On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:19:44 -0000, "Arfa Daily"
wrote:

Up until when I went away on holiday a couple of weeks ago,
it was on every day for 10 or more hours, and worked perfectly. Monday
morning, after returning from 2 weeks away, I stumbled jet-lagged and grumpy
into the workshop at 9am and switched the benches on. The display on the
Antex was going berserk, with the temperature figures flickering and
flashing.
(...)
A new cap of course cured the problem. I guess with its location being next
to a hot component, it had been on its way for some time, but it didn't get
to the point of causing any actual trouble, until it had not had volts
across it for a couple of weeks.

Nope. Soldering irons require exercise. They also develop a rhythm.
It's like a cat. If I leave kitty cat alone and neglected for what it
considers an excessive amount of time, it will protest in a fairly
predictable manner. That's usually droppings behind the couch,
shredded furniture, sleeping on the clean laundry shelf, etc.
Soldering irons are like that. Once accustomed to your daily
attention, any change in the irons habits will result in a protest. In
this case, the iron protested by destroying the electrolytic
capacitor. Next time, it might be the display, heating element, cord,
or a more expensive device. I'm not sure if your soldering iron
requires your personal attention or if a surrogate soldering iron
operator is acceptable. In the future, it might be useful to arrange
with the neighbors to have them exercise your soldering iron if you
decide to vacate again.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558