Who uses a solder pot? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: apelly
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 12:55:46 am
content: I'm thinking of getting one for tinning, but I think I probably don't do enough at any one time to justify waiting for it to heat up.My strategy at the moment is to poke the soldering iron off the edge of the bench, rotate it so the tip has a flat side up, put something heavy on it to stop it turning, and apply wire and solder. Maybe I just need a better technique?Do they take an age to get hot?What have you got to say about the cheap Chinese ones? What's crap about them, compared to branded ones?Is it important to have quality solder in them?

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 01:16:30 am
content: Commercial solder pots are way too big for home use. I think with a bit of ingenuity you could make a small one using something like a steel thimble as the pot. For a high tech solution you could heat it electrically, but why not just support the thimble in a wire loop and heat it with a spirit burner? In fact, it seems like such a promising idea I might even try it out myself.

author: apelly
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 01:26:28 am
content: Quote from: IanB on March 09, 2015, 01:16:30 amI like the way you're thinking! Thanks mate. It's on my todo list.

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 01:33:33 am
content: I use a small commercial one (Edsyn or American Beauty, IIRC) when I have a lot of repetitive work to do, such as making up cables etc. Holds about a 1/2 pound of solder. Takes 15 minutes to fully heat from cold, and a much longer time to cool back down. I run mine from a variac, as it has no built in temp control.Occasionally handy to have, but potentially a hazard, especially in a home environment.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 01:52:25 am
content: You can get on ebay small ones for cheap. For example this onehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-Mini-Soldering-Pot-Solder-Melt-3-5cm-with-Handle-On-Off-AC115V-150W-Taiwan-/140334688617?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20ac996969http://www.ebay.com/itm/50mm-220V-150W-450Degree-Max-ST-21C-Solder-Pot-Soldering-Desoldering-Bath-NEW-US-/331464532217?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d2cd360f9Make sure the voltage is the correct one for your locality.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2015, 01:53:32 am
content: Random pic from google.Own a Hakko 96 like above photo, bought it many years ago, an used one for at quite cheap price, if I'm not mistaken about < $15.As N2ixk said, not much for normal daily use if you're not tinning lots of wires, but when you're on project that needs lots of wiring/jumper wires inside the case for example, then it will be very handy, especially like ribbon type wires, as manualy soldering those wires one by one will not be as tidy as dipping the whole wires in the molten solder.Also its a good tool to coat the solder thinly and evenly at any pins, say like thru hole component's pins, and it serves as a quick & lazy tool to salvage components from relatively small board.It does take time to heat up, about 15 mins & will take longer to cool it down back to the temp that is safe to touch.

author: apelly
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 04:46:06 am
content: Just to follow up: I bought one of thesehttp://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-KLT-360-Solder-Pot-Titanium-Alloy-Soldering-Melting-Tin-38mm-100W/590795388.htmlI'll let you know what it's like when it gets here.I haven't found a source of cheap solder yet. I'm on the lookout. It'll be a week or two before the pot gets here anyway.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 04:55:21 am
content: Quote from: apelly on March 17, 2015, 04:46:06 amVery similar to one a mate bought.Get some plumbers stick solder from any good hardware store.I used to use beeswax on molten lead when casting muzzle loader bullets to reduce the formation dross. (oxides) Bit smokey but did the job.Of course solder will not be as hot as lead.

author: apelly
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 05:17:58 am
content: I did wonder about plumbers solder, but I wasn't sure what it was.A quick google finds Bunnings in .auhttp://www.bunnings.com.au/compare?products=5060304,5060299,Interesting price difference depending apparently on if it's lead/tin, or tin/lead

author: bills
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 05:22:42 am
content: plumbers solder is 95-5 don't know how that would work

author: apelly
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 05:24:45 am
content: The link above is for 60/40. The do describe that particular stuff asQuote

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 06:57:39 am
content: Only reason i've never bought a $20 deal extreme solder pot is the realization of the mess it would make if it ever fell over and 250deg solder flowed over the desk and carpet.Knocking a drink over at your desk is bad enough without it being hot molten metal

author: bills
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 07:03:46 am
content: yes that would be a mess.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 09:35:13 am
content: I occasionally use a small cheapo like this if I need to tin a lot of wire-ends :http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150W-220V-Solder-Pot-Soldering-Desoldering-Bath-50mm-ST-21C-450-Degree-UK-Plug-/271564594134?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f3a82dbd6It isn't temp controlled, the knob is just a power adjust - set on full til it melts then turn down. takes about 10 mins.I filled it with normal 60/40 solder wire.The trick when using pots to tin wires is to dip the wire in liquid flux first.

author: ValkyrieAutomotive
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 09:59:27 am
content: one piece of advice i'd give when considering a solder pot, don't get solder with a flux core, when the pot heats up, especially the cheap ones, the flux can get trapped under the solder and gunk up the bottom of the pot, its not too bad with normal solder, but really noticeable with plumbersAlso plumbers solder isn't great for this, it tends to take a much higher temperature to stay molten, unless you specifically get 60/40 which is more expensive. if you do go for that option though, the first time you use it, cut it into 1cm or so lengths, build up a small layer then stir in more solder (cheaper pots don't heat evenly)the best solder i've found for my pot is a really cheap (£1) a tube 60/40 1mm solder from the hardware store (Wilko's in the UK).http://www.wilko.com/power-tools/wilko-cored-solder-wire/invt/0345071ignore their price online haha, its much cheaper in the shop, every 3 months its on offer for 50p a tube

author: janekm
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 10:25:47 am
content: Surely if using a solder pot it would make sense to buy bar solder?http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/kester-04-6337-0030-63-37-low-dross-bar-solder/p/171-496The minimum order from that site is a bit much but otherwise the pricing sounds reasonable for a pound...

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 10:31:39 am
content: I actually don't mind this thing, at under $20 AUD it's not bad really and states 200 - 450 C, I just did a search for the melting point of wax and got all sorts of answers and was thinking about using this device to dip drill bits into after sharpening them, I have hundreds.I could use a separate cup/ pan if it got to hot for the wax, I'm a fan of multi purpose tooling, within reason.

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 11:24:40 am
content: I've got a Quick 100-4C and it looks very similar.I usually don't have an issue without flux, but of stubborn wires, I dab the tip of them in a very thin flux dish and it solves it.I haven't used it as much as I thought I would. But we will be moving to production assembly with two wires that we expect to tin in it.

author: cosmicray
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 07:11:52 pm
content: Quote from: janekm on March 17, 2015, 10:25:47 amExcept if you read that carefully, the price is being quoted per pound, but the bars are 1-2/3 pounds each. They quote you for 5 lbs @ price per pound, but sell to you at 3 bars which total 5 pounds.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 08:39:26 pm
content: Solder bar and pellet are sold in quantities suitable for people who use pots a lot.For a small occasional-use one, feeding in a few metres of normal solder is the easiest option.Probably also a good place to dump all your old dried-up solder paste.

author: PeterFW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 10:19:34 pm
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on March 17, 2015, 10:31:39 amStearin and parafin melt at <100°C and have a flash point =>300°C and i dit not like working with wax >100°C, that pot is a bit warm for wax.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 10:43:20 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on March 17, 2015, 08:39:26 pmJust make sure when you do this, you do it outside at first, the smoke from the flux will be pretty intense.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 10:51:25 pm
content: Quote from: peter.mitchell on March 17, 2015, 10:43:20 pmdefinitely!

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 11:03:59 pm
content: You will require a skimming utensil because these things build up surface dross like a mother*beep*. Doesn't have to be fancy, a sacrificial kitchen stainless-steel spoon which has a narrow slot cut in it works well.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2015, 11:45:20 pm
content: Quote from: chickenHeadKnob on March 17, 2015, 11:03:59 pmYes, though if you dip wires in flux first it seems to help reduce dross formation

author: zerorisers
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 18, 2015, 03:34:53 pm
content: I just hold my soldering iron firmly between my legs so i can hold the wire and solder for tinning. (Not very safe but gets the job done)

author: ciccio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 02, 2015, 03:16:39 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on March 17, 2015, 10:51:25 pmDO NOT use solder with flux core in a solder pot!!I learnt it the hard way: the new, cheap pot was hot, VERY HOT, and I put about half a roll of Multicore (it was 1.5 mm, I had no other use for it) inside the pot.Fumes filled my home lab, and after 10 seconds a FIRE started. The rosin flux is flammable.In the new pot I used solder bar, and I dip wires in liquid flux (Weller brand).Best regards

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 02, 2015, 05:23:37 pm
content: Back at my former day job, we used a small old-fashioned solder pot to strip "Poly-thermaleze" enamel from magnet wire. Seehttp://www.belden.com/techdatas/english/8076.pdfIt was even more useful to tin the ends of Litz wire, cable of thin wires insulated with the same material: just strip off any "serving" over the bundle and carefully insert the end into the pot. Litz wire should be terminated connecting the strands only at the two ends of the wire for use a high frequencies. Commonly used a lower RF and in SMPS transformers.Poly-thermaleze (TM) is a special enamel rated to melt off at soldering temperature. Other enamels such as Formvar won't work this way.