How do you guys store your filaments?
I don’t print very much but I want to keep a decent selection of filament colors, etc. However, my location is very humid.
I’ve printed a couple of the GunplaMark’s Filament Storage (2026) cereal container boxes but it’s a bit of a pain to take the filament in and out of the boxes and into the AMS 2 Pro.
What is everybody else doing?
I’ve printed 4 of this model, Drybox Sterilite 20 Qt . That seems to work pretty good for keeping my filament dry.
I store my PLA in the open. But if your location is very humid then it may not work.
Try the airtight storage tote from Home Depot. Put some desiccants inside to keep the filament dry.
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Ezy-Storage-75L-79-3Qt-Waterproof-Clear-Latch-Tote-IP-67-FBA34064/314733555
Some others have used vacuum bags and other solutions. There have been at least a dozen discussions on this forum about this topic. Type “filament storage” into the search bar on this forum and read them if you want.
Sous vide bags and a hand pump to suck out most of the air. The bags run about a buck each. It’s not elegant but it adds very little extra space to storing them.
(I also got a battery operated pump. It works but it’s much slower than just hand pumping a few times. Recommend one if you have joint pain, otherwise it’s probably a waste.)
Converted commercial display fridge, holds up to 100 standard rolls. Includes fans for internal air circulation and a Rosahl M-5J1R membrane dehumidifier. Maintains 10-11% rh @ 30 degrees C
My process:
Get it out of it’s shipping box.
Out of the Vacuum shipping bag.
Into my passive drying unit (no heat for PLA/PETG/ASA just desiccant in the chamber, I don’t use PA612).
24 hours later/PETG get 48 hours.
Into a Drybox with 3 ounces of desiccant in 3 separate containers. (Amazon Cereal Container, with a Boden port cap and a hydrometer glued inside the cap).
On to the shelf for 1-2 weeks of slow drying.
Use as needed.
I built the system 3 weeks before I ordered my printer.
It is better to use a big bin instead of small boxes. A large plastic bin with silica gel is fine.
It reduces the hassle of constantly opening multiple containers and swapping spools.
A single sealed environment also maintains more stable humidity levels across all filaments.
You can quickly access and organize multiple spools in one place, improving overall workflow efficiency.
I live in a rain forest. I use 20 qt Sterilite gasket boxes with four 50gram desiccant packets per box. They seal very good and remain dry inside as long as the lids are kept on.
The cereal box sized containers are cumbersome and the bigger ones a little heavy to have to deal with. The 20 qt containers hold 4 spools which I find to be a convenient size.
