I will call you Dr. Filament Dryer Tester from now on. 😆 Jokes aside - thanks for your insights and methodical testing. Your service is invaluable for the community.
@@MyTechFun Keep them coming. I bought a Gratkit Firefly considering your test results and my use case - and I am happy with it. I would not have considered it without your input.
I love my sunlu s4 dryer. I don't mind the sound. But I am not bothered by fan noise like some. At the end of the day, it works well and the standby option is amazing. I leave some rolls in there when planning to use some hydrophobic filaments. I also spin the roll every few hours but don't mind it as it gives me a chance to check on it. I also have the Eibos single-roll one and it is a pain to use compared to the S4. I used it today to try some CF PA. Thanks for the review sir. Cheers from canada 🇨🇦
This is a really good filament dryer. However, I recommend keeping one of the lids slightly open while drying, otherwise the moisture will not come out of the housing properly.
I have the S2 and it does have a fan. Only had if for a few months. It seems to work fairly well but I don’t have any other dryer to compare to. It took my roll of TPU from a starting RH of 38% down to about 18% in about 8 hours.
G'day m8 from Sunny Brisbane. I Backed this way back in September/October last yr and got mine mid December. ive had this running since January 24 on mode 2 and once the relative humidity raises to the 50% on average it will turn on and run till the humidity comes down, and thats done by Silica bags, After the filament has been in the dryer for a day or so the time in between heating runs become longer apart as the heat penitrates deep into a roll and overall the whole roll is moist free. I've been using a TPU i got way back in 2020 nearly full and ive no issues at all, also when your going thru the settings and you come across the flashing Sunlu setting it will change the way the light moves. My 3 main filaments are Esun PLA+ ABS+ and PETG, and with this machine you can run it like a AMS but you manually change ya filament, and because it has 2 filament exits for each roll it doent matter where you put it all my printers, it will pull the filament just fine, certinely better than my S1 and my original Esun Filament dryer. Big Cheers for an outstanding Review....From A M8 Downunder......p.s. it also frees up many power sockets depending on how many of the earlier dryers you may be running
Nice review Igor! I was wondering do you/or when you get your hands on S4... I am needing filament dryer and S4 is most likely "best for buck" imo... so keep up good work m8!
Funny you should post this as I was JUST browsing your channel while thinking, "man that sunlu S4 looks nice but I need to see some reviews on it". Great video. Disappointing that it's so loud, can't be used for a dry box, and doesn't rotate spools.
It has cavities with vented tops in the bottom of the unit for desiccant. The bowden adapters should make it clear that the box is intended to print out of. I feed three printers out of the S4 with zero issues. It is fairly loud, but you have to expect that from a unit to do 4 spools.
I have an S4 and yes it is absurdly loud. As for using it as a dry box, the S4 has a mode in which, after the timer expires, the dryer turns on at 50% RH (user-configurable) and runs until 25% RH. One nice thing about all the space is I’m able to dry filament on one side and desiccant on the other.
@@Martin-yo2lm I wrote “absurdly”, not “incredibly”, because it is absurd that the noise coming from the 3 fans *inside* the filament dryer should be so loud. It is absurd that the filament dryer is louder than the printer it is feeding. I am not incredulous; it’s not like I have a 747 taxiing through my printer room. 😆 I’d replace the fans with Noctuas if Noctua made a fan that size. To answer your second question, in my world, which should be obvious since I was sharing my opinion. I am aware of a mod that facilitates fan replacement so I suppose my “absurdly” assertion holds true in other worlds as well.
Is anyone having trouble with overheating filament in their S4. I now have at least 4 spools of PETG from 2 different vendors and 2 separate drying sessions that severely stick to itself inside the spool after drying (and become unusable as a result). The set temperature was 65C (measured 60ish) and dry time was 12h (which is longer than spec, but conventional wisdom says “you can’t overdry filament”). Both vendors are replacing the spools but both also claim overheating or “overdrying”. It’s expensive in time and filament for me to get to my own root cause by testing every permutation, but perhaps someone else has relevant experience?
The silica is the most useless thing ever in all these dryers. When the air is hot the air relative humidity drops (that's why we heat it and why it sucks water from the filament), so silica, which works well when air rel. humidity is high, becomes literally useless. Silica should be out only in the container where filament is stored at room temperature, not in a dryer!! :D
@@LexxM3 desiccant is useful inside a sealed (well sealed) box after the drying is completed, to maintain low humidity. In a dry box at room temperature during printing, for example.
It would be nice to see filament ports on the bottom, so this could be mounted about a printer and have a straight boden tube down into the printer. Looks good, I might get one of these though
Just note that 67C is very close to the lowest temp that PA can be dried at. And it would take 1-2 days at that temp. Also, you should put 4 KG in it and put the temp sensor inside the core to see how long it takes to reach 65C.
Thanks for another review and allowing us to compare these machines. I like the concept of turning the spool while it is being dried but this would have to be turned off if you're printing from a spool. Shouldn't be a difficult thing to work out that the filament can be pulled when in use but rotates when drying. They would also need to be separated from each other so the one being pulled does not turn the other. Probably best to just circulate the air well and avoid the motors completely - it seems that is what was done with this unit.
Igor, I loved this testing. Yeah, for people that are serious about 3D Printing, THIS is the Filament Dryer to have. Good video, my friend! Oh, the charts from collected data using an Arduino - that's great stuff!
Thank you for the video. How about measuring power consumption of filament dryers too? I think that is important since they could be used for long time filament storage.
Hm, yes. Maybe I will do in that new 6 filament dryer comparison video, when I finish all the product reviews waiting in the box. (together with noise measuring)
is power switch at the back, next to power plug illuminated or not? Its made of red transparent plastic, but cannot tell if it has light in it, mine is not illuminating. Just wondering.
I think it's possible that the filament on the two spools absorbed the water form the sponge. Maybe can you test it again with just one or two sponges?
This can be an issue with the edge/rim roller system, I see this with a lot of these boxes, edge rollers + long PTFE runs + weak extruder = under extrusion or extruder skipping, this can be even worse if the filament is an abrasive type, this is why they include 4x3 tube, to help reduce that drag.
I just got one of these as well, its an excellent dryer, it gets really hot inside and it does a good job of storing and maintaining the filament, its a noisy machine though as the fans are quite powerful, but it does have a place for desiccant which is nice, I would like to see it go higher on the temps as 70C is not good enough for high temp nylons, you will need 80 to 85C, were I live, PA-CF will not dry at 70C specially high temperature nylon blends and PA11 and PA12, they dry to a point at 70C, but they still do not print properly, I have to bake them in a proper oven at 90C for 8 to 10hrs to get them to a point that is acceptable, Nylons and PC blends are pretty much 90% of what I print.
My testing is that 65C will eventually dry PA, but it might take 48 hours. I agree 67C is not enough. Also, it is not clear this dryer will even reach 67C with 4KG inside of it.
@@rsilvers129 I find filaments like PAHT-CF UPAHT-CF and PA11-CF all need more drying to print really nice, I have to get these below 20%, I have been know to keep a spool of UPAHT-CF15 in the oven at 85C for 72hrs before using it, to get that last bit of moisture out of the polymer takes a lot more effort, I suppose like charging that last 10% of a Lithium battery, but I will say the S4, feels pretty hot, I will have to drop heat sensor in there and check it myself.
It should be clear that with the bowden adapters, this is intended to print from... The idea of sealing the unit up to dry and store filament is odd. It is fairly loud, but to do the job it's designed for, keeping up with four spools, it's going to be. Mine has been running 24/7 set on auto, PETG mode, at 20% RH for a couple months, feeding three printers and has been flawless. Oh, I paid for mine as well and actually use it...
I will call you Dr. Filament Dryer Tester from now on. 😆
Jokes aside - thanks for your insights and methodical testing. Your service is invaluable for the community.
Thank you, and I am not done yet. 2 more dryers this week.. (or next week)
@@MyTechFun Keep them coming. I bought a Gratkit Firefly considering your test results and my use case - and I am happy with it. I would not have considered it without your input.
Great video, sir. 👍🏻 I have two of these dryers, and 2 single spool dryers. I absolutely love them both! I've had zero problems with my Sunlu dryers.
I love my sunlu s4 dryer. I don't mind the sound. But I am not bothered by fan noise like some. At the end of the day, it works well and the standby option is amazing. I leave some rolls in there when planning to use some hydrophobic filaments. I also spin the roll every few hours but don't mind it as it gives me a chance to check on it. I also have the Eibos single-roll one and it is a pain to use compared to the S4. I used it today to try some CF PA. Thanks for the review sir. Cheers from canada 🇨🇦
This is a really good filament dryer. However, I recommend keeping one of the lids slightly open while drying, otherwise the moisture will not come out of the housing properly.
Did you not watch the test? It worked 😅
@@REDxFROG Tested myself and it has not worked good without my hint. Do you own a SUNLU S4? I do not think so. 😎
@@theunknowdude4355 got eeeeeem
I have the S2 and it does have a fan. Only had if for a few months. It seems to work fairly well but I don’t have any other dryer to compare to. It took my roll of TPU from a starting RH of 38% down to about 18% in about 8 hours.
G'day m8 from Sunny Brisbane. I Backed this way back in September/October last yr and got mine mid December. ive had this running since January 24 on mode 2 and once the relative humidity raises to the 50% on average it will turn on and run till the humidity comes down, and thats done by Silica bags, After the filament has been in the dryer for a day or so the time in between heating runs become longer apart as the heat penitrates deep into a roll and overall the whole roll is moist free. I've been using a TPU i got way back in 2020 nearly full and ive no issues at all, also when your going thru the settings and you come across the flashing Sunlu setting it will change the way the light moves. My 3 main filaments are Esun PLA+ ABS+ and PETG, and with this machine you can run it like a AMS but you manually change ya filament, and because it has 2 filament exits for each roll it doent matter where you put it all my printers, it will pull the filament just fine, certinely better than my S1 and my original Esun Filament dryer. Big Cheers for an outstanding Review....From A M8 Downunder......p.s. it also frees up many power sockets depending on how many of the earlier dryers you may be running
Nice review Igor! I was wondering do you/or when you get your hands on S4... I am needing filament dryer and S4 is most likely "best for buck" imo... so keep up good work m8!
I have 3 more dryers for testing..
The S1 and S2 were upgraded by Sunlu and now they both have fans 👍
Funny you should post this as I was JUST browsing your channel while thinking, "man that sunlu S4 looks nice but I need to see some reviews on it". Great video. Disappointing that it's so loud, can't be used for a dry box, and doesn't rotate spools.
Just for curiosity. How did you find this video? It should be unlisted (public from tomorrow)
@@MyTechFun unlisted videos still appear in your playlists 😉
Wow, really. Good to know.. Thx.
Yes its how we know what you where going to put out
It has cavities with vented tops in the bottom of the unit for desiccant. The bowden adapters should make it clear that the box is intended to print out of. I feed three printers out of the S4 with zero issues. It is fairly loud, but you have to expect that from a unit to do 4 spools.
I have an S4 and yes it is absurdly loud. As for using it as a dry box, the S4 has a mode in which, after the timer expires, the dryer turns on at 50% RH (user-configurable) and runs until 25% RH. One nice thing about all the space is I’m able to dry filament on one side and desiccant on the other.
incredibly loud? In which world?!
@@Martin-yo2lm I wrote “absurdly”, not “incredibly”, because it is absurd that the noise coming from the 3 fans *inside* the filament dryer should be so loud. It is absurd that the filament dryer is louder than the printer it is feeding. I am not incredulous; it’s not like I have a 747 taxiing through my printer room. 😆 I’d replace the fans with Noctuas if Noctua made a fan that size.
To answer your second question, in my world, which should be obvious since I was sharing my opinion. I am aware of a mod that facilitates fan replacement so I suppose my “absurdly” assertion holds true in other worlds as well.
Is anyone having trouble with overheating filament in their S4. I now have at least 4 spools of PETG from 2 different vendors and 2 separate drying sessions that severely stick to itself inside the spool after drying (and become unusable as a result). The set temperature was 65C (measured 60ish) and dry time was 12h (which is longer than spec, but conventional wisdom says “you can’t overdry filament”). Both vendors are replacing the spools but both also claim overheating or “overdrying”. It’s expensive in time and filament for me to get to my own root cause by testing every permutation, but perhaps someone else has relevant experience?
Great video
30 minutes to dry it out? wow
The silica is the most useless thing ever in all these dryers.
When the air is hot the air relative humidity drops (that's why we heat it and why it sucks water from the filament), so silica, which works well when air rel. humidity is high, becomes literally useless.
Silica should be out only in the container where filament is stored at room temperature, not in a dryer!! :D
What about after the active drying during printing at root temperature out of the box? i.e. “dry box” function. Desiccant still useless then?
@@LexxM3 desiccant is useful inside a sealed (well sealed) box after the drying is completed, to maintain low humidity. In a dry box at room temperature during printing, for example.
I have a second version of S2 and it has fan
Buyer beware. I backed kickstarter an d never received unit.
It would be nice to see filament ports on the bottom, so this could be mounted about a printer and have a straight boden tube down into the printer.
Looks good, I might get one of these though
Just note that 67C is very close to the lowest temp that PA can be dried at. And it would take 1-2 days at that temp. Also, you should put 4 KG in it and put the temp sensor inside the core to see how long it takes to reach 65C.
Thanks for another review and allowing us to compare these machines.
I like the concept of turning the spool while it is being dried but this would have to be turned off if you're printing from a spool. Shouldn't be a difficult thing to work out that the filament can be pulled when in use but rotates when drying. They would also need to be separated from each other so the one being pulled does not turn the other.
Probably best to just circulate the air well and avoid the motors completely - it seems that is what was done with this unit.
Igor, I loved this testing. Yeah, for people that are serious about 3D Printing, THIS is the Filament Dryer to have. Good video, my friend! Oh, the charts from collected data using an Arduino - that's great stuff!
Why are the results not on your website?
Thank you for the video. How about measuring power consumption of filament dryers too? I think that is important since they could be used for long time filament storage.
Hm, yes. Maybe I will do in that new 6 filament dryer comparison video, when I finish all the product reviews waiting in the box. (together with noise measuring)
Looks promising despite the noise
is power switch at the back, next to power plug illuminated or not?
Its made of red transparent plastic, but cannot tell if it has light in it, mine is not illuminating. Just wondering.
I think it's possible that the filament on the two spools absorbed the water form the sponge.
Maybe can you test it again with just one or two sponges?
I've been waiting for this one. Thanks!
This this wrecked havock on my life for weeks making me think my printers were defective.. Theres too much drag for smooth extruding
This can be an issue with the edge/rim roller system, I see this with a lot of these boxes, edge rollers + long PTFE runs + weak extruder = under extrusion or extruder skipping, this can be even worse if the filament is an abrasive type, this is why they include 4x3 tube, to help reduce that drag.
I just got one of these as well, its an excellent dryer, it gets really hot inside and it does a good job of storing and maintaining the filament, its a noisy machine though as the fans are quite powerful, but it does have a place for desiccant which is nice, I would like to see it go higher on the temps as 70C is not good enough for high temp nylons, you will need 80 to 85C, were I live, PA-CF will not dry at 70C specially high temperature nylon blends and PA11 and PA12, they dry to a point at 70C, but they still do not print properly, I have to bake them in a proper oven at 90C for 8 to 10hrs to get them to a point that is acceptable, Nylons and PC blends are pretty much 90% of what I print.
My testing is that 65C will eventually dry PA, but it might take 48 hours. I agree 67C is not enough. Also, it is not clear this dryer will even reach 67C with 4KG inside of it.
@@rsilvers129 I find filaments like PAHT-CF UPAHT-CF and PA11-CF all need more drying to print really nice, I have to get these below 20%, I have been know to keep a spool of UPAHT-CF15 in the oven at 85C for 72hrs before using it, to get that last bit of moisture out of the polymer takes a lot more effort, I suppose like charging that last 10% of a Lithium battery, but I will say the S4, feels pretty hot, I will have to drop heat sensor in there and check it myself.
It should be clear that with the bowden adapters, this is intended to print from... The idea of sealing the unit up to dry and store filament is odd. It is fairly loud, but to do the job it's designed for, keeping up with four spools, it's going to be. Mine has been running 24/7 set on auto, PETG mode, at 20% RH for a couple months, feeding three printers and has been flawless. Oh, I paid for mine as well and actually use it...
20% rh isnt posible, 30% is the lowest.