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In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Are there no such things as portable soldering irons?

Yes there are. But as Eckie points out, no soldered joints on overhead blocks.

Apart from BT 13, 14, 17 and 42

Evening Partial

Can you give the Forum some idea of their sizes and the typical sort of work they would be applied to etc?

For example, are they designed for indoor or outdoor work?

In reply to a post by gomezz:

Are there no such things as portable soldering irons? How do oil rig divers cope?

There's also butane powered irons, some no bigger than a slightly fat pen, something like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Butane-Solderin...

I still have a few different sized ones giving a wide range of power for different tasks lying in the back of one of my store cupboards. Also when outside, I had a clip on cover or wind shield that surrounded most of the joint or area being soldered and in all but the highest winds worked quite well. Though this was nothing to do with BT.

You have also had battery operated ones available since the 70s or so. Though the early ones didn't last very long nor were they very powerful and I haven't used one since.

Edited by deleted (Tue 12-Aug-14 00:30:01)

Interesting the Flame Temperature given as 1300 Degrees Centigrade, compared to the Melting Point of Eutectic Tin/Lead Solder of 183 C.

A lot of Heat "in reserve", so more able to contend with draughts and winds, more akin to Blow Torches, rather than the less powerful Electric Soldering Irons typical of electronics factories etc, where excess heat can rapidly make a mess of particularly PCBs, including the copper track adhesion, wire insulation etc.

Many are the PCBs I have seen destroyed when the "temperature-controlled" slim irons were introduced in the 1960s, due to the operatives trying to get the joint to heat sufficiently, the flux to clean and the solder to take with the correct "wetting" action.

Acknowledging that more recent solders have moved away from eutectic by reducing the proportion of Lead, thus increasing the MP slightly.

I also have a Battery operated one, with two blades (almost like an IDC connector but insulated from one another), which rely on the current from the battery actually directly causing the wire/s and solder to "self-generate" the required heat.

Used it very rarely; but was handy on those few occasions; and did not take up much space in luggage (a fattish spectacle case in size) - wonder what would happen at airports now!

Addition
To go to another extreme, I was involved with an early Wave-Soldering Machine in the 1950s.

A fair-sized bath of hot, liquid solder, with a pump to create a linear wave of solder across the width, there being a conveyor mechanism on which the component-loaded PCBs were placed and carried along over the wave, so that the wave crest flattened slightly on the underside etc.

Getting the temperature and the conveyor speed correct, were critical to the successful soldering of the myriad of joints, otherwise "Fried PCBS for Lunch", at considerable cost.

Edited by deleted (Tue 12-Aug-14 09:01:55)

Depends on the tip you attach. Some tips, well usually the absence of a tip , offers blow torch mode, when you get the 1300 temp. But other tips are more like standard soldering iron tips and just as easily changed for different jobs. With this type of tip attached the gas burns in a catalytic chamber behind the tip so heating it so there is little or no external flame with a soldering type tip in place. Once you get used to them the control can be as fine as other types of adjustable irons.

It's not so obvious in the first link I sent you as it is a very slim design. However, the catalytic unit is more obvious in this one being the 'space capsule' behind the tip and the pure flame head can be seen along side for comparison;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SODIAL-Cordless-Butane-Solde...

Re battery ones, the tips on the Weller I had was like that with the spade type connectors.

Thanks - Incredible Prices!

So the only one of those you come across at the top of a pole, sometimes, is a 42. And the termination will be a screw type affair.

Screw on the distribution side, soldered on the exchange side.

And you are wrong, I specifically listed soldered external Block Terminals that you would find up a pole and left out soldered Block Terminals that were for solely internal distribution.

..... but no one solders joints up poles, which was my original point.