Pretty Slick Cordless Soldering Solution

[dnschmidt]

I've been looking for a cordless soldering iron solution and here's what I've come up with. It's sort of high dollar but if you need to solder something remotely this is a really good option.
1) The soldering iron: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDTO6X7/?tag=atomicindus08-20
This thing is amazing. It heats from room temperature to 300C in ten seconds. It comes with an AC power supply but that's not what I'm concerned about. This will run off of a USB C PD port and Milwaukee has a portable solution.
2) https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...for-M18-Batteries-Tool-Only-2846-20/313297952
I have an unlimited supply of Milwaukee M18 batteries and this fits right on top of any of them and has both a normal plug and a USB C PD port which is what I want for this application as I don't have to drag around the plug in power supply which is sort of bulky although it works great plugged into the Top Off.
3) The USB C cable that comes with the iron is too short (3 ft) so I bought the following from Amazon which is 6ft and plenty long enough.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LCJPZ1P/?tag=atomicindus08-20

You've got about $175 stuck in this rig but it does what I wanted it to do. With the 6 ft. cable I can put the battery outside of the car and have plenty of rope to solder under the dash. Also, there is a lot of things you can additionally do with the Top Off besides power this soldering iron. On it's own it's a worthwhile investment.

 

[Old Man Roger]

That top off thing is pretty cool

 

[Jim greengo]

I've had decent luck with butane soldering irons.

 

[Firebrick43]

I just attached one of these to the bottom of a Quiko T12-942 case. (same heating element/tips that your iron uses)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GJVKH1D/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[garfunkle24]

You can get soldering stations that mount directly to m18 batteries. There are good ones and of course cheap knock offs: Link

 

[rmanrman]

You could simplify your setup with a Milwaukee M12 soldering iron
I have the Milwaukee for over a year and 20-30 seconds to full heat
Bonus no extra power supply or cables to hook up
Check it out

 

[Firebrick43]

You could simplify your setup with a Milwaukee M12 soldering iron
I have the Milwaukee for over a year and 20-30 seconds to full heat
Bonus no extra power supply or cables to hook up
Check it out

They eventually melt down and there is not the selection of tips for SMD soldering. Also no temp control.

Lots of pics of defective units.

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/products/2488-20#sp-reviews

 

[WildBill]

I have the Ryobi portable soldering iron, seems to work pretty decent. Use it a bunch on car/truck/trailer electrical when not near a cord for my good one. Also have a couple battery powered ones that work fine, run off four AA batteries.

 

[dnschmidt]

You could simplify your setup with a Milwaukee M12 soldering iron
I have the Milwaukee for over a year and 20-30 seconds to full heat
Bonus no extra power supply or cables to hook up
Check it out

I've got one but the problem with it is that it's huge. The soldering iron I listed is super tiny. That makes a difference if space is tight.

 

[Rabid Badger]

The Pinecil can pull 60W over USB (vs 45W with the iron the OP linked) and is less than half the price. Uses the same tips.

PINECIL – Smart Mini Portable Soldering Iron (Version 2) - PINE STORE

A smart and affordable soldering iron running on a RISC-V SoC and featuring an open-source firmware. Portable and powerful, $25.99

pine64.com

 

[dnschmidt]

The Pinecil can pull 60W over USB (vs 45W with the iron the OP linked) and is less than half the price. Uses the same tips.

PINECIL – Smart Mini Portable Soldering Iron (Version 2) - PINE STORE

A smart and affordable soldering iron running on a RISC-V SoC and featuring an open-source firmware. Portable and powerful, $25.99

pine64.com

But it doesn't have the temperature controls of the one I've got. The little pencil iron I bought has more electronics in it that the space shuttle. You can even program it using the USB-C cable and a computer. The instruction book comes with five pages of how to customize the unit. I'm truly amazed by it.

 

[Zeus36]

Picked up the M12 cordless solder iron. I reach for that more than my Weller bench station units...

 

[Rabid Badger]

But it doesn't have the temperature controls of the one I've got. The little pencil iron I bought has more electronics in it that the space shuttle. You can even program it using the USB-C cable and a computer. The instruction book comes with five pages of how to customize the unit. I'm truly amazed by it.

It has all of those features. I've even programmed mine to act as a load tester for USB power supplies.

 

[BrandonV]

I have the Ryobi portable soldering iron, seems to work pretty decent. Use it a bunch on car/truck/trailer electrical when not near a cord for my good one. Also have a couple battery powered ones that work fine, run off four AA batteries.

One of the few times I actually prefer the Ryobi product to the Milwaukee.

 

[Kpaige]

You can get soldering stations that mount directly to m18 batteries. There are good ones and of course cheap knock offs: Link

And for the win!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dnschmidt]

I've got one but the problem with it is that it's huge. The soldering iron I listed is super tiny. That makes a difference if space is tight.

As you can see below..

 

[Fly YX]

Looks like a nice soldering rig. I have the m12 on it crapped out under warranty, and they sent me a new one. When this one breaks, I may look into that one. Don’t do a whole lot of soldering like I used to. Don’t really use the bench one at all anymore just the portable one.