Electrical question

[pappaecho]

My father in law died recently and among his possessions was a soldering iron. Packed in a box it was found to have two simple "wander" plugs and no mains plug as such. The box does not have a voltage on it but describes it as a "Minature Type 1" soldering iron.
I suspect that it may have had a step down transformer at some point, but hope that it might be 12 volt, which would be very handy on the boat. Could somebody indicate what sort or resistance the element would have if it were 12 volt?

 

[lenseman]

Just clip it across a car battery and see the result. If it is 240 volt mains or a 110 volt unit, it won't work.

If it was similar to others currently on the market at 12 volts then the wattage will be about 12-15 watts.

W = I x V therefore I = W/V which will be about 1 Amp

R = V/I therefore R = 12 Ohms

 

[misterg]

[ QUOTE ]
Could somebody indicate what sort or resistance the element would have if it were 12 volt?

[/ QUOTE ]

About 6 ohm, assuming it's about 20watts.

Andy

 

[William_H]

I have one soldering iron which has a temp control device in it. It is intended to run on 24 volts at which voltage it heats up quite quickly then cycles on and off. On 12v it is slower to heat but is still usable. so try yours on 12v.
good luck olewill

 

[savageseadog]

There are a lot of 50V irons around, they're ex BT

 

[VicS]

I agree with lenseman. Try it on 12volts. If it works its a 12 volt one.

Useful tip with 12volt irons, run the engine while using it. The increase in volts can make a big difference!