hookedonrc

I have a new Trak Power soldering station that I really like. I am soldering with it set at 800 degrees. I used it last night to solder a aileron pushrod and silly me, I forgot to turn it off. Didn't burn down the house, but am wondering if I damaged it?

init4fun

Well ya know ya didn't burn it out , or it wouldn't still be getting hot . The thing you may want to check is if the prolonged heating caused any failure of the temperature control circuit . To do that , I would take one of those "infrared" digital thermometers and set the iron for a specific temp and see if the meter agrees with the set temp . You have likely shortened the life of the heating element , but if average life is say 5000 hours and you burned 24 of them , you'd still have about 4976 hours of service life left .

PS , having a one shot , one hour timer for such devices would ensure that it could not be left on more than one hour at a time . Your local electronic hobbyist supply store (and no , NOT Radio Shack) can help ya out there .

Good Luck and Happy Flying ....

hookedonrc

Yeah,I am going to get a timer so it won't happen again. And, I have an IR thermometer I can test it with. I just knew I was going to do that sometime.

blvdbuzzard

I would like to say you did a very bad thing, that I have NEVER EVER done, I WOULD like to say that, but I can not. I had left my soldering station on over night. Did not show any signs of use or abuse. If it works, it works.


Buzz.

topspin

If it is getting jot then the circuit is fine. The biggest worry is the tip, prolonged heat can damage the coating on the tip and it will oxidize and no longer tin. You might want to heat the tip and drag it over a wet soldering sponge then apply some solder just to make sure but I'm betting it's probably fine.

bullseye000

This should be a non issue. I've used mine for production and ran it 12 hours a day for 4 to 5 days in a row. It's hard on the tip if this is done repeatedly, oxidation attacks them. Make sure it's cleaned and properly tinned and it'll be fine.

hookedonrc

Thanks all, I kind of thought I was ok, but it's good to hear it from others. I will check the heat of the tip with my IR temp gauge and if needed can replace it. And I think a timer is a good idea.