Battery Powered Soldering Iron - a use for C cells

I've had the yellow rechargeable Wahl Iso-Tip 60 cordless soldering iron for a dozen years and find it a handy tool for light soldering on PC boards or soldering wires. In 10 seconds you are hot enough to solder. The '60' is only good for a handful of solder jobs before it needs to go on the charger for an hour which is a huge bummer.



The Iso-Tip 60 has a 2 subC 1300 mAh NiCd battery pack inside. Not much you can do about it either since I believe you are limited to a NiCd charging station. My battery finally bit it so I ordered a replacement NiCd battery pack for about $15 to bring my iron back to life.

Before I checked out I decided to shop around a little and came across the EZ Change Solder Iron. It comes with 2 C cell 1400 mAh NiCd's.


The Wahl EZ Change Soldering Iron

With some decent NiMH C cells the EZ iron is a different animal. I always liked my little Wahl '60' but it just didn't offer enough power or convenience. I can throw some LSD NiMH C cell's in the EZ and have it ready to go for up to a year with greatly extended soldering capability. The EZ Change iron is only $30 compared to $70 for the NiCd restricted '60'.

:twothumbs

It doesn't replace my trusty Weller but it earns a test run in my tool kit.

Neither of these items are new and most folks prefer a corded iron or butane. I've just been on the lookout for handy AAA-D NiMH operated devices since upgrading my battery drawer, especially the elusive non-light/radio C cell powered useful item. Considering what it replaces for less than half the cost the EZ is pretty sweet.

Nice find. Are either of those cordless models powerful enough for reliable de-soldering? I've used a butane Master Appliance MT-70 for years but at that price, I'd also be interested in giving those a test run! Also, what model Weller do you have? I'm currently shopping around for a digital soldering station and have heard really good things about Weller.

Not sure either I would call either powerful enough for reliable de-soldering. They claim the tip gets to 900* in 10 seconds. Haven't measured it, but I've removed/installed several small parts with it (resistors, capacitors). It's sometimes a little tricky getting a nice clean solder job (you get a little 'Dairy Queen' effect unless you use just the right technique).

I just have a little 25w Weller, and I'm not out in the field soldering as much as I used to be. Haven't tried butane.

Neither of these are going to be your 'go-to' iron for everyday soldering. If I'm going to repair my TV I'm going to use my Weller. If I'm out on a roof trouble shooting and I come across a broken wire I can fix it in a matter of seconds with my EZ.