<p>This might be a dumb question, but can a 60 watt heater be used on a 40 watt unit?</p>
<p>Simply put, I was wrong in thinking that more power was simply stuffed into the same dimensions.</p>
<p>It extends about 5 millimeters beyond my heating block. Can it be used in general or will it lead to some consequences?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/sz0R4.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Photo showing heating element protruding from heater block"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/sz0R4.jpg" alt="Photo showing heating element protruding from heater block" title="Photo showing heating element protruding from heater block" /></a></p>

[{'answer_id': 18839, 'author': 'Zeiss Ikon', 'author_id': 28508, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/28508', 'pm_score': 3, 'selected': False, 'text': "<p>I'd expect the heater sticking out as pictured to cause problems -- the exposed part of the heater will tend to overheat (it's not conducting heat away into the heat block) and isn't protected by the thermistor and software PID acting as a smart thermostat.</p>\n<p>It <em>might</em> be possible to install the heater in a more centered position, so less of it protrudes beyond the block, but this is likely to leave the wire end sticking out instead.  I'd have to recommend either getting the correct heater, or upgrading your entire hot end to accommodate the larger heater (which involves also verifying the driver circuitry on your control board can handle 50% higher current, resetting your nozzle offsets so you don't print off the build surface on prints that run close to Ymin, and likely modifying or replacing your part cooling fan and/or its shroud).</p>\n"}, {'answer_id': 18840, 'author': '0scar', 'author_id': 5740, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/5740', 'pm_score': 3, 'selected': False, 'text': '<blockquote>\n<p>Can a 60 W heater be used on a 40 W unit?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Yes, you can, I used various heater cartridges with different powers ranging from 40-80 W.</p>\n<p>Where you need to look out for is that heating is not too fast that you get overshoots such that it triggers alarms, see <a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/13401/pid-tuning-50-w-cartridge-in-marlin">PID tuning 50 W cartridge in Marlin</a>. It is best to PID tune the hotend heater once you replaced it with a new cartridge.</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It extends about 5 millimeters beyond my heating block. Can it be used in general or will it lead to some consequences?</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>Try to center it better, do note that the heat is produced by a wound resistor wire, it usually doesn\'t extend all the way to the end of the heater cartridge.</p>\n<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/J01Z0.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/J01Z0.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>\n<p><em>Image taken from <a href="https://www.vsec.top/whats-the-difference-between-cartridge-heaters-and-tubular-heaters/" rel="noreferrer">Vsec Temperature Sensor Manufacturer</a></em></p>\n'}, {'answer_id': 18841, 'author': 'R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE', 'author_id': 11157, 'author_profile': 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/11157', 'pm_score': 2, 'selected': False, 'text': "<p>One simple consequence is that you're going to have a hard time finding a sock that fits properly. If you cut one, or have one that has a hole where the heater protrudes, it will physically fit but then not do its job preventing radiative/convective heat loss and transfer to your printed part, or preventing stray material from sticking to the heater. You could make a custom one with molded RTV silicone, of course.</p>\n"}]
['https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/18837', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com', 'https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/users/32925/']