So, I’m having a really bad time with my current roll of filament - stringing, zitting, uneven laying, you name it it’s doing it. I know part of that is probably down to needing to redo my esteps, having changed my nozzle from 0.4 to 0.6, but I’m also hearing what can only be described as a “popping” noise from the filament as it’s pulled through. Would I be correct in assuming that this means the filament’s likely got moisture in it?
Hi Theranis, what type of filament is it (PETG, PLA, ABS, etc.), how long have you had it, and how has it been stored?
Yeah that’s often the cause of that (the pops are the moisture turning to superheated steam pockets in the nozzle).
You could try using a dehydrator, or a box with loads of silica gel, to dry it out.
That can also happen if you’re getting tiny clogs due to additives in the filament (which makes the flow rate inconsistent - not normally a loud popping through. )
I suspected as much! It’s bog-standard PETG, stored in the vacuum pack with silica it came in, but had been sitting for a while before I opened it and got around to using it. Shall switch to a new roll - we just got a filament dryer in the space, didn’t we?
Indeed we do! It’s white with a a transparent circular box on top.
I’m using it as I type this 
Worth noting that there’s only enough spacers to fit one spool in it at a time. You can also stick the silica gel packs into it as well whilst you’re doing the filament to recharge them.
It’s stored on the top of the 3D printing desk tower, which requires a step-ladder to reach.