# Resin tank Lifespan

**URL:** <https://forum.formlabs.com/t/resin-tank-lifespan/27704>\
**Category:** Form 3/3+\
**Created:** [May 19, 2020, 9:43am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/resin-tank-lifespan/27704 "2020-05-19T09:43:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kpinhassi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kpinhassi](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/kpinhassi)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 9:43am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/resin-tank-lifespan/27704/1 "2020-05-19T09:43:22Z")

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Hey all,

Form 3 mention that the lifespan of the tank (Gray Pro resin used) is exceed and a replacement is required.  
Dose any one pass the time and still using the tank? any issues? things that needs to be aware of when still using the tank?

Cheers,

Kobi

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**Author:** ![rkagerer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/439d5e/32.png) [@rkagerer](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/rkagerer)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/resin-tank-lifespan/27704/2 "2020-05-19T16:45:46Z")

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My understanding is the risk of a leak (through the adhesive between the layers and the tank) increases as you exceed the recommended time.

Here’s some past discussion about Form 3 tank lifetime. Note resins this is a particular issue for are Tough 2000, Elastic Resin, Rigid Resin and Grey Pro Resin.

> [@Form 3 Resin Availability: Update](http://forum.formlabs.com/t/form-3-resin-availability-update/24800/36):
>
> Thank you all for raising these concerns and questions and sorry for the delay in providing more context on this issue. This is a materials compatibility issue between the Form 3 tank and these resins. How much we can go into specifics is somewhat sensitive. Rigid, Elastic, and Grey Pro Resins are incompatible with the current Form 3 Resin Tanks, causing them to leak prior to reaching a desirable lifespan. What one considers a ‘desirable lifespan’ is of course something you can go back and fort…

> [@Form 3 Resin Availability: Update](http://forum.formlabs.com/t/form-3-resin-availability-update/24800/67):
>
> 10 weeks is based on our validation, and the failure mode is not something we’d encourage you to toe the line with. That said, we have made it so that while the UI will prompt you to switch tanks, you can choose to override it. So this isn’t an arbitrary lockdown thing, irregardless, I would strictly recommend you change tanks after 10 weeks. I have not personally tried it, but I understand emptying resin from a Form 3 tank is not a fun experience. Small amounts of residual resin does still det…

> [@Tank V2 Now Shipping - Allows usage of Rigid, Elastic, and Grey Pro on Form 3 Printers](http://forum.formlabs.com/t/tank-v2-now-shipping-allows-usage-of-rigid-elastic-and-grey-pro-on-form-3-printers/26324):
>
> [[Imgur] ](https://imgur.com/xdPI50Y) We’re excited to announce that you can now print with all of our [Engineering Resins](https://formlabs.com/materials/engineering/) on the [Form 3](https://formlabs.com/3d-printers/form-3/) and [Form 3B,](https://dental.formlabs.com/form-3b/) with the new [Form 3 Resin Tank V2](https://formlabs.com/store/form-3/accessories/form-3-resin-tank/) and our [latest software.](https://formlabs.com/software/#preform) Form 3 Resin Tank V2 has replaced the existing Form 3 Resin Tank (V1) and enables printing with Rigid, Elastic, and Grey Pro Resins, which are incompatible with Tank V1. If you have a Form 3 and Tank V1 already, you can continue to use it to print with any materials except Rigid, Elastic, an…

> **[Formlabs Customer Support](https://support.formlabs.com/s/article/Maintaining-the-Resin-Tank-Form3?language=en_US)**
>
> Submit a support ticket or use our self-service articles

(see _Resin tank lifetime monitoring_)

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**Author:** ![billb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/billb/32/5587_2.png) [@billb](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/billb)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 9:22am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/resin-tank-lifespan/27704/3 "2020-05-20T09:22:10Z")

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In the touchscreen with the printer diagram, there is a ‘\>’ next to the tank text. Touching that will take you to another screen which gives more details on the state of your tank.

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**Author:** ![kpinhassi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kpinhassi](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/kpinhassi)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 11:50am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/resin-tank-lifespan/27704/4 "2020-05-20T11:50:21Z")

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Thanks for your comments.  
Unfortunately I couldn’t find any reference to a lifespan of a V2 tanks that exceed the lifespan mention by Formlabs.  
from people experience, how long the tanks holds before anything happens?

Thanks

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**Author:** ![rkagerer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/439d5e/32.png) [@rkagerer](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/rkagerer)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/resin-tank-lifespan/27704/5 "2020-05-20T17:18:20Z")

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It’s only been 16 weeks since V2 tanks began shipping, so you might be hard-pressed to find anyone yet who’s surpassed the recommended limits (at least by much).

Their recommendation for Tough 2000, Elastic Resin, Rigid Resin and Grey Pro is “_10 weeks exposed to resin or 3 liters of printed resin, whichever occurs first_”. And “_35 weeks exposed to resin or 5 liters of printed resin, whichever occurs first_” for the other resins.

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**Author:** ![billb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/forum.formlabs.com/billb/32/5587_2.png) [@billb](https://forum.formlabs.com/u/billb)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 9:03am UTC](https://forum.formlabs.com/t/resin-tank-lifespan/27704/6 "2020-05-21T09:03:21Z")

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My printer, with a V1 tank and std grey resin, gives the limits as 250 days exposed to resin or 600 hours printing which, whichever occurs first. I got the warning screen at ~75% of usage.
