I’ve been struggling with my K1 since Christmas. I bought it on sale for Black Friday and no matter who I contact at Creality, no one can tell me what replacement parts to order. K1 parts don’t fit my printer. They want pictures to see what ‘buckle’ I have, because my serial number isn’t enough information, but who wants to tear down a printer just to take pictures? Now my thermistor is broken (a leg weld just fell right off while I was fixing a clog), and I can’t order a new one because what do I order? This printer doesn’t take K1 parts. Every time I order something, it has to get shipped back. I’m annoyed and venting, but also trying to help anyone else considering a Creality printer. Don’t do it. Their support is a joke and they take zero accountability.

I’ve added an image for help explaining the problem. These two JST connections are completely different, but both are supposed to be for the K1. And both of these listings are Creality Official:

Here’s one and here’s the other.

  • discomatic@lemmy.caOPEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    I emailed Creality directly, I didn’t go through their ticket system. Could you not link me to that site you mentioned? Because I’ve Googled the hell out of this and found a few complaints on Amazon, and that’s it.

    • titanicx@lemmy.zipEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      https://youtu.be/ILXu12KHa4s

      The Creality K1 “v2” (roughly June/July 2023 and later, often called the “updated version” or v2/v3) is a hardware revision of the original K1 (v1) designed to fix initial reliability issues, most notably extruder and hotend failures. The updated version is generally considered the minimum standard for a reliable K1 experience.

      Key Differences: Creality K1 V1 vs. V2/Updated

      Extruder: The V1 extruder had a chrome-finished, often problematic latch. The Updated/V2 extruder has a matte or sandblasted finish on the lever, providing better filament grip, fewer jams, and less slippage.

      Hotend: The original hotend was prone to clogging and issues with the ceramic heating element. The updated version (sometimes with a red silicone sock, though this is not definitive) has improved thermal performance and reliability.

      PTFE Tube Setup: Some updated units feature an improved toolhead clip that removes the need for the small, breakable blue plastic clip used on the V1 to secure the PTFE tube.

      Overall Reliability: The V2 (updated) K1 is far less likely to suffer from the “extruder click” or clogs that plagued early adopters.

      How to Identify the Differences

      Batch Number: Check the white sticker on the box. Batch numbers starting with 2305 are generally V1 (older). Batch numbers starting with 2307 or later are the updated version.

      Extruder Lever: The original extruder has a shiny/chrome lever. The updated extruder has a dull, matte, or sandblasted grey lever.

      Manufacturing Date: Units manufactured around or after July 2023 are generally the updated versions.

      Summary Table

      Feature K1 V1 (Original) K1 V2 (Updated/Mid-2023+)

      Extruder Lever Shiny/Chrome finish Matte/Sandblasted finish

      Extruder Performance Prone to slipping/jamming Improved grip & reliability

      Hotend Original (higher clog rate) Upgraded (better reliability)

      PTFE Clip Small blue clip (easily lost) Improved, more secure clip

      Common Issues Clogs, extruder clicks, uneven mesh Far fewer, more stable

      Note: The “K1C” is a separate, newer model that comes with all these, plus a hardened steel nozzle and improved toolhead.

      If you have a K1 V1, Creality previously offered “upgrade kits” to bring them to V2 specifications, but they are now widely replaced by third-party, more advanced extruders.

      +1

        • titanicx@lemmy.zipEnglish
          1·
          17 hours ago

          Again the people you were talking to are probably just typically first level employees at a company and they’re usually overseas India, the Philippines, Vietnam etc. They’re not really paid to think and they’re not really paid to provide this information they have a script in front of them that they follow and that’s about it. Learning how to Google things is one of the biggest things with any sort of technology that you can do. Straight up all I googled was creality k1 V1 versus V2.

    • titanicx@lemmy.zipEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      You do realize emailing a company like that directly still goes to a call center and customer service area where they answer it right? I can Google it later on I’m in the middle of working right now but all I did was Google reality k1 V2 and it brought up several answers