SOLDERING IRON USING GLOW PLUG

[mariost]

A useful tool we can use in a place where there isn' t electric current. For example in the car , at the country etc. It needs a 12 volt battery. It works with about 20 A current , so I 've put a 30 A relay that gets the order from a small switch. The power of the glow plug is about 230 to 250 W so we must not operate continuously more than 8-10 sec to avoid overheating. I ' ve also connected a piece of copper (or bronze) to the end of the plug to have better adhesion with the soldering wire.
A MISTAKE in 12.40 in the shematic. The + of the battery goes direct to the resistor before the switch. (In the image is correct).The connection in the shematic is before the switch and not after it. In fact the construction is ok. I made this mistake later in the shematic.
YOU CAN SEE THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE USE HERE:

[tonyfoale]

Good job.
I have done this before in emergencies but as the glow plugs are designed to run on 12 volts at much higher temperatures than you need for soldering I have run them on 6 volts which gives around a quarter of the power that you get with 12 v. That allows it to be left switched on for the duration of a job without having to worry about switching it on and off. i prefer a real soldering iron.

[DIYer]

Thanks mariost! We've added your 12V Soldering Iron to our Electrical category,
as well as to your builder page: mariost's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

12V Soldering Iron by mariost

tags: battery, soldering, 12V

[mariost]

Good job.
I have done this before in emergencies but as the glow plugs are designed to run on 12 volts at much higher temperatures than you need for soldering I have run them on 6 volts which gives around a quarter of the power that you get with 12 v. That allows it to be left switched on for the duration of a job without having to worry about switching it on and off. i prefer a real soldering iron.

Of course nothing is better than a real soldering iron or better a soldering station with temperature control.