Re: Cold Heat Soldering Gun

[krustyb]

Has anyone used the Cold heat Soldering Gun on any components for model railroads.
For example, circuit boards, track connections, etc.
If you have, what is your honest opinion.

[cacole]

Save your money and buy a real soldering iron. I don't have that cold heat and would never buy anything like that advertised on TV -- if it is no good, you can never get your money back. From their commercials, I would guess that it doesn't generate enough heat to solder rail. Decoder wires, maybe, but nothing heavier than that. By the way, you're the third person to ask about this item, so if you conduct a search you will probably find a lot more opinions about it.

[Anonymous]

Krustyb, Soldering is performed by melting and bonding the solder onto the parts to be secured. Heat is necessary to do this. There are low temp solders, however, cold heat soldering is likely voodoo technology. I agree, buy a quality soldering iron or gun, and match the solder to the iron or gun you will use. Soldering is way more easy than people tend to think!

[krustyb]

Thank you gentlemen for the reply.
I do have a couple of irons on hand and have used them for most of the work I have done on my layout.
I was just interested if anyone had used one of these Cold Heat guns and what their reactions were.
Thanks again.
KrustyB

[Anonymous]

from what i gatherd it is a mini- resistance soldering iron. Just wondering if it will work good for soldering track.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Swedge

from what i gatherd it is a mini- resistance soldering iron. Just wondering if it will work good for soldering track.

We've had this discussion before, and the general consensus back then was NO. This is a gimicky gizmo that is really only useful for circuit board work at the most.. Track is way too big and heavy for the power of this thing.

[Anonymous]

I read on the previous discussions, however, that the wire stripper that comes with this thing is way cool.

[jrbernier]

I have one of these items(yes I bought it while watching Saturday morning home improvement shows). It is a 'resistance' type of unit, and I have been using it for soldering track feeders to a common bus - works fine there. I have not tried using it for soldering rail - I suspect that it may not have enough battery life to be useful.

Jim Bernier

[locomutt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dkelly

I read on the previous discussions, however, that the wire stripper that comes with this thing is way cool.

Don't hold your breath on the wire stripper.After several uses,mine became
useless. I'm not real thrilled with the soldering iron,but for the uses I have
for it,does the job alright. If you want a good cordless,check out "Micro-Mark"
They have the "Iso-Tip" brand. But for the rail and other heavier things;I
would suggest something heavier.[:)]

[ben10ben]

Radio Shack is now selling their own version of it for the same price as the one sold on TV, although it doesn't come with the wire stripper. At least if you buy from Radio Shack, though, and it doesn't work for what you need it for, they'll refund your money.