Heater cartidges?

[tom10122]

My heating resistors went AGAIN, 3rd pair so far. Would a pair of heater cartridges last longer? Also what is the size of the hole for the heating resistors on steves hotend?

[Polygonhell]

My heating resistors went AGAIN, 3rd pair so far. Would a pair of heater cartridges last longer? Also what is the size of the hole for the heating resistors on steves hotend?

I've personally never lost a resistor on a hotend, you probably want to use only one heater cartridge if you go that way they tend to be lower resistance than the individual resistors and there is a good chance you'll blow a fuse on the electronics if you pair them up in parallel.

[cambo3d]

how long did you have your resistors before they went bad. are you installing them properly?

what method are u using to install them?

[Eaglezsoar]

The hole size in the Steves Hotend is a little over 6mm as are most other hotends.

Carl

[tom10122]

how long did you have your resistors before they went bad. are you installing them properly?

what method are u using to install them?

wrap in tinfoil and throw them in

[Flateric]

I find the heater cartridges last longer personally. But they also have a number of other benefits, these are just my personal opinion.

- They come with 1/2 meter long leads.

This helps in two ways, the first being you do not have a bunch of connectors bunched up tight in and around the hotend where space is low and the heat is not good for connectors. These wires also have excellent high temp shielding and covering right at the cartridge itself. This contributes to safety from shorting out and blowing your thermistor inputs. Also does away with bare exposed resistor leads also.

- They are a direct replacement and fit perfectly into the hotend's barrel.
- You only need 1 of them and with this setup my hotend reaches temp faster than with the old dual resistor setup.

Some of the cartridges come with a thermistor encased in them as well. I have some of these on order, I'll let you guys know how they work out. But this will be even better since the thermistor is so delicate and it's leads are also generally totally bare as well in standard setups.

[tom10122]

awesome thanks

[DaGroundZero]

this sounds like an upgrade that I will be making. I'll start looking for some now. Anyone have a source or part number for one that will fit and work?

[Flateric]

Here is where I got mine from.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/221168698861?ssP ... 757wt_1398

His blocks are nice too.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/221181798222?ssP ... 425wt_1398

Just noticed this from the same guy too, he's really reliable too BTW.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Wired-Thermistor ... 304wt_1398

[mhackney]

I've been running a 12V cartridge heater for a while now with lots of hours on it. Only one is needed and it heats up fast. Much less icky wires hanging off the hot end, permanent connections at the heater (as opposed to crimps or ...shudder... solder), and nicely compact. The red wires look cool too.

+1 on the cartridge heaters.

I got this one (actually 15 of them).

[Flateric]

LOL, the exact same link I linked too, so I guess we are 100% in agreement then!

[tom10122]

wow, that guy is in the same township as me here,i guess ill order some cartridges

[JakeCShake]

What are people doing with the other empty hole??? Does it need to be filled? Or do you just leave it open....?? Pros...cons...

[Flateric]

No effect to leaving it open.

[mhackney]

Pros: you can stick a rod or screwdriver in there for leverage to remove the nozzle.

Cons: the mass imbalance because one side of the hot end is heavier than the other creates microscopic ripples in the extruded plastic. This results in imperceptible variations in surface quality of the print. These imperceptible imperfections can not, in fact, be verified to exist.

(the Con is a joke )

[JakeCShake]

Pros: you can stick a rod or screwdriver in there for leverage to remove the nozzle.

Cons: the mass imbalance because one side of the hot end is heavier than the other creates microscopic ripples in the extruded plastic. This results in imperceptible variations in surface quality of the print. These imperceptible imperfections can not, in fact, be verified to exist.

(the Con is a joke )

Haha....good one!!! I was thinking that leaving it open would allow the heat to dissipate quicker...while filling with foil and sealing it would help heat all around..?!?? Definitely not a rocket scientist here.....hehe...

[cambo3d]

why not just use both holes, rather than fillin it up. I know you dont need two but hey the hole is there. someone should try it and see how it works out.

[Eaglezsoar]

They make the thermistors in cartridge form now also, I'm waiting to get some from China.
They will use the empty hole and hopefully solve the problems with the other type that some
seem to experience. The cartridge thermistors are 4mm in diameter so will need to be wrapped in foil
but should still be a welcome change.

[mhackney]

"If 1 works just fine, then 2 must be twice as good" is not always true.

[cambo3d]

yes, but i never said two was better than one either..

[Flateric]

Would be too much of a draw on the Rambo I believe. That would suck alot of amperage through that really is completely not needed at all.

[mhackney]

Through the magic of math, the answer can be revealed: P = I x V or I = P/V. Plugging in volts (12) and device power (40watts) we get I = 40W/12V = 3.33Amps.

So there is your answer! Two would require 6.66 amps.

[Polygonhell]

Through the magic of math, the answer can be revealed: P = I x V or I = P/V. Plugging in volts (12) and device power (40watts) we get I = 40W/12V = 3.33Amps.

So there is your answer! Two would require 6.66 amps.

Which is unfortunate since the default fuse for the hotend on the Rambo board is 5A

[mhackney]

Hmm, here's a question, is that 5A for both hot ends or do they each have a dedicated fuse? I could check but if you know...

thanks.

[cambo3d]

you could always remove the fuse solder wires to an external fuse. if you guys really wanted to put two in there.