Dear customers, we have become aware of a fault affecting some Air Filter cartridges.
Problem The lid of the cartridge is warping and losing its seal with the cartridge body. Filter material is falling out through the gap, and air from the machine is not fully flowing through the filter, causing the machine to smell.
Cause
We 3D printed 2 batches of the Filters which used 2 different materials. One material, PLA+, seems to have not held up against this year's winter because some of our air filters in storage have warped without being used in a machine. The other materials, ABS, seems to be holding up just fine, but we are running some more tests to make sure.
Solution
Once we confirm that ABS does not have any issues, we will manufacture a batch, and then invite you by email to request a free replacement if you need one
Apologies for the inconvenience, and thank you for your understanding
Hi. I just came online to trouble shoot another issue but then saw this thread…. I missed the email about the filters but mine is also warped and spits charcoal everywhere when I use my machine. Can I please request a replacement?
Filter update: All customers who requested a new filter have been sent a new one for free. None of the new filters have failed which is good. However, 3D printing is a nightmare and we have decided to switch to a conventionally manufactured one which stock has just arrived and has no risk of any issues. Thank you for your patience in allowing us to iron out this bug, you are all amazing
Hi There, We are sending out the new filters everyday as they become ready from 3D printers so it won't be long. You'll get a tracking link when yours is on the way.
Kind regards
iCompost Team
Hi, Will you contact us for the filter replacement?
Hello, I finally set up my icomposter and am experiencing the same warping problems; this is the first time of use, I thought the machine was smellier than it should have been and saw the filter was pushed out by about 10mm, tried pushing it back in but the fan pushed it right back out, so removed the filter, machine running, and saw the problem; turned the machine off. It looks to me as if the filter body is also distorted, have left it for now and will check in the morning.
I would appreciate your comments
Hello, yes, my filter is also curled up.
We have good news. We have improved the design of the filter to strengthen areas where warping was likely. We have had good results with the new version and have started production. We'll start shipping them out to the 17 customers who have requested it soon. We have also ordered the original filters from the factory in China in case any issues arise in the future, however the original filters are not refillable.
as a "gap" stop I cut some of these carbon pads down to size to stick in the front, removed about 3 tablespoons of carbon flakes and cut these to fit between carbon flakes and the filter piece, it just stops the flakes from falling out:
I think 3d printing it with filament is the problem, the layering of the filament means certain parts are thinner, thus when the PLA / ABS reheat it warps where the thicker part pull more and the thinner parts bend with the heat, the idea would to still print the container, but get the grill made out of aluminium that can handle heat stress better and dissipate the heat better best would to be to cnc the whole cartridge out of single block aluminium.
Mine is warped as well, any chance we can get the stl file, I want to to see if I resin print it if it might stop the warping, or laser cut aluminium front screw in piece. I also found that the warping keep pushing the filter out, meaning it does not really work as designed
The new material of ABS is the right material for heat resistance, however It is incredibly painful to print. We‘ve purchased even more equipment to heat up the enclosure while the print is running, as per expert recommendation. By the end of this, we’ll be 3D printing experts 😅 Apologies once again for the wait, we thought it would be simple and thought we got it right some months ago but new problems keep cropping up. But we’ll solve them all
this Week we spent R10,000 on new 3D printing equipment to put the new filter into production
Unfortunately the prototype failed under heat testing. We are trying a 3rd material tonight which is commonly used in industry but is 100 times more difficult to print
Prototyping Of the new version has commenced
Dear Batch 2 customers, we have found that the warping issue has returned on the lid of the air filter. We are working on a new design this week and will send the new filter lid for free to those who are experiencing the issue.
Hello - just wondering if there's an update on this? Thanks!
Hi I have sent a what's App with photos as mines is warped and also recommendations to improve.