Recommend a Solder Pot ?

[glowlamp]

I have had two of the Chinese 38mm solder pots which run at around 550 deg C at the max setting.

I use them to tin / strip the ends of urethane coated magnet wire etc. I have them filled with potable tin solder.

They suit my needs perfectly, but both of them failed after around 7 sessions of use !

Can anyone recommend an affordable brand which would have a guarantee of some kind available in the UK ?

 

[KevinW]

A bullet casting furnace should meet your needs.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I have had two of the Chinese 38mm solder pots which run at around 550 deg C at the max setting.

I suspect your problem is the excessively high temerature you're running at, you perhaps need something other than a solder pot?.

 

[JimB]

potable tin solder.

What!

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/potable

JimB

 

[glowlamp]

Sorry its a term used in Plumbing but not electronics. I have reel of potable tin solder from my dad who was a plumber.

Its used to differentiate between solder safe for drinking water and that which is not safe ( usually due to lead or other heavy metals ).

https://www.hpmmag.com/training-and-technical/the-dangers-of-lead-solder

 

[Reloadron]

Years ago I did quite a bit with magnet wire. We used a stripper like this one designed for magnet wire. Another method was to use a propane torch to bake off the coating and wipe it down with some steel wool. Both methods allowed the wire to be tinned using a solder pot running at about 700 degrees F. Removing the coating before tinning also kept the solder in the solder pot clean requiring little to no skimming. The solder of choice for electrical use was Kester QQ-S-571 SN 63 in 1.0 Lb bars.

If you really need to run the temperatures 550 C (1022.00 F.) you really should think about, as was mentioned, a bullet casting furnace to maintain an alloy bath that hot. Then too it depends on how often it would be used.

Ron

 

[gophert]

I have had two of the Chinese 38mm solder pots which run at around 550 deg C at the max setting.

I use them to tin / strip the ends of urethane coated magnet wire etc. I have them filled with potable tin solder.

They suit my needs perfectly, but both of them failed after around 7 sessions of use !

Can anyone recommend an affordable brand which would have a guarantee of some kind available in the UK ?

You only need the tin hot enough to (a) be liquid and (b) to burn the coating off of the magnet wire. Tin melts at under 250°C. More than 70% of polyurethane is turned into volatile components by 350°C so there should be no structural integrity left to the coating. Are you using some super-duper fluoro-modified or siloxane-modified polyurethane that requires such high temps or are you just setting it to max because you want to make sure it is gone?

PS - My car would likely be dead after just 7 trips of I kept the throttle at max the whole time. My wife's car would survive indefinitely but mine would be dead.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

My car would likely be dead after just 7 trips of I kept the throttle at max the whole time. My wife's car would survive indefinitely but mine would be dead.

Interestingly I know a guy involved in teaching car mechanics at a high level, and he was telling me a few years ago that a large transport company was complaining to Ford about multiple engine failures in their new Transit vans. Unbeknown to the drivers Ford fitted loggers to the vans of the affected drivers, the result was that all the drivers who had failed engines only used two throttle settings, flat out or ticking over, nothing in between.

What sort of cars do you and your wife have?.

 

[glowlamp]

Thanks for the replies. I'm soldering 0.1mm wires to 0805 smd leds. Due to the very short dwell time on the soldering, any urethane residue interferes with the joint. Pretinning them does make a big difference although the 'bump' that the urethane creates when shrinking away from the tinned area is annoying and adds extra bulk. I do also have some 0.28mm non solderable enamel wire - 550 C does not touch it at all.

The thing is, those small Chinese pots are perfect when they work. The bullet furnaces are much larger.

I think I will just have to make another 10x magnifier station and use that for stripping the wires using a scapel to avoid the bump sadly.

 

[tomizett]

We used to have one of these:
**broken link removed**
at work. Although it was never used much during my time I believe it had seen quite a lot of use, and seemed well made. It's now been sold on to an ex-employee who, to the best of my knowledge, still uses it.
As you'll see from the RS listing, it's now discontinued - but perhaps you'll find a used one on ebay, or something similar from the same manufacturer.
Just a thought.

 

[Reloadron]

I'm soldering 0.1mm wires to 0805 smd leds.

Wow, some fine stuff, in AWG that would be about AWG 36. Magnet wire generally uses a modified polyurethane as the insulating material. Have you given any thought to using a chemical stripper or would the wire be too fine? Knowing the wire diameter I know my previous suggestions won't work. A dip in a chemical stripper and pull through a wet rag?

Ron

 

[glowlamp]

Thanks again for the replies, and the recommendations.

With regards to soldering 0805. I am not especially skilled, I've been working on a jig using 22 gauge hypodermic syringe needles filed into U-channel to make things easier. Hopefully I can work my way down to 0603 and 0402 leds once I become a bit more practised.

I think a different approach, dipping the wire in an acetone based dark blue ink so I can clearly see the area I am stripping with a scalpel might be better !!!

I am going to scour ebay for one of the electric crucibles.

 

[hyedenny]

It should be mentioned, with all this talk about solder pots being operated at absurd temperatures, that the vapor pressure of lead SKYROCKETS after it reaches its melting point. This means that without proper ventilation, you're sure to give your body a good dose of lead, and treat your family to the same.
It seems really silly to do it this way, when a little sandpaper and soldering iron does the job just as well.