cold heat soldering iron

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I was planning on useing the new cold heat soldering iron I got. Has anybody used a cold heat soldering iron to solder there track joints does it work all right.
Thanks Dean

2

There was a discussion about this not too long ago. I do not have one so I really can’t offer anything on it. The general consesus in the earlier thread was not too good.

Let me see if I can find it…

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=55432

There we go. (about 35 pages back) Hope this helps. [8D]

3

I have seen this advertised and it fascinates me. being an engineer I have a million questions however. There is no such thing as cold heat. They are opposites. My conclusion is it is either a high frequency device that uses vibration to cause excitation in the object and/or a space age material that heats and cools quickly. I have also noted that they only use it in the ad on small jobs so it’s heat output may be limited.

4

Well, I’m not an engineer, so forgive my un-technical answer [:p]. It’s basically just a two-pronged electrode of some kind encased in ceramic. when you touch both prongs to something metal, it arcs across and heats what you’re working on. I think it may just be a simple type of resistance soldering unit.

5

From the feedback on previous threads, this iron does not work well on joints. Maybe ok for small wires. Concensus I get was save your money and get a soldering iron from Radio shack or wherever.

6

I have one tried it ,doesnt work too good . Smaller jobs maybe but. I went out and bought a real one[:p] it will work better in the long run.
Just my 2 pennies
Chris

7

Wondering if the cold heat iron would be good for DCC decoder wires? While I do agree that a regular iron is the way to go, the thing is pretty small and might be easier to get in and out fast.

8

Well I bought one and gave some favorable comments on another thread. But i take it all back. It is good only for the smallest jobs. 22-26 g wire. I went to use it for the fourth time yesterday and as i touched the tip to the speaker terminal the soldering gun tip broke in two. Another 20 bucks down the tube. Back to my real soldering gun.
Terry[8D]

9

Terry,

To bad. Guess I’ll stick with my various irons.

10

Just a comment to ndprr. If you can’t have cold heat, how can you have giant shrimp, ice water, a square ring (boxing and wrestling), and any other of those oximorons?
Ron K.

11

Kinda like ships carry cargo and motor vehicles deliver shipments?

12

I went to Home Depot today to buy one, but they were out of them. After reading all of the comments, I glad my timing was good. Thanks all.

13

This may not be a problem but:

I think “Cold Heat” soldering irons apply electrical current through the metal to produce the heat. It’s a little like an older Weller soldering gun with a broken tip. We used to burn out transistors with cracked or broken tips. This sounds like bad news around sensitive electronic semiconductors and such. Therefore, I would not use them around decoders, or even on track that’s connected to your DCC system or other DCC equipped loco’s.

14

I use one quite often on sound boards, lighting…etc. True it works great on 12 to 28 ga wire (what I use in most of my jobs). The real plus on this thing is that it is so simple/fast/conveniant to use. So, it does have it’s pro’s and con’s. I keep mine in my desk drawer where I can access it in seconds…job done in seconds!!! Sheesh, this Company should pay me for plugging thier product!

15

Got one, used it, or tried to, several times. Actually got one thing soldered, it was very small and flat with nothing around it. I doubt the battery powered units could handle soldering track joints.