butane irons

[Hal]

do any of you use these ?  It seems really conveniant...im always trying to flip the power chord behind the iron...or tying it so something....etc.

also, it would be nice to throw in my guitar case, i think, once im finally gigging again - in the case of something simple.  Once hte bassists grounding wire broke off his jack somehow, and i had to fix it with packing tape (dont ask)

I guess what im asking is...hows the heat up/cool down time, life on one can of butane, temperature required (would be equivilant to like a 25-30 watt iron) and if i can get anything good for about $30 or would i have to spend more ?

Thanks.  :-D

[stm]

You don't have good control of temperature with a butanate iron. It is possible that you may not get good solders:  insufficient temperature produces weak solders, and too much temperature may damage the PCB, the components or may produce a bad solder joint because the overheated solder oxidizes very quickly.

In summary, a butanate iron can be a great Emergency tool to get by during a gig, but if you are working at home/office it is way better to use a temperature controlled or low power iron.

If the cable is bothering you, see if you can replace it with a more flexible and/or longer one. Sometimes cheap irons come with short and crappy cables!

Regards

[zeta55]

I sometimes use one at work. Guess I better replace it, last time my eyebrowns where in danger, it acted like a flamethrower. :shock:

[Nasse]

I have two cheap ones, different models, the other is Oryx Portasol cheapo model  from Ireland and the other is who knows

IMHO these are good value for me, done few "field service" and automotive jobs, few solder joints under the table and  behind the combo amp so on, I had one with me when had an occasional un-professional  sound reinforcement job. But used it for some pcbs and stripboard jobs too. And for shrink tubing heating, yes

I have had tip corrosion problem and the gas burning system has some hicups sometimes, guess it is because of relative air humidity and impurities in butane gas. Adjusting the temperature is not so stable always with my small things, but if you punish it, it gan give quite much energy, comparable to 60 watts or something. I have a small maind powered iron with no temperature adjustment, and once tried to repair some old solder joint which was done with some odd solder, melting point was higher than average and there was a big metal lug that rejected solder, but not for long as I took my butane weapon and adjusted it for some more power...

[niftydog]

they are incredibly useful - despite some of their shortcomings.

Whatever you do, don't buy a cheap one though, you'll only be disapointed.

Weller Pyropens are great, the portasol stuff isn't so good.

portasol iorns are completely non-serviceable.  When they die, they're dead.  Pyropens have a wide range of spares available and can be cleaned out and serviced.