Great video! I have the same Sunlu one and alot of people will 3D print a little piece that holds its lid open just a tiny bit so that the small amount of airflow that the fan makes can actually exit. With these types of dryers the key thing is to let the air slowly out so that the moisture can be removed out of the system. The Sunlu's issue is it has no real vent so the moisture gets trapped in the air inside. Which is why the relative humidity you saw was so much higher than the others. Even just opening the lid occasionally during its process to let the moisture escape can drastically help it. Id love to see this one retested but with the modification of using a small 3D printed piece to hold its lid open. There are models for it already on Printables or thingiverse.
On my S2 (no fan fitted) I drilled 6x5mm holes towards the bottom of the base section and a shuttered 10mm hole at the top. I keep the 10mm hole shutter closed until it's up to temp then open it up to provide some circulation through the unit. Seems to work pretty well, enough circulation to lose the moisture but not so much as to drop the temp noticeably.
I use the S2 with an extra fan (40x10 for filaments, 80x25 for silica) in addition to having a version with a fan, and the fan cable keeps the lid slightly open, which is an extra feature
I use a cheap food dehydrator with a lazy Susan bearing that I mounted a spool holder onto :) This lets me dry and print from a spool while it's laying on its side, or I can stack and dry multiple spools at once
Just been looking at the cheap ones. Yours might be different but the cheapest yet again looks like an enclosed heater with no actual dehumidification. Where does the moisture go? No wonder the instructions say that for best performance, swap the trays around every so often. It's not the swapping that is helping - it's the opening up and allowing air exchange!
@@jam99 All of them are enclosed heaters. That's how you dry things out. When you heat air, the humidity of the air drops rapidly. The Relative Humidity in my apartment is roughly 41% currently. But placing the same temp/humidity sensor into my filament dryer that is currently set to 65 C and actively drying two spools of very humid PETG, it is 10% humidity. That low humidity and heat causes the water in the filament to evaporate. There is nothing in anything that dries ANYTHING but a heating element. The air gets out any gaps it can. It doesn't have to have a lot of airflow out. Anyway, limiting outflowing air ensures the chamber can be heated easier.
I have added a compressed air connection with a manual control valve to the Sunlu. During drying, the moist air is now very slowly refreshed by the compressed air. Works fine now. The disadvantage is that you need an oil-free air compressor. Nowadays, the low noise air compressors are already oil-free.
I actually think he loaded the filament in the wrong direction on all of them. That is why the first spools were hard to turn and the second one snapped. You should turn the spool 180. It's very important if the filament comes out top or bottom of the spool regarding those dryers.
Came to post the same thing. Loading the way he did adds unnecessary difficulty, and also creates all sorts of kinds of binding pressure on the filament.
With the creality one, trick is also load the filament so its feeding from the bottom of the spool up to the PTFE. This both increases the spool stability as its being pulled into the rollers while its feeding, but also means the angle of the filament is basically in line with the ptfe feed.
I'm glad you mention dryers needing vents. I bought a Sovol Dryer, and I find I have to burp the box frequency to get the trapped moisture out of the box.
After watching your video, I'm considering drill a hole or holes in the side of the box. I'll have to contemplate this some more. I'll want to make sure I can plug the hole if it turns out to be a mistake.
Nice, thanks for that. I'll have more coming, there is still quite a bit of room for improvement. Hopefully we can see some innovated approaches to both work as a long-term storage for filament as well as also working well to quickly evacuate that warm moist air! I will be using the thermal camera more in any follow up videos as well.
Oh sweet!! I’ll keep an eye out for those! Yes, definitely room for innovation and improvement. I’d love to see a dryer that can go to 90-100C to dry engineering filament. And, of course, the ability to use while printing (for Nylons).
Eibos Polyphemus. It rotates the spools. But that is relevant only when not printing. The circulating fan is very quiet, but the rotating motor is annoying . It is not sealed for storage and not convenient for loading. It can do infinite timer - i like that
I picked up the Creality filament dryer on discount (an eBay sale directly from them w/coupon brought the unit w/ PLA Wood filament down to $50/shipped) last week and want to chime in that the 145W is not constant. I hooked it up to a power charting plug (Emporia Energy) and it seems to have a PID loop to maintain a constant temperature -- nice feature as I've seen a few dryers that have no feedback loop and just "set it and forget it". Looking at the pattern, I'd expect the kWh to about on par with similar units.
That's good info, thanks for that! These really should be insulated and have some way of venting the hot humid air and bringing in some cooler dryer air from below, it's more complex, so I guess that would mean a higher price tag too. A small motor to drive a flap top and bottom would be good, and maybe only operate it every 15 minutes so that it can retain the heat well enough not to warm your room instead of your filament.
The S2 might not have PID (that is not necessary) but it has some kind of control - probably bang bang. With hysteresis that's all you need. The temperature does not need to be anywhere near accurate.
@@NeedItMakeIt My guess is they expect people to start using filament out of the drier immediately. Rapid temperature rise is the only justification for enclosing the space and trapping the air. But sad that they prioritise this ahead of dehumidification. How hard would it be to put a hole in the top and a hole in the bottom? As you mention, insulation would reduce room heating but then you can't see the filament - but that would be no great loss me thinks.
I have the Creality Space Pi drier, and I did try the trick with keeping the lid opened just a tiny bit. Note that my test does not involve the amount of moisture. For comparison purposes, I used a spool made out of PLA, loaded with PLA filament. I set the drier for PLA with an 8 hour run time. At the end of the 8 hours I did not note any issues. Next day I used the same drier, same setting, same spool and same filament. I used the small rubber piece that plugs the filament exit hole to keep the cover cracked open. When the drying ended 8 hours later I found that the PLA spool was badly deformed. This tells me that with the cover slightly open the internal temperature is no longer regulated in the range set. I did not take any temperature readings. As a result I stopped using the trick.
I added a fan on the lid at the back of my sunlu v1 dryer and drilled a few holes on top, on the v2 I just drilled a few holes. Both seem to do the job as long as you give it top ventilation. PETG is my default, and I live in a very humid place, I use vacuum bags and colour changing desiccant, but if in doubt I will just print from one of the dryers.
I bought the Creality Space Pi 2 spool version. It also has space for desiccant packs. I 3D printed some grommets + plugs out of TPU for the top vent holes to keep moist air out. I open them when drying and close them when done. They seem to do the job. The only thing I don’t like about the Creality is a lack of a proper seal gasket on the lid.
I have the single eibos dryer and while it works well it is very hard to use and is very awkward to use. I picked up the sunlu s4 and love it. It is not perfect but works well. Plus I like how I can dry 4 spools at a time
GREAT CONTENT! I just purchased the Creality space Pie plus (double slot) and it's on the way, and I was suggested to watch this, most definitely gives me more confidence in my choice. planing on printing one of those spool center desiccant holders to allow extra moisture to escape but was also thinking if that isn'h enough I may put some small ventilation holes with a drill on the plastic lid part to allow even more moisture to escape, while keeping the moisture content inside the enclosure environment under control and at minimal.
I have the Sunlu dryer and prior to getting it, I was having all sorts of adhesion and layer issues with my prints. After running it on my filament overnight prior to printing anything my issues stopped. So for what its worth... it does work. However after watching the video I think I may drill a hole or two in the top to let the air circulate better. Thanks for the great video!
For sure, I think it will work, and I like that they went a different direction. If they could just get a fan in there to move the air around a bit more, it would make a big difference. The slow heating isn't too much of a problem, most of these go for hours like you say overnight, so another 20 minutes isn't really a problem, and the majority of the moisture is within the first few layers of filament on the spool which will heat pretty quick. What I think after seeing the differences and the similarities between each, is that they all could use one more feature, and that is insulation. It doesn't make sense to spend money to heat a chamber only for it to lose the heat constantly (the same goes for a 3D printer) I think an insulated dryer would get to temp quicker, and use far less energy and a side benefit in the summer is that you don't heat your home while you're drying the filament too.
Using the EIBOS Cyclopes in a recent review is a bit misleading, since it's an old model that they are just selling the old stock of, since it's been replaced by the superior and upgraded Polyphemus model. The Polyphemus fixes the complaints and it's rotating feature is great for even drying, something most others lack. It no longer has hot spots, it's performance is much better, and it's much quieter.
A cheap food dehydrator with digital control does the job quiet well: I measured nearly the same temperatures in the bottom and at the top of the case with a precision themometer. Due to the fan located in the bottom, the air mixes fairly good and reaches nearly the adjusted temperature at the top. Maximum reachable temperature is 70°C. While I print with dryed filament out of my DIY filament boxes made of food storage containers without extra holes and filled with silica gel, I can conveniently dry wet filament in the dehydrator for 8-10 hours. Printing out of the advertised "filament dryers" is not advisable: at the beginning of the process, the filament isn't dry enough and when it IS dry enough, you loose a lot of energy (warm air) through the holes whilst the filament is dry and doesn't need a further drying process. When you decide to switch the dryer off, because the filament is dry, the filament soaks humidity slowly again, due to the holes in the boxes. Fazit: worst buy ever: you pay double the price of a digital controlled food dehydrator, loose more energy. In case of the Sunlu and Creality, your filament isn't properly dry due to the lack of air exchange, etc, pp. => Avoid them
Thanks for this! I own and have used the SunLu S2 for half a year, and it needs a small riser for the lid, so it doesn’t close fully, when being turned on and heating. The moist air can’t circulate out of the box without this riser - so it’s highly recommended to print one. I was VERY surprised to see that the S2 was the quietest of the bunch. When I got it, I was about to send it back due to the high noise level. But apparently, it could’ve been so much worse.
On the first box, I have the same issue (different brand, but the same style). O solved it by using a ptfe coupler (basically a 3D printed tube with an ECAS in each end). The coupler lets me have a 1-2" stub of PTFE that fits in the grommet with a. Easy way to detach the PTFE that goes to the printer, which also makes feeding filament much easier. The coupler stops the tube from getting pulled into the box. Hope that helps someone out there in 3D Printerland.
I made my own filament dryer with a sealed box, a car heater and an old 3d printer mainboard. I use klipper to monitor heat and humidity and it works great. Probably costs more in parts than these dryers but it works fast and makes use of scrap components. I'd love to see you try and make your own drybox!
Compared to 2,3 years ago, many more brands are now using cardboard spools. Even for freshly opened filament, filament on a cardboard spool can become 5-8g lighter after just one round of drying. Keep in mind that these cardboard spools absorb more moisture than you might expect.
I have four Sunlu dryers and I’ll typically leave the filament in there for a couple days. Most of my spools have a desiccant holder in the hub and I’ll leave them drying until they level out at 15-20% humidity. It made my plain nylon filament usable.
I would be more interested in which removes the moisture out of the Filament the fastest.. Thank you for doing that test etc I have a few Sunlu the box has to have the lid cracked slightly to let the moisture out over all when doing that it works quite well, I would be interested in a video that you take the weight of a roll of filament and test it at intervals during the drying time mine I cut in half when I crack the lid slightly you can open it and pull it slightly to the side as you move towards closing it this way the lid props its self for a little crack, if not the Sunlu will keep its moisture
Nice! I got the sunlu as it was cheap and fast to ship at the time. When closing the lid i shift it to the side slightly so it doesnt close all the way, this seems to help with the performance. While drying a not completely dry spool at 70C the humidity hovers around 30% until dropping to about 13% at the end when it was really dried out. My 3d Printing Room is about 23C and 70% humidity.
Great job! I would like to see as many head-to-head comparison videos as you can muster. The dryers are especially interesting to me as i need to buy one, but any videos to help the hobbyists make good choices when spending their limited funds would be beneficial.
You aren't loading the filament tangentially to the exit ports, creating undue stress on the printing material potentially causing breaks during printing.
Thanks! I can always go further too, I think each machine has some good points, but I wonder why they can't just add a little motor driven flap on top and bottom to open up once every 15 minutes to release the humid air and draw in cool dryer air from below? I guess maybe I need to see if there are other brands that are doing this. Also the idea of using a dehydrator came up, but they're quite large, maybe taking the parts from one and building a dryer from that would be a good idea too.
I got one of the cheaper Sovol 2 spool dryers. Seems to work ok, but has a max of 50c (fine for PLA, ok for PETG and TPO, but it takes some time) and the fan is almost useless. I prop it open a bit when it climbs above 25, then close it again once it's dumped the moisture out. I printed out two spool size desiccant holders that go inside the spools. Works good for filament storage, and each time you fire it up, the desiccant also releases the water. Sounds counter-intuitive, but I almost never have to change it unlike the ones in my "dry" boxes that I change regularly. (Don't forget that you can bake your color change desiccants at around 200F or 93c to dry them)
It’s a “drier” not a “dehumidifier”. Heating the air decreases its density (it expands) while the amount of moisture in the air remains the same. Larger volume of air with same amount of moisture means the percentage of moisture decreases. This is why it’s called RELATIVE humidity. It’s the humidity relative to the airs density which is a function of its temperature. Drying boxes found in labs are just ovens with very tight seals. You do not want to pull air in from the room, that is where the object you are trying to dry collected the moisture in the first place. The vents on those machines are there specifically to control temperature not to release moisture since it’s easier to regulate temperature without overshooting your set point. Active dehumidification requires removed moisture to be collected somewhere. Think of your house in the winter. The relative humidity is still 60-80% outside but that air heated to the temps in your home cause the relative humidity to plummet. Opening a window doesn’t make it feel more humid because you’re still heating the air back up. The only solution is keep your house freezing cold or add active humidification.
I enjoyed the video. I have a couple different filament dryers and am interested in possibly seeing how they perform. I have the Sunlu S4 and the Polydryer box. Both seem to work really well. The Sunlu S4 has a lot of great features and a lot of downloadable models to modify it.
Great review, thank you! Note the color desiccant contains quite toxic ingredients, I would suggest to avoid it at all cost and get it out of your house. Never touch it for sure.
I have Sunlu desicator. It works better if you create thin opening because the openings are too small to let the vet air to escape.. I do it by inserting a 1mm thick ruler to keep the cover not completely closed. The reading of humidity is often bellow 20% after about 1h.
The bad one should get a large air deflector right above outlet inside. It will not only save filament from overheating but also increase heating speed. Strange that it doesn't have it out of the box. Creality one has screws near display and you need to remove glued plexiglass to fully disassemble dryer. Creality also has +~20C(above set temp) air out of heater, so everyone should use preinstalled temps instead of setting their own. For example, if load PETG and setting +65C it can potentially melt PETG as temp from outlet would be 85C. Creality also instantly turns fan off if you turn heater off - means its heater lacks dangerous temp while in work and it's power shutdown-friendly. The most negative things about Creality is that its pain in the ass to install and deinstall filament out of it. Sunlu is best among them in regards of temp uniformity, but yeah, it lacks heating speed. If you seek best heater then you can try Sovol SH02 Filament Dryer. Didn't had it in hands but by the looks it may be very promising.
I have the Sunlu and found that if you crack the door open (use something to leave it cracked open about 1 cm) it dries out filament way faster. It might be worth testing. I even drilled holes on the side of the top cover to see if that would help but it didn't make any difference so now I just crack it open.
I've got a sunlu dryer, but not that funky Circle one... Mine is more like a box (only 1 spool, though I am looking at adding a 2 spool at some point for easier color switching) and I always keep the desiccant with the filament, in the vacuum bags as well as in the dryer
The first dual filament dryer , I saw a motorized spool rotated diy thingiverse or one other. I have the Sunlu and love it. It will get my filament down to 28%. I know if I have a print coming up , I start the dryer the night before of the roll I’ll need the next day
It is a bad idea to measure temperatures using thermal camera and compare them. Different surfaces at the same temperature radiate different amount of thermal radiation depending on the material of the surface, its roughness, and so on. The difference might easily reach 5 times. There are some ways to compensate this, but the error might still be quite high. For example bottom heating plate of Sunlu at 85 degrees and bottom side of filament at 65 is unbelievable. Thermal camera is a tricky tool to use, and is not a replacement for a contact thermometer.
How about sticking a largeish piece of exactly the same type of tape on the surfaces you want to compare and only looking at the tape with the thermal camera? Would that be ok?
@@jam99 I didn't have that problem, so I would prefer to answer that I don't know rather than to overconfidently answer something wrong. But I heard that yes, applying tape is a good approach. Spray paint is even better approach, but it is not reversible. I would suggest to check information from various sources depending on how important it is for you.
Another vote for the Polymaker Polydryer. One issue I've heard about storing filament in the Creality dryer is that it's not sealed. My Sunlu S1 dryers, as well as my Sovol dual spool dryer are the same though.
I got the sunlu and put a pencil in to keep it open a bit. The moisture has to escape! I am not sure if your test is valid, i would test weight loss in real spools!
Just chiming in on my experience with Creality dryers. I picked up a Filament Dryer 2.0 (not shown in the video) as it was much cheaper than the PI when on sale. It is a fantastic and incredibly fast dryer with all the capabilities of the PI. HOWEVER Printing directly from the 2.0 is a problem. The filament port is on the movable lid instead of a fixed position which causes the lid to rattle and move when filament is being pulled. This can cause resistance and affect the consistency of your extrusion. I've printed a free insert for the port that allows me to insert a bowden tube to reduce this a little, but because the door isn't fixed, there is still occasional judder. I suggest anyone that buys this cheaper model maybe prints or looks into an adhesive latch to keep the door fixed. It is well worth the price if you are happy to tinker, and I'd bet uses most of the components of the PI in a cheaper enclosure
@@TJbuffs The vents are on the side of the dryer unit. The storage unit needs to be air tight, otherwise it would do a terrible job at keeping the moisture out. Although fun fact: Polymaker originally planned to have the ventilation invisible, as the dryer was releasing plenty of moisture from the line where the top and bottom halves of the unit go together. But testers kept bugging them, so they eventually added vents.
@@logicalfundy oh I didn’t see those. I don’t really understand how you can have a seal to keep moisture out, but then you have to have ventilation. I don’t get it, how can that work?
@@TJbuffs PolyDryer has two parts - the dryer and the filament box. The bottom of the box has removeable feet that allow it to be connected to the dryer. The dryer (the bottom unit) is the part with the vents on the side. When it's not connected to the dryer, you re-install the feet which seals up the box.
I had 2 slunlu s2 dryers. I ran both of them at 70c for 24 hours to dry out some wet nylon. The next time i went to use them they were both bricked. Been using a fixdry dryer for the better part of a year and have recently been trying out polymakers polydryer. The fixdry is still going strong but the 2 sunlus dying after 1 intense drying session is enough for me to not buy any more of them
I'd like to shout out the Eryone filament dryer: similar to the Sunlu except it has an integrated desiccant compartment + a decent fan, and it has worked really well drying my PETG. Much better than my old homemade setup (which admittedly didn't use desiccant, which I now believe is key), also not too loud and fairly inexpensive compared to its peers (at least when I bought it ~2 years ago). It doesn't have a seal so it can't really store reels for a long time, and the separate hygrometer/thermometer unit is a bit wonky, but these are both things that can be modded fairly easily. Another potential con is that it only has three preset programs/temps, but honestly I don't think a precise temp is necessary for most filaments. Either way, appreciate the video, thanks for sharing!
For sure, that desiccant will make a difference with any of the sealed units as long as they're fairly dry to begin with. I'd like to see an insulated dryer and I may take parts from mine to build one instead, the Eibos could be parted out so that I can get the direct heat away from the spool and create more of a convective loop for good flow. I agree with what you're saying about the precision of the dryers, most of them will just be happy to be dried at all, I've never bothered to try to dial them in exactly. I do like the quicker start for the Creality because we can start to move the moisture into the air quicker and begin to print right away.
I think the Eibos has two differing temperatures because one is the temp of the heater element used for the PWM function and the other is the air temp in the case. Just like the temp sensor used on your bed won't ever be close to the chamber temp of the printer. They probably covered it up to avoid people asking that question over and over with support. The relative humidity is probably reasonably accurate to the air temp, though.
It would be really interesting if you could test out "inline" filament drying - where there's a box the filament goes through just before entering the printer and it's dried with heat and air circulation. The channel "3D Printing Ideas" made a rough prototype video about this a few months ago and I think it's a really interesting idea. If you can dry the filament fast enough to keep up with a printer's consumption (and from the prototype video, it seems you can, since you're drying only a single strand of filament and not the whole spool), an inline dryer makes it so that you only dry the length of filament you're going to use. That way you don't have to worry about storing previously dried filament without it absorbing moisture again. "3D Printing Ideas" talked about building a v2 (or more like v0.2 :D), but I'd love to see your take on the idea, if it strikes your fancy!
A couple years ago I did a DIY filament dryer, a bin with a PTC heater and temperature controller that toggles the PTC heater as well as a lazy susan for the filament, and I found that with everything except Nylon I never needed to let it heat for more than an hour before printing as long as the lid was cracked open. The 3D Printing Ideas video made me realize that I had done about the same thing, where the filament actually had a pretty long path before it exited the box. The tons of airflow in my box probably helps a lot, which makes me think that of these three, the Creality would have the best real-world results in terms of dryness of filament leaving the container. That said some manufacturers will mention that for some filaments (nylon, polycarbonate, probably more) you really want to prevent them from absorbing moisture in the first place until it's in its final shape.
how about testing real conditions? Take 3 spools of filament take weight - store on a wet place - then take weight again to check how many gramms the took from air - then dry and check the weight to see, how many weight they lost. And as additional dryer - use a thermocontrolled food dryer, because those really drys.
I have the Sunlu s2 and there are a few people they already tested this one. It performs much better when you put something between the lid, creating a gap of 1 cm.
Nice video. Some of these things sold into Europe have crazy low programmable time cut-offs, like 4hrs, which is basically useless. I have a FixDry item, similar to the invos in your video - it's been great; just set to required temp and let run for 24-48 hrs depending what I'm printing... I load some desiccant also, but unless I'm force drying tend to run it at 40-50 Deg / ~20% RH to just condition the filament during printing. It's a bit awkward to load, as you indicate. I'm working on the principle unless there is circulation AND venting, then any actual drying is not so efficient. Think you're loading the filament loops backward on all of them?? A similar shootout with all the features compared for 5 or 6 of the main brands / formats would be great.
Boss level content as usual 👌 I'd suggest drilling a hole on each dryer to install the same surface mount hygrometer (as sold on Amazon in pack of 6). So you would rely on the same tool to measure inside humidity instead of relying on each manufacturer's gauge. Why not adding two food dehydrater in the process? 😉 (stackable round one with fan at the bottom and the drawer type that has fan in the back). Can I send you money to help? You've already got my thumbs up. Thanks again for that great content.
Good video. I would have weighed the desiccant before and after drying to get a more accurate measurement of the dryers ability to work. Second you could have measured the power used over the 4 hour period to measure the cost per hour. I own the Sunlu dryer so maybe I have some conformation bias but I believe that the heaters that wrap around the filament do the best. Also the Sunlu dryer is quiet. It is in the same room were my wife sleeps. I use it primarily to dry flexibles and PETG and am happy with my purchase. If I had it to do over I would invest in the Polymaker system.
I think that would have been wise for sure. I have a very accurate scale which maxes out at a very low weights, but the desiccant would have been below that threshold. In my mind I was hoping the color would have been enough, and I think it was good; it could always be better! I like the heater that wraps around, I think they have a great approach, if they had just added even a small fan to circulate the air better around, it would have put the dryer over the top, but it is quiet and it does work, it just won't be quite as quick as the Creality. Both units need to have some method of intermittently venting the warm humid air, that would also help and insulation. Why are we heating our rooms, we only need to keep the chamber warm and circulate the air. Maybe with the chamber not insulated, it promotes move movement due to convective loops from the hot and cold zones? I'll check out the Polymaker, I think I know which one you're talking about, the reviews were mixed, but the ideas are really good!
I think the big one on the left removed moisture better because it overheats, as we saw with the termal camera. That's actually not good because if you're drying let's say PLA, you want to do that a 50°C, otherwise it will deform and almost melt (tested that at 60°C on my Creality Pi Plus). Also, you were speaking of putting dessicant inside the dryers, but I think you didn't notice that the Creality Pi has a hidden compartment with drssicant already in it (you can notice a removable grid). My Pi Plus has 2, one for each spool.
The amazon listing for the Sunlu dryer says it has vents and a fan now. i wonder how much that helps and if it makes it louder. Still surprised by how slow it was to come to temp though.
My S2 drier, I rotated the fan 90 degrees so the output was facing the front. Rather than the side. Using some vape, the air flow was better. I always leave lid open with a wedge I downloaded and printed. Been a great drier. Never got it drier then 16 humidity though
When loading the Eibos Dual spool, I prefer for the filament to come from under the spool rather than over like you do it. It comes at a less strenuous angle.
Try comparing the Eibos Cyclopes to their upgraded Polyphemus which changes the heater configuration and rotates the filament spool as it runs. These changes address both of your complaints about the Cyclopes.
My Tech Fun did this comparison and the Polyphemus fixes the problems of the Cyclopes and is better in every way. Doing a comparison with an old model like the Cyclopes is a bit annoying, since it's an old model being phased out, they are just selling old stock.
145W is really too much, but the heater is not running continuously, there is a thermostat inside, so the energy used mostly depends on how much heat is leaking away
Higher peak power output not only means faster heat up times, but also higher maximum temperatures. Especially for if you’re heating nylon, polycarbonate, etc. That’s a benefit from having a mains heating element, you don’t need an expensive power supply.
@@Scrogan It also means you have the option of dehumidifying quicker if you implement a higher level of air exchange. Of course it will increase power consumption and a warmer room but that is what you get for being impatient!
I like the deep dive into the mechanism on these dryers. Seems like an odd choice to leave out the new sovol dryer that just came out. Early reviews look to show it being pretty good as far as temp measurements and its drying ability.
Check out printdry's filament dryer... its pricey.. but its rated to run all day. You can also do 5kg spools, or with the appropriate kit 4 x 1kg spools. Would be interested to hear your take, I have two units and they have yet to do me wrong.
Hi Mike, thank you for your content. Your tests and ideas are an enrichment for the 3d printing community. I personally like your way of presenting the topics. Also I appreciate the choice of topics you are working on. The desiccant with the color indicator is quite expensive about 20-25 Euro per kg here in Germany. Maybe you could make a littel comparrison of other materials able to keep your filament try. I know you can regenerate it in the oven but im curios about, if there are some alternative materials out there, which I didn't had in mind yet. I tried silica gel cat litter, which also seems to do a good job absorbing moisture. But these are subjective impressions, maybe you come up with a test setup to prove the drying abilities of different materials with figures. I'm curios how the fan duct challenge will evolve, but I'm shure it 'll get very interesting. I'm waiting to improve my bambu X1C with a custom fan shroud. Once more, thank you for work! I need it, make it ;)
I do hope to see others included in this. It might help to standardize some of the tests with an ESP32 as a data-logger and a few mid-level sensors placed top/bottom .. that way you can measure the curve and temperature gradient inside the box. Although you would want to research the best value sensors (stay away from the cheap DHT's). AHT11 / AHT15's are not too bad for about ~$4/ea -- they're not super high speed, but should suffice (more expensive high speed ones get up in price quickly). Couple that with a power monitor (or another power sensor) and you can test how well they manage the heating loop. I know my Eibos (one of the original filament dryers) is dumb as a rock and will melt spools (the literal spool) in some conditions.
Using a wet roll of nylon 6 as your desiccant/ water source would be a better gauge of drying rate/depth. Putting the whole heater with filament on a gram scale and time lapse would be awesome too
I have the Sunlu S2 as well. My dryer don’t have a fan. I opened it and checked it because I never heard one running 😅 When using the Sunlu S2 im letting the lid a little bit open with a coin or something else’s I have at hand to let the wet Air escape. On Printables I have a model for the S2 making it more stable. Bigbase Sunlu s2
On the Sunlu, I always thought the fan is to aid in evacuating the moisture. The original one had no fan and would tend to hold moisture until you lifted the hood. As such, it should have a very low output. No need to circulate air because the heating element is completely circling the filament. Just my take, and I reserve the right to be wrong at any time. 😂
I was interested in the Cyclops since I currently use the Eibos Easdry. The issues you have I agree that it is very miss and miss, but I wonder if the polyphemus is any better
I've been putting off buying a dedicated dryer and the lack of a really good comprehensive video like this was a big factor in that. Might just buy one after I finish the video lol
Just a quick bit of pedantry: dB isn't really a measure of sound level by itself. It's like a logarithmic version of percent, so +40dB is equivalent to +1 million % (each +10dB is 10x, so four more 0's). I'm guessing your measuring device is in dBA, but you'll also need a distance listed for it to be meaningful. I think the typical standard is 1 meter away but for quiet things (below maybe 60dBA) it's common to pick something closer like 10cm.
Well done, you've earned a sub good sir! 🍻 I'd love to see a comparison involving a basic food dehydrator like the nesco snackmaster jr, and also the polymaker polydryer. I have that one and have been happy with its performance.
Thanks! The food dehydrator makes a lot of sense, it is build just for the task of removing moisture from foods, which... tend to be full of moisture. I think the size is a bit of an issue, but on the other hand I also think they work better than many dryers and it is probably worth testing it to see!
I never had any issues with my Sunlu S2 dryer and never had to leave it open for circulation. The moisture reading on the screen will go up when it’s drying and that’s expected because moisture is escaping from the filament into the inside chamber. Eventually after a couple of hours when there’s not much moisture left in the filament, the readings will start to go down and it will reach around 16% relative humidity. That’s when I turn it off and move the filament into the AMS unit which has desiccant. I don’t get why people are opening the lid or adding holes. Actually I believe the readings will no longer make sense when you introduce more airflow. How are you supposed to know when it’s done if you’re removing the chamber moisture immediately?
For storage purposes, there is a better solution, using humidity cabinets made for camera gear. They usually have a peltier based active heating and cooling element, with a hygroscopic membrane, that wicks the moisture out, substantially reducing humidity to below 20% after 24hrs. No need to recharge dessicants, and does not take much energy either. There is also the option(for extreme drying) of using laboratory de-humidifiers, that use a Positive temperature coefficient heating element, coupled with an anhydrous powder in a box, that gets ventilated once every few hours(using a baffle and motor). Also consumes much less energy, but take a bit longer due to passive convection based circulation. Should be able to find a cheaper one used. For short term, nothing beats a good food dehydrator. But the in-situ drying(dryers discussed) is helpful, while printing long jobs with nylon,polycarbonate or using pva as support material.❤👍
So, I am currently working on a model, to use Creality's auxiliary fan, on my Bambu Labs A1. That is coming along rather well. Though, Id honestly love to remake the stock part cooling duct, but I'm not that good at Fusion yet. Do you think you could make a similar video like you did for the FLSUN? I really want reliable cooling on my A1, without having to remember to turn on and off an auxiliary fan.🙏🙏
I would also like to see you test SUNLU's drier the way everybody uses them - with the lid a bit open. The placement of heaters is really promising after all
I was looking at the Eibos polyphemus but it was $160, so I found the Sunlu S4 with discount code for just $100 so I went that route. Be nice to compare those two along these in the video, it would be a nice comparison
Great video! I have the same Sunlu one and alot of people will 3D print a little piece that holds its lid open just a tiny bit so that the small amount of airflow that the fan makes can actually exit. With these types of dryers the key thing is to let the air slowly out so that the moisture can be removed out of the system. The Sunlu's issue is it has no real vent so the moisture gets trapped in the air inside. Which is why the relative humidity you saw was so much higher than the others. Even just opening the lid occasionally during its process to let the moisture escape can drastically help it. Id love to see this one retested but with the modification of using a small 3D printed piece to hold its lid open. There are models for it already on Printables or thingiverse.
I also have the S2 and I can confirm this. That little piece to keep the lid a little lifted is essential and works wonders .
I use a pair of small binder clips to accomplish the same goal on my S2.
I tend to open my S2 every half hour or so to let out the humid air. I would also be keen to see this tested.
On my S2 (no fan fitted) I drilled 6x5mm holes towards the bottom of the base section and a shuttered 10mm hole at the top. I keep the 10mm hole shutter closed until it's up to temp then open it up to provide some circulation through the unit. Seems to work pretty well, enough circulation to lose the moisture but not so much as to drop the temp noticeably.
I use the S2 with an extra fan (40x10 for filaments, 80x25 for silica) in addition to having a version with a fan, and the fan cable keeps the lid slightly open, which is an extra feature
I use a cheap food dehydrator with a lazy Susan bearing that I mounted a spool holder onto :)
This lets me dry and print from a spool while it's laying on its side, or I can stack and dry multiple spools at once
Just been looking at the cheap ones. Yours might be different but the cheapest yet again looks like an enclosed heater with no actual dehumidification. Where does the moisture go? No wonder the instructions say that for best performance, swap the trays around every so often. It's not the swapping that is helping - it's the opening up and allowing air exchange!
@@jam99 mine has a fan in the base and ventilation holes in the lid. I think that's pretty standard for cheap dehydrators
@@jam99 All of them are enclosed heaters. That's how you dry things out. When you heat air, the humidity of the air drops rapidly. The Relative Humidity in my apartment is roughly 41% currently. But placing the same temp/humidity sensor into my filament dryer that is currently set to 65 C and actively drying two spools of very humid PETG, it is 10% humidity. That low humidity and heat causes the water in the filament to evaporate. There is nothing in anything that dries ANYTHING but a heating element. The air gets out any gaps it can. It doesn't have to have a lot of airflow out. Anyway, limiting outflowing air ensures the chamber can be heated easier.
@@scythelord Next time you buy a tumble drier with no condensor, just block up the vent, I’m sure you will get along fine from what you say.
I have added a compressed air connection with a manual control valve to the Sunlu. During drying, the moist air is now very slowly refreshed by the compressed air. Works fine now. The disadvantage is that you need an oil-free air compressor. Nowadays, the low noise air compressors are already oil-free.
Aren't you supposed to load the filament from the other direction (spool turned around) at 9:46 ? 😅
yes, yes you are
I actually think he loaded the filament in the wrong direction on all of them. That is why the first spools were hard to turn and the second one snapped. You should turn the spool 180. It's very important if the filament comes out top or bottom of the spool regarding those dryers.
Came to post the same thing. Loading the way he did adds unnecessary difficulty, and also creates all sorts of kinds of binding pressure on the filament.
@@l3l4ckR4sp3rry2 I believe the second one he loaded correctly, I noticed it on the first and third ones.
With the creality one, trick is also load the filament so its feeding from the bottom of the spool up to the PTFE. This both increases the spool stability as its being pulled into the rollers while its feeding, but also means the angle of the filament is basically in line with the ptfe feed.
I'm glad you mention dryers needing vents. I bought a Sovol Dryer, and I find I have to burp the box frequency to get the trapped moisture out of the box.
After watching your video, I'm considering drill a hole or holes in the side of the box. I'll have to contemplate this some more. I'll want to make sure I can plug the hole if it turns out to be a mistake.
@@The3DPrintingGrandad Sticky tape!
@@jam99 I was hope for something a little more aesthetically pleasing. TPU plugs maybe.
This is the best video I’ve seen on comparing different filament dryers!! Well done!
Nice, thanks for that. I'll have more coming, there is still quite a bit of room for improvement. Hopefully we can see some innovated approaches to both work as a long-term storage for filament as well as also working well to quickly evacuate that warm moist air! I will be using the thermal camera more in any follow up videos as well.
Oh sweet!! I’ll keep an eye out for those! Yes, definitely room for innovation and improvement. I’d love to see a dryer that can go to 90-100C to dry engineering filament. And, of course, the ability to use while printing (for Nylons).
Great video!
My votes for next dryers to look at would be the polymaker PolyDryer and the PrintDry Pro.
Eibos Polyphemus.
It rotates the spools. But that is relevant only when not printing. The circulating fan is very quiet, but the rotating motor is annoying .
It is not sealed for storage and not convenient for loading.
It can do infinite timer - i like that
I picked up the Creality filament dryer on discount (an eBay sale directly from them w/coupon brought the unit w/ PLA Wood filament down to $50/shipped) last week and want to chime in that the 145W is not constant. I hooked it up to a power charting plug (Emporia Energy) and it seems to have a PID loop to maintain a constant temperature -- nice feature as I've seen a few dryers that have no feedback loop and just "set it and forget it". Looking at the pattern, I'd expect the kWh to about on par with similar units.
That's good info, thanks for that! These really should be insulated and have some way of venting the hot humid air and bringing in some cooler dryer air from below, it's more complex, so I guess that would mean a higher price tag too. A small motor to drive a flap top and bottom would be good, and maybe only operate it every 15 minutes so that it can retain the heat well enough not to warm your room instead of your filament.
The S2 might not have PID (that is not necessary) but it has some kind of control - probably bang bang. With hysteresis that's all you need. The temperature does not need to be anywhere near accurate.
@@NeedItMakeIt My guess is they expect people to start using filament out of the drier immediately. Rapid temperature rise is the only justification for enclosing the space and trapping the air. But sad that they prioritise this ahead of dehumidification. How hard would it be to put a hole in the top and a hole in the bottom? As you mention, insulation would reduce room heating but then you can't see the filament - but that would be no great loss me thinks.
@@NeedItMakeItthe 2 spool variant for creality has two holes in the top.
I have the Creality Space Pi drier, and I did try the trick with keeping the lid opened just a tiny bit. Note that my test does not involve the amount of moisture. For comparison purposes, I used a spool made out of PLA, loaded with PLA filament. I set the drier for PLA with an 8 hour run time. At the end of the 8 hours I did not note any issues. Next day I used the same drier, same setting, same spool and same filament. I used the small rubber piece that plugs the filament exit hole to keep the cover cracked open. When the drying ended 8 hours later I found that the PLA spool was badly deformed. This tells me that with the cover slightly open the internal temperature is no longer regulated in the range set. I did not take any temperature readings.
As a result I stopped using the trick.
I added a fan on the lid at the back of my sunlu v1 dryer and drilled a few holes on top, on the v2 I just drilled a few holes. Both seem to do the job as long as you give it top ventilation. PETG is my default, and I live in a very humid place, I use vacuum bags and colour changing desiccant, but if in doubt I will just print from one of the dryers.
I bought the Creality Space Pi 2 spool version. It also has space for desiccant packs. I 3D printed some grommets + plugs out of TPU for the top vent holes to keep moist air out. I open them when drying and close them when done. They seem to do the job. The only thing I don’t like about the Creality is a lack of a proper seal gasket on the lid.
I have the single eibos dryer and while it works well it is very hard to use and is very awkward to use. I picked up the sunlu s4 and love it. It is not perfect but works well. Plus I like how I can dry 4 spools at a time
GREAT CONTENT! I just purchased the Creality space Pie plus (double slot) and it's on the way, and I was suggested to watch this, most definitely gives me more confidence in my choice. planing on printing one of those spool center desiccant holders to allow extra moisture to escape but was also thinking if that isn'h enough I may put some small ventilation holes with a drill on the plastic lid part to allow even more moisture to escape, while keeping the moisture content inside the enclosure environment under control and at minimal.
I appreciate the scientific method used here! Great direction for me, I’m in the market to buy one!
I have the Sunlu dryer and prior to getting it, I was having all sorts of adhesion and layer issues with my prints. After running it on my filament overnight prior to printing anything my issues stopped. So for what its worth... it does work. However after watching the video I think I may drill a hole or two in the top to let the air circulate better. Thanks for the great video!
For sure, I think it will work, and I like that they went a different direction. If they could just get a fan in there to move the air around a bit more, it would make a big difference. The slow heating isn't too much of a problem, most of these go for hours like you say overnight, so another 20 minutes isn't really a problem, and the majority of the moisture is within the first few layers of filament on the spool which will heat pretty quick. What I think after seeing the differences and the similarities between each, is that they all could use one more feature, and that is insulation. It doesn't make sense to spend money to heat a chamber only for it to lose the heat constantly (the same goes for a 3D printer) I think an insulated dryer would get to temp quicker, and use far less energy and a side benefit in the summer is that you don't heat your home while you're drying the filament too.
Using the EIBOS Cyclopes in a recent review is a bit misleading, since it's an old model that they are just selling the old stock of, since it's been replaced by the superior and upgraded Polyphemus model. The Polyphemus fixes the complaints and it's rotating feature is great for even drying, something most others lack. It no longer has hot spots, it's performance is much better, and it's much quieter.
A cheap food dehydrator with digital control does the job quiet well: I measured nearly the same temperatures in the bottom and at the top of the case with a precision themometer. Due to the fan located in the bottom, the air mixes fairly good and reaches nearly the adjusted temperature at the top. Maximum reachable temperature is 70°C. While I print with dryed filament out of my DIY filament boxes made of food storage containers without extra holes and filled with silica gel, I can conveniently dry wet filament in the dehydrator for 8-10 hours. Printing out of the advertised "filament dryers" is not advisable: at the beginning of the process, the filament isn't dry enough and when it IS dry enough, you loose a lot of energy (warm air) through the holes whilst the filament is dry and doesn't need a further drying process. When you decide to switch the dryer off, because the filament is dry, the filament soaks humidity slowly again, due to the holes in the boxes.
Fazit: worst buy ever: you pay double the price of a digital controlled food dehydrator, loose more energy. In case of the Sunlu and Creality, your filament isn't properly dry due to the lack of air exchange, etc, pp. => Avoid them
Thanks for this! I own and have used the SunLu S2 for half a year, and it needs a small riser for the lid, so it doesn’t close fully, when being turned on and heating. The moist air can’t circulate out of the box without this riser - so it’s highly recommended to print one.
I was VERY surprised to see that the S2 was the quietest of the bunch. When I got it, I was about to send it back due to the high noise level. But apparently, it could’ve been so much worse.
On the first box, I have the same issue (different brand, but the same style). O solved it by using a ptfe coupler (basically a 3D printed tube with an ECAS in each end). The coupler lets me have a 1-2" stub of PTFE that fits in the grommet with a. Easy way to detach the PTFE that goes to the printer, which also makes feeding filament much easier. The coupler stops the tube from getting pulled into the box.
Hope that helps someone out there in 3D Printerland.
I made my own filament dryer with a sealed box, a car heater and an old 3d printer mainboard.
I use klipper to monitor heat and humidity and it works great. Probably costs more in parts than these dryers but it works fast and makes use of scrap components.
I'd love to see you try and make your own drybox!
Compared to 2,3 years ago, many more brands are now using cardboard spools. Even for freshly opened filament, filament on a cardboard spool can become 5-8g lighter after just one round of drying. Keep in mind that these cardboard spools absorb more moisture than you might expect.
I have four Sunlu dryers and I’ll typically leave the filament in there for a couple days. Most of my spools have a desiccant holder in the hub and I’ll leave them drying until they level out at 15-20% humidity. It made my plain nylon filament usable.
Great Video. You can cover all lids with reflective aluminium to keep the heat inside.
I would be more interested in which removes the moisture out of the Filament the fastest.. Thank you for doing that test etc I have a few Sunlu the box has to have the lid cracked slightly to let the moisture out over all when doing that it works quite well, I would be interested in a video that you take the weight of a roll of filament and test it at intervals during the drying time mine I cut in half when I crack the lid slightly you can open it and pull it slightly to the side as you move towards closing it this way the lid props its self for a little crack, if not the Sunlu will keep its moisture
I just picked up the 2 spool version of the creality yesterday and I'm excited to use it! Thanks for the video.
Nice! I got the sunlu as it was cheap and fast to ship at the time. When closing the lid i shift it to the side slightly so it doesnt close all the way, this seems to help with the performance. While drying a not completely dry spool at 70C the humidity hovers around 30% until dropping to about 13% at the end when it was really dried out. My 3d Printing Room is about 23C and 70% humidity.
I DO THE SAME
I put a kind of a paper clip in my Sunlu to always keep a ~5mm gap between the body and the lid, it dries well (TPU in my case)
Great job! I would like to see as many head-to-head comparison videos as you can muster. The dryers are especially interesting to me as i need to buy one, but any videos to help the hobbyists make good choices when spending their limited funds would be beneficial.
You aren't loading the filament tangentially to the exit ports,
creating undue stress on the printing material potentially causing breaks during printing.
My eyes were bleeding as well 😂
What a tool 😂
Very good, comprehensive review with facts to support it. Well done!
Thanks! I can always go further too, I think each machine has some good points, but I wonder why they can't just add a little motor driven flap on top and bottom to open up once every 15 minutes to release the humid air and draw in cool dryer air from below? I guess maybe I need to see if there are other brands that are doing this. Also the idea of using a dehydrator came up, but they're quite large, maybe taking the parts from one and building a dryer from that would be a good idea too.
I got one of the cheaper Sovol 2 spool dryers. Seems to work ok, but has a max of 50c (fine for PLA, ok for PETG and TPO, but it takes some time) and the fan is almost useless. I prop it open a bit when it climbs above 25, then close it again once it's dumped the moisture out. I printed out two spool size desiccant holders that go inside the spools. Works good for filament storage, and each time you fire it up, the desiccant also releases the water. Sounds counter-intuitive, but I almost never have to change it unlike the ones in my "dry" boxes that I change regularly. (Don't forget that you can bake your color change desiccants at around 200F or 93c to dry them)
It’s a “drier” not a “dehumidifier”.
Heating the air decreases its density (it expands) while the amount of moisture in the air remains the same. Larger volume of air with same amount of moisture means the percentage of moisture decreases.
This is why it’s called RELATIVE humidity. It’s the humidity relative to the airs density which is a function of its temperature.
Drying boxes found in labs are just ovens with very tight seals. You do not want to pull air in from the room, that is where the object you are trying to dry collected the moisture in the first place. The vents on those machines are there specifically to control temperature not to release moisture since it’s easier to regulate temperature without overshooting your set point.
Active dehumidification requires removed moisture to be collected somewhere.
Think of your house in the winter. The relative humidity is still 60-80% outside but that air heated to the temps in your home cause the relative humidity to plummet. Opening a window doesn’t make it feel more humid because you’re still heating the air back up. The only solution is keep your house freezing cold or add active humidification.
You’ve oriented the spool incorrectly in every one of the dryers…
This, so much this 😢
I enjoyed the video. I have a couple different filament dryers and am interested in possibly seeing how they perform. I have the Sunlu S4 and the Polydryer box. Both seem to work really well. The Sunlu S4 has a lot of great features and a lot of downloadable models to modify it.
Great review, thank you! Note the color desiccant contains quite toxic ingredients, I would suggest to avoid it at all cost and get it out of your house. Never touch it for sure.
I have Sunlu desicator. It works better if you create thin opening because the openings are too small to let the vet air to escape..
I do it by inserting a 1mm thick ruler to keep the cover not completely closed. The reading of humidity is often bellow 20% after about 1h.
I have the Polymaker one, I like it because the dry box doubles as a storage box that you can even print from, for my TPU for example. Its also small.
The bad one should get a large air deflector right above outlet inside. It will not only save filament from overheating but also increase heating speed. Strange that it doesn't have it out of the box.
Creality one has screws near display and you need to remove glued plexiglass to fully disassemble dryer. Creality also has +~20C(above set temp) air out of heater, so everyone should use preinstalled temps instead of setting their own. For example, if load PETG and setting +65C it can potentially melt PETG as temp from outlet would be 85C. Creality also instantly turns fan off if you turn heater off - means its heater lacks dangerous temp while in work and it's power shutdown-friendly. The most negative things about Creality is that its pain in the ass to install and deinstall filament out of it.
Sunlu is best among them in regards of temp uniformity, but yeah, it lacks heating speed.
If you seek best heater then you can try Sovol SH02 Filament Dryer. Didn't had it in hands but by the looks it may be very promising.
I've found that the Sunlu does better if you open the lid 1/8"-1/4" that allows moisture to escape
My choice is fixdry nt1, similar to eibos, but with a diffuser for hot air
I have the Sunlu and found that if you crack the door open (use something to leave it cracked open about 1 cm) it dries out filament way faster. It might be worth testing.
I even drilled holes on the side of the top cover to see if that would help but it didn't make any difference so now I just crack it open.
I've got a sunlu dryer, but not that funky Circle one... Mine is more like a box (only 1 spool, though I am looking at adding a 2 spool at some point for easier color switching) and I always keep the desiccant with the filament, in the vacuum bags as well as in the dryer
The first dual filament dryer , I saw a motorized spool rotated diy thingiverse or one other. I have the Sunlu and love it. It will get my filament down to 28%. I know if I have a print coming up , I start the dryer the night before of the roll I’ll need the next day
keep it up man, i really hope you reach your 100k subs goal soon, you are doing a great job!
ive used the creality one to dry a whole bag of desiccant, worked great
It is a bad idea to measure temperatures using thermal camera and compare them. Different surfaces at the same temperature radiate different amount of thermal radiation depending on the material of the surface, its roughness, and so on. The difference might easily reach 5 times. There are some ways to compensate this, but the error might still be quite high. For example bottom heating plate of Sunlu at 85 degrees and bottom side of filament at 65 is unbelievable. Thermal camera is a tricky tool to use, and is not a replacement for a contact thermometer.
How about sticking a largeish piece of exactly the same type of tape on the surfaces you want to compare and only looking at the tape with the thermal camera? Would that be ok?
@@jam99 I didn't have that problem, so I would prefer to answer that I don't know rather than to overconfidently answer something wrong. But I heard that yes, applying tape is a good approach. Spray paint is even better approach, but it is not reversible. I would suggest to check information from various sources depending on how important it is for you.
Another vote for the Polymaker Polydryer.
One issue I've heard about storing filament in the Creality dryer is that it's not sealed.
My Sunlu S1 dryers, as well as my Sovol dual spool dryer are the same though.
I got the sunlu and put a pencil in to keep it open a bit. The moisture has to escape! I am not sure if your test is valid, i would test weight loss in real spools!
Just chiming in on my experience with Creality dryers. I picked up a Filament Dryer 2.0 (not shown in the video) as it was much cheaper than the PI when on sale. It is a fantastic and incredibly fast dryer with all the capabilities of the PI.
HOWEVER
Printing directly from the 2.0 is a problem. The filament port is on the movable lid instead of a fixed position which causes the lid to rattle and move when filament is being pulled. This can cause resistance and affect the consistency of your extrusion. I've printed a free insert for the port that allows me to insert a bowden tube to reduce this a little, but because the door isn't fixed, there is still occasional judder. I suggest anyone that buys this cheaper model maybe prints or looks into an adhesive latch to keep the door fixed. It is well worth the price if you are happy to tinker, and I'd bet uses most of the components of the PI in a cheaper enclosure
I'd be interested in seeing how the PolyDryer compares, as it seems to combine the best aspects of all three designs in this test.
Same, and its removable container also acts as a dry box.
I don’t see any ventilation on top for humidity to escape.
@@TJbuffs The vents are on the side of the dryer unit. The storage unit needs to be air tight, otherwise it would do a terrible job at keeping the moisture out.
Although fun fact: Polymaker originally planned to have the ventilation invisible, as the dryer was releasing plenty of moisture from the line where the top and bottom halves of the unit go together. But testers kept bugging them, so they eventually added vents.
@@logicalfundy oh I didn’t see those. I don’t really understand how you can have a seal to keep moisture out, but then you have to have ventilation. I don’t get it, how can that work?
@@TJbuffs PolyDryer has two parts - the dryer and the filament box. The bottom of the box has removeable feet that allow it to be connected to the dryer. The dryer (the bottom unit) is the part with the vents on the side.
When it's not connected to the dryer, you re-install the feet which seals up the box.
I had 2 slunlu s2 dryers. I ran both of them at 70c for 24 hours to dry out some wet nylon. The next time i went to use them they were both bricked. Been using a fixdry dryer for the better part of a year and have recently been trying out polymakers polydryer. The fixdry is still going strong but the 2 sunlus dying after 1 intense drying session is enough for me to not buy any more of them
I'd like to shout out the Eryone filament dryer: similar to the Sunlu except it has an integrated desiccant compartment + a decent fan, and it has worked really well drying my PETG. Much better than my old homemade setup (which admittedly didn't use desiccant, which I now believe is key), also not too loud and fairly inexpensive compared to its peers (at least when I bought it ~2 years ago). It doesn't have a seal so it can't really store reels for a long time, and the separate hygrometer/thermometer unit is a bit wonky, but these are both things that can be modded fairly easily. Another potential con is that it only has three preset programs/temps, but honestly I don't think a precise temp is necessary for most filaments.
Either way, appreciate the video, thanks for sharing!
For sure, that desiccant will make a difference with any of the sealed units as long as they're fairly dry to begin with. I'd like to see an insulated dryer and I may take parts from mine to build one instead, the Eibos could be parted out so that I can get the direct heat away from the spool and create more of a convective loop for good flow. I agree with what you're saying about the precision of the dryers, most of them will just be happy to be dried at all, I've never bothered to try to dial them in exactly. I do like the quicker start for the Creality because we can start to move the moisture into the air quicker and begin to print right away.
I think the Eibos has two differing temperatures because one is the temp of the heater element used for the PWM function and the other is the air temp in the case. Just like the temp sensor used on your bed won't ever be close to the chamber temp of the printer. They probably covered it up to avoid people asking that question over and over with support. The relative humidity is probably reasonably accurate to the air temp, though.
It would be really interesting if you could test out "inline" filament drying - where there's a box the filament goes through just before entering the printer and it's dried with heat and air circulation.
The channel "3D Printing Ideas" made a rough prototype video about this a few months ago and I think it's a really interesting idea. If you can dry the filament fast enough to keep up with a printer's consumption (and from the prototype video, it seems you can, since you're drying only a single strand of filament and not the whole spool), an inline dryer makes it so that you only dry the length of filament you're going to use. That way you don't have to worry about storing previously dried filament without it absorbing moisture again.
"3D Printing Ideas" talked about building a v2 (or more like v0.2 :D), but I'd love to see your take on the idea, if it strikes your fancy!
A couple years ago I did a DIY filament dryer, a bin with a PTC heater and temperature controller that toggles the PTC heater as well as a lazy susan for the filament, and I found that with everything except Nylon I never needed to let it heat for more than an hour before printing as long as the lid was cracked open.
The 3D Printing Ideas video made me realize that I had done about the same thing, where the filament actually had a pretty long path before it exited the box. The tons of airflow in my box probably helps a lot, which makes me think that of these three, the Creality would have the best real-world results in terms of dryness of filament leaving the container.
That said some manufacturers will mention that for some filaments (nylon, polycarbonate, probably more) you really want to prevent them from absorbing moisture in the first place until it's in its final shape.
how about testing real conditions? Take 3 spools of filament take weight - store on a wet place - then take weight again to check how many gramms the took from air - then dry and check the weight to see, how many weight they lost. And as additional dryer - use a thermocontrolled food dryer, because those really drys.
Good comment. I also was not impressed with the testing.
The polymaker new filament dryer system looks nice. Id like to see that
thanks for your time to test all this stuff !!
I have the Sunlu s2 and there are a few people they already tested this one. It performs much better when you put something between the lid, creating a gap of 1 cm.
Nice video. Some of these things sold into Europe have crazy low programmable time cut-offs, like 4hrs, which is basically useless. I have a FixDry item, similar to the invos in your video - it's been great; just set to required temp and let run for 24-48 hrs depending what I'm printing... I load some desiccant also, but unless I'm force drying tend to run it at 40-50 Deg / ~20% RH to just condition the filament during printing. It's a bit awkward to load, as you indicate. I'm working on the principle unless there is circulation AND venting, then any actual drying is not so efficient. Think you're loading the filament loops backward on all of them?? A similar shootout with all the features compared for 5 or 6 of the main brands / formats would be great.
Nice comparison! Would love to see what's the best solution currently available (for different sizes/priceranges maybe).
Boss level content as usual 👌 I'd suggest drilling a hole on each dryer to install the same surface mount hygrometer (as sold on Amazon in pack of 6). So you would rely on the same tool to measure inside humidity instead of relying on each manufacturer's gauge. Why not adding two food dehydrater in the process? 😉 (stackable round one with fan at the bottom and the drawer type that has fan in the back). Can I send you money to help? You've already got my thumbs up. Thanks again for that great content.
Good video. I would have weighed the desiccant before and after drying to get a more accurate measurement of the dryers ability to work. Second you could have measured the power used over the 4 hour period to measure the cost per hour. I own the Sunlu dryer so maybe I have some conformation bias but I believe that the heaters that wrap around the filament do the best. Also the Sunlu dryer is quiet. It is in the same room were my wife sleeps. I use it primarily to dry flexibles and PETG and am happy with my purchase. If I had it to do over I would invest in the Polymaker system.
I think that would have been wise for sure. I have a very accurate scale which maxes out at a very low weights, but the desiccant would have been below that threshold. In my mind I was hoping the color would have been enough, and I think it was good; it could always be better! I like the heater that wraps around, I think they have a great approach, if they had just added even a small fan to circulate the air better around, it would have put the dryer over the top, but it is quiet and it does work, it just won't be quite as quick as the Creality. Both units need to have some method of intermittently venting the warm humid air, that would also help and insulation. Why are we heating our rooms, we only need to keep the chamber warm and circulate the air. Maybe with the chamber not insulated, it promotes move movement due to convective loops from the hot and cold zones? I'll check out the Polymaker, I think I know which one you're talking about, the reviews were mixed, but the ideas are really good!
I think the big one on the left removed moisture better because it overheats, as we saw with the termal camera. That's actually not good because if you're drying let's say PLA, you want to do that a 50°C, otherwise it will deform and almost melt (tested that at 60°C on my Creality Pi Plus).
Also, you were speaking of putting dessicant inside the dryers, but I think you didn't notice that the Creality Pi has a hidden compartment with drssicant already in it (you can notice a removable grid). My Pi Plus has 2, one for each spool.
The amazon listing for the Sunlu dryer says it has vents and a fan now. i wonder how much that helps and if it makes it louder.
Still surprised by how slow it was to come to temp though.
I use the sunlu dryers. They work better when you drill about a quarter inch hole at the top and bottom.
My S2 drier, I rotated the fan 90 degrees so the output was facing the front. Rather than the side. Using some vape, the air flow was better. I always leave lid open with a wedge I downloaded and printed. Been a great drier. Never got it drier then 16 humidity though
When loading the Eibos Dual spool, I prefer for the filament to come from under the spool rather than over like you do it. It comes at a less strenuous angle.
Try comparing the Eibos Cyclopes to their upgraded Polyphemus which changes the heater configuration and rotates the filament spool as it runs. These changes address both of your complaints about the Cyclopes.
My Tech Fun did this comparison and the Polyphemus fixes the problems of the Cyclopes and is better in every way. Doing a comparison with an old model like the Cyclopes is a bit annoying, since it's an old model being phased out, they are just selling old stock.
The creality's power consumption is 145W, the S2 is only 48w for basically the same result.
145W is really too much, but the heater is not running continuously, there is a thermostat inside, so the energy used mostly depends on how much heat is leaking away
Higher peak power output not only means faster heat up times, but also higher maximum temperatures. Especially for if you’re heating nylon, polycarbonate, etc.
That’s a benefit from having a mains heating element, you don’t need an expensive power supply.
@@Scrogan It also means you have the option of dehumidifying quicker if you implement a higher level of air exchange. Of course it will increase power consumption and a warmer room but that is what you get for being impatient!
I like the deep dive into the mechanism on these dryers. Seems like an odd choice to leave out the new sovol dryer that just came out. Early reviews look to show it being pretty good as far as temp measurements and its drying ability.
Check out printdry's filament dryer... its pricey.. but its rated to run all day. You can also do 5kg spools, or with the appropriate kit 4 x 1kg spools. Would be interested to hear your take, I have two units and they have yet to do me wrong.
Check out the R3D Filament Dryer. It's the only one I found that has a moisture exhaust fan. It does go OOS quite a bit but does restock frequently.
thanks for thr comparison! now im glad that i got the Creality filament dryer 😄
Hi Mike,
thank you for your content. Your tests and ideas are an enrichment for the 3d printing community. I personally like your way of presenting the topics. Also I appreciate the choice of topics you are working on.
The desiccant with the color indicator is quite expensive about 20-25 Euro per kg here in Germany. Maybe you could make a littel comparrison of other materials able to keep your filament try. I know you can regenerate it in the oven but im curios about, if there are some alternative materials out there, which I didn't had in mind yet. I tried silica gel cat litter, which also seems to do a good job absorbing moisture. But these are subjective impressions, maybe you come up with a test setup to prove the drying abilities of different materials with figures.
I'm curios how the fan duct challenge will evolve, but I'm shure it 'll get very interesting. I'm waiting to improve my bambu X1C with a custom fan shroud.
Once more, thank you for work! I need it, make it ;)
I remember the ABS slurry days. Good to see your channel is growing.
I do hope to see others included in this. It might help to standardize some of the tests with an ESP32 as a data-logger and a few mid-level sensors placed top/bottom .. that way you can measure the curve and temperature gradient inside the box. Although you would want to research the best value sensors (stay away from the cheap DHT's). AHT11 / AHT15's are not too bad for about ~$4/ea -- they're not super high speed, but should suffice (more expensive high speed ones get up in price quickly).
Couple that with a power monitor (or another power sensor) and you can test how well they manage the heating loop. I know my Eibos (one of the original filament dryers) is dumb as a rock and will melt spools (the literal spool) in some conditions.
Using a wet roll of nylon 6 as your desiccant/ water source would be a better gauge of drying rate/depth. Putting the whole heater with filament on a gram scale and time lapse would be awesome too
Did you get the chance to try out Sunlu S4? It's amazing.
Really interesting, thanks for your efforts here.
I have the Sunlu S2 as well. My dryer don’t have a fan. I opened it and checked it because I never heard one running 😅
When using the Sunlu S2 im letting the lid a little bit open with a coin or something else’s I have at hand to let the wet Air escape.
On Printables I have a model for the S2 making it more stable. Bigbase Sunlu s2
On the Sunlu, I always thought the fan is to aid in evacuating the moisture. The original one had no fan and would tend to hold moisture until you lifted the hood.
As such, it should have a very low output. No need to circulate air because the heating element is completely circling the filament.
Just my take, and I reserve the right to be wrong at any time. 😂
I was interested in the Cyclops since I currently use the Eibos Easdry. The issues you have I agree that it is very miss and miss, but I wonder if the polyphemus is any better
I've been putting off buying a dedicated dryer and the lack of a really good comprehensive video like this was a big factor in that. Might just buy one after I finish the video lol
I have the creality and I love mine. Super quick heating and it’s pretty quiet.
Just a quick bit of pedantry: dB isn't really a measure of sound level by itself. It's like a logarithmic version of percent, so +40dB is equivalent to +1 million % (each +10dB is 10x, so four more 0's). I'm guessing your measuring device is in dBA, but you'll also need a distance listed for it to be meaningful. I think the typical standard is 1 meter away but for quiet things (below maybe 60dBA) it's common to pick something closer like 10cm.
For anybody wondering, the IR camera is the Thermal Master P2. Formally known as the InfiRay P2
They cost around £300
Well done, you've earned a sub good sir! 🍻
I'd love to see a comparison involving a basic food dehydrator like the nesco snackmaster jr, and also the polymaker polydryer. I have that one and have been happy with its performance.
Thanks! The food dehydrator makes a lot of sense, it is build just for the task of removing moisture from foods, which... tend to be full of moisture. I think the size is a bit of an issue, but on the other hand I also think they work better than many dryers and it is probably worth testing it to see!
You should really check out the Sovol sh01 or sh02. Quiet and great for feeding top or front.
yeah please test more filament dryers!! i'm always on the brim getting one but after ready amazon reviews i don't do it XD
Thank you for the great videos, 3d printing Alton Brown!
I never had any issues with my Sunlu S2 dryer and never had to leave it open for circulation.
The moisture reading on the screen will go up when it’s drying and that’s expected because moisture is escaping from the filament into the inside chamber.
Eventually after a couple of hours when there’s not much moisture left in the filament, the readings will start to go down and it will reach around 16% relative humidity.
That’s when I turn it off and move the filament into the AMS unit which has desiccant.
I don’t get why people are opening the lid or adding holes. Actually I believe the readings will no longer make sense when you introduce more airflow.
How are you supposed to know when it’s done if you’re removing the chamber moisture immediately?
For storage purposes, there is a better solution, using humidity cabinets made for camera gear. They usually have a peltier based active heating and cooling element, with a hygroscopic membrane, that wicks the moisture out, substantially reducing humidity to below 20% after 24hrs.
No need to recharge dessicants, and does not take much energy either.
There is also the option(for extreme drying) of using laboratory de-humidifiers, that use a Positive temperature coefficient heating element, coupled with an anhydrous powder in a box, that gets ventilated once every few hours(using a baffle and motor).
Also consumes much less energy, but take a bit longer due to passive convection based circulation. Should be able to find a cheaper one used.
For short term, nothing beats a good food dehydrator. But the in-situ drying(dryers discussed) is helpful, while printing long jobs with nylon,polycarbonate or using pva as support material.❤👍
So, I am currently working on a model, to use Creality's auxiliary fan, on my Bambu Labs A1. That is coming along rather well. Though, Id honestly love to remake the stock part cooling duct, but I'm not that good at Fusion yet. Do you think you could make a similar video like you did for the FLSUN? I really want reliable cooling on my A1, without having to remember to turn on and off an auxiliary fan.🙏🙏
I would also like to see you test SUNLU's drier the way everybody uses them - with the lid a bit open.
The placement of heaters is really promising after all
I was looking at the Eibos polyphemus but it was $160, so I found the Sunlu S4 with discount code for just $100 so I went that route. Be nice to compare those two along these in the video, it would be a nice comparison
Thanks for doing this comparison
My pleasure, I wanted to learn more and share what I've found
Had the same idea, so I made a bunch of holes in my Sunlu S2 :)
Of course, do more! Great video!
Another awesome video and I'm also in the market for a filament dryer