"Schiffner" wrote in message
...
On Feb 12, 2:16 am, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:
In article ,
R. LaCasse wrote:

|Why bother? Buy a butane powered soldering iron and be done with it.
Sounds good, if you plan on burning all the plastic around the
soldering area I'm considering with wind included...pretty messy
sometimes..

Wind is a problem with an electric soldering iron too.

Only on cold days...cold being UNDER 35F. Well that's my definition,
what would I know I've installed AC compressor units when it was 25F.
Getting the torch lit was the hardest part as the winds were a good
bit over 25mph that day. 8^(



IME the butane pencil irons aren't well suited to outdoor automotive work.

It was cold and windy at the time and by the time I'd turned the gas up high
enough to make acceptable joints, it overheated when idle and ruined the
tinning on the tip.

Also for some unknown reason the catalyser gauze only glows round one side
of the burner since.



Electric soldering irons shouldn't be bothered on windy days unless
it's damn cold.
--
Keith



I've had even 60W temperature controlled irons struggle indoors in a bloody
cold workshop.

The OP might not find it easy to obtain a TC iron rated at 12V (there were
the 24V Weller TCP-1 irons - if you can still get them) so the choices are
along the lines; 12V (not temcont), 2 batteries in series to run a 24V iron
(if you can still get them) -or- a small mains voltage from 12V inverter
(probably less than 50% efficient - so much increased current draw for a
given wattage).

Another option is a computer backup UPS - but most types have a 'safety
feature', you can't just activate them and get mains from them - you have to
simulate a power outage by first plugging it into a wall socket and then
unplugging it with the load connected and running.

In my garage there's an old salvaged UPS with faked mains - a blocking
oscillator/inverter wired to the charging transformer to make the circuit
board think it had mains.

When the 'U' lock securing my motorcycle refused its key one morning I was
able to run the angle grinder away from any mains socket, long enough to cut
the lock.