http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/cold-soldering.htm

Nutshell - inconsistent joints, POS.

Good. Die, vile contraption, die. Long live the soldering iron.

The soldering guide on that website is pretty good too! Thanks.

Other reviews I've seen also say it's a worthless POS. I think it gets bought by tinkerer's relatives who think they'll burn down the house with a regular soldering iron.

FWIW Triton makes a tweezer type of soldering tool that uses resistance heating through the part that really does work. Of course, it is ~$180 & has a big plug-in transformer so it's a bench-use only tool. Also, I wouldn't use it on any electronics due to the current flow thru the tips. Worked pretty good on some RCA plugs for interconnects, though.

Tom

It's gift fodder, christmas, fathers's day etc.... for those that don't have an inkling.

Hint: can't think of something, use a gift certificate!!! (they'll know what they need!)

A lot of my incoming (and outgoing when I can) gifts are pre-arranged.. I tell em: do you want the surprised look, or a big smile and warm thoughts each and every time I use it extensively?????

(I also try for durables, not consumables that are gone quickly)

If you're looking for a cordless iron you might
cosider this one.
http://www.starkelectronic.com/whl7944.htm

Ive had one for some time and it works well.
There is also a fairly good selection of tips to choose from.

Those are the nastiest, coldest looking, solder joints I have seen since I was a pup. You can have that iron. I'll stick with the old standards.

Rich P

Yeah aint they purdy?

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c264/Genx65/coldheat-sample.jpg

I tried to solder wire to a speaker lug with it. You would think that would be easy enough. Couldn't make it work at all. Barely melted the solder, and never got the lug hot enough for it to flow correctly and fill the lug. I ended up pluggin in the old stand by.

Ed

I would rather spend money on new NI-CADS for my Weller battery powered iron than put any more THROW AWAY batteries into this thing, :thumbsdn: you can't use rechargeables with it (when the voltage gets too low, it MAY still solder, but the "heat on" red light stays on!)

I have used it to change a motor on a cassette deck, 9 volt clip on an effects pedal, etc. but NOT any of my GOOD or extensive electronics or DIY projects, and forget about terminal strips\tube sockets and any other "vintage" type of electronic connections.

Mark T.

The batteries cost almost as much as the cold heat gun! Could not give it away at work! Useless!
John.

Seriously, maybe something is wrong with mine. I can't solder anything with it. It doesn't work badly, it doesn't work at all. If I sit there for 10 minutes holding it on a joint, it will start to melt the solder, but never enough to get a wire loose.

Ed