Portable Soldering iron ?

[DALDEI]

Its annoying how I am chained to the plug. Its often difficult to have my soldering iron where i want it without the cord catching or having to use an extension cord and worrying about burning the cord etc.

Years (30?) I had a Butane torch soldering iron and I *loved it*. Portable, quick starting, hot in an instant, worked great. But for Railroading, I have this 'gut feeling' it would be a bad bad bad idea to use a flame powered iron around combustable materials (like foam, glue, paint ... sigh).

So ok thats probably out (unless someone convinces me its safe ! but I'm not the spring chicken I used to be ).

I even tried a really nice weller quick-start soldering iron (or so I thought)
http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/weller/solder/wps18mp.htm

But as much as I love the feel and startup, the darn tip is attached with a loose connector, like an RCA connector and isnt solid ! I cant put any presure on it without it wiggling around.

So I have a 'tried and true' standard 40w weller
Something like this, not sure if its identical but close

http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/weller/popups/sp40l.htm

It works well except the cord problem.

Has anyone used cordless irons for railroading tasks ? The tasks I'm interested in are soldering rail to glue, switch building, soldering drop-wires etc.

I looked at this at micromark
http://www.micromark.com/CORDLESS-SOLDERING-IRON,6937.html

The specs and picture looks good but I have no clue how well it *works* ... anyone used anything like this ? Any suggestions for cordless irons ?

Are cordless iron's a fantasy ?
If so is a more expensive iron worth getting ? Say a tempature controlled "soldering station" ? Any point in paying 50-100-200 for a soldering iron ?
I'm willing to pay for it if it really helps, but not just because its fancy.

Suggestions welcome !

 

[RexHea]

Personally, I would not have a "portable" iron. One of the most important factors in making a good solder joint is even heat. Portable irons can't do this over a period of time. I use a Weller WP35 with a 35 watt element and 1/8 chisel point for all my rail soldering. For small wires (lights and signals), I use an Ungar Princess (now Weller), 32 watt pencil point. Besides, what's the hurry! You should always take your time when soldering and ensure a smooth flow of solder by a clean joint, heating both parts of the joint, apply solder to joint (not iron), get off soon after flow. BTW: did I say that Radio Shack irons are near worthless.

 

[DALDEI]

Thanks. I'm not in a hurry, I just get "tangled up" in the wires when working on big segments. Its not the rush but the no-wires-to-tangle-and-burn I'd like to solve.

Your point well taken though, I'm skeptical of these cordless/recharable irons having any power... but hey I've been wrong before !

 

[RexHea]

Yeah, know what you mean. I just think you will be better off with a good name brand iron, in the long run. I've used the battery powered irons doing electronics benchwork and didn't like them even for light work. BTW: most of my cousins live around Evansville, Mt. Vernon, Poseville, Winslow. Heck, I was even born in Clinton, near Terra Haute (couple of centuries ago ).