On-machine spool holder with dehumidifier?

[cadcoke5]

I have just purchased a Monoprice Select v2 printer, and will be using it in an area of the house that is not climate controlled, and has some open windows.

While I know I can store opened spools in a container with a desiccant, I am concerned about the spool on the machine. I often start a print that will continue for a while after I go to bed. Then, the spool will sit until at least until I get up. Also, when I am doing rounds of 3D prints, I may do a print or two a day for a week straight. During that time, it is not really that practical to keep removing and storing the spool in the desiccant box.

First, about the desiccant box; I realize that some way to see the actual humidity in the box is good, and perhaps is sufficiently handled with a desiccant that changes color. For convenience of recharging, I see that there is a product that has a heater built in. When it needs to be dried out, you simply plug the device into the wall for a day, with the plug attached to the device. It says it can absorb 8-10 Oz of water in less than a week, before it needs to be dried. But, in my case, it should last much longer inside the chamber. One brand is the Eva-Dry, Is this a good device to get? This place has a similar one for $12 including shipping.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Comforday...552#about-item

Here is another type of dehumidifier. It is a Thermo-electric Peltier type, and is quite small. It says it can remove over 8oz of water a day (though this is probably only in very optimal conditions to allow for marketing exaggeration) and can hold 16 oz. The idea of using it in a garage is laughable, since air infiltration will grossly overwhelm its ability. But for our purposes, I am concerned about it overflowing one day when I forget about it for several days. Perhaps a drain to the outside can be added. $20, including shipping.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Della-Com...rage/683047249

I read on one thread where a person put the feed-spool into a chamber with a desiccant, but had a hole with some foam that the filament came through, to go to the machine. I would imagine that the desiccant would saturate nearly as fast as if it were in the room, because the daily change in barometric pressure would pump air in and out of the chamber, and the foam will not stop that. Though, perhaps if the chamber were more bag-like it would reduce that a lot. Another thought I had, would be to substitute that foam with the tip of a pencil-balloon. (the type that balloon twisters use) Cut off the last 1" or so, and put that over a polypropylene tube that the filament is fed through. Poking the filament through the rubber would form a tighter seal than the foam.

Are there any existing products that provide for humidification while the spool is on the machine? What do you all think of my ideas above?

-Joe

[Marm]

Unless there is one specifically for your machine, I doubt you'll easily find one that works out of the box.

You should probably be looking at reusable desiccant cartridges. They are a self contain box that absorbs the moisture and then change color when saturated. You can then swap them out with a fresh one, and dry out the used one for later use again. You can dry them in a microwave in a couple minutes.

The foam grommet idea is probably your best option. Get a sealable tupperware container from a home center, and mount it to the top frame. Cut a slot in it to have the post (sans arm) slide into. Bolt the container to the frame, using washers with rubber gaskets if you're really concerned. Then seal up the slot opening with hot glue. This will make the box removable if needed, the bolts come undone, and the glue can be pried off without harming the frame. Drill a hole for the filament to come out of, and 'plug' it with foam as you mentioned. Throw a couple reusable packs into the box, install the arm and mount the roll. Seal up the box. The clear (hopefully) box will let you see the condition of your filament and the desiccant as needed.

You can go with a powered dehumidifier if you choose, but the power usage, draining solutions, and just another thing to fail, make it overly complicated in my opinion.

[cadcoke5]

For some reason I didn't get the e-mail notification that there was a reply. I just checked and I was subscribed. I am glad I checked back to the forum.

The foam grommet idea is probably your best option. Get a sealable tupperware container from a home center, and mount it to the top frame. Cut a slot in it to have the post (sans arm) slide into.
...
You can go with a powered dehumidifier if you choose, but the power usage, draining solutions, and just another thing to fail, make it overly complicated in my opinion.

I had not caught on to the idea that the opening for the filament in the container was a slot. But, it makes sense to do that so the filament can be dragged side-to-side as it comes off of the filament spool. Tough, the idea of using a PDFE tube to put the filament through, and deliberately trying to get a fairly small tube to reduce the air around it. But, perhaps I am being overly concerned. Yesterday I tested out a Tupperware brand pie holder, and it was the right size. Though, I imagine there may be square containers that are the right size, and may have extra space in the corners for the desiccant.

As far as a powered dehumidifier, I was considering the very small Peltier cooler version. They are very simple in their deign, so I imagine they are fairly reliable. And the 25 watts of heat it dumps into the environment, would actually be a benefit. Though, 25 watts may be too much heat if it were a container for only a couple of spools. Perhaps I could plug it into a timer that would only turn it on an hour or so, a day. But, it is the challenge of dumping the water itself that is my concern.

Thank you for your reply. I will take your advice and go with the desiccant system.

-Joe

[cadcoke5]

Just wanted to share a web site that lists some of the concepts I had in regards to keeping the filament dehumidified while being used.

http://www.3dprintinggeeks.com/3d-pr...ament-storage/

-Joe