How long does soldering iron stay at high heat?

[Flyback]

Hi,
I have a Mercury 703.260UK 20w/130w soldering iron.

AVSL : Product : Tools & Hardware : Soldering : 703.260UK

I can gather that when you first power it up, it goes on 130W for 30 Seconds to get the tip hot quickly.
It then falls back to 20W.


After that....you can press the red pushbutton switch on it to get high temperature.
However, i cannot work out if.......
1.....A quick <1 second press makes it go hot (130W) for 10 secs than back to 20w again?
2....A quick <1 sec press does nothing because you have to keep your finger on the pushbutton switch on order to get the 130W power?

It does say you shouldnt keep the button pressed for >30 seconds at a time.

Do you know?..is it 1 or 2 above?

(I have contacted AVSL by email, but dont know if they are just a reseller, and may not know)

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

It looks a really crappy iron soldering, not suitable for electronics (or anyone who knows how to solder).

 

[picbits]

I use a Metcal for 99% of my soldering at work and I do everything from SMD to large copper connectors - I've gone through a few tips and one coil in 7 years.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

1.....A quick <1 second press makes it go hot (130W) for 10 secs than back to 20w again?
2....A quick <1 sec press does nothing because you have to keep your finger on the pushbutton switch on order to get the 130W power?

It's a nasty cheap thing and the switch is no more than a switch, it goes to high power when you press the switch.

The warning in the instructions about not being suitable for PCBs (electronics) should be takes as correct whether the button is pressed or not!