Battery Soldering Iron

[ksutton]

Does anyone have any experience of using a battery soldering iron, have been looking at the Weller, but there seems to be some concerns and doubts about how good they are.

 

[sailorman]

Does anyone have any experience of using a battery soldering iron, have been looking at the Weller, but there seems to be some concerns and doubts about how good they are.

i have a cheapo 12v one o/b it works perfectly well

 

[VicS]

Just a tip when using one.

run the engine ( or switch on the battery charger) to push the volts up as high as possible. Because watts is proportional to volts squared it makes a bigger difference to the heat produced than you might at first think.

 

[kunyang]

I bought a gas soldering iron a few years ago, and found it a great asset.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

I've got a cheapie 12v one and it's very good.
Whilst I understand the point that VicS is making, I find that it's fine for most jobs just using the battery. I suppose that if I were soldering something bigger than just ordinary wiring then an extra boost from the engine would be helpful.

The gas irons are also good, but they never seem to last very long in my hands. I've got through three of them over the last 10 years.

 

[ksutton]

Sorry maybe I didn't make my description clear enough. I meant an integral AA battery soldering iron. If it worked well it could be more convenient than a gas one.

Link here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Weller-BP86...KSU0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322764616&sr=8-2

 

[lenseman]

I have found that the 12 volt battery soldering irons tend to heat up just enough to melt solder inside a house or cabin.

Take them outside in a breeze and then they tend not to work.

Like others, I use butane soldering irons and have had no problems with a butane iron but these do not like working below 4°C as the butane does not like operating at low temperatures.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Sorry maybe I didn't make my description clear enough. I meant an integral AA battery soldering iron. If it worked well it could be more convenient than a gas one.

Link here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Weller-BP86...KSU0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322764616&sr=8-2

I didn't know that such a thing existed but it's probably a bit low on power for most jobs on a boat. It would be fine for use on printed circuits. I'm sure that others will have differing views but, on a boat, you want something around 20 to 30 watts.

 

[CreakyDecks]

Many years ago when I worked as a technician we bought one of the gas ones for an outside job and ended up using it all the time. Really convenient to use in the back of equipment cabinets because there is no cable getting in the way and a nice big tip that doesn't get all the heat sucked out of it by thick wires.

 

[VicS]

Sorry maybe I didn't make my description clear enough. I meant an integral AA battery soldering iron. If it worked well it could be more convenient than a gas one.

Link here.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Weller-BP86...KSU0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322764616&sr=8-2

I did not realise AA powered soldering irons exist either

It's got a tiny tip.
It really is only going to be suitable for very light soldering jobs. Electronic circuits etc but sometimes you can do more harm with an underpowered iron that you do with a large iron.

( the one I keep on the boat I heat on the gas ring!)

 

[electrosys]

I've been using the same Weller Soldering Station since the 1980's - 24 volt, about 45 watts I think. Superb kit.

They also do a 12 volt 'stand alone' version:
http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/3619-tcp-soldering-iron-12v-tcp12v-cooper-tools-weller.html
High initial outlay, but you won't regret it in the long-term.

 

[maxi77]

I was warned off the AA sort after one of our engineers (yes a proper chartered engineer) bought one to try on a field trial. I now use the Aldi gas ones, one at home and one on the boat. As well as normal soldering jobs the knife blade does a very good job on ropes

 

[maby]

I agree, they are of very limited value. Buy a gas powered iron from Maplins for about £20 and it will work much better for you.

A word of wrning about some battery powered irons - some work by using the wire to be soldered to bridge a narrow gap between two graphite rods - the current flowing through the wire and the graphite produces heat at the junction and melts the solder. They do work relatively well, but I'm always nervous about using them on any electronic circuits where the stray currents may damage components.

 

[savageseadog]

Gas irons can be too hot, use the controls and think twice about circuit board or small work with them.

 

[Amulet]

I bought a gas soldering iron a few years ago, and found it a great asset.

+1

 

[BERT T]

I've been using the same Weller Soldering Station since the 1980's - 24 volt, about 45 watts I think. Superb kit.

They also do a 12 volt 'stand alone' version:
http://cpc.farnell.com/1/1/3619-tcp-soldering-iron-12v-tcp12v-cooper-tools-weller.html
High initial outlay, but you won't regret it in the long-term.

I had a look at this one and yes it is an excellent iron, but you would need to be doing a lot of soldering to justify the price of £81.54 + carriage. I used one of the rechargeable portable irons yeas ago and it was fine for PCB work but not much else. Unless you are doing a lot of intricate work and for portability around the boat I would personally go for gas.

 

[ksutton]

Thanks for all inputs. From consensus I think I will leave the integral battery type alone and continue down the gas soldering iron route for portability etc.

 

[ianj99]

Does anyone have any experience of using a battery soldering iron, have been looking at the Weller, but there seems to be some concerns and doubts about how good they are.

Use a mains one with a small mains inverter. Asda sell a compact one for a few £s rated at about 75w.

Also available on Amazon such as the one made by Ring eg http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automo...SM6Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322774123&sr=8-2

(You can cut the plug off and fit a pair of croc clips )

I recommend Antex's TCS50 a mains operated temperature controlled 50watt iron which therefore works outdoors as well although at £40 odd isn't the cheapest.

I've tried various 12v ones over the years but they've never been satisfactory and gas ones don't have good temperature regulation.
Ian

 

[ProDave]

If you want a cordless soldering iron, then without a doubt you want a gas iron, not a battery iron.

I've had one for years and it's powerfull and relaible.

If you want a corded iron, then the 12V ones that run from a car battery are also very good.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

I'm intrigued that so many people seem to have had good service from their gas irons.
As I said earlier, I've found they don't last very long. One had the (irreplaceable) catalyst go. One just fell apart. The third went when a leak developed from the tank. Two have been from Maplin (Irodo?), I can't remember where the other came from.

I'ld be interested to know what make peeps have?

When they work they're very good. Portable, powerful, good range of accessories (the knife edges are superb on rope, and the blow lamps are good on heat shrink), fairly controlable. But they never seem to last. Maybe I've just been unlucky.