I've seen TV commercials for a portable, battery driven soldering tool whose tip supposedly produces enough heat to solder small joints almost instantly, and then, almost as quickly, cools enough to touch.
A tool like that would be very handy for me around the house if it works as advertised. Has anyone actually seen or used one of these tools?
Any comments will be gratefully received.
-Len
Do you have a link to this device? It's operating window sounds rather narrow; it probably is only sized to solder demonstration joints ;)
Because there is no "standard" soldering job, there are several different sized tools available from a pencil tip soldering iron for electronic work to a torch for pipe sweating. IMHO your money is better spent on a regular soldering iron for smaller home stuff and a gun for the bigger things, and a torch for the plumbing jobs.
Like most things, you get what you pay for.
LenS wrote in news:hpl6t0h6scqrargn0g7k9kvk2g0lg3aa1t@
4ax.com:
Reviews show it to be rather useless:
This is Turtle.
This thing is only good for small solder jobs like a wire on a relay board or maybe 2 #18 wires being put together. I bought one for my brother in law for christmas and tried it out. It's really good on small stuff but not for anything that will take a good amount of heat to put them together like 2 pieces of #12 wire. If everything was on things like a computor board or a hvac gas furnace relay board where all the connections are real small. It will be good but bigger stuff forget.
I read the report posted here and holding the connection together and soldering it is always a problem to start with but with this thing -- if you can get the wire to stay still and in place. it will work fine and also small wire. It has a definate limit to it's use.
Link ---- Go to Home Depot Website and ask for [ cold heat ] and the thing will pop up and then hit on it to tell about it. under spec.s. Now let me tell you they are out of them and it will be two weeks before they get any more.
TURTLE
:) It looks like it has potential for PCB work.
Apparently it is essentially batteries hooked to two needles. when both needles touch solder, it shunts the circuit and high current flows through the solder heating/melting it.
I'd be tempted to grab a couple sewing needles, use some high temp epoxy to glue them close to each other, and hook them up to batteries to see if i could get a cheap equiv. ;)
To have a chance of it working, you probably need to use rechargable (NiCd or NiMH or PbH+) batteries to generate the necessary high current.
I recommend using solid copper wires, sharpened to a point and tinned, for the electrodes instead of steel needles.
Bob
I would not trust any solder joints made by a cordless soldering iron.
I found a few links using "cold heat solder" on Google.
I agree that the device appears to be limited to small jobs, but that's mostly what I'm looking for. Occasional jewelry repair, circuit board repairs or part removal, etc.
It's a bit of a pain for me to haul out my soldering gun because I don't use it often, but when I want it I want it NOW!
I agree also that you usually get what you pay for. This thing is $19.95 plus S&H.
Thanks,
-LenS
On 12/30/2004 6:19 PM US(ET), LenS took fingers to keys, and typed the following:
Wait about 6 months. You'll see the thing drop to $9.95 for two of them.
why not wait a while a buy one at a yard sale for a dollar?
Bill
I've tried the "Cold Heat" but wasn't impressed. I have soldering guns and irons in the car but keep a butane iron in the tool bag for the quick touch-up. The butane is a light weight blessing, use it, put the cap on and put it back in the bag!
Bill
those butane ones rule. they even work in the wind unlike most cordless electrics. had a job once where i had to get onto some serious machinery and solder some wires in the wind at -30F. even corded electrics werent working all that well... butane did em right up.
randy
Good Advice. I've noticed a trend with the 'latest inventions'. They are only available via informationals. 6 months later, they are available via main store chains, like hd, and walmart. 6 months after that, they are available at garage sales and thrift stores.
Each time, declining in selling price. ;)
later,
tom @
Take the money and send it to the Red Cross for tsunami relief where it will do some good. Do your soldering with the proper tools, Radio Shack, others, have things that really work. IMHO you will never find one of these on a technicians bench in a commercial R & D operation or repair shop. HTH
Joe
They've been around since the 70's. The are a soldering gun powered by nicads and take advantage of the monsterous current that nicads can put when a near short circuit is put across the battery.
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