COLDHEAT - good?

[Intrigued]

COLDHEAT

Can you guys/gals give me the the good, the bad, and the ugly?

Have you tried this technology? What's your take on this technology?

[Adam]

yeah I'd like the low down on this one. Has anyone tried it?

I personally have doubts that it could heat and cool so quickly.. so far I am a skeptic

Adam

[Mark]

Hmm seems interesting enough.

Did a little searching and here is a review from PC Magazine about it:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1750090,00.asp

[gbrown]

I seem to remember being in on a discussion of this last year, and from what I remember (which is always a bit iffy these days ) it worked as it said it worked.

[Intrigued]

I see they have a Pro version coming out.

From the link Mark posted (thanks Mark!)... I believe I will buy when the Pro version is on the market.

[Lorne]

Be wary, guys, this thing has gotten many negative reviews as well. Read some of the reviews about it on amazon.com, for example.

First alarm bell should be that it's sold on a TV infomercial.

It basically operates like a mini welder, however it isn't designed to heat up the part, only the "arc" between the two halves of the tip gets hot when you press it against something conductive; from what I've read, it's difficult to use it to heat up the part and then melt the solder against the part -- which is the proper way to solder. The coldheat basically encourages the worst way to solder something, which is to melt solder onto two parts like glue: what is known in electronics as a "cold solder joint." Cold solder joints tend to be very fragile.

It's also overpriced: I picked up a 45W pen-style iron for $12 CDN at Princess Auto a few weeks ago.

[Intrigued]

I've welded for a living, for a stint... so I'll take this serious!

[Derek]

I had a look at the link that was posted for this and i must say, i'm not impressed with the info on their website.
I click "more info" expecting to find something about how this 'new technology' works, and all it does it gives me a list of things it can do .. sort of! So not much different to any other soldering iron - by all accounts. K! waste of a link there then ... moving on:
So what about the "demo" .. thats bound to give me an idea.
What? a 3D view is a demo is it? Jeez .. thats full of useful information to answer all questions!!!
Pathetic attempt!

And I agree about the first alarm bell, Lorne.

[Corey]

I have to go buy a basic soldering setup and get learning. What all would you guys reccomend to get started, i.e. a basic iron and accessories?

[Derek]

I have to go buy a basic soldering setup and get learning. What all would you guys reccomend to get started, i.e. a basic iron and accessories?

Well, I dont claim to be an expert but i'd prob go with something like this dual watt iron which gives both 15 and 30 watt allowing you to cover most general soldering.

A holder is not absolutely necessary, but definately useful and provides somewhere to 'store' the hot iron. I've had my share of burned carpets thank-you very much

There's also this iron and holder 'pack' with a slightly heavier duty wattage - 20/40w
The disadvantage of having only one wattage is called frustration. You have only a 15-20w iron and need a 40w and you'll be soldering 4 times longer than you need to be. Thats if you can get the darn stuff to solder - chances are the iron just isnt up to it and cant supply enough heat. The flip-side of course is having too much: a 40w iron will nuke anything that only requires a 15w iron coz the parts are too delicate and suddenly your throwing a few choice words into the air as you watch your work go thru a meltdown phase.

A desoldering vacuum is always real handy too. Good for removing excess solder and shoddy workmanship

When it comes to the solder, something like the Rosin Core is good for most people. Of course you get varying weights/thickness in this depending how 'delicate' the work is.

[Corey]

Perfect, I'll go grab that stuff from Radio Shack tomorrow. Should I buy flux or that braided stuff also?

[Derek]

No need for either. The Rosin Core solder has a flux core. The paste is used for times when you need extra flux or for use with pure tin/lead solder sticks that have no flux in them. The braid is just another method of desoldering. You could opt for that instead of the vacuum tool, but with the vacuum you dont run out of it

[Corey]

Hokay I'll grab that stuff. I'll have to see if they have some basic electronic kits to get started learning on. I worked for a summer testing and desoldering mobile phone transmitters on a Nortel production line once, and I did a bit of soldering too, but I can barely remember any of it. I think it was such a monotonous summer that my brain just blocked it out.

[Intrigued]

I'm going to get the COLDHEAT Pro unit when it comes out myself, keep the Heat Gun near when it comes in and go to town.

Thanks all for the input.

[Corey]

Yeah, heh, that reminds me of that oldddd joke, "Why did the coldheat gun cross the road?". Err wait, never mind, that was a chicken not a coldheat gun.