I very much appreciate the feedback, actually these printers look pretty exciting. Monoprice is more of a Far East reseller of many, many, many things - perhaps they put their name on this and it's actually the Wanhao (sure look similar). Unfortunately or fortunately I already solved all the problems (see my first post), but this gives me food for thought for the future.

I'm big fan of Monoprice 3D printers. They are noisy but it does not bother me anymore. However I still will not recommend Monoprice 3D printers for you because many of them have some small issues that need to address.

Monoprice mini heated bed will cut the wire overtime, which is not a big deal and can be solved by rewire the heated bed.

Monoprice maker select V2 heated bed over current and risk burning the mainboard heated bed power plug, which is not a big deal and can be solved by MOSFET mod.

Monoprice maker select plus early version have possible electrical and/or fire hazard stemming from the contact between the springs located at the heated bed corners and the heated bed plate itself, which can be solved by addition of washers.

Besides these "small" issues, they are really good cheap 3D printers, with heated bed for sure.

I apologize for my ignorance (if it exists), but I really have checked. Unless you know the secret location where all this info is - or, can you recommend 2-3-4 printers under $500 - or in the Mini's range, $200 - and offer heated beds from the factory?

No secret location just simple google search.
but please watch some reviews before purchasing.
All of these printers have a rep of being rugged and have heated beds.

WANHAO DUPLICATOR I3 V2.1 - STEEL FRAME 3D PRINTER
https://3dprinteruniverse.com/products/ … gLgqvD_BwE

Monoprice Maker Select 3D Printer v2

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id= … gJUt_D_BwE

Monoprice MP Select Mini 3D Printer V2, Black
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id= … gLDzvD_BwE

Monoprice MP Mini Delta 3D Printer
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id= … gLpkvD_BwE

Nothing broke - this is the out-of-the-box condition.

and you obviously missed or ignored this statement

(Grammar check: "now, most DO have heated beds" smile) Is that what you meant?

Well, aren't we full of ourselves?

I said exactly what I meant to say, and in exactly the way I would have said it in casual conversation. 
If you keep going around "grammar checking" everyone for every little thing, you will find you wont get many responses after a while.

Moving on...
How you search for something has a great deal to do with what kind of results you get.
Since most 3d printers DO come with heated beds, leave out the "with heated bed" bit in your search terms. Adding that is redundant.

another option is this stuff

https://www.geckotek.co/product/ez-stik-cold-8/

Tin Falcon wrote:

... a 3d printer, contrary to the hype that is sold along with the printer is not a consumer product.

"most printers have heat beds" to tell me which they are.)

CT'c Dual Extruder, Most Monoprice machines, Zortrax M200, 3D Maker Evolution, any printer that specifies ABS over PLA,
Lulzbot, Da Vinci 1.0 and 2.0, QiDi Technology Printers, and then also Flashforge to name several. There are many more.

... a 3d printer, contrary to the hype that is sold along with the printer is not a consumer product.

It's a product, sold to consumers.

Nothing broke - this is the out-of-the-box condition.

Again, I'm not whining or complaining. My original post was a positive one - this is how I solved my problem. Whether the da Vinci Mini is a "consumer product" or not - well, that's just semantics. If a market is in a position of time where it's in it's infancy, and/or the market is maturing where the price points are being pushed down, of course some products will be "over-hyped" (aren't all well-marketed products "over-hyped"?) - but the end-goal of the consumers would be to release info accurately that bridges that gap. (Read my earlier posts - if I had any complaint it's that the info is all over the place and rarely accurate. I'm still waiting for that guy who said "most printers have heat beds" to tell me which they are.)

Kronikabuse wrote:

if installing a bed heater is over the top for you. you maybe be in the wrong hobby.

Think about what you are saying. Say you got a photo printer and the output turned out just blurry enough where it was bothersome. The point of purchasing an item is for it to "do the job", that is, at least hit a sense of common sense standards where it's useful. Still, I am quite satisfied with the Mini, and I get that it's only $200.

However - really? Installing a bed heater isn't simple. It's easy to buy one, but I haven't seen any that didn't have exposed electrical connections or built-in adapter and/or on/off switch. The normal consumer shouldn't be expected to solder. Further, how do you steady it on the bed that already exists? And how do you mount something (what?) on top of the bed that conducts the heat adequately, and how do you steady that enough without any movement during printing?

As a consumer, you shouldn't have to put up buying ANYTHING that is essentially 95% incomplete. It seems that either you pay $800 for a unit with a bed heater, or spend $200 on a incomplete 3D printer and you complete it yourself (the "hobbyist" you allude to). I don't think there's anything wrong with either paradigm, but certainly none of this is publicized or well communicated - by the companies or the consumers. I think this type of response says it well:

"If you get a $200 3D printer, once you get into it, you can expect less-than-acceptable results. Your output may not look "just like the picture"; however you might be happy with what you get at that price. If you are willing to do some off-the-grid things, its possible you can get much more acceptable results and save you the money of the more expensive offerings."

I think da Vinci should hit the $300-$350 price point and manufacture a Mini with a built-in bed heater. That shouldn't be the users job to implement something that really is essential to getting good prints (and without standing on your head). They'd make a very similar amount of cash while having a more happy user base.

But don't kid yourself - I'm certainly able and willing to put in my own bed heater, but I got plenty of other things to do, and as I see it, it's essential enough that no one should be selling them with it - and if they do, they should send along a book or PDF that REALLY communicates the off-the-grid things you must do to get even close to WYSIWYG.

As Tin said 3D printing is not a consumer market. There are some scrupulous dealers and manufacturers that are marketing it as other, but it is still a bobby market. It is and has always been a hobbyist market. Until the day comes when somebody makes a true plug and play printer which at this time there are none it will be a hobbyist market. That being said it is intended for those who like to mod and improve things. The cheaper printers that are being sold where never intended to print as is. They will need mods and in some cases dramatic overhauls. XYZ printers are such animals. I had a 1.0 and completely gutted it and started from scratch before it would preform to my satisfaction. That would be the other issue. What is good, satisfactory, is relative to the individual.

Also just so you know, the heated bed is not for uniform cooling. It is for better adhesion. Certain materials such as ABS and PETG require a heated bed to adhere while materials like PLA do not need a heated bed. Uniform cooling is controlled by the over all temp in the print chamber or printers area. Or a layer fan can help as well.

The normal consumer shouldn't be expected to solder.

This may be true, but a 3d printer, contrary to the hype that is sold along with the printer is not a consumer product. Most sub $1000 printer and all sub $ 500  printer are really kits. some are sold as such others are preassembled  but are really kits in disguise. these printers of need upgrades such as heat beds.

Some of the better one will print fine out of the box but at this price point things break and require repair that often requires soldering. .

if installing a bed heater is over the top for you. you maybe be in the wrong hobby.

Think about what you are saying. Say you got a photo printer and the output turned out just blurry enough where it was bothersome. The point of purchasing an item is for it to "do the job", that is, at least hit a sense of common sense standards where it's useful. Still, I am quite satisfied with the Mini, and I get that it's only $200.

However - really? Installing a bed heater isn't simple. It's easy to buy one, but I haven't seen any that didn't have exposed electrical connections or built-in adapter and/or on/off switch. The normal consumer shouldn't be expected to solder. Further, how do you steady it on the bed that already exists? And how do you mount something (what?) on top of the bed that conducts the heat adequately, and how do you steady that enough without any movement during printing?

As a consumer, you shouldn't have to put up buying ANYTHING that is essentially 95% incomplete. It seems that either you pay $800 for a unit with a bed heater, or spend $200 on a incomplete 3D printer and you complete it yourself (the "hobbyist" you allude to). I don't think there's anything wrong with either paradigm, but certainly none of this is publicized or well communicated - by the companies or the consumers. I think this type of response says it well:

"If you get a $200 3D printer, once you get into it, you can expect less-than-acceptable results. Your output may not look "just like the picture"; however you might be happy with what you get at that price. If you are willing to do some off-the-grid things, its possible you can get much more acceptable results and save you the money of the more expensive offerings."

I think da Vinci should hit the $300-$350 price point and manufacture a Mini with a built-in bed heater. That shouldn't be the users job to implement something that really is essential to getting good prints (and without standing on your head). They'd make a very similar amount of cash while having a more happy user base.

But don't kid yourself - I'm certainly able and willing to put in my own bed heater, but I got plenty of other things to do, and as I see it, it's essential enough that no one should be selling them with it - and if they do, they should send along a book or PDF that REALLY communicates the off-the-grid things you must do to get even close to WYSIWYG.

You are off to a good start at making friends by correcting people.

I'm here for information, I'm not looking on making friends or marrying anyone here. I don't care what people think of me. I correct for no personal reason at all, only to make sure information is more precise than it is (and it is a problem quite often on forums - anywhere).

(Now, if I called anyone an idiot, that's abusive and I'd never do that. I'm sure everyone here is smart - smarter than me - but we're big boys and girls and being corrected is just part of life. Turn it around - I LOVE getting corrected.)

I think I mentioned that a couple times already.

Please re-read what I said, and (like you said if you have a question, ask me). Adhesion is a related topic and also a separate topic. If you make the corners/edges latch to the bed REAL tight, maybe it would minimize warping (but you and I know the cooling is the real culprit). But adhesion was another issue I had, that is if I made the Z-offset REAL LOW, I'd have to get a body builder to remove my model. The "tradeoff" thing.

Thanks for the statement, but the way you worded it obfuscates the real issue. A bed heater does that very thing, directly and closely. I noted that a bed heater is not on my Mini, and installing one was over-the-top for me. If you meant "make the air temperature constant at all points around the model", that wouldn't help, because the issue is that the edges are exposed to air and that naturally cools quicker than the insides can, AND since you can't get at the insides (other than a bed heater), the solution I created for myself was the solution - jack up the air temperature in the entire room as to not let the edges cool where they warp. (And if I'm right, the inside temperature stays constant since it's insulated by the edges.) This is a "brute-force" method. (Grrr... )

You just need to figure out a better way to control the temp around the model so it cools slower. Sometimes a layer fan will help even with this as it cools each layer evenly.

I had put my printer in to a closet...its a toasty 38 degrees

(Grammar check: I assume you mean 38 degrees CELSIUS. That's 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.)

That was my conclusion too - for info sake, my Mini is a a max 6" x 6". Maybe yours is larger?

OK, doing my best Mr. Spock - logically all those solutions must be personal preference, if all other things are equal. This is what makes the Internet and 3D Printing so confusing. Few of these posts say what printer they use, what kind of prints they are doing, and what environment they are working in.

Nevertheless, though, it's the WHY that matters, not "hey, this worked for me". WHY does warping occur? WHY do my models stick like grim-death to the bed after printing? And so on. There may be many solutions, but whether you use hairspray or tape or glue, they are either the equal solutions to the same problems, or the environment, model size/type, and printer model factor in.

Warping: edges cool faster than the insides, or Z-offset too high. Solution: heat your bed or raise the temperature around your printer (and eliminate air flow as much as possible)

Can't take model off: Z-Offset is too low, too much or inconsistent foreign adhesive added, bad type of bed tape/cover. Solution: heated bed, try a different adhesive or cover.

My newbie opinions only (with some education), YMMV. Obviously the more complex of a print, there's less tolerance for error,a nd different models may require different approaches. I'm only doing one type of print, so my experience is limited.