Nozzle clogged right when I started my Christmas print batch

[BlueOak]

I finally sat down to start a big batch of Christmas prints and my nozzle clogged today of all days. I cleaned it a few days ago and the printer has been running smooth for weeks. Then the temperature dropped and suddenly the filament starts feeding like it is dragging through sand.

I am wondering if the cold December air messes with consistency more than I realized. The spool feels firmer than usual and the extrusion looks slightly under before it clogs. checked the tension, clean the gears, and heated the nozzle manually but it still feels like the filament flow is unpredictable.

Does colder weather change your filament behavior? I am trying to figure out if this is just bad timing or if winter air actually affects printing more than I thought.

 

[GalarMagnolia]

I’ve hit that exact sandpaper feeding feeling when the house cools down overnight. For me it wasn’t a full clog, just borderline flow that kept getting worse mid print. Warming the spool helped more than I expected. Cold air plus filament is not a great combo.

 

[Dark_Chirithy]

Isn’t it always right when you finally have time to print that something goes wrong. Cold air definitely seems to expose borderline setups. I’ve had prints run fine all fall and then December shows up and suddenly extrusion gets weird. For me it was a combo of cold filament and slightly lower actual nozzle temp than what the screen said.

 

[Alan]

That timing is brutal, especially when it is freezing out and you finally have time for a batch run. Cold weather can absolutely make filament feel stiffer and can also change how your printer holds temp, so you are not crazy for suspecting winter air. What filament type and nozzle temp were you running when it started doing the sand drag thing?