Advice on MK2 hotend replacement and whether/when to upgrade
I’d love some advice from MK2 owners:
I have a MK2 upgraded from MK1. It’s been great for years, but the hotend reports a thermal runaway randomly now, it can’t complete a print. It’s too fused to put a new thermistor in, so assuming that’s the only problem, I need an entirely new hotend.
The problem is that I can’t find this as a spare part, and a MK2/S upgrade won’t come with one (AFAICT). I don’t know if it’s compatible, but I could buy a whole new hot and for the 2S for $80 or so IIRC (before shipping to the US... ugh).
So my dilemma is what to do. I have a printer that no longer works, and the part that needs to be replaced is expensive and a risk.
My options are 1) to replace the hot end 2) wait for a MK4, 3) buy a MK3 (seems like maybe a bad time to do it), 4) buy a Mini.
I don’t really need the full print volume, so the mini is enticing, especially at the price, though I’ll miss the process of building a kit. But any new printer will make me feel terrible about what to do with the old printer.
Is there any secondary market for parts? Or does anybody have a hotend for a MK2 they want to donate??? 🙂
RE: Advice on MK2 hotend replacement and whether/when to upgrade
Have you tried to remove the thermistor whilst the hot-end is heated, this is the way you need to remove a heater cartridge or nozzle and obviously you would need to be careful when doing so.