GEARHEAD
CORDLESS SOLDERING IRONS
I love a useful, high quality tool,
and in the world of marine electrical
and electronic work, soldering irons
are a virtual necessity. That must be
why I own four of them: two butane
and two corded.
ABYC guidelines prohibit the use
of solder as the sole means of making
electrical connections, because there
is the possibility that the connection
may fail if it momentarily overheats,
and solder tends to make fine,
stranded wire brittle. However,
solder is indispensable in numerous
applications aboard any cruising
vessel, and, in an emergency, the
ABYC prohibition may fall by the
wayside. I once repaired the contact
in a bow-rail-mounted nav light
using solder as the sole means of
connection, which was certainly
preferable to cruising in stealth
mode without the light. On another
occasion I soldered the fine, hairlike stranded wire of a generator’s
windings, which, again, was far
better than having no AC power.
There’s no end to the list of repairs
and day-to-day tasks that can be
accomplished with a quality soldering
iron. Several years ago, while cruising
amongst the rocky fjords of
Newfoundland, I used a soldering iron
to install resistors in the overly bright
backlights of the boat’s navigation
instruments. More recently, I used
a soldering iron to replace a semiconductor in a GPS unit that had
been damaged by plugging into
a reversed-polarity shorepower
receptacle in Bermuda. On the
more routine side of the equation,
the number of soldered coaxial
connections I’ve made for VHF,
SSB, and other communications
gear numbers in the hundreds. All
of these tasks were accomplished
by using a soldering iron that ran
on butane rather than electricity.
I recall the first butane soldering
Steve D’Antonio
Soldering tools of the trade: a high quality butane soldering iron, preferably self-igniting;
the proper grade of solder; and flux, which reduces the time required for solder to “take.”
With these essentials on hand, the repair possibilities are endless.
iron I purchased, back in the late
1980s. It was expensive, difficult to
light, and even more difficult to keep
lit. Its performance, when it worked,
was mediocre at best. I gave butane
soldering irons another try a couple
years later and have not regretted
this second leap. I own two identical
units because, when I worked as a
marine electrician, the idea of being
without what became an invaluable
tool was unthinkable. Neither has
ever failed.
When I began to research this
column to determine what the
successor is to my favorite 15-year-
old butane soldering iron, I was
surprised to learn that it’s still offered
in essentially the same form. The
Weller Pyropen Professional (what
a great name for a soldering iron),
available from cooperhandtools.com,
is just that: a professional-grade
butane soldering iron that packs a
host of useful features in a rugged,
reliable design. Not much bigger
than a pencil-style soldering iron,
the Pyropen’s refillable tank contains
enough fuel for about three hours
of run time. A “sight gauge” window
allows the user to easily determine
how much gas is left. The burning
butane heats the tinned “bit,” or tip,
to between 392˚F and 932˚F. This
means the Pyropen has heat to spare
for on-deck repairs or when soldering
large items that are likely to conduct
heat away from the solder joint,
such as coaxial connectors, copper
windings, and other metal fixtures.
The Pyropen includes a built-in
igniter, and the tip usually is hot
enough to begin soldering within 30
seconds. The Pyropen Professional
WSTA3, which includes three tips
as well as an aluminum case and a
sponge for cleaning and “tinning” the
bit (coating it with solder), is not self-igniting. The Pyropen Professional
WPA2, on the other hand, does not
include the metal case but is self-igniting (go figure). The Pyropen Jr.,
a more compact version of the Pro
model with less fuel capacity,
is available in both manual and
self-igniting versions (WST2 and
WSTA6, respectively). I have both
manual and self-igniting Professional
models, and I prefer the latter. It’s
important to choose carefully and
make sure you understand the
features of the model you’re selecting.
Soldering is an acquired skill that
requires practice to perfect. Once
mastered, it will no doubt come in
handy. You may just save a reefer full
of frozen food or prevent a collision
at sea.—Steve D’Antonio
