cold heat soldering iron

[solfood]

i just ordered on of these.  I think it's going to be cool.  anyone else have one?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/69d3/

[dag2000]

I just read this yesterday...

[RetroJames]

I have been sseeing the ads on TV and thought it was cool but afraid it was another jip.  Let us know how it works out.  I hate my radio crap curling irons.

[solfood]

www.gizmodo.com had a blurb last week about it and I'm a big dork.

[Ken Layton]

Oh gawd---not this piece of crap discussion---AGAIN! 

[versapak]

I bought one, and it is nice if you have some not so precise soldering to do in small doses.

Batteries don't really last all that long in it, and it doesn't really work for small places, and being that it works with electricity, soldering around chips and such is not recommended.

Great for what it does, but still so limited, that an old fashioned soldering iron is still going to be very much a mainstay to most soldering jobs I do.

[ErikRuud]

I picked one up at Home Depot yesterday.

I am returnming it tomorrow!

I thought I would give it a try, and return it if it didn't work.  It does work.  Or maybe I should say it did work.

It is only designed for light duty work and I knew that when I got it.  I was working with 18 guage wire and .062" molex pins.  It worked great until I ran into the MAJOR design problem.  The instructions warn you not to keep the solder in contact with the workpiece for more than a few seconds.  Again I knew this before I started.  I was going along, crimping and soldering.  I noticed that the heat can build up when doing a bunch of work.  So I would crimp a few pins and the solder them, crimp a few more and then solder them allowing the ColdHeat to rest in between.

Apparently it was too much work and the socket that the tip plugs into began to melt!    I immediately shut it off and pulled out the tip.  The inside of socket was ruined.  The damage must extend inside as well, because the power switch will not  move anymore.

As far as I can tell, the tip does heat up and cool down quickly, but if you are not extremely careful, the metal collar on the tip starts to heat up, and it does not cool down quickly.

Save yourself some aggravation and cancel your order.

[Beeeph]

I bought one after seeing the ads on tv...

In the heat of anger that follows the realization of getting ripped off, I almost flushed it out the toilet until I realized the damage it could've done to my plumbing....

so I tossed it out the window instead.

[solfood]

darn...the thing looks SO cool.  It looks much cooler than my regular soldering iron.

oh well...I guess tools don't need to look great as long as they get the job done.   maybe I'll get a laser level instead....THOSE look neat.

[quarterback]

One page of ColdHeat discussion here

Two pages of ColdHeat discussion here

[clanggedin]

I bought one with all of the extra tips. I tried to do a cap kit on a Sanyo EZV, but it was too much of a pain. I pulled out the ole soldering iron and had it done in no time.

All I was getting the ColHeat to do was smoke on the solder. I couls never get the stupid thing to melt the solder.

[Ken Layton]

This thing has been talked to death. 

Can't we lock this thread and move everything to the original thread? Or better still bury it altogether?

[RayB]

Apparently it was too much work and the socket that the tip plugs into began to melt!

[lucindrea]

15 years ago i spend $7 on a pencil type of iron at raido shack , i've had to buy a replacement $2 tip now and agin , but the thing still works like a charm ... personaly i dont see the need to inprove on a model thats been working fine for well over 50 years .... of course those little pocket butane irons are cool , great for doing work in the car where you dont allways have access to power.

[Chris]

One page of ColdHeat discussion here

Two pages of ColdHeat discussion here

Interesting.  One page says it's the kiss of death and the other raves about it.   

[DrewKaree]

This thing has been talked to death. 

Can't we lock this thread and move everything to the original thread? Or better still bury it altogether?

Locking it will cause someone with "I've got a question not answered in there" to start it all over again.  Burying it will cause someone to think they've found something new and original and start this all over again.

 

Perhaps you've seen the 4 "I've got Gmail invites to give away" threads as an example of what I'm speaking of.  I know, I know, it IS one of the most frustrating things in the world.  Just make sure to keep the sharp objects away from you, as you may feel tempted to jam them into your eyes in frustration.....blunt hot pokers too 

[ErikRuud]

Like I said, the thing does work.  It almost even lives up the commercial except I would wait a few seconds before I grabbed the tip.

The problem is that the margin between working well and meltdown is very very small.  A simple thermal sensor, and a more heat resistant plastic would seem to be in order.

[SNAAKE]

Uh..simple question,how does it work for soldering gamepads and microswitchs ??

 

[JoeB]

I've purchased one a month ago to solder PCB repairs.  I need a device to remove 32 pin ROMs and replace them with 32pin EPROMS.  Up to that point I used cheap 25W irons that you can buy anywhere for 10$.

I had a lot of hope for the device, but got nothing but disappointment. 

The device does not get hot enough to flow most PCBs nor are the joins consistent enough.  A 10$ soldering iron does a better job than this.

I ended up asking for a good station for christmas, and got a Weller digital soldering station.  It's by far the easiest thing to use.

When it comes to tools, you get what you pay for.  With this device, you're paying for the cool factor rather than a usuable device.  It's a gimmick in my book.

MY $0.02..

[RetroJames]

I knew it had to be junk. TV has lied to me AGAIN!!!!!

[Chris]

I'm sure it has its uses.  For a quick onsite repair where an electrical outlet is not conveniently located, I'm sure it's fine.  But after looking at it I don't think I'd try to do a keyboard hack with it.

--Chris

[quarterback]

I knew it had to be junk. TV has lied to me AGAIN!!!!!

I don't think the TV has lied to you.  The ColdHeat website says "Electrical, home wiring, light fixtures, alarms, doorbells, electronics, jewelry, light pcb work, hobbies & crafts, ornaments, radio, robotics and more! "

I haven't tried all of these things, but I've successfully used the ColdHeat for my basic MAME wiring needs, which would include: "Electrical, home wiring, electronics, hobbies & crafts"

[versapak]

I'm sure it has its uses. For a quick onsite repair where an electrical outlet is not conveniently located, I'm sure it's fine. But after looking at it I don't think I'd try to do a keyboard hack with it.

--Chris

Exactly


It is not a bad little unit, if you are just using it for a quick non-delicate job. Had one wire break lose? No prob with the cold heat. Need to toss a new volume pot into your guitar? No prob with the cold heat.

It has its uses. Hobbiest's marathon needs are not one of them.

[ErikRuud]

I was doing simple hobbiest wiring when mine suffered the meltdown.  It was not a "marathon".

The soldering I was doing was well within the limits stated in the instructions.  I did not have the iron on a joint for more than 3 seconds.  I didn't do more than two joints in sucession.  There was a minute or two while I crimped the next pair of wires.  I did not have a short between the halves of the split tip.

[shmokes]

I've got Gmail invites to give away.

[versapak]

I was doing simple hobbiest wiring when mine suffered the meltdown.  It was not a "marathon".

The soldering I was doing was well within the limits stated in the instructions.  I did not have the iron on a joint for more than 3 seconds.  I didn't do more than two joints in sucession.  There was a minute or two while I crimped the next pair of wires.  I did not have a short between the halves of the split tip.

Not to call you a liar, but...


Your story is fishy. :p


I used mine pretty non-stop (until the batteries drained) desoldering all the buttons on my control panel. The tip did become hot to the touch, but it did still it cooled in a minute.

Never was the plastic or anythingother than the tip too hot to touch. Even the tip was touchable, as long as it was not sustained.



I suspect, if your story really is as such, that you actually had a bad unit.