where are my helpers??

Probably not. If it's a steel tip then maybe. If it's a iron clad copper core tip then no. Why not just buy some el cheapo Turkish irons and have a go at that?

Scratch

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Arlene

If you don't like the weight of that Iron, you won't like the Hexacon any more, they are the same weight, or similar at least. And as to expense, they are now an import item to the country you are in, so there are additional duties.

What are you using for flux? If you heat your iron, thoroughly coat it with flux, (yup if its liquid flux, dunk that sucker, stay below the heater,) while it is HOT, then touch the solder to it liberally and roll it in your hand, and wipe on a wet sponge as you are working with it. Should coat the copper with solder. Do not dunk again, only wipe on water wet sponge to clean. You have no protection against oxidation with that tip.

Thanks Javahut... okay...scrap the Hex then...i can't deal with the weight.

what's an analog? and is it a lot lighter? will an 80 watt analog be sufficient? i'm using the 63/37 solder...and it's very nice...i'm pleasantly surprised!!

please explain to me again what you mean with these directions for 'coating the tip'...

what do you mean when you say 'stay below the heater'???

and what exactly am i supposed to 'roll in my hand'?? OUCH that's hot!!!

i used the iron for less than 3 hours today and already the tip is crapola...

at this rate, i'll be filing it down every time i use it and so in less than a month, i'll need a new one.

i'm on a quest for a sal ammoniac block here...this is something that should be easily available...my electronics guy in town should have one, right? oh wait, this IS turkey...heaven knows where this search will take me!!

please clarify your instructions...and thanks again.

Ar.

OK , but you have to read between the lines

look for a an iron with a ceramic heater, you are not doing production work and do not need an indutrial iron, shop smart! Electronics store will work, look for an tip shank diameter of 3/8", 10-12 mm. My 60 watt Hakko gets that tip hot just fine, in 30 seconds , and is nice and light in hand weight. Se what is similar with iron clad tip...

variac type resistance, translates to less expensive, but not in this case , eh?

and is it a lot lighter? will an 80 watt analog be

i'm using the 63/37 solder... nice stuff, a bit pricier than 60/40, but if you have it, use it, may pationa differently due to alloy but it works well here too. sometimes...depends what I am doing

Don't dip the heater portion of the iron in the flux, don't go that deep, only the end of the tip , maybe 1"- 1 1/2" of the working end.

iron turns, rotates, so that the tip gets coated

that happens, drag the tip, hot, across a wet sponge, to rough for that, grab your grozing pliers and litely rotate the tip while hanging on with the pliers, lightly, and all the crude falls off, into, hopefully a bucket.

fast? either go to a less powerful iron or solder faster... the heat is building up faster than you use it.

try to dissolve it in a small pan and leave it out to evaporate it will be a block, hopefully in a couple of days, ( been years since I tried that, results varied.)

That is as good as it gets......

Buy the 2:1 transformer.

Hi Mike... what is this?

i don't seem to have much of a choice here...the only two irons on the market, as far as i can tell are the German models and the Turkish knock-offs.

There are two analog irons..one is a 60watt, the other an 80watt.

i STILL can't find a supplier outside Turkey that can give me electrical stuff that works on our current!

The folks in UK don't seem to be able to help me...their plugs are so strange... are there NO SUPPLIERS in Italy, France, Spain, anywhere except UK???

they don't show up on any searches i've been doing. this is crazy! there MUST be people doing stained glass in those countries!!!

so frustrating!! hopefully it will get solved one of these days.

explain the 2:1 transformer...what is it?

thanks, arlene

Mike Firth wrote:

Based on my quick 'playing' with the temperature-controlled 100W Weller last night - avoid 'non-temp-controlled' irons unless you really have no choice.

Ahem ! _Our_ plugs are normal - it's everybody else that uses strange ones

Seriously though - if the only problem you have with Irons (& other kit) from UK suppliers is the plug - why not do what I've just done...

Because I happened to have a 240 - 110V transformer (our UK mains is

240v), I now also have a 120V grinder (ebay) and a 120V Weller iron. Both of these pieces of kit come with 'strange' USA plugs - but they now connect through one of those multi-way extension leads - with sockets that fit the USA plugs and the 'other end' wired straight into the transformer. All you'd need is a UK-style extension lead - and then you could plug whatever UK-style kit you wanted (within reason & taking account of the maximum current it'd handle) into your extension lead - while the other end was wired into whatever they use in Turkey...

If you went the 'transformer' route, then you might find that (120V) kit like soldering irons bought from the USA worked out much cheaper than buying the 'same thing' in 240V versions....

Big, heavy lump of metal with windings on it. Conect it up correctly and you can put 240V into it and get 120V out of it. Worth getting assistance if you're not 100% confident - because there are 'other' ways to (mis)-connect it - one of which would give you about 480V output - which might cause your equipment some surprise!...... BTDT.....

The bigger & heavier the transformer, the more power it can handle. Tiny ones are available for travellers - but they're likely to be too small for your use. Mid-sized units will handle a soldering iron or two - or an iron and a grinder. Not a kiln !

If you really wanted something powerful there are things (at least in the UK where we have funny mains plugs ) called 'site transformers'

- which are big yellow cubes intended for use on building sites - where 110V tools are used for safety purposes. I can buy one of these new for about 50 UK pounds - and this would probably run a small 110V kiln, - or lots and lots of soldering irons. Weighs a ton though - don't recommend you try & get one via mail order!

You could always modify an arc welder, of course. I'm reliabily informed that having lots of heat while soldering is the only way to go - so a nice carbon arc - or mayble plasma....? ONLY JOKING !

Have fun Adrian Suffolk UK - (but only for a few more weeks !) ======return email munged================= take out the papers and the trash to reply

As long as the the iron you have (or want) will work on the Turkish voltage, (220V AC?) it's a simple matter to change the plug from the UK or US style to the Turkish configuration. Just cut the wrong plug off and put a new Turkish one on the end of the wire. Problem solved.

I'm a chemist (the chemistry kind, not the pharmacy kind) in another life. Sal ammoniac is basically an archaic way to say Ammonium Chloride (NH4Cl). I've even heard it called more generically "ammonia salt".

The word "sal ammoniac" actually means "salt of Ammon". Ammon (or Amun) is the Egyptian deity. There might be a similar word in Turkish?

If you try to buy plain ammonium chloride, you'll probably get a powder. I think a sal ammoniac block is mined from a salt deposit, but it's possible that they could be manufactured from powder.. I have no clue.

I've never seen a sal ammoniac block working with electronics. Their tip cleaners are typically more liquid that they just dip the tip into. It's probably flux with ammonium chloride added, but I've never found an "ingredients list". I'd look in a hardware store before an electronics supply if you really want a block. Sheet metal solderers use the blocks, I hear.

Good luck in your quest!

-Ray