Pinecil disappoitment

[WaveyDipole]

Has anyone tried out one of these Pinecil soldering irons? I purchased one thinking it might be useful for small and SMD work but I have to say that I got frustrated with it cutting out all the time. It is not going to sleep (I adjusted timer settings) but the screen goes blank and it cuts out. I was able to  complete the small soldering project that I worked on today but it took a lot longer than it should have. While it is powered up and working it seems to perform just fine, but the constant cutting out makes for a frustrating experience. I am using a laptop brick (tried two different ones actually) which seems to be indicated as a practical option. I think that I may be some 90GPB (including a pack of additional bits which I stupidly purchased with the iron) out of pocket on this one as the supplier appears reluctant to refund. I am curious as to whether this is a common problem or whether I have been extremely unfortunate?

[KungFuJosh]

If you bought it from a marketplace like Amazon or Aliexpress, start a dispute/return request.

[nctnico]

If you bought it from a marketplace like Amazon or Aliexpress, start a dispute/return request.

Yep. Always start a dispute through the system (Ebay, Aliexpress, Amazon, etc). DO NOT let the seller tempt you in not opening a dispute as they are trying to let the period for opening a dispute pass by and not having to refund the item.

[xrunner]

Has anyone tried out one of these Pinecil soldering irons?

Yea I have one and I've been quite pleased with it. I use it most of the time now. Yours is defective return it.

Edit: I also use a laptop brick no problems.

[thm_w]

Does it have to be portable? $90 could have got you a better performing desktop unit.
Or for less money a decent portable iron and power bank (Fnirsi hs-02 is $40, though I'm not a huge fnirsi fan).

You are sure its not a loose connection on the power port at all right?
Return as others say if not.

[WaveyDipole]

Sadly not from Amazon but Mouser UK who apparently have to investigate with the supplier etc etc. I have logged a request and I could be wrong but I got the distinct impression that a refund is not likely to happen.

Yes, I do suspect there is something intermittent with the DC connector but I am not sure. Sometimes I have to pull the plug out and reconnect. I could open it up and investigate further but don’t want to risk voiding the warranty at this stage.

[thm_w]

I thought for a minute it could be sizing issue but:
Pinecil specs is "DC 5525 jack (5.5mm outer diameter, 2.5mm post)"
So I don't think its possible to use the wrong barrel plug, as the other standard size 2.1mm won't fit.

Any USB supply that could be tested?

[WaveyDipole]

Does it have to be portable? $90 could have got you a better performing desktop unit.
Or for less money a decent portable iron and power bank (Fnirsi hs-02 is $40, though I'm not a huge fnirsi fan).

Agreed. For a desktop unit I might have perhaps have spent a bit more and gone with the Fnirsi DWP-200 and there are other options desktop options for around or less than the 90GBP or $90 price bracket, but I already have a decent enough desktop soldering station. The Pinecil is not exactly mobile either. It still needs to be tethered to a power supply, but is marketed as having the flexibility of being able to use a laptop brick or any other convenient DC supply. A power bank, as you point out, would be another option to consider although that would be an additional cost. For now, and just for test purposes I am simply used what I have available.

This iron was purchased, in large part, out of curiosity but I did think that it might come in handy for small tasks. I was also curious just how well one of these pens could perform. Was it anywhere near as well as reviews suggested? Could they do a soldering job adequately? T12 irons also seem to be quite popular so yes, there were other options, including the Fnirsi HS-02. So what was so special about the Pinecil? Both the Fnirsi or T12 were a bit cheaper, but the Pinecil seemed to have the edge in terms of reviews. The iron itself cost 36GBP plus VAT, so a little over 43GBP in total. The additional 4 bits cost me 48GBP, which was a bit of a surprise considering that Fnisri or T12 equivalents cost half that. Both prices are excluding shipping. Having now been able compare the Pincepil bits with the T12 bits, other than the Pinecil ones having nicer packaging, I don't see any difference in quality which is also rather disappointing.

You are sure its not a loose connection on the power port at all right?
Return as others say if not.

I suspect that it probably is. I have tried two different PSUs with 5525 plugs and both have the same problem, yet both seem to work fine otherwise, so yes, I do suspect the qualty of the DC jack.

I thought for a minute it could be sizing issue but:
Pinecil specs is "DC 5525 jack (5.5mm outer diameter, 2.5mm post)"
So I don't think its possible to use the wrong barrel plug, as the other standard size 2.1mm won't fit.

Any USB supply that could be tested?

Exactly, standard 5525 and you are correct, the slimer 2.1mm does not fit. Due to the pin on the Pinecil being recessed, I am unable to measure its diameter with any accuracy. I don't own a PSU with a USB-C socket, but this morning I realised that the HP dock has a USB-C connector so I might give that a try. Its rated at 19.5V and up- to 6.5A, so the same as the PSU. I just need to find another soldering job. If anything though, aren't the USB-C connectors even more fragile?

[thm_w]

USB C would be more fragile yeah, but many millions of people are using USBC for their laptops or irons so..

If you have any power tools that you commonly use, you can consider those as a power bank. I use power tools and not large power banks, so thats what I went with, but depends on the person.

[MathWizard]

I was thinking they made USB powered irons, but if a typical computer USB is only 5V and limited to 0.5A, then thats only 2.5W, so if any irons are powered from a PC, what do they do ?

[xrunner]

I was thinking they made USB powered irons, but if a typical computer USB is only 5V and limited to 0.5A, then thats only 2.5W, so if any irons are powered from a PC, what do they do ?

USB power delivery will power it -

https://www.androidauthority.com/usb-power-delivery-806266/

[MathWizard]

Oh wow up to 240W, that's a lot.