How Long Do you Leave Filament on Printer?

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Gwhite
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Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:38 pm

How Long Do you Leave Filament on Printer?

Post by Gwhite » Sun Aug 27, 2017 11:27 pm

I know that I should keep my printer filament "dry". My basement runs at about 40% relative humidity courtesy of a large dehumidifier I got to keep my machine tools from rusting. I've left spools of PLA & PETG on my printer for a couple weeks without any obvious problem with print quality. The spools off the machine are stored in zip lock bags with desiccant packs. Swapping spools on & off the printer is a bit of a pain, and I'm wondering just how paranoid I need to be.

If you aren't going to be using a particular printer/filament for a bit, what is your threshold for when it's worth it to remove the filament & store it properly, versus leaving it on the machine?

Thanks!

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sthone
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Re: How Long Do you Leave Filament on Printer?

Post by sthone » Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:24 am

If you are that worried check out these threads....

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1386

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1465

-Steve
____________________________________________________
See my projects at https://www.theneverendingprojectslist.com

Gwhite
Posts: 372
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:38 pm

Re: How Long Do you Leave Filament on Printer?

Post by Gwhite » Mon Aug 28, 2017 1:25 am

OK, another project added to the list...

Doesn't exactly answer my question for what to do in the meantime, but they are elegant solutions to the problem. I want to build an enclosure for my printer, and this could easily be added to that.

Thanks!

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sthone
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Re: How Long Do you Leave Filament on Printer?

Post by sthone » Mon Aug 28, 2017 5:20 pm

A lot is going to depend on the filament.... whether its "Good" filament or "Cheap" filament makes a big difference.

I store all of my filament in tubs (that have gasket seals) and the bottoms are filled with like 100 desiccant packs. I still have an original roll of opened PLA that I received with my first M2 3+ years ago that still prints as good as the day I opened it... and then I have rolls of filament (Prototype Supply) that wasn't a year old and it is so brittle it will snap in the feed tube it left to sit overnight. I run a lot of Esun PLA now and I'll leave that on the printer (no tub) from start to finish without any problems. So overall there is no specific "time line", if anything it's more of a trial and error per brand and you figure it out as you go thing. When you find a good brand just stick to it.

-Steve
____________________________________________________
See my projects at https://www.theneverendingprojectslist.com

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