bates2012 wrote:

Since I rarely solder, Im interested in that "Cold Heat" cordless iron
they show on TV. Seems that would be handy for the little dab of
soldering I do. What say ye?


They are low grade resistance soldering irons. I've not heard anyone
brag about them being good. Only one who claimed they were 'OK', and he
was considered a hack who patched store return junk together and sold it
to suckers.

The tips are carbon, and very fragile. They have a short life. If
you want a battery powere iron, look at the Wahl cordless irons. They
cost more, but they do work. I used one for years to repair the circuit
boards in Commodore 64 computers. The also sold a 'Tuner extension tip
which was about four inches long. You could work it through a group of
wires, then push the button to heat the tip. No risk of burning the
wiring in tight places. They were in the $30 range when I bought the
'Orange' eight hour charge model. A week later the 'Red' one hour
charge model came out.

One big problem with a rechargable iron: Battery life is only a few
years. If you aren't doing work on static sensitve electronics, just
buy a 25 to 45 W iron. I have used Weller SP23 irons since the late
'60s. There is a 40W model in that line, as well.