Contact support ASAP. Water in the machine is one of the things specifically mentioned in the manual as not good.
This is done. I will not be turning my machine on until I hear form them.
What do you guys think about this for a blast gate solution?
3 Likes
Man… u got a glowforge! Cut a manual blast gate out and glue it together!
5 Likes
That’s the one I’ve been looking at for when the weather outside turns cold here.
I didn’t have condensation, but I did have a piece of veneer seriously warp when I left it in there during some very humid days.
FYI, this is the vent I have. It still lets the humidity in.
1 Like
That’s a heck of a lot fancier (and pricier) than you probably need. Mine’s just a bunch of hanging flaps. They get pushed up by the air flow.
(Okay…now I’m haunt…it’s actually not a blast gate - it’s called an exhaust cap.)
Anyway, it works just fine.
4 Likes
Mine has one flap on it, and the hinge is at the top of the flap.
I could adjust the closing force on it by adding a weight onto the bottom of the flap.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/IMPERIAL-4-in-Dia-Plastic-Preferred-with-Guard-Dryer-Vent-Hood/4753378
1 Like
That’s clever. We get condensation in our dryer fairly regularly - we live in Georgia (state, not country), so hot and humid days are pretty par for the course - and I will definitely try this.
I was planning to only hook up the glowforge when I use it, and close the window when it’s not being used. I didn’t even consider condensation… I’m just afraid of bugs getting in. But now condesation and bugs.
2 Likes
Thanks for taking the time to post. This is very helpful information. I made my own quick disconnect totally from materials I had on hand and a custom stopper to put in the hole when I disconnect the hose. In my case it was to keep out the cold of winter when not using. Heat and humidity haven’t affected the PRU I have this summer.
3 Likes
- Please refer to your manual for humidity requirements.
- I suspect that this is outside of the humidity range that we recommend, so…
- I’m moving it to Beyond the Manual.
- If I’m incorrect and the temperature and humidity are within our recommended range, please open a topic in Problems and Support.
Thanks!
1 Like
Yup… 96% Humidity today… The Safety guide says operation should be between 10-75%.
I remember reading that, but my obvious thought was I will not be using my 
outside so I should be fine. Humidity in my house is well within the norm.
I think the issue here is humidity coming in through the exhaust hose from outside is not something the everyday person would think about. I certainly didn’t. I think maybe I assumed there was a built in back flow valve or something…
You know what they say about assuming…
I guess now I can just pray that when I finally do turn this thing back on it works or else that’s $3k down the toilet…
7 Likes
As stated: Silicone bags. big ones. We use them in the hospital to help dry out various scopes. and by large I mean big. like 3" x 8" and about 1.5" thick. Six of them stacked in the top of each cabinet. Only have to microwave them about 1x/month.(takes about 15 min per 2 though)
4 Likes
IT WORKS!
Oh thank god!
@wesleyjames Yeah Ill pick some of those up just in case.
I went through this thing with a fine tooth comb, after manually drying the lid and door (the only areas I could see water). Then let it air out underneath my fan for a good 6-7 hours.
We are good to go! Thanks for all the tips everybody I don’t know what I would do without you.
I will be headed to Home Depot tomorrow!
Might try to build @marmak3261 quick release system. 
19 Likes
thanks for updating, I’ve been thinking about your all day
1 Like
So, you’ve got warm, humid air and it’s coming into contact with your cool Glowforge. You could prevent the air from coming in altogether (blast gate, positive air pressure), you could also try to get the water out of the air using a desiccant (kitty litter, etc.), there are a couple other approaches that you could take too. Personally, I think I’d go with the blast gate and possibly throw in some desiccant as a second line of defense.
Other approaches…
You could cool the air. How long is the pipe between the window and the Glowforge? If it’s real short, maybe adding a few feet of additional tubing would be enough to cool the air down before it gets into your machine. Similar to extra tubing, you could possibly put an intercooler (from a car) between the Glowforge and the outside air. That might put enough cool surface area between the outside and the inside so that enough water condenses out before it causes problems. Ideally, the tube/intercooler would be at an angle so that they drain automatically.
You could warm your Glowforge. Some kind of small heater (a warming rock from a pet store?) might be enough to make a little warm bubble inside the Glowforge. A bare lightbulb comes to mind as well, but you might just end up with an Easy-Bake Glowforge that way. Also, maybe there’s a warmer area in your office that the Glowforge could be moved to (a closet? next to a warm appliance like a refrigerator?).
1 Like
When I overwinter my honey bees I put a box on top of the hive filled with sawdust to collect condensation. The bottom of the box is fabric. Might be a stopgap solution. Also, desiccant pellets?
1 Like
I would move this to the problems section as noted and call BS on the whole thing. You have the machine setup per their instructions including the venting. Living anywhere in the South or along the Gulf Coast puts us outside the recommended operating environment for both heat and humidity by this definition.
8 Likes
Only if you’re using it outside, right?
Does the manual’s humidity requirement specifically talk about humidity of the outside air mass to which the hose is connected? If not, then this issue is not “beyond the manual.”
4 Likes