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Anyone thinking about getting the "Cold Heat Soldering Iron" read this

post #1 of 14
6/3/05 at 2:24am
Thread Starter 
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4623
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post #2 of 14
6/3/05 at 3:30am
I had to resort to Rat Shack for an emergency run on solder and heatshrink (I was really surprised that they had heatshrink) and the guy ringing me up tried to push that damn Cold Solder crap. The next time one of them does that I'll try and get a demonstration with some of the Lead-free solder. I have a hell of a time melting that with a decent Weller iron, should be good for a laugh.
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post #3 of 14
6/3/05 at 3:43am
Things like this make me glad I spent good hard earned on a good soldering station.
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post #4 of 14
6/3/05 at 3:59am
Dang, it sounds like even my $19 Rat shack solder iron kit does a better job than this thing! Look how fat the handle is, could you imagine trying to solder some intricate pcb work with that thing? What a nightmare! I don't know about you guys, but never have I sat down to soldersomething and the second I'm done finishing a joint say "Hey, why don't I just put my solder iron in my shirt pocket for convenience."
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post #5 of 14
6/3/05 at 4:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Born2bwire
I had to resort to Rat Shack for an emergency run on solder and heatshrink (I was really surprised that they had heatshrink) and the guy ringing me up tried to push that damn Cold Solder crap. The next time one of them does that I'll try and get a demonstration with some of the Lead-free solder. I have a hell of a time melting that with a decent Weller iron, should be good for a laugh.
Heh, I work at Rat Shack and I wouldn't push that worthless piece of crap on anyone - in fact I have tried to convince a few customers to go with something else.
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post #6 of 14
6/3/05 at 5:07am
Eh, a lot of people seem to think these things will fry circuits. Unless you manage to bridge a couple pins or contacts with it, it's not gonna happen...the current flows in one side and out the other.

That said, it's still garbage. All Electronics sells a like, 30 watt iron for $3.50, I have one of the same models lying around, it works quite well. If you can ignore the fact that the plastic handle gets very hot and burns your fingers, and that it might catch your house on fire if unattended for less than a minute, you can't go wrong with it.
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post #7 of 14
6/3/05 at 5:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajt976
Dang, it sounds like even my $19 Rat shack solder iron kit does a better job than this thing! Look how fat the handle is, could you imagine trying to solder some intricate pcb work with that thing? What a nightmare! I don't know about you guys, but never have I sat down to soldersomething and the second I'm done finishing a joint say "Hey, why don't I just put my solder iron in my shirt pocket for convenience."

hehe, did you read all the reviews including the few of them that state the iron does indeed shoot electrical current into anything that its being soldered to to induce heat. I guess thats how it cools quickly eh? I think the fat handle is the alst thing you need to worry about when soldering a PCB with this.
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post #8 of 14
6/3/05 at 5:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RnB180
hehe, did you read all the reviews including the few of them that state the iron does indeed shoot electrical current into anything that its being soldered to to induce heat. I guess thats how it cools quickly eh? I think the fat handle is the alst thing you need to worry about when soldering a PCB with this.
No kidding, especially considering what the one dude wrote...the one about the small emp created would be enough to fry FET components, discreets, and IC's. That's a whole lot of work to ruin just to make some shisty solder joints with a wire welder. In any case, my $19 kit was more than sufficient to build my cMoy and mini interconnect...and it's not done DIYin yet!
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post #9 of 14
6/3/05 at 7:45am
Hey,

Who knows? People has to try out to see it works. Most people are experimentalists you see? (I tried being a theoretician, but I am too dumb.)

You know people used to use Germanium Transistors in Missile Guidance Systems? Germanium transistors break down at high temperature and missiles it's really hot inside them chasis; burning fuel you see? (You might noticed it building Germanium [Diode] Radio.) I hear that one of Missiles using Germanium Transistor Guidance System tracked perfectly its launching pad! (Came right back to the launcher)

Me? Well I had to experimentally prove to myself that touching soldering iron is a no-no. I have scars to prove it! (Just another day I wired LM337 in the opposite direction. I am just silly.)

T
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post #10 of 14
6/3/05 at 9:57pm
Huh. I picked one up a couple months ago but I've yet to use it. Maybe I'll just return it instead. Then again, it might be okay for DIY interconnects.
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post #11 of 14
6/3/05 at 10:05pm
Eh, after a while you get desensitized to burns. First degree burns don't bother me anymore after a minute or two after contact. Second degree burns still hurt, but not as much. Been lucky enough never to have a third degree burn, and I don't think you could get desensitized to that.

Off on a quick tangent though...I was grinding down a bolt head on my grinder, I had to push it into my pliers further, so the pliers were flush with the back of the head. I had the bright idea of using my finger. That steel was a good 800 degrees or more I bet. That hurt the rest of the night...had to sleep with a bag of ice on it.
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post #12 of 14
6/4/05 at 1:55am
COLD HEAT SUCKS! Trust me on that. I purchased one last week, took it out of the package, got one solder point out of it and then the second point ended up melting the internals of the device before it managed to get the point hot enough to melt the solder. Its next trip was to the trash can.

It doesn't actually heat up the tip, instead, the device works by creating a "short" across the "split" tip when it is in contact with a conductive surface. The 4 AA batteries are then supposed to cause an intense enough short to heat the conductive surface to a temperature suitable for melting solder. IT DOES NOT WORK, total waste of money.
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post #13 of 14
6/4/05 at 2:33am
Good to know. That's $20 back in my pocket then.
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post #14 of 14
6/4/05 at 2:54am
lol. Yeah, I would love to have my $20 back in my pocket right now, rather than in whatever landfill it ended up at.
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