Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: Hildy_42 on April 10, 2006, 08:31:07 am
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Has anyone tried one of these?
http://www.coldheat.com/products.cfm?section=pro
I saw the infomerical on tv the other day and it looks too good to be true. It is only $30 so I might give it a try but I thought someone might have some insight on it.
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I have a friend who tried one and felt as though it was pretty much terrible, I'll ask him today if I remember.
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Stay away from that thing.
I own one (its broken now) It never soldered a single joint for me. Spend the extra $10 and get a nice one, you will be glad you did.
Get the kind with the base that has the metal coil to hold the pen type iron. You can do big stuff with it or work on tiny electronics.
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I have been very curious about that but have been too sceptical to buy into it. I would also love to hear if any of you have used one too.
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Do search, they have been discussed a couple times.
I tried one, and it suffered melt down way too easily.
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Yes, this topic has been discussed to death on this and other forums. Bottom line is it is junk.
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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.
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Here's a nice writeup of how it works.
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cold-heat.htm
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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 :)
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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.
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Works great as a LED flashlight since the soldering part of it is WORTHLESS. Quite possibly the worst designed piece of trash I have ever purchased.
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its crap you can have mine.... dont want to waste space in the landfill
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Remember this piece of junk is useless for desoldering something. And don't even think of using it near static sensitive components like ram chips and eproms as examples.
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if you want a portable iron, try the Weller Portasol...
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Thanks for the feed back. I believe I will just buy another soldering iron like I have instead of this one, the one I have I believe is a Weller and actually has lasted a very long time. Might do a little more research on the butane ones before though.
Also I appologize if this was a repost, I hadn't seen any topics on it in the last couple months.
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For standard soldering, Weller is great. I also have a Weller Portosol butane powered iron. I used it so much at the drive-in theater I used to work at that I wore the iron out. It was perfect for soldering the drive-in speakers outside since I was so far away from a power source.
Unfortuneately, Weller has stuck their name on the cold heat unit now. Check out MCM Electronics (www.mcminone.com) stock number 96-2140.
MCM also has # 96-1085 Portosol, 96-055 Pyropen, and 96-480 self-igniting Pyropen. Check out the excellent # 21-4525 Wahl "Iso Tip" battery powered soldering iron. I used one at my former employer and it was a good iron. I wore that one out too.
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Check out the excellent # 21-4525 Wahl "Iso Tip" battery powered soldering iron.
I picked up the iso tip at a local lowes in a pinch when I couldn't find economical replacement tips for my other butane iron... and just a warning, before you leave the store make sure the tip stays on securely. Mine had too much slop in it and the entire heating element fell off before I could even use it. I'm just glad it didn't fall into my lap or something silly :dizzy:
Definitely looking to move on to a butane weller because they seem to have the largest online presence for replacement parts.
I don't even use corded irons anymore.
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Yes the Weller Portosol is very easy to get tips and parts for.
While the Isotip battery powered unit is pretty good, the tips are delicate. I ended up making a tip protector 'sleeve' out of a piece of PVC pipe so that I could put the iron in the toolbox and not get broken from the banging around. I found this iron got plenty hot to solder pinball coils perfectly fine.
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So what sort of wattage should I use for coils? I have 10, 25, and 40 watt irons (Radio Shack) and I don't want to get the leads too hot or damage the coils?
I've found that the lower powered irons will only work with brand new tips.
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Right now, i am using a Hakko 936 on my work bench...
I got mine from( http://www.kiesub.com/ ) Just search for hakko 936...they're less than $80 right now!!!
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Right now, i am using a Hakko 936 on my work bench...
I got mine from( http://www.kiesub.com/ ) Just search for hakko 936...they're less than $80 right now!!!
I use this same iron at home and at work. The one at work is on 8 hours a day, and I replace the tip about twice a year. It may be a little more expensive, especially if you are doing simple repairs once in a while, but it is a great iron.
woody
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I'll be getting a Hakko FX-901 next.
Runs off of four AA batteries and I've seen some really good reviews on it (lasts 70-120 minutes depending on batteries used). Not too bad for $30.
http://www.tequipment.net/HakkoFX901.html (http://www.tequipment.net/HakkoFX901.html)
Review comparing Cold Heat, Weller Portasol, and the Hakko FX-901: http://newtechinc.blogspot.com/2006/02/coldheat-goes-toe-to-toe-with-hakko.html (http://newtechinc.blogspot.com/2006/02/coldheat-goes-toe-to-toe-with-hakko.html)
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I use a gas iron for portability, it is great for quick wire joints as it heats up really quickly and is powerful so it can be used outside in the cold without problems. Obviously not good for sensitive electronics but I would do that indoors with a temperature controlled iron anyway.
Am glad I found this thread as I was considering getting one of these cold heat ones a while ago but was a bit wary, now I know not to get one. :)
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I've got a ColdHeat, and it never seems to heat up enough to do anything with the solder, But that "instantly cool" stuff is ---smurf-poo---, that farker gave me a nice little burn when I tried to put it back in its case.
I was given the combo pack from Costco around Christmas time, and I've got to say that I DO like the Wire Cutter/Stripper though its not the highest quality :tool: I've ever used.
I just use the cheapest Iron I have lying around the house that came in a Radio Shack tool kit. I dont do alot of soldering outside of the Arcade O_o
-Mal