of your test environment. I suspect if your environment isn’t very dry, the results might not be as significant?

[@RickyImpey]

Sure, this is why I always monitored the environment with a separate hygrometer outside the box when testing. I couldn't control the environment but I did monitor it as best I could. I don't know if you've seen part 2 of the video but I actually found that the outside temperature had more of an effect than the outside relative humidity.

[@scoty7392]

@@RickyImpey I haven’t seen part 2 but will go check. Thanks for the reply and great info in your videos!

[@notchipotle]

lol, the first time I open the box I was confused like where the moisture will come out,

[@waynefilkins8394]

So wouldn't drilling holes in the very top of the box be pretty effective and way easier? I mean it probably wouldn't do the 3g per hour or w/e but maybe like 1.5 which is still 3x the normal 0.5

[@waynefilkins8394]

and far less work

[@RickyImpey]

Yes, I works very well. However, moisture will work it's way back through those holes when the convection current stops when the heat goes off. I wanted a solution that keeps the moisture out all the time but feel free to go down the easier route if you don't have the same requirements.

[@JuanGarcia-gc8gx]

hi there, I did what you did but I got an error message. Error02. Could you share a pdf with wire connections?

[@RickyImpey]

If you are getting an error message I would disconnect any wiring you have added and check that the error goes away. I believe some people have this error message on their Sunlu without any mods, it could be nothing to do with anything you've done.

[@JB-NZ]

Did you end up getting a Sunlu S2 at all? How did that perform compared to the stock S1, or your modified S1 from this video? I have the S2 and it seems to have the same issues you had with the S1, and the humidity readout is always high as the moisture cannot escape. Such a stupid design and they should have learnt from the S1, but didnt.

[@RickyImpey]

No, I didn't buy an S2 as it just doesn't look to be any better than the S1. Also, Sunlu don't want to send me one. Probably because I will show that it's not very good...

[@olafmarzocchi6194]

Would you like to measure, out of curiosity, how much moisture you actually remove from real filament? make a balance with two arms (2020 extrusions or wooden beams). On one place dryer and filament, on the other one enough weights to about balance the other arm. Now you can use 10 milligram scales (up to 200 g, usually)!

[@Huymamin]

Bravo!

[@SeanTaffert]

Well done!

[@yeroca]

instead of using a temperature detector, I suspect the heater is being powered by 24VAC not DC which might be what's frying your fan. Instead add a relay to turn on a 12 or 24 VDC power supply to power the fan. another alternative would be to rectify the 24 VAC, but you would need to regulate the output voltage down from about 30VDC to 24.

[@RickyImpey]

Hi, it's definitely DC, it's all to do with the waveform of the DC signal that killed the fan. A fan or motor wants varying voltage to change speed but the signal to the heater basically turns on and off really fast at the same voltage to vary the heat. Motors don't like this. I need to get an oscilloscope to check out this kind of thing in future 🤔 The relay is the right way to do it, watch this space......

[@Wingnut353]

It's PWM modulated DC... just like a printer bed heater it uses a PID control to change the PWM duty cycle so that it reaches the temperature and stay there instead of shooting past or undershooting etc.... The creality dry box is one of the few that does NOT uses PWM+PID control it uses a simple on off thermostat you can see this in review data were the temp fluctuates several degrees up and down (and is therefore a worse drybox than pretty much any other, it could still be a badly tuned pid but its more likely its just a simple on off heater).

[@eaman11]

While I would totally sniff the igrometer and temp sensor and put an arduino mini in it, I guess that just a couple holes, one up and one down, would do with inner convention. Still it would be useful to have a small 4010 vent inside like an air oven, luckily the new S1 has the vent.

[@sikz26300]

I wonder if a relay would be a better solution for triggering the fan? as long as the signal from the heating element doesn't also blow the relay. Then the fan would stop the moment heating stopped.

[@RickyImpey]

I did use a relay in the end but didn't use the heater feed as the trigger. Check out how I did it here kzbin.info/www/bejne/bna3aniAp6ZjrJI

[@skl7311]

EIBOS 3D Cyclopes is one that uses a PTC heater to pull air in and then it exhausts it out, it overheats the filament because it doesn't redirect the air correctly if you go by the temps they recommend and its a Pain to use to feed printers because of the way the enclosure closes

[@RickyImpey]

Ah yes, I did watch a video on that one. That does seem pretty close to being what we need but unfortunately it still doesn't close the box at the end of the drying process. As we saw in my 'Sunlu Vs Drybox' video, without closing the box, moisture can be absorbed back into the filament if there are holes in the box. I do think there is a market for someone to incorporate all the features into one box, it just needs a little more evolution. I'm going to keep thinking as it's a pretty simple product if done right. It's the automated opening and closing of the box that needs development. Then a higher wattage heater like the EIBOS will get us to nylon drying heat🤔

[@skl7311]

@@RickyImpey It does have and infinite run time, which is great for running multiple prints from the same spool, something I haven't seen other dryers have. Your right about the not closing the box, once its off it allows air to come in from the bottom and the exhaust holes and filament holes as well. I have 2 of them and used them for a week to feed filament and the worst part is the tangles caused when your using 2 filaments and only need to change 1 filament, its hard to close it and not tangle the spool in use. Now they are just solely filament dryers, instead of feeders because of this

[@RickyImpey]

@@skl7311 There doesn't seem to be a product that is right yet does there. Still a lot of room for improvement.

[@skl7311]

@@RickyImpey Yeah, It amazes me some type of filament dryer has been out for a while and no one has really done the research to test one with different use cases. I have some old esuns where the amazon basics, wzy works spools are to wide and azurefilm spools are to tall for 1.75 for all of them. PrintDry is like Eibos, but it does allow for removing the top part of the enclosure which eliminates the Issue I have with Eibos, still doesn't have the louvers closing and opening to seal itself back. Its almost there. Researching is the issue with the integrations between removing humidity, keeping it out, heating, feeding, rewinding(unless you go $2000 range) and size all so it detects humidity levels and starts the heater and gets past a level, stops and waits then restarts again, etc.. Hopefully soon!

[@RickyImpey]

@SKL One day we'll get there. I'll check out some of the others you've mentioned too. Thanks👍

[@vardenispavardenis2318]

good videos but can you tell me what humidity should be best for printing ?

[@RickyImpey]

The humidity while you are actually printing doesn't have a large effect, it would be more about protecting the electronic components of your printer than it affecting your prints. However, you need to keep the humidity low where your filament is stored to stop it absorbing moisture. Basically the lower the better. Every different type of filament will absorb moisture at a different rate and the lower the humidity, the longer it will take.

[@vardenispavardenis2318]

@@RickyImpey now i make storage box for filaments and my questions was what humidity best to have in storage box for filaments.

[@RickyImpey]

@@vardenispavardenis2318 the humidity needs to be as low as possible. You can't go too low.

[@vardenispavardenis2318]

@@RickyImpey so dificult just writ some numbers? 100% 50% 0%?

[@WaschyNumber1]

@@vardenispavardenis2318 you behave like a child, grow up and lern to read and don't insult people.

[@Diplomator76]

hi wish i can print and test these awesome mod but thy files on Thingi are not anymore available, its 404, can you upload again or at cults or send via mail ?

[@RickyImpey]

Hi Timo, Thingiverse seems to be ok for me now but i'll check out the other options. Drop me an email at [e-mail] and i'll email you the STLs.

[@expertdecisions]

Same here: 404

[@RickyImpey]

@@expertdecisions I put them all up on Cults3d too. Link in description 👍

[@specialingu]

you need to go to the page where you can see the individual stl's, and download one by one :(. its a random error with thingiverse on so many recent uploads :(

[@oldineamiller9007]

I ordered an Eibos. These don't need to be modded and have enough room for two spool for about the same price. But yes, they also have little flaw. They are a bit louder.

[@RickyImpey]

Great, I hope it works for you. Be careful to keep an eye on the temps with the Eibos as I've heard it can overheat the filament if you're not careful. Also, it leaves the filament exposed to damp air when it's not running so make sure you don't just leave the filament in there without it running for long periods of time. You've probably bought the best performing model without modifying

[@oldineamiller9007]

@@RickyImpey You are telling fairy tales. It doesn't overheat and it performs better than most of the other filament dryers. Who would let the filament inside after it is dryed? Once dryed I store the spools in an airtight box together with a big bag of silica gel.

[@WaschyNumber1]

@@oldineamiller9007 than research yourself

[@BenderTheOffender]

Hard to believe that the technicians at SUNLU didn't figure this out by themselves.

[@RickyImpey]

They actually emailed me to say that they liked my video😂

[@larrythehedgehog]

great vid! subscribed!

[@daviddad7388]

The esun already have the fan built in and is sold for the same price. Why not using that?

[@RickyImpey]

I think the fan on the esun circulates the air, this is an extractor fan. Also, I was able to buy the Sunlu S1 on an offer that made it half price. Once I had it I couldn't help playing 🙂

[@rayturp6742]

I think you would be better off with a smaller fan so you don't lose as much heat.

[@NickDarone]

The real question... Can I butcher a Sunlu dryer, apply this mod, and build it all into a Bambu AMS?

[@smnbgn]

I just got the S2 today and I knew it was badly designed after 10 minutes of it running. How could someone design it like this? I was already thinking how I could mod it with a fan so that the humidity can get of the box and then I saw your video. Thanks!

[@RickyImpey]

I haven't had a chance to get my hands on the S2 yet and I'm in no rush to buy it after seeing the design unfortunately. It very much looks like they went for good looks over an efficient design.

[@smnbgn]

@@RickyImpey I'm thinking about installing your mod in the center of the rear side, behind the LCD. I've already ordered the fan and the timer from China.

[@RickyImpey]

@@smnbgn it will be interesting to see how well that works.

[@naldrich50]

Do you have the stl files for the desiccant containers for inside the filament center and the corner of the Sun box?

[@RickyImpey]

Hi Nick, yes of course. Would you like me to add them to the thingiverse and 3dcults listing?

[@naldrich50]

@@RickyImpey yes please do. Thanks for the video and the reply.

[@RickyImpey]

@@naldrich50 now added. As you saw, they didn't work very well but feel free to try them. The two halves of the case need to be glued together.

[@kenjiterigaki1578]

Awesome mod! I saw the Sunlu S2 was available on Amazon. Were you still planning on doing a review on it?

[@RickyImpey]

I would like to when funds allow yes. Or if Sunlu decide to send me one.....

[@kenjiterigaki1578]

@@RickyImpey Nice! Will definitely watch the vid if you do.

[@trickn2819]

HOW WET IS YOUR FILAMENT??? In my S1 I get a RH of 22% shortly after starting it. I f you are drawing in moist air to heat and exhaust you are replacing the air with the same moist air in the room.

[@davet2667]

Does anyone know what value the thermistor is inside the box? I broke mine:(

[@bobhepple5752]

Wish I had found this video before I purchased the S2 Been looking for a good dryer/drybox for ages got hold of a Eibos Cyclopes what a heap of junk fused my filament together and made it unusable..

[@RickyImpey]

Oh no, that's really not good! What temperature did it try and get to?

[@bobhepple5752]

@@RickyImpey Sad thing is I left at default 50 d or 60 cant remember for PLA there is a hot spot under the filament rolls where the fan blows the hot air and this caused the filament to warp go soft and fuse I thought I was on my own hear until I found this kzbin.info/www/bejne/opi7qoxsp9R2otk

[@koenvanduffel2084]

I just drilled 2 10mm holes in the bottom and 2 in the top. Even Nylon (Fiberlogy PA12) dries properly in 5 hours

[@robbinkoot2154]

Nice video, but this is overkill. The filament will only have a really small amount inside it, and a few packs of silica gel is enough. You're just putting an unrealistic amount of water in de box, too much for the silica gel to absorb. The right way to test this is buy a roll of nylon, and compare the before and after results by weight just like you did at the end of the video. I think the best way to compare your mods is to test with a filadryer with only the silica gel mod vs yours. Ps, 45°C is kinda low don't you think? Even for PETG this is a pretty low.

[@RickyImpey]

Sure, we all know that filament doesn't turn up with 60g of moisture in it but a study has proven that PLA can hold up to 6% of it's weight in water so it is technically 'possible'. The Sunlu doesn't get hot enough to dry Nylon unfortunately. There is still more to come on this mod but I put the video out to show how much of an improvement I'd already got to very quickly so that others can do the same if they wish. The big plus for me is that I can now get at least a couple of grams out of new filament overnight that the standard S1 just wasn't doing. For the cost of a fan and thermal switch it's already a big win for me. I did test with silica, it barely did anything in comparison.

[@robbinkoot2154]

@@RickyImpey but did you dried the silica gel? And how much silica gel did you put in the case? Because silica gel can 'only' hold 30% more water then it's weight. Also, I'm guessing that people that are concerned enough about moisture in there filament, won't leave it just in the open, so one spool wil maybe only absorb a few grams of moisture. Of course I'm just speculating, I haven't tested this, but maybe if I have enough spare time I will. I just don't think that blowing all the hot air out of the dryer box is the solution.

[@DaveBoatBuilder]

The higher drying rate might be explained a little by the higher starting point.

[@Snipes287]

anyidea if anyone has just drilled some holes on the top and tested it? active fan is going to suck a ton of electrcity and will never allow the heating element to heat up fully.

[@RickyImpey]

Yes, opening the box or drilling some holes will help but don't leave it sitting for a long time with the heat off as it will absorb moisture again.

[@manningcustom]

can you make the box get hotter and stay on longer?

[@RickyImpey]

It's limited to 55°C air temp but the sensor is close to the heating element so actually more like 38°C in the middle of the box. The maximum you can have the timer on for is 24h. It's beyond my capabilities to change any of this within the Sunlu program but doing it with something like an Arduino isn't completely out of the question if it was going to help.

[@rileyneufeld7001]

Many people have moved the temp sensor up into the box and away from the heating element so that the heater stays on until the open air reaches 55°C which should be plenty and adding a fan will make the filament dry more consistent all the way around it.

[@RickyImpey]

@@rileyneufeld7001 the box I have actually has 2 sensors, one on the element and one a little way from it. I saw that some people move one but maybe they added the second one after. I think if we come up with a more elegant solution to venting the air then the box temp may not be much of an issue.

[@rms-repairmainanseremban8403]

How to increase maximum temperature of the dryer box?

[@RickyImpey]

There is no way to increase the maximum standard temperature that the box can get to above 55°C without mods to the controller. You would be better off replacing the controller completely with something else.

[@thedarkknight6159]

Genius approach, but if you want to stay true to your "simplest method" why not just leave the box open then while drying and close it afterwards. No additional parts and hassle needed.

[@RickyImpey]

Where's the fun in that?🙂 Also, I have all my 3d printing stuff in my workshop and controlled remotely. I like my kit to be as automated as possible. Also, as you can see, the fan makes it better than the box being open. Have you seen part 2? kzbin.info/www/bejne/bna3aniAp6ZjrJI

[@AdventurePrinting]

The test is flawed by the dry intake. In my country humidity is over 60% in warm days, hotter days could be even worse. The intake of colder air may help but it will not “dry” a filament as a sponge does. A sponge retain by capillary action, a filament retains by molecular bonding. The humidity inside the box is almost irrelevant as soon the filament warms the water will get out unless the air is saturated. So it will work as a stand-alone before putting it in a drybox and during print. The best solution is heating both air and filament then extract the air like in a food dehydrator so the filament release water by thermal agitation and air will raise his capacity to absorb water.

[@iamdmc]

or just buy an Eibos box that has a fan already and don't worry about modifying yet another thing just so you can get to 3D printing cooler stuff

[@richardschofield2201]

I read a review on Amazon that said that the hot plate overheats the plastic whilst the top stays cool making the coil brittle. Have you experienced this? As for your mod, I guess the disadvantage is vastly increased power usage. You are now heating a large volume of air. It may also mean the filament doesn't get up to the temperature meaning it won't release moisture easily. A good compromise would be to use your fan to purge the air for say 20 seconds every half an hour. Even when closed, warm air is great at absorbing moisture to a point so a timed purge would give you the best of both worlds.

[@RickyImpey]

Indeed Richard. As to the over heating issue, no I haven't found this. I think the air movement I have helps this. You are right that there will be an increase in power usage but as the filament gets dried more efficiently, you obviously don't need to run it for as long. I haven't tested how this all balances out yet as I have mainly focused on making the box dry as quickly as possible. I've been drying new filament this week and have found that I am always getting at least 2g out of every new 1kg roll I have opened. In one I got 4g out! This has really surprised me.

[@rileyneufeld7001]

This could probably be done fairly easily with an adjustable timer relay.

[@RickyImpey]

@@rileyneufeld7001 🤔 Indeed it could......🙂

[@rileyneufeld7001]

@@RickyImpey I would be interested in a video about this! If you used one of the timers in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmK7q3-tqZiXp9E . We could easily get them for about $10 and adjust the timer settings for the optimal time the fan needs to be on.

[@RickyImpey]

@@rileyneufeld7001 Already working on it. The timer module arrived a couple of days ago and I haven't had a chance to play yet. I need to come up with a neat way to mount it so it doesn't seem too nasty but it will be a video hopefully coming in the next few weeks🤞 Thanks for your interest and support 👍

[@dutroka]

So what size of hole did you go with

[@RickyImpey]

I think it was 35-36mm as that was the hole saw I had. Anything between around 32-40mm will work. I can measure tomorrow to confirm.

[@RickyImpey]

Sorry, I didn't confirm yesterday, it is 35mm in mine.

[@dutroka]

@@RickyImpey all gravy stuff is in the mail either way. Life happens to us all. Thanks for taking the time an getting the answer!

[@themanunleashed]

you can just drill holes in the top of the box to have the moisture escape.

[@RickyImpey]

Yes, bit then the moisture will come back in when the heat goes off.

[@Zarrar2802]

All the places you shouldn't put filament 😏

[@jacobekker]

Sorry for breaking the 777 👍s with mine, but someone had to do it.

[@RickyImpey]

Ha ha, no problem, I appreciate every one🙂

[@brappineau4161]

S2 has same problem. Humidity sits at 70%

[@RickyImpey]

I'm not surprised. That's why I haven't bought one, it's too expensive if it's no better than the S1.

[@greenveg42]

Some thoughts on your experiment methods: I think your test is kind of measuring the wrong variable. Not completely sure. Let’s discuss: If the goal is to get as little moisture in the filament as possible I’m not sure the fan is better, since it (quite speedely) sucks in more room air with your rooms normal moisture content in it. We need the enviroment around the filament to have as little moisture as possible so that moisture want to ”leave” the filament. The fan is obv better at drying out soaked sponges but if we keep pulling new air in it will never dry the sponge past your rooms normal humidity. Not a 100% happy with this explanation but perfect is the enemy of done 😅

[@RickyImpey]

I completely understand what you mean. Removing 100% of the moisture is extremely difficult as the moisture in the intake air needs to be completely dry. I do have a way to do this but it would be a crazy amount of work for very little benefit in my opinion. We may get there one day but this is such an improvement over anything else I've tested, I was happy enough to put the video out. I love how much people are contributing to the ideas though. Together we'll come up with a great solution eventually 👍

[@MisterkeTube]

Again this shows that a cheap food dehydrator is a smart choice: it typically uses more efficient AC heating and a typically simple (but too often noisy) AC driven fan pushing warm dry (well, external then heated up) air into the volume holding your spool and some small openings at the top to just let the warm moist air out.

[@RickyImpey]

I haven't used a food dehydrator myself but yes, I don't really see why an expensive filament dryer would be any better. Certainly not with the current selection anyway.

[@WaschyNumber1]

Many of the Food Dehydrators using way to much power, some 400w/h

[@MisterkeTube]

@@WaschyNumber1 A decent food dehydrator will use an AC heater which produces a decent amount of heat and allows the moist air out of the heated volume through some vents at the top. Compared to this the "efficient" filament dryers waste energy in the power-supply turning AC into lower voltage DC, which then adds to losses in the wiring (since lower voltage, means higher current and hence higher losses), but limits that by just using a very limited heating element so that indeed power consumption is low. To then still reach a decent chamber temperature with such a limited heater they require that chamber to be completely closed, which of course means the moist cannot get out and hence delivers a filament dryer that isn't really drying much. So yeah, food dehydrators might require power to dry, but they at least get the job done.

[@5ANDW1CHES]

hydrophobic valves.

[@kilkaliter1621]

Hey, did you saw Daniel's film about similar mod but turbine circulating inside S1? kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHeqZYJroZ6Lpqc I wonder how it would end up in performance but do not have the scale to measure it..

[@RickyImpey]

Yes it would be interesting to see how it would compare. I think his idea was to evenly heat the filament by circulating the air rather than move any of the moisture out if the box.

[@jorgvervaet]

Why? You never gonna remove 10gr of moisture out of filament? So what's the problem? You are a real American in overdrive. Maybe the Sunlu removes 2gr of moisture out of the filament and this will NOT dampen the box

[@RickyImpey]

Ha ha, I'll try and take that as a compliment but I'm not American. It's not about removing that much moisture from filament, it's using it as a method for testing the efficiency of moisture removal. If the moisture can't escape the box then it won't dry your filament. Some filaments are hygroscopic enough to hold 10g of moisture and the standard Sunlu isn't capable of removing that much. I like products I have paid for to work as efficiently as possible. If you are happy with it's performance as standard then that is great. Thanks for the comment.

[@DevonsWorkshop]

Begs the question why companies are creating products without any R&D whatsoever. It's only going to take 1 product with your mod to destroy the competition out there. Are there any products out there with the features you've added? Obviously given a choice, I'd just purchase a dryer with your design outright. Here's a video about 24 seconds in that shows the massive warping issue I'm having with PETG. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6LblX58fKt1Z7c I'm in sub-tropical Florida so fighting 100% ambient humidity is an eternal fight. I need a dryer that is proven and battle tested. From what I've seen the Sunlu just doesn't get it done out of the box. Recommendation for a commercial product I can buy with your turbo mod design or something similar?

[@RickyImpey]

Hi, I believe they don't do the R&D because it costs too much. Also, if the products get bought then they're happy and just make any improvements on the next batch. Not great for early adopters. In answer to your question, I haven't yet seen any commercially available machines that seem to do everything as yet. There are many that heat, some that vent the warm air but I haven't seen any that then seal the air in when the heat goes off to keep the filament dry. I would love to make an opensource one but there are gaps in my knowledge when it comes to the electronic controls.

[@simonb252]

So couldn't we just drill a hole or two in the top and call it a day

[@RickyImpey]

You could and it would be a bit better but without holes in the bottom too, you won't get much of a convection current. Also, when the heat stops at the end of the timed run, moisture will come back in those open holes.

[@bernardtarver]

There's nothing wrong with the S1; you're simply using it out of scope.

[@TerryGilsenan]

This is called embrace and extend. Why let it sit babysitting the filament, when it can be tweaked to do the cooking and laundry at the same time?

[@WaschyNumber1]

If it a bad design and let the moisture still in the box it Dosen't work than for drying anything.

[@breaddrinker]

"File-A-Ment". No. NO!

[@RickyImpey]

?