New SUNLU Filament Dryer Review: Filadryer S2 2023 Edition

The quality of 3D prints often drops when cold and wet weather arrives. High humidity in the air, rain, snow, and storms eventually negatively affect your 3D printing materials. For example, some filaments absorb moisture, resulting in failed prints, and that’s when a good filament dryer comes in handy. Let’s unbox and review the new SUNLU filament dryer, Filadryer S2, to see how this small device can dry PLA, ABS, PETG, and other plastics and help you 3D print outstanding models.

How much moisture can your filament absorb? Everything depends on its hygroscopicity characteristic. Hygroscopicity is the materials’ property to absorb moisture from the surrounding environment. Some products, such as SBS, do not require the usage of filament dryers because they do not absorb any moisture. But others, such as ABS, PETG, and PLA, absorb it too well.

SUNLU Filament Dryer

The new 3D printer filament dryer by SUNLU arrives in a small, neat box. You can find the SUNLU S2 filament drybox, a 48-watt power supply (quite powerful for such a device), and instructions inside.

The filament drybox appearance might not appeal to everyone’s taste because Filadryer S2 is a simple cylinder with legs. Some competitors offer more interesting filament dryer designs; however, SUNLU S2 is praised by many customers for its incredible performance and functionality, which is far more important than the looks.

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SUNLU S2 Review

You can turn on Filadryer S2 by double-tapping on its screen, which is incredibly large, bright, and touch-sensitive. You can easily read what it shows from approximately 9.8 feet (3 meters).

You can configure your SUNLU filament dryer on its touchscreen. There are no submenus. The display is 3.42 x 2.87 inches (8.7 x 7.3 cm) and very informative (the best one we saw in 3D printer filament dryer boxes). It lets you adjust humidity and filament dryer temperature and set the timer and target temperature.

You can turn on and off the ring light added for beauty. It comes with two glow modes: flashing and spinning.

This filament dryer box has a timer. When time is gone, the heating stops. Still, the SUNLU dryer has an advantage. You can set the timer to infinite mode and stop worrying about the SUNLU S2 filament dryer turning off as you 3D print. It’s a convenient feature to set precise parameters for each 3D printing material type. You configure it once, and the temperatures are correct even when you switch the filament.

Filament Dryer Temperature

SUNLU S2 allows users to switch between ℃ and ℉ on the touchscreen. You can find filament dryer temperature settings for ABS, PETG, PLA, and other types of plastic. Such recommendations simplify the setup and help you select the appropriate temperature for drying PLA, ABS, and PETG on the go.

According to the manufacturer, the new SUNLU filament dryer box supports temperatures from 113 to 158 ℉ (45 to 70 ℃). It sounds mighty, and Gambody will test the S2 power. The announced temperature range makes it possible to dry both standard plastics and refractory types such as polyamide.

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SUNLU Dryer Changes

If you watch the YouTube SUNLU Filadryer S2 review variety, you will hear either praise or criticism because of the lack of a fan to mix the air masses inside the filament drying box. On the one hand, no fan helps the SUNLU dryer to operate silently. On the other hand, it limits its functionality compared to competitors.

In our SUNLU S2 review, we can only note that the filament dryer received by Gambody has a fan inside. We first heard the cooler’s noise when we turned on this device. The company’s engineers consider customer reviews and add product changes to satisfy users.

Upon closer inspection of the SUNLU S2 filament dryer design, we can confirm that this Filadryer S2 has a fan! It might be this device’s second revision, making it less silent but more functional. The fan helps mix the warm air inside the drying box. If the noise bothers you, turn off the fan manually, but remember to insulate the wires.

How to Use SUNLU Filament Dryer

This cool filament dryer box has a simple design. The heater on the metal sheet at the top and bottom helps disperse heat inside the chamber. Each sheet is screwed with four screws.

The reel spins on iron rollers with bearings, which rotate easily and can be removed for maintenance.

Follow our simple guide on how to use SUNLU filament dryer:

Step 1. Open the lid and insert the filament spoon.

Step 2. Turn on your Filadryer S2 by double-tapping on its screen.

Step 3. Start 3D printing using your 3D printer. The S2 filament heater has a feed-out coil. Thus, you can keep drying PLA or other plastics while feeding it to your 3D printer.

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3D Printer Filament Drying Tests

After running several tests, Gambody can confirm the following:

• Filadryer S2 by SUNLU can heat up to 161 ℉ (72 ℃). The ability to preserve this temperature inside the filament dryer box makes S2 stand out among its competitors.
• If you turn off the timer feature, you can continuously dry the 3D printing materials as you 3D print using your printer.
• The SUNLU S2 filament dryer fan is pretty quiet. It is undoubtedly quieter than the coolers used on a 3D printer head.

Gambody tested drying PLA and PETG using Filadryer S2. But this device can also dry ABS without issues and supports elastane that requires the temperature from 149 to 158 ℉ (65 to 70 ℃) or even up to 161 ℉ (72 ℃).

The new SUNLU filament dryer has more pros than cons. Among its disadvantages, we can note a single hole for filament at the bottom. Users who place their filament dryer box on top of a 3D printer might need a plug for this hole. Besides, you can only put one filament spool inside this 3D printer filament dryer box. It would be wonderful if the chamber could hold two 2.2-lbs (1-kg) spools.

The Filadryer S2 box’s dark transparent plastic is also a disadvantage. It makes it difficult to see the amount of filament remaining on the spool from afar. You have to check it by coming closer and opening the lid.

P.S. If you add the SUNLU S2 filament dryer to your FLSUN 3D printer and FLSUN V400 3D Printer Enclosure, you will love how incredible both devices look together. You can tell that the same designer worked on them. Wow!

Conclusion

This SUNLU filament dryer has many more pros than cons and will find its buyer. Gambody believes every 3D printing enthusiast should have a 3D printer filament dryer box in their arsenal, especially on rainy and humid days. The SUNLU S2 fully complies with its promised characteristics. It performs well in drying PLA, ABS, PETG, and other filaments, while its cute ring light makes the process more enjoyable.