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Clearing a deep throat hot-end jam

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by drbanks, Jun 26, 2018.

  1. drbanks

    drbanks Active Member

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    Was switching filaments from PLA to nGen, with the extruder set on 240 degrees, and ended up with a pretty hard extruder jam. Mebbe I should have tried a lower temp. I don't know. Assuming my bad.

    Fortunately, I just happen to have a spare hot end laying around. Unfortunately, my geriatric shaky hands and poor eyesight are making getting the heater and thermistor plugs connected sort of difficult, but hey, it doesn't involve any screwdrivers, does it?

    Before removing the old hot end, I removed the nozzle, and it looks clear. From probing with acupuncture needles, seems like it's around or just above the heat break.

    Is there any tried and true way to clear these? I mean, yeah, I can keep working with the new hot end, but I'd kind of like to resurrect the old one if I can. You know, to bail me out the next time I do something else stupid.

    Any other constructive suggestions welcome, even if I react to them in a way that reflects my cranky temperament.
     
  2. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Since the hexagon hot end is 100% metal, you can remove it from the printer and then heat the heatbreak and bottom of the heatsink with a small butane/propane torch to melt out all the plastic.
     
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  3. drbanks

    drbanks Active Member

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    Good idea; thanks.
     
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Just be careful. A brass nozzle can't stand the full heat of some propane torches so keep the heat on the right spots or you will need a new nozzle :) "Small" is the key word on that sentence about the torch ;)
     
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  5. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Funny since after we sacrificed one nozzle to Helios we bought that exact one at Harbor Freight as well .. (go figure)
     
  7. drbanks

    drbanks Active Member

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    The nozzle's already been removed from the hot end and it's a hardened steel nozzle anyway, but thanks for the warning, because it's not the sort of thing I would have thought of on my own.
     
  8. drbanks

    drbanks Active Member

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    And not in a huge hurry because:

    A) I have a new spare, presumably working, so I can take my time refurbishing this one
    B) I have an i3 running as my backup printer (in general, I trust the R2 to run unattended, whereas the i3 needs to be watched like a hawk)
    C) Me touching hand tools is the start of a really bad day
     
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    That would require ... effort ;)
     
  10. Larry Garrido

    Larry Garrido Member

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    just use one of these, should only take a second or two.

    [​IMG]
     
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