Battery Powered Soldering Iron

[MarkPAman]

So, my mains soldering iron has stopped heating, and I've been forced into getting the gas one out. :)

 

I've never been happy with the gas one. I find that the catalyst does not last long and is (relatively) expensive to replace. It's one similar to this.

 

I'll definitely be getting a temperature controlled, mains powered one for the workbench (thoughts on those would be appreciated too) but I'm thinking the battery idea could be good for my little "gig" toolbox.

 

Looking around I've seen several like this. Can anybody tell me if they are any good? Are there models you would recommend (or otherwise)? I'm thinking that using AA batteries is a good idea, as I always have spares of these with me (Maglight, MD Recorder, CD Player, etc) and I don't want re-chargable because of space in my little toolbox. Main uses will be audio cable making or repair. I'm quite prepaired to spend several times more than the one I've linked to, if that's what is nessessary to get a decent one.

 

Your thoughts & experiences would be appreciated!

[sparkyweb]

I know you said no gas, but I would get a Weller gas iron anytime. Can't fault them at all.

[MarkPAman]

Which one? They seem to do lots!

[Bobbsy]

Well, er, (pun intended) I've got the WSTA6 and have had it for years without problems. I just had a look and at RS it's just over £47. plus VAT, catalogue number 243-2730. (I won't try to link it...RS pages are a pain!).

 

However, your battery iron is of interest because, if it works, it would be much more suitable if you ever travel by plane with your tools. For some reason, airlines don't like you to carry inflammable gas! I note that the battery one is a Weller and they don't tend to make rubbish...but the price seems too good to be true. You know what they say...if it seems too good to be true, it probably is, and the site referred to is very short on info about temps etc. Anybody tried the battery iron?

 

Bob

[niall]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/78cf/

 

though it does use 5 AA batteries!

[MarkPAman]

Ah the ColdHeat iron. Yes I'd seen that.

Hot in 1 sec, cold again in 3. Very good

However it works by actually putting current through the thing you are working on. Now in theory that's OK, but I worry that at some point that current will go the wrong way (if you see what I mean) and damage a chip somewhere.

Lots more info is here.

[Seano]

I vaguely remember a very thorough review of the "coldheat" iron on r.a.t.s a while ago. Written by Clive Mitchell, I think. Hang on...

<googles>

 

Yep, here it is.

 

hth

Sean

x

[Tomo]

Sounds about right - Cold Heat irons suck.

Tried one and hated it - it's impossible to solder an XLR with one, and rather difficult to use on PCBs.

[MarkPAman]

Thanks Seano. So that's two reviews that say :down: to that one. Edit Tomo makes three!

 

Anybody know about the more conventional battery powered ones?

[Jivemaster]

I had a rechargeable a while ago, NBG! would only do about 10 small joins before it died for a 10hr recharge.

[Ike]

I know you said you didn't like the gas ones but...

 

I've got one of these which is very similar to yours and I love it. Once I overcame the temptation to remove the catalyst and try to get it to work outside the iron (which incidentally I did) I found them to last a relatively long time. I think I have gone through three tips in the last two years of heavy use and abuse. I also fine the blow torch attachment incredibly useful for heat shrink tubing and the like.

 

I can honestly say I've never found a battery powered one thats impressed me. Because of the relatively low power I tend to find you have to hold it in place for way to long giving the heat time to dissipate and melt connectors and fingers and destroy PCB tracks and components, then you have to change the batteries before you can start the whole joyous process again. It could well be that there is a great product out there that I just haven't found yet but I've definitely looked.

 

Whats your budget and what do you intend to use your temperature controlled iron for? Mostly connectors, PCB rework, any surface mount rework? There are an increasing number of metcal irons on ebay which are fantastic if you've lots of delicate PCBs to work on or very high density connectors. Of course it does depend on your budget and needs, I still use a bog standard 25W antex iron for almost everything, including some SMD rework.

 

Edit: Ebay link fixed

[niall]

glad I never bought one of them then I just remember seeing it on that website when I was buying t-shirts early last year (I am a geek :( )!

[David A]

It's basic physics really, to produce heat takes a lot of power and a 25 watt iron running on 4x aa batteries would draw 4A, so until there's a revolution in battery design any battery heating device is science fiction.

[Ike]

...until there's a revolution in battery design any battery heating device is science fiction.

 

Either that or someone finds a way to waste less energy *cough* RF *cough*. Unfortunately there really isn't enough demand for decent battery powered irons to make it worth the R&D time. I really cant see many industries spending £500 on a battery powered soldering iron that would do less than a mains powered one of the same price range.

 

The challenge isn't providing more power but more accurately and efficiently applying that power to the lead/pad/pin/wire.

[dbuckley]

For you workshop, save up and get a Metcal SP200.

 

Of course, then you will *know* that every other soldering instrumet you try and use just sucks...

 

For the record, I've got one of those gas irons, it's OK, but I use it like twice a year. I did have a rechargable battery iron from Maplin's I think, but it wasn't very good...