can soldering irons and desoldering irons die?

[Retromaster]

well....I saw that bens iron died.....but how?

I plugged in my desoldering iron like an hour or two ago, and it hasn't heated up much. it won't melt the soder. or burn me signifigantly.

is it dead? am I cursed to pay $8 for a new one?

vb, do you know?

how do irons die? and why? can they?

[Rekarp]

I had my cheap Radio Shack Iron die on me. I guess the heating element can burn up or break.

[Retromaster]

wait......it just started back up.

what caused this? why did it die all of a sudden and then come back?
how do irons die....when they really die?

[timmeh87]

I find my irons usually break after I drop them or swing them into something. The heating element is just a very thin nichrome wire wrapped in a coil. It just gets corroded and eventually breaks.

I guess it could have some sort of intermittent contact like a broken lightbulb that still might turn on if you jiggle it.

also, if your tip gets really gross and covered with corrosion and maybe a bit loose, it can affect the transfer pretty bad. I think an iron always seems to run better after a good cleaning

[EnterTheHatrix]

well....I saw that bens iron died.....but how?

I plugged in my desoldering iron like an hour or two ago, and it hasn't heated up much. it won't melt the soder. or burn me signifigantly.

is it dead? am I cursed to pay $8 for a new one?

vb, do you know?

how do irons die? and why? can they?

YOU have to make hot steamy pationate love to your soldering iron in your ass whilst it's turned on so they don't die..

[Retromaster]

............oh.....kay................
that's a weird way to get an iron going.......

it started back up. but why? wouldn't it be broken forever?

[tom61]

There are different faults that can happen in the heat element. Most likey in your case the fault is a break in the coil, that got reconnected when you moved iron, or a break in the cord. I'd highly recommend getting a new one.

Additionally, it is recommended that check for shorts in the iron. You can do this by setting a multimeter to conductivity test and touching one probe to the tip and the other to each of the prongs (that go into a wall outlet). If you hear a beep, or get a resistance reading, stop using the iron and throw it out, as it can damage both you and anything you're working on by sending AC through it or you. In elecronics class, we were required to do this test every time before using an iron.

[Rototiller]

well....I saw that bens iron died.....but how?

I plugged in my desoldering iron like an hour or two ago, and it hasn't heated up much. it won't melt the soder. or burn me signifigantly.

is it dead? am I cursed to pay $8 for a new one?

vb, do you know?

how do irons die? and why? can they?

YOU have to make hot steamy pationate love to your soldering iron in your ass whilst it's turned on so they don't die..

Dude, don't be a hater hatrix. Retromaster is pretty cool.

[EnterTheHatrix]

well....I saw that bens iron died.....but how?

I plugged in my desoldering iron like an hour or two ago, and it hasn't heated up much. it won't melt the soder. or burn me signifigantly.

is it dead? am I cursed to pay $8 for a new one?

vb, do you know?

how do irons die? and why? can they?

YOU have to make hot steamy pationate love to your soldering iron in your ass whilst it's turned on so they don't die..

Dude, don't be a hater hatrix. Retromaster is pretty cool.

I'm not, I barely know the kid..

[Kurt_]

Children! Children!

I know when something like this happens, it's best to make hot steamy passionate love with it in your ass. However, if that doesn't work, try putting some flux on the tip. If it's still hot but doesn't melt solder, use FLUX.

[Rototiller]

Children! Children!

I know when something like this happens, it's best to make hot steamy passionate love with it in your ass. However, if that doesn't work, try putting some flux on the tip. If it's still hot but doesn't melt solder, use FLUX.

Seriously, all of you don't be hatin' on retromaster. He's leaving anyway.

[vskid]

I'm scared.
*rocks back and forth in fetal position, trying to forget this thread*

[Turbo Tax 1.0]

well....I saw that bens iron died.....but how?

I plugged in my desoldering iron like an hour or two ago, and it hasn't heated up much. it won't melt the soder. or burn me signifigantly.

is it dead? am I cursed to pay $8 for a new one?

vb, do you know?

how do irons die? and why? can they?

YOU have to make hot steamy pationate love to your soldering iron in your ass whilst it's turned on so they don't die..

that did'nt stop mine
yeah my brothers old rat shack iron died shortly after my GCp mkII
i just had bought a new tip for it and i remember waiting about an hour for it to heat up.

[NESavior]

yeah, retromaster got my NESp working through the pm system. I owe my portable to him.

my thought is that the heating element has broken somewhat.

[EnterTheHatrix]

yeah, retromaster got my NESp working through the pm system. I owe my portable to him.

my thought is that the heating element has broken somewhat.

Holy cow!!!! Through the PM system without even touching it? That's godlike! I mean, how can he physically get it working without touching it... It takes some kind of sourcerer to manage that! Or do you mean he instructed you on how to get it working via a series of PMs?