Draper Butane Powered Soldering Iron

I chose this soldering iron based on some of the glowing reviews it had, but unfortunately after using this soldering iron several times over the past week, I have to disagree with them.

Firstly the good stuff... I can certainly see the advantage of not being tied to a cord as it allows much more freedom and precision of movement. The ignition worked every time with one click.

The bad stuff... Being gas powered brings with it a couple of pretty big disadvantages. Firstly, the exhaust holes around the tip spew out very hot air that is hot enough to melt the insulation on any wires or components that come near (under 4cm) it. If your fingers happen to be holding something near to it (like, you know, solder) then they frequently feel the wrath of these exhaust ports. Secondly, you have to turn it up very high to get enough heat for soldering jobs, and that means it eats through its full supply of gas in only a few minutes.

Then there's the heat itself, or lack of it. Maybe there was something slightly wrong with mine, as it coughs and splutters about every 10 seconds. It seems to have lots of heat while the tank is more than 3/4 full, but then the heat reduces significantly (you can also hear the gas flow decrease). I found it barely hot enough to melt solder on the maximum setting, and I was frequently having to hold it against components for 10 seconds or more in order for enough heat to be transferred to them for the solder to flow over them, thus damaging the components themselves (e.g. melted LED cases, melted wire insulation, etc). Compared to my 20 year old mains powered soldering iron, the end results were terrible.

Finally it all feels a bit loose. The nip seems to frequently unscrew, no matter how much I tighten it with a spanner. The entire end half of the iron moves ever so slightly, which normally wouldn't bother me, but when trying to solder 0.1" spaced pins on stuff this becomes a very annoying problem.

I'm going to keep it, purely because there are some rare times that not being tied to a mains socket will be invaluable, but I certainly won't be using this as my main soldering iron - back to my trusty 20 year old mains powered one.

For years I have used a soldering iron which is plugged into the mains. As some equipment cannot easily be moved I have had to use extension leads. I was also concerned about electrical short circuits. The obvious solution seemed to be a (rechargeable) battery operated iron.

I bought a ColdHeat Cordless Pro Soldering Tool. The tip was split into two and heated up when contact was made by. Sounded good! It took ages to find the right angle (90°?) to make and keep contact.

I then tried the Weller iron. Far better, but I had to keep a button fully pressed while it slowly heated up. Irritating and quite painful! I even tried rubber bands.

I did want to replace my old iron and offer it to a museum. Maybe now I can.

The Draper Butane iron seems to solve all problems:
* I can use it anywhere
* No danger of short circuits
* Heats up quickly
* Light and easy to hold
* Good indicator that it is on
* A cone shaped tip that seems ideal
* Easy to refill and to see how much gas remains

My only quibble is the lack of a stand.

Now what needs soldering....

Having received this Draper Butane powered soldering iron in the post this morning, I wasted no time in trying it out, I first tried filling it up with gas but soon realised it would be easier to remove it from the packaging. This done I moved the control to the center position and pressed the red button and got the expected click, I then soon learnt that touching the tip to find out if it was hot wasn't the most educated thing to do, so take my tip and don't do it, it will be hot. After bathing my finger under the cold tap and then tinning the tip I did everything I needed to do with it and found it surprisingly easy and comfortable to use. I must say I found the time needed for the heat up to be VERY short. How long it will last, I suppose depends on how it is used and looked after. New tips are available and you can get them from Amazon, Ebay and I do know that "PVRDirect.co.uk" also have them and they are very cheap but the postage is a little silly so I recommend Amazon or EBay, the part number is "Draper 87382 - Draper Spare Soldering Tip For 78774 - (YGT8)" so if you need to alter the tip for different jobs, you can, the tips just unscrew using a 6.5mm spanner, and for anyone who is interested they are made of brass and not copper as you would expect, presumably to make them last a little longer. So far I'm very pleased with it and hope to be using it for quite a while yet, at the price your paying you should be able to get your moneys worth without any problems. In my opinion a better product than the silverline version so I would recommend this Draper iron.
Having now used this iron on quite a few occasions now I can honestly say that I have found it to be reliable and is very capable of doing more jobs than I at first thought it would do. It lights first time, it lasts a long time on one fill (cant say how long, but is long enough). A great little, and very handy iron to have with you. One small point, dont put the cap on, or put it in your pocket until it cools down. Recommended even more than before.