Ender 3 hotend specs: voltage, wattage, thermistor, max temp

The stock hotend on the Creality Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro and Ender 3 V2 is a 24 V Bowden hotend lined with PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) tubing. It has a 24 V, 40 W heater cartridge, a 100k NTC (negative temperature coefficient) thermistor and a brass MK8 nozzle with an M6 × 1.0 thread. Marlin firmware caps it at 260 °C, and the Ender 3 Neo and Ender 3 V2 Neo use a different assembly with the same heater rating.

Ender 3 hotend specs by model

The table lists each Ender 3 model’s stock hotend, alphabetically. Firmware values come from Marlin’s example configuration for each printer. “Highest settable” is HEATER_0_MAXTEMP minus Marlin’s 15 °C HOTEND_OVERSHOOT margin.

• The Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro and Ender 3 V2 share one hotend. The 24 V replacement kit from TH3D, a US Ender 3 parts and firmware vendor, the Micro Swiss all-metal kit and E3D’s Revo Creality all list the three together.
• The Neo hotend is different. Micro Swiss sells the Ender 3 Neo and Ender 3 V2 Neo a separate all-metal kit, shared with the CR-10S Pro and CR-10 Max, and TH3D’s kit lists neither Neo.
• Where the ratings come from. The Neo figures are from Creality’s 2022 user manuals. Creality’s current pages for the Ender 3 and V2 give no rating in text, so those figures are as listed by MatterHackers, a US reseller.

Ender 3 S1 and V3 series

The Ender 3 S1 family and the Ender 3 V3 series use their own direct-drive hotends, so buy parts listed for those models; Micro Swiss does list its MK8 nozzle for the S1. Klipper’s Ender 3 S1 config sets max_temp: 260 with the note “Set to 300 for S1 Pro”, and Marlin’s S1 example keeps the 275 °C limit and 15 °C margin. Creality lists 260 °C for the Ender-3 V3 SE and 300 °C for the Ender-3 V3 KE and Ender-3 V3.

Is the Ender 3 hotend 12V or 24V?

The Ender 3 hotend is 24 V. The Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro, Ender 3 V2, Ender 3 Neo and Ender 3 V2 Neo all take a 24 V, 40 W heater cartridge. TH3D lists the Ender 3’s operating voltage as 24 V DC and names Creality’s CR-10 series as 12 V printers.

Creality’s 12 V and 24 V printers share hotend parts: TH3D’s 24 V kit “can also be used with 12V Creality printers like the CR-10 series if you replace the heater with a 12V heater”. Check the voltage on any heater or hotend listing before you buy.

What happens if you fit a 12 V heater on a 24 V Ender 3?

It runs at about four times its rated power. Duet3D’s heater table gives a 40 W, 12 V cartridge a resistance of 3.6 Ω. At 24 V it draws 24 ÷ 3.6 = 6.7 A, which is 160 W, against 1.66 A for the correct 24 V part.

Lowering the heater power in firmware does not help. Firmware drives the heater with PWM (pulse-width modulation), and Duet3D explains that “PWM does not modify the voltage, it modifies the amount of time the output is turned on”. Each time the output switches on, the cartridge runs at the full 160 W. Duet3D’s documentation warns: “DO NOT run a 12V heater on 24V!”

The reverse mistake underpowers the heater: a 24 V, 40 W cartridge (14.4 Ω) on 12 V makes 10 W, a quarter of its rating.

How to check which heater cartridge you have

Unplug the printer, disconnect the two heater wires from the board and measure across them with a multimeter. Duet3D’s table gives the resistance for each rating:

A reading near 14 Ω is the stock 24 V, 40 W part. A reading of a few ohms is a 12 V cartridge: do not power it on an Ender 3.

What wattage is the Ender 3 and Ender 3 V2 hotend heater?

40 W at 24 V on the Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro and Ender 3 V2. TH3D’s replacement kit for all three includes a “40W 24V heater”. DREMC, an Australian Creality reseller, sells Creality’s own Ender 3 series heater cartridge as 24 V, 40 W. Creality’s Neo hotend assembly lists the same “24V 40W heating tube”.

A heater of a different wattage heats at a different rate, so retune the PID (proportional-integral-derivative) temperature control after any heater swap. In Marlin, M303 runs the PID autotune; for Klipper, see Klipper heater verification. Firmware thermal protection must stay on. Every Marlin example above enables THERMAL_PROTECTION_HOTENDS, and the Ender 3 upgrades list explains how to check an older printer.

What thermistor does the Ender 3 hotend use?

The Ender 3 hotend uses a 100k NTC thermistor. Creality’s published Ender-3 firmware and Marlin’s example configurations for every Ender 3 model from the original to the Ender 3 V2 Neo set TEMP_SENSOR_0 1, which Marlin lists as “100kΩ EPCOS”. Klipper’s Ender 3 configs use sensor_type: EPCOS 100K B57560G104F.

DREMC sells Creality’s replacement thermistor for the Ender 3, Pro and V2 as “100K 3950K” (100 kΩ with a beta value of 3950 K), rated −30 to 280 °C. When you buy one:

• A 100k NTC listed for the Ender 3 drops in. The sensor type stays 1, so no firmware change is needed.
• A different sensor needs a firmware change. A PT1000 uses a different sensor number, and the wrong number makes the printer misread its temperature. The firmware temperature limits guide covers the setting.
• Do not overtighten it. TH3D warns: “DO NOT overtighten the thermistor screw or you will damage the thermistor.”
• Seat it fully. Marlin’s configuration explains the danger: “If a thermistor falls out, it will report the much lower temperature of the air in the room, and the firmware will keep the heater on.” Thermal runaway protection catches this and shuts the heater off.

What is the max temperature of the Ender 3 hotend?

The Ender 3 hotend can be set to 260 °C at most. Marlin’s Ender 3 firmware switches the heater off at 275 °C (HEATER_0_MAXTEMP) and refuses targets within 15 °C of the cutoff. Published ratings run 250 to 260 °C by model. The PTFE liner sets a lower practical limit: TH3D gives 235 °C.

Three limits apply, and the lowest decides: Creality’s rating (in the table above), the firmware cutoff and the PTFE liner. Printing above Creality’s rating is at your own risk and may affect your warranty: see does upgrading void the warranty.

The firmware limit: HEATER_0_MAXTEMP and HOTEND_OVERSHOOT

HEATER_0_MAXTEMP is a cutoff, not a target. Marlin’s configuration says: “Above this temperature the heater will be switched off.” Every Ender 3 example sets it to 275 °C.

HOTEND_OVERSHOOT keeps the target away from that cutoff. Marlin explains that during heat-up “the temperature can often ‘overshoot’ the target by many degrees (especially before PID tuning)”, and that “setting the target temperature too close to MAXTEMP guarantees a MAXTEMP shutdown”. So it forbids targets over HEATER_0_MAXTEMP minus HOTEND_OVERSHOOT: 275 − 15 = 260 °C. Creality’s own 2018 Ender-3 firmware (Marlin 1.1.6.1) does the same in its menu, where the nozzle setting stops at HEATER_0_MAXTEMP - 15.

Klipper’s Ender 3 example configs set max_temp: 250. Klipper treats that as a safety range: if the measured temperature leaves it, “the micro-controller will go into a shutdown state”. Raising either limit is covered in firmware temperature limits; do it only after the hotend hardware is rated for the new temperature.

The PTFE limit

On the Ender 3, Pro and V2 the PTFE tube runs into the hot zone, and that sets the real ceiling:

• TH3D: “Max Hotend Temp: 235C (over this stock PTFE will degrade)”.
• E3D, on its own PTFE-lined Lite6: the liner “means that there is a temperature limit of 240C”.
• Capricorn: its TL tubing is not recommended above 260 °C. Its XS tubing has additives to print hotter, but at 280 to 290 °C “the tubing is likely to eventually deform during long prints”.

PTFE also gives off fumes as it heats. Capricorn notes that “even at 202, PTFE can be harmful to pet birds”, and at 275 °C “PTFE off-gassing has been known to kill pet birds”. Capricorn tubing does not turn a stock Ender 3 into an all-metal hotend, and the stock thermistor’s 280 °C range is another cap. The temperature limits explainer covers each part.

Is the Ender 3 hotend an MK8 or an MK10?

The Ender 3 hotend takes MK8 nozzles, not MK10. Micro Swiss lists its MK8 nozzle (M6 × 1.0 thread, 5 mm of thread, 13 mm overall length) for the Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro, Ender 3 V2 and Ender 3 S1. MK10 nozzles use an M7 thread and fit FlashForge, QIDI and Wanhao printers instead.

MK8 and MK10 are style names sellers use for a nozzle and the hotend it threads into. What each covers, from Micro Swiss’s listings:

An MK10 nozzle will not thread into an Ender 3 heater block, which is cut for M6. Creality’s US store lists its MK8 Nozzles Kit 24 PCS as “Compatible for: Ender-3 Series, Ender-5 Series, CR-10”. The kit holds twelve 0.4 mm nozzles plus pairs from 0.2 to 1.0 mm. It cost $13.49 (marked down from $14.99) on October 30, 2026. Micro Swiss sold single MK8 brass plated nozzles at $14.99 the same day. For carbon fiber or glow filament, check when to use a hardened steel nozzle first.

Which replacement parts match the stock Ender 3 hotend?

Match four specs from the table (voltage, wattage, thermistor type and nozzle thread) and buy for the right model family. US prices on October 30, 2026:

• Ender 3, Pro or V2, whole hotend. TH3D’s Creality 24V Full Hotend Replacement Kit is $11.99. It includes the 24 V, 40 W heater, the thermistor, a 0.4 mm nozzle and PTFE tube; the wires have no connectors. 3D Printing USA sells Creality’s own 24 V assembly (part 4001030038, superseding 4001030023) for $24.99, also without connectors on the heater wire.
• Ender 3 Neo or V2 Neo, whole hotend. 3D Printing USA lists Creality’s Neo hotend assembly (part 4001030110) at $24.99. It has a 24 V, 40 W heater, plug-in connectors and Capricorn tubing.
• Single parts. A 24 V, 40 W heater (measure the old one if unsure), a 100k NTC thermistor listed for the Ender 3, or an MK8 M6 × 1.0 nozzle.

After the swap, run a PID autotune and watch the first heat-up before leaving a print unattended. To print above the PTFE limit, the hotend itself has to change: the Ender 3 upgrades list compares the all-metal options.