Got my glowforge yesterday, have done some test cuts and all looks good. One thing I noticed is as long as the glowforge is on I hear the water pump running. Is the water pump always supposed to run even when the machine is idle?
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As far as I know, yes, it should run continuously while the power is on. I’ve had 3 units (2 PRUs & my forever 'Forge) and they all made that sound for a few minutes when first turned on as air bubbles worked their way to the reservoir. As long as you’re not noticing leaking fluid and not getting the overheating warning, you’re probably ok. Support will have the definitive word, of course.
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Mine runs constantly. When I first turn the unit on, halfway through the calibration song and dance, sometimes the water pump shuts off for a few moments, but then it turns back on and stays on until I power the unit down. It would be very nice if the GF would drop into some kind of standby state when I’m not using it, because it’s pretty loud, and it would be nice if I didn’t have to wait for calibration every single time I want to cut something.
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After completing a job there is still heat in the coolant, so running it afterwards continue to exchange heat. A sensor to detect ambient and shut it down at equilibrium would be nice, but it’s only around 40w consumption at idle.
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It definitely does have temperature sensors in the cooling loop.
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Good to know that others find the pump to be relatively loud. Worried that there might be a problem. On my PRU I could never hear the pump, but the Pro pump sound is ever present.
Yeah, I wasn’t very clear in my statement. I was referring to one that would trigger fan shut-off as opposed to the thermal protection sensor that shuts down the machine. I don’t know if it has changed, but when my exhaust was blocked everything drops dead. Seems like having the fans and pump still on-line would facilitate cool down.
From the page description:
Heavy duty work,can sustain 24 hours continuous running
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We have to replace the pump every 24 hours?
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I think the operative word here is continuous, not cumulative.
Ah, so I only have to replace it if I leave it on for a full day.
Why don’t you give it a shot and just see what happens?
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Hard to see it happen. Seems that the cloud drops it in automagically. Nothing you need to worry about doing. Some newfangled remote replicator technology involved I expect 
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Your Glowforge features a closed-loop liquid cooling system that uses the air from the room to remove heat. When it sits idle, the fans are off, so heat can build up. However, the pump will be running.