Cold heat soldering iron

[Gordy]

Just seen this in my local store

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=45739&TabID=1&source=1&doy=26m3

Cordless Operation
• Heats and cools almost instantaneously for comfort and safety
• Tip cools to touch-safe temperature within 1-5 seconds
• Reaches 500ºF in less than 1 second
• Great for electrical, hobbies, and light PCB work
• Uses 4 replaceable AA batteries (not included)
• Over 700 joints per battery pack
• Works with any regular solder 18-25 ga.
• Very safe tip - hot only during active soldering
• Red LED acts as tip heat indicator
• Don't forget to order the 4 AA batteries (NF69A)

http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/Full/45739i0.jpg

Anyone used one before looks like a great little tool to replace my soldering iron which I hate using?

[Gordy]

Found some more images

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/additional/large/coldheat-case.jpg

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/additional/large/coldheat-action.jpg

And a review

http://www.moddershq.net/reviews.asp?reviewid=32

[Frakk]

Another review + discussion
http://forums.bigfootcomputers.com/showthread.php?t=15238&highlight=cold+heathttp://forums.bigfootcomputers.com/showthread.php?t=15238&highlight=cold+heat

[Seven]

That actually looks pretty good, I was going to pick one up at RadioShack, but I hesitated...maybe I'll have to go buy one again.

7

[CJ-CWC]

To be honest I have one they are not the best and the carbon tips constantly break as you learn the best way to use it. All in all I would not recommend it for extensive use only for quick jobs that are not near a power plug.

If you decide to buy one I would recommend getting 5-10 replacement tips as they do break over time just from use.

[ZeD]

Those are NOT meant to replace your standard soldering iron. But if you want to use them for quick LED installs e.t.c. they should be ok. If you check around people do not have a high regard for them. I have never personally used one myself but judging by the discription and teh technology behind it I wouldnt be surprised if it broke after 48hrs of taking it out of the box. but you never know untl you try right?

[brokeashell]

yea i got like 3 of them...dont ask why, but i do. they are...hmm, "OK"

[Gordy]

Sounds like they aint worth it. I was hoping they'd be ok , maybe I will look for a gas soldering iron instead hehe :D

[ZeD]

gordy if you are looking at one of those for portability sake then yes a butane iron would be a better idea for you.

[Gordy]

I'm not overly fussed about portability , I just hate having the wire it always seems to be in the way .

I had a look at one in the shop and decided not to get one in the end as I dont do enough soldering to justify the cost at this time.

[Crunch]

I was going to buy one, just for the sake of having one, but, I already have a portable one which was £35. It works well and is very effective, so, why buy another?

[ZeD]

What portable unit are you using?

[Guttenaffe]

I'd say waste of money; it is one of them "gimmick" things. I wouldn't give up my 20W EdSyn (http://www.edsyn.com/main.asp?inc=view_product&id=207) iron for nothing, well maybe a Pace PRC 2000... but that is because I'm an Electronics guy and do so much SMT work. 15W to 20W soldering iron is all you need for most things, if you want a good tip hook it into one of them lamp dimmers on a cord you can buy at home improvement centers and some department stores and you can vary the input voltage and thus control the heat.

[ZeD]

Great info there Guttenaffe, I was looking through the Edsyn website, their EB200 looks like a promising little portable. Sometimes ya need a quick 123 solder job and dont want to get out the big one, plug it in, set it up, wait for it to heat up. I think I'll pick one up.

[Rachel]

My boyfriend bought a mod chip for his Xbox and the iron Gordy picture was the one he was using to solder on the chip. It is VERY hard to solder on to small circuit boards with this. He ended up ruining the motherboard and he had to take the motherboard out of his other Xbox. He also got a normal iron and used it with ease. He's probably never going to use cold heat again. (I watched him use it and I thought it sucked)

[Frakk]

soldering chips and motherboards isn't a good idea with any soldering iron either :D this cold heat is good for specific situations and not for others but it doesnt mean it sucks.

[Malatory]

Since the cold heat is not the best thing to use on IC's. It does give off a static charge (Could be a reason Rachel's slave fried the mobo). I bought one as was given one as a gift. I found it to be usefull when working on wiring in a car. When using it on some led's when I 1st got one.. I did notic that it would light them up while I was soldering. Again not good for IC's.

[Rachel]

(Could be a reason Rachel's slave fried the mobo).

Hahaha. He is no slave.

[Malatory]

Hahaha. He is no slave.

So says you :p :D :p

[ludothegreat]

I bought one of these jsut to give it a try. I had the feeling it wasn't going to be anything special and I was right. This thing is big and awkward. My fist tip actully broke in the package on the way home from the store. Really not worth my money. I tried to tin some wires with it first thing and that was a totaly mess. It either would not make the connection that it needed or it jsut didnt get hot enough to tin the tips of the wires. I have never picked it up since.

[Guttenaffe]

soldering chips and motherboards isn't a good idea with any soldering iron either :D ...


How else would you suggest attaching them? :?

I hand solder components in a 0805 package, that is about 1/4 the size of a 1206 package, as another side note 0805's are smaller than the body (no gull wing leads) of a SOT-23.

[Frakk]

i dont suggest attaching anything to the motherboard. they are not ment to be altered and you will screw it up if you dont know what you are doing.

[ZeD]

Frakk is right, if your not confident dont mess with it, I however have replaced caps and done other mobo\psu hacking in the past with no ill results, but I've been doing it for a while.

[Zeus]

Hahaha. He is no slave.

Slavery is only after marriage. For now it is only indentured servant