RE: [ihc] cold heat soldering

["Okiebinder" <okiebinder@xxxxxxx>]

I am also curious about this.....  Tom quotes the commercial "Just apply
solder and it heats up to 800
degrees instantly" ..... if you notice the graphic show the temp dropping to
zero instantly after use .  No doubt this is just for reference, but so much
for truth in advertising. :-}

I noticed this item in the radio shak flyer I got last week.  I have thought
about picking one up, but would like to hear some feed back before I spend
my money on yet another item, that isn't quite what it appears.

David


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ihc@domain.elided [mailto:owner-ihc@domain.elided]On Behalf Of Tom
Harais
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 9:44 AM
To: ihc@domain.elided
Subject: RE: [ihc] cold heat soldering


John:

Like you, I've wanted to know more about this, like how does it work?  i.e.
What process is used?

All I could think of is that it was a laser or an infrared light source.
But, even if this thing worked as it says, there were a couple of things
that make me wonder:

Aren't we supposed to heat the wires/whatever first and melt the solder onto
them rather than just flowing melted solder onto the cold items?  The way
they describe their process, "Just apply solder and it heats up to 800
degrees instantly" seems like it would result in a "cold solder joint" and
be prone to failure, even if it did work.

They say it's powered by 4 AA batteries.  Just guestimating the amount of
energy it would take to heat two, small gauge wire ends to 700 degrees and
melt some solder onto them, even a unit that is highly efficient, would
require more energy than four AA batters (800 mAhrs or so each I believe)
could handle for more than one or two applications.

So, who has looked into the details of this latest marvel of modern times
and can rationally explains it?

Tom H., '76 Traveler