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Reviews For: Solder-It Products

Category: Tools & Test Equipment for the amateur radio work bench

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Review Summary For : Solder-It Products
Reviews: 7MSRP: N/A
Description:
This company retails butane soldering products and other sundry workbench products
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.solder-it.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0074.1
DXTUNER Rating: 2009-03-16
Solder-It Paste Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just tried their SP-7 solder paste, for 'soldering' a coax center conductor onto copper pipe. Wow -- this stuff works! No soldering gun or blow torch; just my cigarette lighter and the paste. Its holding tight tight no matter how I twist, turn & pull the coax. Very pleased. I plan on using this more often.

However a torrent of hot flux drops (the flux is part of the paste) runs-off rather liberally while heating, though. Have to be careful with this stuff. But it holds really solid once cooled.
N0FPE Rating: 2006-11-19
Works great Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I received a PRO180 and a PRO35 years ago as a freebie test run. Both have worked flawless for years. The PRO180 gets plenty hot for soldering coax connectors of all types. And the 35 is wonderful for quick repairs on small wires and switches. NEVER had the PRO 180 leak out and the 35 runs for a long time on 3 AA batteries. Great products. when this one dies I will buy a new one in a heartbeat.

Dan/NØFPE
NO6E Rating: 2006-11-19
Pro-100 Where have you been all my life? Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I do a lot of soldering, at home and at work.
When it has to be done away from the bench, it's
always been a problem. I've used the Wahl
rechargeables and the Weller PS-100K propanes,
but they both have serious problems.

After I bought the Solder-It Pro-100, the
problems are solved.

The piezo starter lights the iron with a single
click, every time. The tip heats to working
temperature VERY quickly -- say, in 5-10
seconds.

The slide-adjust temperature control is
smooth and wide-range. For soldering PL-259's
and such, I usually run the Pro-100 flat-out,
whcih Solder-It claims is equivalent to 100W.
For smaller items, mid-range on the control
works great. The control is not labeled by
temperature, but you quickly get a feel for
how much heat you need for a given joint.

I bought the blue model, sold carded for
$69. It's made my soldering life a lot better.

73,

Andy NO6E
WD0HQY Rating: 2006-07-09
Terrible after sales service Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased a Top Of The Tower kit early this year and hardly used it. Recently I have been installing an antenna and have used the Pro-100K torch. Suddenly the igniter would not function. No matter how I have tried to contact the company I have been unsuccessful. I have carefully followed ALL the trouble shooting information in the instruction sheet but the problem persists. I guess I am stuck with a dud. What really disturbs me however is the lack of response from anyone associated with the company that I have tried to contact.
W2NSF Rating: 2006-03-31
Still think it's great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've been using my Solderpro 100 for over two years and I still think it's a great solution for cordless soldering. I can see if you use one of the smaller Solderpros (70, 50, 35) maybe the flame blows out more easily and they certainly don't hold as much fuel as the model 100 and above. No, it won't work in high-wind conditions because it's an open flame, but mine does a darn good job in "normal" winds. In my humble opinion, so long as you recognize the limitations of the system, it does the job. Like Anderson Powerpoles, you have to understand that no tool is absolutely perfect. Every tool has its own limitations, but that shouldn't detract from the its usefulness.

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by W2NSF on 2004-11-23

I bought the SolderIt solder paste and one of their butane torches so I could solder up my RF connectors outdoors without electricity. This system does such a good job, now I use it for all my RF connectors. I highly recommend this system for "cordless" soldering.
AC5AA Rating: 2006-03-30
not worth the $$ Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought one of these at Dayton a couple of years ago after seeing the demonstration. Especially needed one for coax and radial work in the field. Well, that was $65 down the tubes. The butane torch would not hold fuel for more than a day or two. It blew out very easily - the slightest breeze would do it. Attempting to repeat what was shown in the demo resulted in zero good joints. Solder would bead up and roll off the joint. Wrote to the company and was told that the solder paste must not be good, and they replaced one tube of it. Same problem with that tube. Gave up on it. Then, a few months ago, a friend gave me a cheap ($7) butane torch/iron that he had gotten at Harbor Freight. This one holds fuel for months, and works fine. I have not reused the Solder-It paste. Save your money and buy something that has a better chance of working for you!
K8KS Rating: 2001-06-07
Fantastic customer service post-purchase Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This company sells all kinds of butane soldering products, liquid "screw grabbers," and other neat workbench products. K8PP, the owner, has been stellar with his post-sales follow-up and customer service. An Iroda butane soldering iron was recently replaced by a complete new set for a ceramic gas port that was clogged. Mind you, he replaced the whole shebang even though it was two years old and even if he could have chosen a less expensive alternative of merely cleaning or replacing the detachable gas port. He really seems to go out of the way to achieve customer satisfaction. This was the second time he has replaced a product for me with no questions asked.

Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in his company and do not know this gentleman on a personal basis. Kaz (K8KS)