stealth916

I will keep this short & sweet - because the product sucks there is not much to say. If it worked at all, then I might discuuss the merits of portability, wireless, and of course the 'instant cooling tip', and how this tool compares to others. If it worked at all, I would discuss how clean the joints I made were etc - but since it doesn't work - here is the review:

The COLD HEAT soldering iron is a complete waste of money.

I asked for one of these for christmas, and Santa brought one from Radio Shack. After 20 minutes of trying - I have completely given up and literally trashed it. I have been soldering for 15+ years - and this has absolutely no soldering function. I have tried solder & wire of all sizes, and unless you are trying to tin 26 gauge or smaller wire with .030 solder, and have the patience of Job to get one lead tinned - forget it.

Save your money and time, and steer clear of this COLD HEAT.

mectf

Thanks for the revue.. I wasn't much interested in purchasing one but have honestly been wondering how bad it really was. I had always figured if something was advertised on TV for $19.99 it must really suck..

basmntdweller

My Feedback: (9)

I almost feel like I should send you some $$! I have thought about trying one of these just for the portability factor. You saved me $20. I almost think I owe you a finders fee for the money I would have lost

I do have one of the butane powered soldering irons and it works great up to an Ultra Deans. That is just a bit too much for it. I've done it and got a decent joint but I wouldn't want to do so a regular basis.
Matt

geoffbeneze

I did manage to make the thing work, but it took way too much effort and it only worked on the smallest, least mass'ful items.

The concept is good, but they have a long way to go before it's a functional reality.

* In order for the thing to work, you MUST have good, solid (read, "high pressure") contact with the items to be joined, not just one side of the joint.

* The tip comes loose after each heat cycle. No amount of bending and prodding of the electrode contact "springs" cured this.

* Heat is minimal. The thing wouldn't generate enough heat to make a joint of a power cord on a standard PCB.

I was HOPING, but I've got to say I'm very disappointed.

geoff beneze
beast-enterprises.com

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

Maybe you got a bad one? A little further down in this forum, another member did his own mini-review, and his observations were completely opposite of yours. Quality control on a $20 tool that's as "amazing" as this one has got to be a little dodgy. Otherwise, how could they sell them for $20?

One thing, don't throw it away. TAKE IT BACK. Otherwise, companies will never know that they're selling bad product, and will continue to bring these things to market. Worse yet, chains like Radio Shack will continue to sell it.

backfire

Here's a copy of a post I placed in another "cold heat" thread - mainly for rc field use:

"Save your money. The most you will get with four AA cells (fresh) is 8-10 watts at the tip. Inexpensive 12 volt, 30 watt soldering irons are available that work well with 12V field box batteries. Alternatively, I have used 10-cell sub-c nicad pack."

These soldering irons can be had for about $11.

geoffbeneze

It's always possible that the odds stacked against me in my testing.

However, I used two different units, separated by several weeks between purchase and VERY different retail outlets with the same results.

Given that two units performed in the same manner, I'm less inclined to think it was a fluke. Still, it would be nice to have such a unit that WORKED
geoff

MUSIC PUBLISHER

I think the key to using this product is having VERY STRONG batteries,,I fully charge my 4 aa rechargeables and put them in the unit the moment before I have to solder something..and it works for me..its true that your not gonna be able to solder copper plumbing installations with this unit..or do many soldering jobs in a row without wearing down the batteries to a point where the tip wont get hot enuff to melt the solder...but I succesfully soldered about 9 ultra deans connectors with it...but for many people..a corded soldering iron will be much easier...

50+AirYears

I haven't actually seen one yet, but from watching a commercial on TV, it looks like it's a simple resistance soldering unit. You can probably have better luck getting one of the units from Micro Mark. These units don't actually heat the tip, they have two electrodes in the tip. both electrodes have to make contact with the metal at the junction you're trying to solder. The heat to melt the solder is from current flow through the connection and solder. And since solder has a relatively high electrical resistance, they're not highly efficient.
The most common hobby useage I'm aware of for this type of soldering is in model railroading and jewelry work. It allows solder joints to be made where a small part needs to be soldered to something with a large heat sink mass, like a model steam locomotive boiler. The good outfits are a bit pricey.
One of the 12 V battery operated conventional soldering irons, like the KS, or a rechargeable like one of the Whals is probably a better deal for a field iron for most of us. For myself, I'll stay with my Weller dual iron set and a good inverter off the car battery. Since I had several classes for commercial and Mil-Spec soldering, I've abandoned the old fixed heat soldering irons and the old soldering guns for a dual iron set-up that uses an adjustable temperature base unit with a 20 Watt and a 40 Watt iron with a collection of different size and shape tips. Tips last for years, I get bettter solder joints, and I don't do damage to boards and wiring. I can also solder the small fine pitch surface mount boards a lot better and easier.

WhtBronco

I got a Cold Heat for Christmas as well. It sucks. I tried and tried, put in new batteries and did after more than 1 hour get a very poor soldier joint. I grabbed my 110v iron and was done in less than 5 minutes and had a nice joint.

The idea is good, though I must say since it took about 15 minutes to heat the wire enough to melt the soldier the tip was HOT not cold. Good idea, not useful though.

toolman711

i went out and got the cold heat and i thought it might work. i was wrong the tip breaks easy,and you cant touch it right after i was burned . this is not a good "tool" i can do better with a lighter and a screw driver it take a lot of pratice to get this working a little bit i gave up after 30 minutes of trying to figure this thing out

tommy157

My Feedback: (1)

I got one for Christmas also found out it was useless. I called the company and they credited my credit card and told me to keep the iron. I trashed it.

critterhunter

You saved me the $$$ as well. One tip for people who are new to soldering. FLUX...It's hard to find anymore but putting flux on the two surfaces before you solder makes it so much easier. Sure, you can steel whool the surface but a bit of paste flux makes it nice and easy. Then, of course, the bigger surfaces and wires you are soldering the bigger soldering iron you'll need. I use a large one for deans plug surfaces and motor wires, soldering battery tabs together, etc.

DocYates

My Feedback: (102)

I can beat all you guys, I got two of them for Christmas, be careful what you ask for, and they both SUCK. My wife even got talked into the extra tips they sell, and well it works about as well as the others. I may try it again with some differnet batteries after reading the above posts, for now just call me "Sucka"...
Tommy

TOYMAKER

My Feedback: (6)

I have one and it only seems to work on soldering two wires together(small wires like servo wires) or curcuit board soldering. I did it get it to work OK with a little practice and there is a technique to it. I guess you cant expect too much from such a mirical product. I will stick to my pinpoint propane torch with a soldering point attached. No worries about battteries going dead just make sure its fueled before going to a contest or where ever.

Wayne G.

pilotpete2

Critterhunter,
I hope you arn't referring to paste flux, as in the plumbing dept.!
Anything other than rosin flux for electronics is a NO-NO.[X(]

critterhunter

Yes, paste flux....Came with the last soldering iron (low power) I bought years ago. It may be a "no-no" for whatever reason but there are certain solder jobs (like a dean's plug surface) that simply doesn't want to allow the solder to cling to it unless you smear a bit of flux on there. Steel wool won't even work in some instances and it's not a matter of solder heat as I've got various size irons. I'm old school...In electronics class my teacher always said "Having problems, clean the soldering tip and throw some flux on that part." Oh, the good old days...when he didn't even tell you to unplug the soldering iron before dipping it into a wet sponge to clean the tip. Talk about a potential lawsuit in the here and now.