I’ve had my printer for a few months with a few clogs here and there but have been able to unjam them and all is well. Now, however, I have a problem; the plastic is completely stuck in the extruder. Now, I took the fan off and unscrewed the little blue cap and discovered that there is a strand of plastic that is sticking up. I tried pulling on it with needle nose pliers with all my strength but it is STUCK. The Hatchbox PLA is rated at 180-200 celsius. I jacked the temperature up to 325 celsius and it is still completely stuck- it didn’t budge up or down! I know the extruder gets hot correctly because I touched a piece of plastic to it and that melted. I have no idea what to do now. The printer has never had a problem like this before.
I don’t know this printer very well, so someone else may have a better answer. I’m assuming you meant 225 C not 325 C? Almost any plastic filament should get soft enough to dislodge at 225 C. Is there a PTFE tube in the hot end that could have came loose or melted into place? If it’s PTFE, 225 C isn’t going to be hot enough to break it free. I don’t quite know how it would have melted in the first place. If worse comes to worse, you can take the hot end completely out of the printer and use a butane torch to heat up whatever is blocking your path.
Yes it is 225C, and it didn’t get get soft at all. I don’t think there is a PTFE tube in the hot end because when I opened it up it looked the same as before. Unless something in the hot end melted and that is causing it to get stuck, I have no idea why it won’t move. Even if the tube did melt, why wouldn’t I be able to pull it out?
First, congratulation on being bad clog free for so long. It happens to everyone eventually, though.
Head over to the Monoprice Mini Facebook page. You’ll find lots of people exchanging tips on clearing clogs, leveling the bed, swapping out components, etc. It’s really not that difficult to clear a bad clog like that, I know from experience. (I have a Mini,) but it can be daunting the first few times.
Good to have in advance… allen wrench for the little grub screws holding the Bowden connector and heat break in place, 7mm wrench for removing and replacing the nozzle, a pair of channel lock pliers for holding the heat block which unscrewing the nozzle and heat break, as this should be done at ~200c, spare heat breaks, spare nozzles, and patience. You’ll find suggestions on where and how to find such things on the FB group. Heat breaks and nozzles can be ordered from Amazon, for ~$10 for several, and it’s a good idea to keep a few on hand for the next clog. 
(You can also clean your nozzle by holding with with a pair of needle-nose pliers and hitting it with a butane torch for a minute or two, after you’ve removed it from your printer. )
Good luck!
take the fan off, crank up the heat, let the heat soak up on the tube and push it out…
throw the fan back on asap.
Sometimes filament gets cooked so bad it doesn’t melt very well anymore. I had this happen on my Mini after swapping from ABS to PLA and had to remove the grub screws with an Allen wrench and drill the blockage out with a power drill! WARNING: a bit dangerous - do it carefully, preferably on a slow speed.
I’ve got a Mini, too - and my share of clogs. For under $20 you can buy a small assortment of replacement nozzles, heatbreaks, bowden connectors, etc. I find easier to give up on a two-buck heatbreak and stick in a new one, that to try and clean one that is clogged. Mainly because I doubt my ability to remove all trace of a clog, the least bit left will cause a clog eventually.
Where do you get the assortment of parts?
-Thanks
You’ll find a treasure trove of information on the Facebook Monoprice Mini group, but in the meantime…
Heatbreaks**: Link:** Amazon.com
Nozzles: Link: http://a.co/hQgLBKG
PTFE Tubing: Link: Amazon.com
Grub Nuts: Link: http://a.co/1gD1tQd
As mentioned above, there much more info and such on the Facebook page, plus hundred of people offering suggestions, asking question, helping each other.
Have fun!
Thanks that will definitely help me out a lot!
-Jack
