Cold Heat Soldering Iron, the Verdict is in...

[MrAl]

Hi again,

rshayes, is this what you were talking about?

http://www.coldheat.com/NR/store/index. ... oductID=79

If so, that's not copper, it's the same stuff only smaller and it doesnt
heat as well (have to do smaller stuff).

I couldnt find any other tips on the site except the same old ones
that are the same delicate material.

[pebe]

A similar device was used by a TV Cable company almost 50yrs ago to solder 0.104" cored coax cable. The cabling jointing was done at eaves level using a battery pack for portability. The 'soldering iron' was a carbon bit connected to one side of a 6V lead-acid accumulator, while a lead from the other battery pole was croc clipped to the coax. The heat was generated by contact resistance between the carbon bit and the wire.

Joints were always excellent, but the breakage rate of the carbon tips was high. The company eventually replaced them with Weller 'Superspeed' irons. They used the same principle but had the carbon pushing against a 3/8" diam copper bit. They gave excellent service with more than enough heat. In fact, the bit would glow red if left on too long!

[MrAl]

Hi again,

Now im tempted to work on a tip design myself just to get something
that is totally reliable. I dont mind if it takes longer to cool down,
as long as i dont have to worry about breaking the tip...that's the
worst part of the whole thing. You are tempted to press harder in
order to make a better electrical contact between tip and work,
and if you do so you break the tip, then have to shell out 10 bucks
for a new one (plus shipping). The whole iron only costs about 20
bucks.
Maybe it's time to hit the drawing board.

[rshayes]

Hello Al,

All three tips are shown on a separate page (http://www.coldheat.com/NR/store/index. ... egoryID=33).

The tips appear to be a metal piece ( I assume copper) that is contacted by the tips (possibly carbon) in the soldering iron. This would provide an electrically conductive path to allow the carbon tips to heat, and a thermally conductive path which would conduct the heat to the solder joint.

I am not sure what material would be used for the piece that holds the soldering tip on. This might be a high temperature plastic (kapton or teflon ?) that can stand the tip temperature. Alternately, it could be a metal, such as iron or nichrome, that has a higher resistance than copper. Since the path is longer and the resistance is higher, only a small fraction of the total current would pass through this piece.

[MrAl]

Hi again,

rshayes:
Yeah those tips are not made of copper, but of that special material
they are calling "Athalite". That's the material that breaks too easily.

[rshayes]

Hello Al,

The patent on this soldering iron is number 6,646,228 (assigned to Hyperion Innovations). It can be downloaded from the US Patent Office (www.uspto.gov). The tips are described as graphite separated by a mica insulator. Hyperion Innovations has also obtained design patents for specific designs of the soldering iron.

What they call "athelite" may be simply graphite. The patent mentions carbon rods from a battery as suitable material for the electrodes.

If you wanted to try making your own electrodes, carbon rods from a zinc-carbon battery and a mica insulator meant for mounting power transistors might be all you need for raw materials.

[MrAl]

Hi again,

That's an interesting idea, i'll have to give that some thought.
Why do you suppose they want to use carbon or graphite?

[CeaSaR]

How about this instead?
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To- ... eful-Tool/
At least it would be useful for something. LOL

CeaSaR

[Hello]

Seems like I saw that Weller had bought out the rights to ColdHeat. My guess is they weren't interested in the design, just trying to eliminate some marketing competition.
I've been fiddling around with a battery-operated iron I got at that paragon of parts distributors, R-S. It's too weak for much real work, though. I kinduv wish someone would come out with a legit battery iron (at a reasonable price); it seems like with the introduction of newer, more power-dense batts, this would be doable, with dividends of portablility, safety, etc.
Well, I never was worth a crap as a solderer, just do enough to get it to work.

[MrAl]

Hi there,


Talking about portable irons, i have used the RS 12v iron that plugs
into the cigar lighter of a car. It works great because it gets as hot
as a normal iron and works exactly the same but it uses 12v from
the car battery instead of 120v from the house.

If you want portability you can use it with one of the jump packs they
make for jumping cars, or even your own lead acid 12v battery.
You'll have to have a way to charge the battery from time to time
of course.

If you dont solder well then perhaps all you need is some more
practice. Get some wire, solder, make sure the solder has rosin
flux. Solder without flux makes it VERY difficult to solder ANYTHING.
Twist the wires together, apply a small amount of fresh solder to
iron tip, hold tip under wires, apply more solder to the wires and let
flow for a few seconds. Remove tip and let cool. Practice that several
times. You'll see the solder flow a little if you are doing it right when
you apply the solder. The joint should look a little shiny if it's done
right.
Another trick is to 'tin' the two wires first. To do this, hold the tip
under each single wire before they are twisted together, and apply
a little solder so that the solder flows around the whole wire end, making
it appear silver in color. After doing this to both wires they tend to
solder even more easily.