I have been using commercial hot gas soldering equipment professionally
for many years. One of my machines, which I recently sold, cost over
$8000 new! Of all my experience with hot gas soldering, my favorite tool
by far is a butane powered Weller soldering iron with a hot air tip; a
PyroPen mini hot air/soldering iron, WST2. (Google search found:
http://www.lashen.com/vendors/CooperTools/Weller_cordless_solder.asp#wst2
looks like the PSI100K might even be better than the one I have, and
cheaper too.) Although you may not want to use it to replace a large BGA
chip (even though it can be done if you are careful), it is great for
the smaller components like resistors, caps, and small chips. It's main
advantages are that it is low cost, lightweight, has ample heat, and
adjustable output. I have used mine to do nearly everything I bought the
expensive Ungar machine for, which is one reason I sold it.
Although it MIGHT work, what you have described sounds clumsy and under
powered, but then I'm used to my 2 oz. tool! For the small cost of the
cordless hot air/irons, to me, it wouldn't even be worth the time to
fiddle with a homemade kludge.
-Bryan
Ethan Dicks wrote:
>Was it here that I was reading about turning a RadioShack Desoldering
>Iron into an SMT hot air tool? The basic gist is that you remove the
>rubber bulb, plug in an aquarium pump on a long-enough air hose, and
>pack some (stainless) steel wool inside the de-soldering nozzle. The
>pump provides continuous air over the steel wool which facilitates
>heat transfer to get the air temp up to something useful. I have
>
>
><snip>
Received on Thu May 22 2003 - 11:21:01 BST