Setting the Ender 3 up for the first time can be a bit of a challenge due to the semi-assembled form that it comes in, as there are quite a few assembly steps that you will need to carefully follow to ensure that all the components are correctly and precisely attached, with even a tiny error being capable of creating print failures.
As a result, no matter how many hours it may take, conducting the assembly process as patiently as possible would be our best advice for correctly assembling the Ender 3, as spending time to get things right the first time is infinitely better than starting a print, only to find that there is an issue somewhere.
In today’s article, we will be talking about one of the most crucial, but at the same time, commonly overlooked steps of setting up the Ender 3 for the first time, in specific, which is adjusting the voltage switch located on the power supply to make it compatible with the voltage that is coming in.
So, should you set the power supply of your Ender 3 to the 115V or the 230V setting?
As 120-volt sockets are the standard in the United States, and 230-volt sockets are the standard in Europe, you will need to set the voltage setting of your Ender 3’s power supply to 115V if you’re located in the United States and 230V if you’re located in Europe.
Moving forward, we will dive deeper into the process of determining the correct option between 115V and 230V for the power supply of your Ender 3, discuss what happens when the power supply is set to the incorrect voltage, and finally, find out how to deal with the scenario of the power supply of your Ender 3 failing.
Table of Contents
Should You Set Ender 3 (Pro/V2) Power Supply to 115V or 230V?
Figuring out whether you should set the power supply setting of your Ender 3 to the 115V option or the 230V option can be a bit of a challenge if you don’t have a lot of expertise regarding electricity and electronics, as there isn’t any information on the power supply that can act as a guide.
In a nutshell, there are two different standards in the world regarding mains voltage, which are 120V, primarily known for being used in the United States, and 230V, primarily known for being used in Europe, determining the voltage coming from the electrical grid into our homes.
To make the power supply compatible with different mains voltages and allow it to be used globally, the voltage switch on the power supply of your Ender 3 fulfills the duty of informing the power supply of the input voltage value that is coming in, which is a piece of information that is required by the power supply to accommodate the input voltage correctly.
As a result, if you’re living in a country where the mains voltage is in the 110V-120V range, you will need to set the voltage setting on the power supply to 115V, and if you’re living in a country where the mains voltage is 230V, you will need to use the 230V setting instead.
While it’s not an exhaustive list, you can find some countries and their mains voltage values below to have a better idea of how the voltages can change across different countries:
- United States – 120V
- Germany – 230V
- United Kingdom – 230V
- Canada – 120V
- Australia – 230V
- New Zealand – 230V
If you are unsure about the mains voltage of the country you’re currently residing in, we highly recommend finding the relevant information from an official source before moving forward with modifying the voltage setting on the power supply of your Ender 3 and powering it on.
What Happens If You Set the Ender 3 (Pro/V2) Power Supply to the Incorrect Voltage?
Powering your Ender 3 on while the power supply is set to the incorrect voltage setting is something that you should avoid at all costs, as it has the potential to create catastrophic results in some cases.
There can be two distinct scenarios of setting the power supply to the incorrect voltage, where one case involves setting the voltage to a value higher than the voltage coming from the socket, and the other involves setting it to a value that is lower instead.
In the first case, where the voltage setting of the power supply is set to a value that is higher than the incoming voltage, such as setting it to the 230V option while located in the United States (120V coming in), the power supply will receive less voltage than expected, and it will simply fail to run as a result.
On the other hand, in the second case, where the voltage setting of the power supply is set to a value that is lower than the incoming voltage, such as setting it to the 115V option while located in Europe (230V coming in), the power supply will receive more voltage than expected, which will cause it to blow a fuse.
Since such a scenario can lead to catastrophic results such as an electrical fire in severe cases, it’s imperative to ensure that you never set the voltage switch on the power supply to a value lower than the mains voltage.
As a result, if you’re living in Europe or anywhere else where the mains voltage can be higher than any of the voltage options on the power supply of your Ender 3, we recommend being extremely careful and not powering the device on until you’re absolutely sure that the voltage setting on the power supply is correctly configured.
Ender 3 (Pro/V2) Power Supply Failure – What to Do?
While a failing power supply will prevent your Ender 3 from powering on, as the power supply is entirely responsible for supplying power to the motherboard, which then distributes the power to the rest of the components, it does not necessarily mean that your Ender 3 is not usable anymore.
If the power supply of your Ender 3 has failed, with no damage to the rest of the 3D printer, our recommendation would be to purchase a new power supply and replace the failing power supply with the new one to be able to continue using your 3D printer without any issues.
To know which exact power supply you should be buying, we highly recommend noting down the information related to the power supply your Ender 3 came with, such as the model number, the input voltage, and the output voltage, which should be written on a sticker on the power supply.
Wrapping Up
As it’s essential to ensure that you have set the power supply of your Ender 3 to the correct voltage to avoid causing irreversible damage to the hardware, you should refrain from powering on your Ender 3 if you are in doubt about the correctness of the voltage setting.
To quickly recap, you will need to set the voltage setting on the power supply of your Ender 3 to be in line with the mains voltage of the country you’re residing in, with 120V (requiring the usage of the 115V setting on the power supply) mains voltage being the standard in the US, and 230V mains voltage being the standard in Europe.
As turning your Ender 3 on while the voltage switch on the power supply is set to a value that is lower than the mains voltage is extremely dangerous, we highly recommend triple-checking both the mains voltage of the country you’re living in and the current position of the voltage switch before plugging your Ender 3 in and powering it on.
Happy printing!
Mike started his 3D printing journey with the Anet A8 when it first came out back in 2017, and has been obsessed with 3D printers ever since. Nowadays, he primarily uses his Ender 3 to print functional parts that make his life more convenient whenever possible.