Who uses a solder pot?

[apelly]

I'm thinking of getting one for tinning, but I think I probably don't do enough at any one time to justify waiting for it to heat up.

My strategy at the moment is to poke the soldering iron off the edge of the bench, rotate it so the tip has a flat side up, put something heavy on it to stop it turning, and apply wire and solder. Maybe I just need a better technique?

Do they take an age to get hot?
What have you got to say about the cheap Chinese ones? What's crap about  them, compared to branded ones?
Is it important to have quality solder in them?

[IanB]

Commercial solder pots are way too big for home use. I think with a bit of ingenuity you could make a small one using something like a steel thimble as the pot. For a high tech solution you could heat it electrically, but why not just support the thimble in a wire loop and heat it with a spirit burner? In fact, it seems like such a promising idea I might even try it out myself.

[apelly]

make a small one using something like a steel thimble as the pot.

I like the way you're thinking! Thanks mate. It's on my todo list.

[N2IXK]

I use a small commercial one (Edsyn or American Beauty, IIRC) when I have a lot of repetitive work to do, such as making up cables etc. Holds about a 1/2 pound of solder.  Takes 15 minutes to fully heat from cold, and a much longer time to cool back down. I run mine from a variac, as it has no built in temp control.

Occasionally handy to have, but potentially a hazard, especially in a home environment.

[zapta]

You can get on ebay small ones for cheap. For example this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-Mini-Soldering-Pot-Solder-Melt-3-5cm-with-Handle-On-Off-AC115V-150W-Taiwan-/140334688617?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20ac996969

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50mm-220V-150W-450Degree-Max-ST-21C-Solder-Pot-Soldering-Desoldering-Bath-NEW-US-/331464532217?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d2cd360f9

Make sure the voltage is the correct one for your locality.

[BravoV]

Random pic from google.

Own a Hakko 96 like above photo, bought it many years ago, an used one for at quite cheap price, if I'm not mistaken about < $15. 

As N2ixk said, not much for normal daily use if you're not tinning lots of wires, but when you're on project that needs lots of wiring/jumper wires inside the case for example, then it will be very handy, especially like ribbon type wires, as manualy soldering those wires one by one will not be as tidy as dipping the whole wires in the molten solder.



Also its a good tool to coat the solder thinly and evenly at any pins, say like thru hole component's pins, and it serves as a quick & lazy tool to salvage components from relatively small board. 

It does take time to heat up, about 15 mins & will take longer to cool it down back to the temp that is safe to touch.

[apelly]

Just to follow up: I bought one of these http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-KLT-360-Solder-Pot-Titanium-Alloy-Soldering-Melting-Tin-38mm-100W/590795388.html

I'll let you know what it's like when it gets here.

I haven't found a source of cheap solder yet. I'm on the lookout. It'll be a week or two before the pot gets here anyway.

[tautech]

Just to follow up: I bought one of these http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-KLT-360-Solder-Pot-Titanium-Alloy-Soldering-Melting-Tin-38mm-100W/590795388.html

I'll let you know what it's like when it gets here.

I haven't found a source of cheap solder yet. I'm on the lookout. It'll be a week or two before the pot gets here anyway.

Very similar to one a mate bought. 

Get some plumbers stick solder from any good hardware store.
I used to use beeswax on molten lead when casting muzzle loader bullets to reduce the formation dross. (oxides) Bit smokey but did the job.Of course solder will not be as hot as lead.

[apelly]

I did wonder about plumbers solder, but I wasn't sure what it was.

A quick google finds Bunnings in .au

http://www.bunnings.com.au/compare?products=5060304,5060299,

Interesting price difference depending apparently on if it's lead/tin, or tin/lead

[bills]

plumbers solder is 95-5 don't know how that would work

[apelly]

The link above is for 60/40. The do describe that particular stuff as

Used in the Automotive, Electrical, Electronic, General Engineering, Plumbing, Radiator, Tank making and Leadlight Industries.

[Psi]

Only reason i've never bought a $20 deal extreme solder pot is the realization of the mess it would make if it ever fell over and 250deg solder flowed over the desk and carpet.

Knocking a drink over at your desk is bad enough without it being hot molten metal 

[bills]

yes that would be a mess.

[mikeselectricstuff]

I occasionally use a small cheapo like this if I need to tin a lot of wire-ends :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150W-220V-Solder-Pot-Soldering-Desoldering-Bath-50mm-ST-21C-450-Degree-UK-Plug-/271564594134?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f3a82dbd6

It isn't temp controlled, the knob is just a power adjust - set on full til it melts then turn down. takes about 10 mins.
I filled it with normal 60/40 solder wire.

The trick when using pots to tin wires is to dip the wire in liquid flux first.

[ValkyrieAutomotive]

one piece of advice i'd give when considering a solder pot, don't get solder with a flux core, when the pot heats up, especially the cheap ones, the flux can get trapped under the solder and gunk up the bottom of the pot, its not too bad with normal solder, but really noticeable with plumbers
Also plumbers solder isn't great for this, it tends to take a much higher temperature to stay molten, unless you specifically get 60/40 which is more expensive. if you do go for that option though, the first time you use it, cut it into 1cm or so lengths, build up a small layer then stir in more solder (cheaper pots don't heat evenly)

the best solder i've found for my pot is a really cheap (£1) a tube 60/40 1mm solder from the hardware store (Wilko's in the UK).
http://www.wilko.com/power-tools/wilko-cored-solder-wire/invt/0345071
ignore their price online haha, its much cheaper in the shop, every 3 months its on offer for 50p a tube

[janekm]

Surely if using a solder pot it would make sense to buy bar solder? http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/kester-04-6337-0030-63-37-low-dross-bar-solder/p/171-496

The minimum order from that site is a bit much but otherwise the pricing sounds reasonable for a pound...

[Muttley Snickers]

I actually don't mind this thing, at under $20 AUD it's not bad really and states 200 - 450 C, I just did a search for the melting point of wax and got all sorts of answers and was thinking about using this device to dip drill bits into after sharpening them, I have hundreds.

I could use a separate cup/ pan if it got to hot for the wax, I'm a fan of multi purpose tooling, within reason.

[sacherjj]

I've got a Quick 100-4C and it looks very similar. 

I usually don't have an issue without flux, but of stubborn wires, I dab the tip of them in a very thin flux dish and it solves it. 

I haven't used it as much as I thought I would.  But we will be moving to production assembly with two wires that we expect to tin in it.

[cosmicray]

Surely if using a solder pot it would make sense to buy bar solder? http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/kester-04-6337-0030-63-37-low-dross-bar-solder/p/171-496

The minimum order from that site is a bit much but otherwise the pricing sounds reasonable for a pound...

Except if you read that carefully, the price is being quoted per pound, but the bars are 1-2/3 pounds each. They quote you for 5 lbs @ price per pound, but sell to you at 3 bars which total 5 pounds.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Solder bar and pellet are sold in quantities suitable for people who use pots a lot.
For a small occasional-use one, feeding in a few metres of normal solder is the easiest option.
Probably also a good place to dump all your old dried-up solder paste.

[PeterFW]

I actually dont mind this thing, under $20 AUD not bad really.
It says 200 - 450 C, I just did a search for the melting point of
wax and got all sorts of answers,

Stearin and parafin melt at <100°C and have a flash point =>300°C and i dit not like working with wax >100°C, that pot is a bit warm for wax.

[peter.mitchell]

Solder bar and pellet are sold in quantities suitable for people who use pots a lot.
For a small occasional-use one, feeding in a few metres of normal solder is the easiest option.
Probably also a good place to dump all your old dried-up solder paste.

Just make sure when you do this, you do it outside at first, the smoke from the flux will be pretty intense.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Solder bar and pellet are sold in quantities suitable for people who use pots a lot.
For a small occasional-use one, feeding in a few metres of normal solder is the easiest option.
Probably also a good place to dump all your old dried-up solder paste.

Just make sure when you do this, you do it outside at first, the smoke from the flux will be pretty intense.

definitely!

[chickenHeadKnob]

You will require a skimming utensil because these things build up surface dross like a mother*beep*. Doesn't have to be fancy, a sacrificial kitchen stainless-steel spoon which has a narrow slot cut in it works well.

[mikeselectricstuff]

You will require a skimming utensil because these things build up surface dross like a mother*beep*. Doesn't have to be fancy, a sacrificial kitchen stainless-steel spoon which has a narrow slot cut in it works well.

Yes, though if you dip wires in flux first it seems to help reduce dross formation