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Soldering Iron
Ken Layton:
Yes, this topic has been discussed to death on this and other forums. Bottom line is it is junk.
rbarr110:
I have had a "nice" soldering iron for years, the one with the metal coil base attached to an adjustable "thermostat" (for lack of proper term). I use this all the time, I also did get a cold heat soldering iron for Christmas.
I have to say that the cold heat iron is fine, but only if you are doing one or two things. It is definately not an iron that you want to do large projects with. Large projects go with a "real" soldering iron. If you need to do 1 joint every now and then, I think it is ok.
ahofle:
Here's a nice writeup of how it works.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cold-heat.htm
MikeDeuce:
Another vote against it. It's a neat idea, but doesn't work out very well.
If you like the convenience of the cold heat, I would absolutely recommend a quality butane powered soldering iron. One with a self ignitor, too. Cords bug the heck out of me when I'm soldering, and butane ones work just as well as their corded counterparts. A can of butane seems to last forever, too. The ones that come with separate strikers (like on the cap) are sort of annoying, but if you get one with an internal ignitor it's like soldering heaven (IMO).
It doesn't turn cold after you solder though, so don't burn yourself :)
BobA:
Works out OK for very small solder jobs but no good for larger jobs or many connections. I would use it for 1 or 2 connections where convernient but no more.