Cold Heat Solder

Anyone out there try one of these?

http://www.coldheattools.com

I haven't heard too much about them and would like
some feedback before I buy one.  Generally, the 
reviews on the web say good things.  I mostly do
simple PCB boards (wirewrap).

Cheers,
Rich

Hah!!! Well, I know enough from just superficially looking at their web
site.
How long will those batteries last (for real?). Appears to me like one of
those seeming like fancy and nice-to-have tools, but eventeually they'll end
up in a drawer, gathering dust! Stick to wire wrapping when it comes to
one-off projects.

BCNU

Waldemar

"RichH" <rich_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_holmteam.net> schreef in bericht
news:MPG.1c1474e0e878b033989689@news.wowway.com...
>
> Anyone out there try one of these?
>
> http://www.coldheattools.com
>
> I haven't heard too much about them and would like
> some feedback before I buy one.  Generally, the
> reviews on the web say good things.  I mostly do
> simple PCB boards (wirewrap).
>
> Cheers,
> Rich
>

I don't want to replace wire wrapping... I just want a better soldering
iron for sockets and components.

Cheers,
Rich


In article <41aaec9c$0$7144$d5255a0c@news.wanadoo.nl>, bleek004
@hotmail.com says...
> Hah!!! Well, I know enough from just superficially looking at their web
> site.
> How long will those batteries last (for real?). Appears to me like one of
> those seeming like fancy and nice-to-have tools, but eventeually they'll end
> up in a drawer, gathering dust! Stick to wire wrapping when it comes to
> one-off projects.
> 
> BCNU
> 
> Waldemar
> 
> "RichH" <rich_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_holmteam.net> schreef in bericht
> news:MPG.1c1474e0e878b033989689@news.wowway.com...
> >
> > Anyone out there try one of these?
> >
> > http://www.coldheattools.com
> >
> > I haven't heard too much about them and would like
> > some feedback before I buy one.  Generally, the
> > reviews on the web say good things.  I mostly do
> > simple PCB boards (wirewrap).
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Rich
> >
> 
> 
> 

RichH <rich_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_holmteam.net> wrote in 
news:MPG.1c1474e0e878b033989689@news.wowway.com:

> 
> Anyone out there try one of these?
> 
> http://www.coldheattools.com
> 
> I haven't heard too much about them and would like
> some feedback before I buy one.  Generally, the 
> reviews on the web say good things.  I mostly do
> simple PCB boards (wirewrap).
> 
> Cheers,
> Rich
> 

I've heard that they do a decent job for soldering small things together, 
like for example two thin wires. But they cannot handle larger things, and 
I expect they'd have trouble heating up a device enough to wick the solder 
into the holes. I personally am staying away from the devices.

-Michael

I bought one.

It uses an electric arc between two (apparently) ceramic-type posts.  It 
worked great for tinning the ends of wires.  They state you must make a 
contact between the two posts and the item you are soldering.  Not too 
difficult on larger items but maybe not practical for smaller items.  Their 
claims of it's cooling down after use in seconds is very valid.  I tinned a 
pair of wires then shut it off and touched the ends.  While it was still 
mildly warm, it was by no means hot.  You could certainly throw it back into 
a drawer without risking setting something on fire.

The question about lifetime of the batteries is valid, also.  I haven't used 
it enough to tell yet but it would appear to use a lot of current when the 
arc is present.

It will probably serve as an emergency iron but will probably not get used 
that much.

Dave

"RichH" <rich_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_holmteam.net> wrote in message 
news:MPG.1c1474e0e878b033989689@news.wowway.com...
>
> Anyone out there try one of these?
>
> http://www.coldheattools.com
>
> I haven't heard too much about them and would like
> some feedback before I buy one.  Generally, the
> reviews on the web say good things.  I mostly do
> simple PCB boards (wirewrap).
>
> Cheers,
> Rich
> 

Thanks for the info.

Have you used it to solder anything on a PCB board, sockets, etc?

So far, looks like I'll pass.

Cheers,
Rich


In article <10qngujpshcm8c@corp.supernews.com>, starfire151@cableone.net 
says...
> I bought one.
> 
> It uses an electric arc between two (apparently) ceramic-type posts.  It 
> worked great for tinning the ends of wires.  They state you must make a 
> contact between the two posts and the item you are soldering.  Not too 
> difficult on larger items but maybe not practical for smaller items.  Their 
> claims of it's cooling down after use in seconds is very valid.  I tinned a 
> pair of wires then shut it off and touched the ends.  While it was still 
> mildly warm, it was by no means hot.  You could certainly throw it back into 
> a drawer without risking setting something on fire.
> 
> The question about lifetime of the batteries is valid, also.  I haven't used 
> it enough to tell yet but it would appear to use a lot of current when the 
> arc is present.
> 
> It will probably serve as an emergency iron but will probably not get used 
> that much.
> 
> Dave
> 
> "RichH" <rich_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_holmteam.net> wrote in message 
> news:MPG.1c1474e0e878b033989689@news.wowway.com...
> >
> > Anyone out there try one of these?
> >
> > http://www.coldheattools.com
> >
> > I haven't heard too much about them and would like
> > some feedback before I buy one.  Generally, the
> > reviews on the web say good things.  I mostly do
> > simple PCB boards (wirewrap).
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Rich
> > 
> 
> 
> 

In article <10qngujpshcm8c@corp.supernews.com>, starfire151@cableone.net 
says...
> I bought one.
> 
> It uses an electric arc between two (apparently) ceramic-type posts.  It 
> worked great for tinning the ends of wires.  They state you must make a 
> contact between the two posts and the item you are soldering.  Not too 
> difficult on larger items but maybe not practical for smaller items.  Their 
> claims of it's cooling down after use in seconds is very valid.  I tinned a 
> pair of wires then shut it off and touched the ends.  While it was still 
> mildly warm, it was by no means hot.  You could certainly throw it back into 
> a drawer without risking setting something on fire.

I found this on a web site describing the cold heat soldering iron:

"The one caveat to using the iron is that if you touch its two prongs to 
different leads of a sensitive component like a chip, you could burn out 
the component. "


That would certainly limit the tool's utility for me.
> 
> The question about lifetime of the batteries is valid, also.  I haven't used 
> it enough to tell yet but it would appear to use a lot of current when the 
> arc is present.
> 
> It will probably serve as an emergency iron but will probably not get used 
> that much.
> 
> Dave
> 
> "RichH" <rich_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_holmteam.net> wrote in message 
> news:MPG.1c1474e0e878b033989689@news.wowway.com...
> >
> > Anyone out there try one of these?
> >
> > http://www.coldheattools.com
> >
> > I haven't heard too much about them and would like
> > some feedback before I buy one.  Generally, the
> > reviews on the web say good things.  I mostly do
> > simple PCB boards (wirewrap).
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Rich
> > 


Mark Borgerson

See also the repsonse from Mark Borgerson.

Since this (apparently) uses an electric arc, I don't think it would be 
practical for any sensitive electronics applications.  I might use it for 
mounting headers, sockets, or connectors before electronic components are 
mounted (but usually I mount them in the opposite order:)  )  I'd even be a 
little concerned that if sensitive components are mounted on a board prior 
to the connector, that using this tool on a connector might inadvertantly 
induce a destructive current on the trace being soldered through a component 
it was attached to.  I don't know that for a fact, though.  It seems since 
the heating method is through an arc, it would be something akin to inducing 
a static charge on an input... sometimes very destructive.

It will still be good to use for everyday tasks like tinning leads, cable 
work, and non-critical applications like non-electronic automotive work.  It 
would be good in this kind of an application because of it's portability.

If you need something for critical electronics work, though, you'd probably 
be much better off getting something better suited to the task.


Dave

"RichH" <rich_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_holmteam.net> wrote in message 
news:MPG.1c15c702a13f855198968b@news.wowway.com...
>
> Thanks for the info.
>
> Have you used it to solder anything on a PCB board, sockets, etc?
>
> So far, looks like I'll pass.
>
> Cheers,
> Rich
>
>
> In article <10qngujpshcm8c@corp.supernews.com>, starfire151@cableone.net
> says...
>> I bought one.
>>
>> It uses an electric arc between two (apparently) ceramic-type posts.  It
>> worked great for tinning the ends of wires.  They state you must make a
>> contact between the two posts and the item you are soldering.  Not too
>> difficult on larger items but maybe not practical for smaller items. 
>> Their
>> claims of it's cooling down after use in seconds is very valid.  I tinned 
>> a
>> pair of wires then shut it off and touched the ends.  While it was still
>> mildly warm, it was by no means hot.  You could certainly throw it back 
>> into
>> a drawer without risking setting something on fire.
>>
>> The question about lifetime of the batteries is valid, also.  I haven't 
>> used
>> it enough to tell yet but it would appear to use a lot of current when 
>> the
>> arc is present.
>>
>> It will probably serve as an emergency iron but will probably not get 
>> used
>> that much.
>>
>> Dave
>>
>> "RichH" <rich_NOSPAM_@_NOSPAM_holmteam.net> wrote in message
>> news:MPG.1c1474e0e878b033989689@news.wowway.com...
>> >
>> > Anyone out there try one of these?
>> >
>> > http://www.coldheattools.com
>> >
>> > I haven't heard too much about them and would like
>> > some feedback before I buy one.  Generally, the
>> > reviews on the web say good things.  I mostly do
>> > simple PCB boards (wirewrap).
>> >
>> > Cheers,
>> > Rich
>> >
>>
>>
>>