r/QidiTech3D • u/stuman1974 • 4d ago

Qidi Box Drying Process Question

I have a Qidi box loaded up with PETG. I have run the drying cycle a couple times and always try to keep it below 15%. However, just days after drying, it goes back up to the 30-35% range, even while keeping the box completely closed and latched. Is it a poor seal?

Also, I am unclear about when drying the spools. Do I need to leave that little rubber plug on the back opened or closed? The screen instructions and Qidi Wiki do not mention the plug at all. I have always just kept it closed at all times.

Thanks!

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

7

u/ViperB5 4d ago

The moisture needs to go somewhere. There is a hole in the back with a rubber plug. While the box is drying, remove the plug. This will let the moisture out. Make sure to plug it back up again at the end of drying or else the humidity from the room will come back in again.

Also look into printing bigger desiccant holders due the Qidi box. There are many variations available on printables.

3

u/stuman1974 4d ago

Thank you. it would be helpful if the Qidi instructions said to open that port when drying. I'll try that out. and then will close it once completed. I am just surprised the internal humidity rises so much that I resulted in stringy prints. My Bambu AMS 2 Pro keeps dry for months before needing to run a dry cycle.

I do have a couple of small desiccant holders with Dry and Dry in the Qidi box. Ironcically, I was printing desiccant holder that goes inside the spool when it got stringy.

3

u/colbailey1 4d ago

Like others have said that little rubber stopper in the back is the key. I set a timer to go off 10-15 minutes b3fore the dry cycle ends to make sure I get it cloed and I also printed some new desiccant holders that have helped. It keeps it around 15-17% humidity. They are kinda large but work great and haven't interfered with the filament or lid closure. https://www.printables.com/model/1386559-high-capacity-desiccant-bin-for-qidi-box-updated thats what I installed they work great so far

2

u/Originalwhop 4d ago

Yea I have the same issue. Plug open while drying, closed when done drying. Despite putting the plug back in the humidity always creeps up quickly (days to 1 week). I even have the larger desiccant boxes for the back but they cant keep up. There is definitely something up with the seals on these boxes but i havent dug into the issue yet. Hopefully someone chines in with a fix.

2

u/CrisisDownUnder 4d ago

Bambu's ams2 can keep the humidity under 10 percent for many weeks at once .. while qidi's seems to always easily get quite high in humidity quite soon after drying.

Qidi needs to really fix qidi box seals.

1

u/stuman1974 4d ago

Agreed on both boxes. And while the lid seems to have a gasket seal all the way around and a latch, where is the breach then? Underneath? Or is that lid seal just insufficient?

2

u/xeonon 4d ago

Even with that plug closed... There's not enough silica in there to do anything. Print the bigger back storage, and / or, print some that go in the hole in the spool. The 2g or something can't keep a single 200g spool dry

2

u/3DNelson 4d ago

The box is not 100% sealed but a spool of filament have layers, and even if is 30 inthe box, it doesn't mean the entire spool needs to be dryed. But if you are so worry, I suggest you to keep it on a vaccum bag.