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Gimmick through and through
Gimmick through and through
As you would think with most As Seen on TV products, this one is no different, a complete piece of garbage. I am an electrical happiest and wanted to check this thing out and see how it compared to a regular soldering iron. Doesn't even come close.
The way this thing works, from what I observed, is there is 2 parts to the tip. The 2 parts act like an anode and cathode, and the way the tool is "activated" is when you short the anode and cathode with a piece of conductive metal, which is supposed be your solder. When this happens the tool sends high current though the solder causing it to heat up and melt. It's very similar to welding; you can even see a spark when you short the 2 parts of the tip out.
Problem is that the normal way of soldering circuitry to a board, where you put the tip to the parts you want joined and feed solder to them doesn't work with this tool. And when you work it the way they want its shotty at best. It doesn't live up to its name of COLD HEAT ether, the tip is a hot as a normal iron after a bit of soldering.
I guess this would come in useful if you are in a situation where you have no access to a wall outlet and/or can't use a conventional soldering iron. But even then I would use a butane soldering iron. This thing is useless.
November 2004 · Tools and Home Improvement