Soldering Irons

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

As with many things the Model Railway fraternity tend to be ahead of the game when it comes to tools, materials and technology. Many just pass on the standard Chinese offering but there are also those out there who develop their own products and come up with some quality tools and equipment. One such outfit is DDDconcepts who do a non acidic flux that does not need to be washed off afterwards and some very nice soldering irons among their extensive range of soldering products:

DCCconcepts Soldering Irons

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Thanks Richard, had a look. They obviously have quality products. Just some comments.

The soldering irons are not 'temperature' controlled. They are 'volts or current controlled' and the electronics convert this into a temperature 'indicator' for a timed shut off or digital display of a calculated temperature. There is no mention at all about a thermocouple in the tip. Note the comment that the irons shut down after 10 mins to stop the tips burning out. Shouldn't really be necessary with proper temperature control.

The solders are very high melting point and free running. Their best selling grade (their words) say to set the iron for 390 deg C! No doubt lead free and very high silver content. Suspect ideal for model railways. Normal lead solder melts around half that value and can be made to be very runny or slushy depending on the iron temperature. A bit more useful when 'blacksmithing' a tin plate hull.

Nearly all fluxes these days are non acidic. The problem is finding the old fluxes. They did work very well.

Len

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