Folger Tech Prusa i3 leaking heat break

Hi there everyone,

I'm new to the forum and 3D printing in general. I'll save the detailed introduction for another thread, for now I have an issue I'd like some feedback on.

The Problem:

My extruder is leaking PLA from both the top of the hotend where the heat break screws in and from the top of the nozzle.

The Setup:

- Newly assembled Folger Tech Prusa i3, aluminium frame version (not the acrylic frame).
- Printing PLA filament @ 205c to 220c (I've been experimenting to dial this in)
- Running Repetier with Slic3r

Observations:

- There is no jamming, everything feeds nicely as far as I can tell
- Prints are of "decent" quality. I would sooner blame my lack of experience and hardware tuning than the printer.
- The first several test prints (20mm calibration blocks) printed without this issue.
- The issue only manifested with the first "large" (> 1hr) print.
- Now that I've noticed the issue, it seems to start leaking almost as soon as the print starts.
- I've cleaned out the hotend by maxing out the temp and letting it melt/drain off, then (with extreme care) wiping/scraping the remainder off.
- I'm getting globs of brown PLA on and in my prints - my filament is white, so it's quite noticable. I don't care about the color difference, I'm just concerned about burning plastic in my house.

Troubleshooting:

- I've cleaned out the heat break and hotend.
- I've adjusted the heating element and temperature sensor to be as evenly placed as possible (i.e., flush with the side of the hotend).
- I've power cycled the entire unit as well as the control software.
- I've adjusted the hotend spacing by screwing it in to the extruder farther. I realise this might have been a mistake and will be returning to the stock distance once I get home from work.


From what I've read here and other forums, I'll most likely be trying out some teflon tape on the heat break and nozzle. I'd like whatever input you folks might have in case it's something easy or obvious that I've missed.

Thank you!

-Hallofo

I don't know what hot end Folger uses, but for hot ends with separate nozzle and heat break, you generally need to tighten up the nozzle against the heat break when the hot end is hot, e.g. at 220C. If that doesn't fix the leak at the join then you probably have a badly finished nozzle or heat break.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

OK, I'll go ahead and warm everything up and grab my wrench. Thank you for the feedback!

My heatbreak and nozzle were loose also from the factory and leaked like you said. You just need to tighten them up like Hallofo said. No big deal.