Make your own temp. controlled iron

murat · 31st December 2004, 04:31 AM

Easy:

1) Buy a cheap lamp dimmer with rotary knob ($ 3-5 in stores)

2) Put it into simplest small box you can find around.

3) Play with it for a while and make your dial on the knob for different soldering jobs, tips etc. Wait long enough the temperature to stabilize for the first time while making your calibration. Now you have a temperature controlled soldering iron.

4) And the most important: Post your results here because I didn't try it yet.

Enzo · 31st December 2004, 07:33 AM

Not quite. You have an adjustable power iron, but not temperature controlled. The point of temperature control is to maintain a certain temperature at the tip, not maintain a certain power level. if you solder the tiny leg of an IC to a pc board, it does not tax the tip very much at all, but if you solder a 16ga wire to a lug on a 35 amp bridge, it taxes the iron heavily.

Temperatrure control senses the heat output in some way and adjusts accordingly.

lowlevel · 31st December 2004, 12:20 PM

not worth trying.
I tried this in the dim past & it wasn't worth it.
I have several temp controlled irons & have owned a variety in the past.
However I am impressed with the performance of some of the cheap non controlled irons.
Even the ones without electronic controll sort of self controll their tempriture due to the tempriture coeficient of their heater windings.
cheers

jaycee · 31st December 2004, 12:36 PM

A friend of mine used to do this until he worked out it was shortening the life of the element. Normally the element vibrates to a sine wave which while stressful is nothing compared to it vibrating in tune to a half-sine half-square wave!

I did wonder how to measure temperature on the iron but I never thought of measuring it by the heater winding resistance. I may yet try something using one of Antex's 24V irons

anatech · 1st January 2005, 12:30 AM

I am now using a temperature controlled iron I bought 10 yrs ago. It cost me $120.00 CDN at the time- with a digital temp display. I actually adjusted it until it was within 5 °C across the useable range.
I now see these made-in-asia irons for less than $90.00 CDN. No excuse here guys. The non-digital display units are cheaper still.

These irons replaced a stable of constantly breaking temp controlled Wellers that cost me a lot more $$$.

Get an assortment of tips. I am still using the original! I like the wide screwdriver, especially on SMT stuff.

-Chris

31st December 2004, 04:31 AM	#1
murat diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: knoxville tn	Make your own temp. controlled iron Easy: 1) Buy a cheap lamp dimmer with rotary knob ($ 3-5 in stores) 2) Put it into simplest small box you can find around. 3) Play with it for a while and make your dial on the knob for different soldering jobs, tips etc. Wait long enough the temperature to stabilize for the first time while making your calibration. Now you have a temperature controlled soldering iron. 4) And the most important: Post your results here because I didn't try it yet.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
soldering iron temp and solder wire melting point.	jarthel	Parts	6	10th October 2006 03:12 PM
how to make a remote-controlled 8ch attenuator?	knutinh	Everything Else	1	22nd August 2005 11:01 AM
Hakko 929 Temp Controlled Soldering Stations	damonpip	Swap Meet	49	8th May 2005 12:38 AM
is it possible to make solder flow on to 20awg solid copper with 25watt iron?	travis	Parts	13	24th June 2003 09:09 PM

New To Site?	Need Help?
Register to Participate Search Privacy Statement Contact Us	Frequently Asked Questions Did you forget your password? Mark Forums Read


	Please consider donating to help us continue to serve you. Ads on/off / Custom Title / More PMs / More album space / Advanced printing & mass image saving

31st December 2004, 07:33 AM	#2
Enzo diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Lansing, Michigan	Not quite. You have an adjustable power iron, but not temperature controlled. The point of temperature control is to maintain a certain temperature at the tip, not maintain a certain power level. if you solder the tiny leg of an IC to a pc board, it does not tax the tip very much at all, but if you solder a 16ga wire to a lug on a 35 amp bridge, it taxes the iron heavily. Temperatrure control senses the heat output in some way and adjusts accordingly.

31st December 2004, 12:20 PM	#3
lowlevel diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: South of Brisbane Metro, Queensland.	not worth trying. I tried this in the dim past & it wasn't worth it. I have several temp controlled irons & have owned a variety in the past. However I am impressed with the performance of some of the cheap non controlled irons. Even the ones without electronic controll sort of self controll their tempriture due to the tempriture coeficient of their heater windings. cheers

31st December 2004, 12:36 PM	#4
jaycee diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Norwich, UK	A friend of mine used to do this until he worked out it was shortening the life of the element. Normally the element vibrates to a sine wave which while stressful is nothing compared to it vibrating in tune to a half-sine half-square wave! I did wonder how to measure temperature on the iron but I never thought of measuring it by the heater winding resistance. I may yet try something using one of Antex's 24V irons

1st January 2005, 12:30 AM	#5
anatech diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Georgetown, On	I am now using a temperature controlled iron I bought 10 yrs ago. It cost me $120.00 CDN at the time- with a digital temp display. I actually adjusted it until it was within 5 °C across the useable range. I now see these made-in-asia irons for less than $90.00 CDN. No excuse here guys. The non-digital display units are cheaper still. These irons replaced a stable of constantly breaking temp controlled Wellers that cost me a lot more $$$. Get an assortment of tips. I am still using the original! I like the wide screwdriver, especially on SMT stuff. -Chris