LIDL (Parkside) B2 soldering iron hack and schematic

Рет қаралды 171,899

7 ай бұрын

Note - after the hack the iron will just keep flashing it's red LED to show it's cooling down forever, because the software thinks the tip is still warm. You have to remember to unplug the unit from the battery for total shutdown.
For such a nicely designed soldering iron it seems really odd that every single model of these has been supplied set to an unusually high tip temperature that stresses the element and will destroy the tips quickly. With older models you could nudge that down with a button clicking calibration sequence covered in a different video. With this one it takes the addition of a resistor in the handle to get down to a sensible tip temperature.
The sticking power button was just a tolerance issue with the case. If you experience the same thing you may be able to resolve it by slightly loosening the case screw closest to the button.
I missed one line from my schematic. The chip's connection to the zero volt rail.
The circuit design is pretty solid with extra safety features that you don't find in generic products. I'd like to know what the chip is - if it's a standard rebadged microcontroller or if it's a cordless-tool specific one.
The temperature sensor in these is probably an RTD - Resistance Temperature Detector. They are often based on a simple coil of a pure metal wire that shows a significant resistance change with heat. They have a very consistent response and are very resilient to high temperatures. They are simpler than thermocouples, both in construction and their associated circuitry.
The 33 ohm resistor I added is fine for normal soldering tasks with leaded solder, but you may wish to use a 22 ohm resistor for a bit more zing.
The temperatures I measured during tests (after a stabilisation time) were:-
100 ohm = 300C
56 ohm = 340C
47 ohm = 360C
33 ohm = 370C
22 ohm = 380C
10 ohm = 425C
The results may have been skewed slightly by thermal inertia and other factors.
After the hacks these irons are pretty good. Very convenient with the cordless freedom and quick heat-up time.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- www.bigclive.com/coffee.htm
This also keeps the channel independent of KZfaq's algorithm quirks, allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
#ElectronicsCreators

Пікірлер: 527

@joshuaanothereraseddad 7 ай бұрын

"That's because the safety industry is detached from reality." Thank you Clive. You're a classic sir! :)

@heckelphon 7 ай бұрын

There was a former H&S guy on the radio (LBC?) the other day saying that the majority of the personnel in H&S in the UK nowadays completely misunderstand their purpose. The idea is to identify risk, appreciate it, and to manage the risk within the parameters of what you are wanting to do. It isn't just to say No No No No all the time! So a modded screwdriver is fine as long as you restrict its use to occasions where there is no HV element -- which is what any sensible person would do.

@alexanderkupke920 7 ай бұрын

Simple solution to that is to use the "right" tools. For example Wera or Wiha, and I assume others as well, sell "Slim" Versions of their screwdrivers which are considerably thinner, even with the insulation. Besides that, in this case, the device is not powered and if so powered at a low Voltage anyways, so any normal non insulated Screwdriver would work and would be adequate in this specific application anyways. As long as it is not powered up, there is no requirement for insulated (or according to the German "VDE" recommendations) tools anyways.

@alexanderkupke920 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of Indeed, but I didn´t want to go into too much details, as here in Germany where I live, not even every electrician is allowed to work on systems under power. But whenever feasible, shutting of power and locking out is absolutely preferrable anyways. For what Clive shows I also kept it simple as, mobile devices with a plug can be considered safe to work on while unplugged (which means some things he shows, as he says himself, are not advisable). I think there are even lockout boxes for plugs available. Oh yeah, and of course make sure to discharge capacitors (Guess how I learned that in my youth...)

@alexanderkupke920 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of Sounds like you discharge them anyways ;)

@RobertCraft-re5sf 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of Or because of dumb lawsuits

@Arek_R. 7 ай бұрын

7:09 second line is the actual part number - "OB6606" from on-bright. It's some sort of a brushed motor controller/uC. I guess it makes sense for powertool company to come up with different use cases for their favourite ICs... Here's the spec: Features Built-in MOS driver l Output high-level clamped on 13V LDO l Output 5V l Current capability is over 50mA l Built-in short circuit protection and over temperature protection Driver over current protection（SCP） l Threshold is set by system for high flexibility l Result of SCP comparator shutdown driver. Hardware protection is safer. Low standby current l Low standby current, less than 10uA High-speed rail-to-rail amplifier l Gain bandwith production is over 1.1MHz l Slew rate is over 10V/us High performance 1T-8bit MCU l 16MHz Internal RC oscillator, with programmable clock divider. l 1~8T can be switched on the fly. l Instruction-set compatible with MCS-51. l 8KB on-chip program memory. l 512B RAM as standard 8052. l Dual 16-bit Data Pointers (DPTR0 & DPTR1). l Three 16-bit Timer/Counters. (Timer 0,1,2） l 14 GPIOs l External interrupt 0,1 with four priority levels l One IIC interface. (Master/Slave mode) l One serial peripheral interfaces in full duplex mode. Additional Baud Rate Generator. l Programmable watchdog timer. l 4-channel 10-bit PWM（1-channel is used to control MOS_DRV） l 8-channel 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), ADC6 is interal current detection. l CMP x1 Set l ISP/IAP/ICP functions and EEPROM function l LVI/LVR (LVR deglitch 500ns) l Power management unit for IDLE and power down modes. l On-Chip in-circuit emulator (ICE) functions with On-Chip Debugger (OCD).

@daveh7720 7 ай бұрын

Good catch!

@johndododoe1411 7 ай бұрын

I wonder if they programmed in a reconfiguration command that changes the setpoint temperature by operating the single button in some funny pattern that the marketing people removed from the instruction sheet .

@daveh7720 7 ай бұрын

@@johndododoe1411 Having been an embedded programmer myself, I'd have added such a command and not told Marketing.

@Spritetm 6 ай бұрын

And it's an 8051. It's always an 8051.

@gsp911 7 ай бұрын

The sponge is useless....behind the tray you can glue a few neodymium magnets before assembling it again, and suddenly you have a magnetic tray for small screws. 👌 Thx for the video.

@TheAces1979 5 ай бұрын

The blown up, printed pictures was a stroke of genius! I haven't seen this done on any other channel and it's so much easier to follow along with than the shaky footage captured from a digital microscope. Brilliant! 10 out of 10 stars!

@TopEndSpoonie 7 ай бұрын

Now we know that Clive uses a soldering iron temperature of 370 ohms ( 12m41s ).🤣 I mock, only because I would not be able to do what you do. Thanks for another massive effort Clive. I always look forward to the release of your next video.

@Comrade_YG 7 ай бұрын

You could just type 12:41 insteadof (12m41as)

@LasseGreiner 7 ай бұрын

Quite high, I could not resist that!

@SirBoDen 7 ай бұрын

As a fellow autistic polymath, I can say words are hard sometimes. 🤓

@cuddlestsheep5863 7 ай бұрын

I'm glad I'm not the only person who modified their electrical safety screwdriver 😂

@AlexanderKrivacsSchrder 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of It's called the singular they. It's been around for hundreds of years. Get with the times.

@jamesplotkin4674 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of The pronoun crazies won't like the use of "his" soldering iron.

@sierra991 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5ofclearly you lack a basic understanding of grammar

@remty516 7 ай бұрын

If you look at the original comment, a "person" could be he or she, it's neutral, so using singular "they" makes sense. At least it does to me. A neutral pronoun is a thing that exists in many languages, and you have the luxury of having one that's pretty damn natural to use even if it didn't originally exist. Some gendered languages like French are really inadequate to use in a neutral form, and to me, it personally feels like a missing "feature" to my home language. To see English speakers complaining about something that has seen a lot of use for over a decade already, when we don't even have that option here, is kinda annoying.

@maidsandmuses 7 ай бұрын

If you are not working on mains or high voltage equipment, an electrical safety screwdriver isn't really needed anyway, although they can help prevent accidental shorts when working on battery powered stuff. I've seen electricians use them on kitchen cupboard door hinges... Slim versions _are_ available should you need them for live equipment; you don't have to butcher a regular one.

@der.Schtefan 7 ай бұрын

I am always impressed by your dexterity when soldering (or anything else for that matter), but knowing your fingers are able to move that well below 20 C leaves me puzzled and with an open mouth. 12C is way below my operating specs. Whenever I am out in such an environment an alarm sounds, alerting people around me of a potential voided warranty.

@SeanBZA 7 ай бұрын

Think Clive would melt into a puddle by me, where it is currently evening, and only 28C indoors, and peak today was only 333C, while yesterday was 36C.

@SlartiMarvinbartfast 7 ай бұрын

@@SeanBZA 333C? How are you even alive?

@SlartiMarvinbartfast 7 ай бұрын

Clive is apparently NOT a lizard, that's useful to know. I'm surprised that his house doesn't suffer with damp, at that kind of temperature surely condensation forms on walls and the inside of windows?

@manolisgledsodakis873 7 ай бұрын

@@SlartiMarvinbartfast Only if he breathes out.

@SlartiMarvinbartfast 7 ай бұрын

@@manolisgledsodakis873 Perhaps he could breathe into a tube that vented outside?

@dino6627 7 ай бұрын

I added a 22 ohm resistor in the white wire, reducing tip temperature to 360C, which works well for me with leaded solder. This is a similar tip temperature to my Tenma soldering iron set to 400C with a narrow bit. To get it to work with other 18/20V batteries or power supplies you need to add a 10k resistor between the B- and BS. The two round pads at lower left of the PCB are a convenient place for a resistor, but shouldn't be left in place for the original Parkside battery.

@TheSlyMouse 7 ай бұрын

Fascinating, I always love when you modify a device.

@linuxranch 7 ай бұрын

Five decades ago, a US company that made "electronic kits" to build your own equipment, called "Heathkit" had a soldering iron kit. It had a tapped secondary, a selector (high, medium, low and off) switch, and a GE soldering iron handle and tip. The kit assumed you didn't own a soldering iron. It instructed the owner to wrap the stranded wire internal connections around the connection tabs, crimping them with needle nose pliers. Then they told you to plug the iron in, wait for the tip to heat up, unplug the iron, and solder it's internal connections using itself! There is no way such a product would pass muster with the "safety goons" today. I miss the old days! It automatically excluded idiots from the hobby! (They were busy taking up a tray down at the Coroners.) There top of the line kit was a fairly large screen color TV. It had it's own built-in alignment instruments for adjusting circuits as you built them!

@TheGreatAtario 6 ай бұрын

Yeah, no soldering exists today, damned "safety goons" (◔_◔)

@Motoralbi 7 ай бұрын

I got my B2 version as soon as the previous video about the B1 came out (and i was disappointed that the B2 didn't have the simple hack method haha). I made a similar modification by putting a 100 ohm potentiometer in the base in series with one of the thermistor leads (there's plenty of room in the base); i made a hole in the case so the potentiometer shaft comes outside and the temperature can be controlled. You cannot use a higher value potentiometer as the iron will go in an error (and even with the 100 ohm sometimes it goes into an error). Also note that when you put the resistor/potentiometer in the circuit, the iron will take much less to go from red to green, even if the tip isn't at the right temperature yet; the higher the resistor value, the worse this problem gets. The cone tip will last maybe two times before crumbling at 480°C, but they are easily found online. The flat tip is almost indestructible even at max temperature, it just gets concave but for tinning big wires it is phenomenal. Finally, in case you want to use it with a power supply instead of a battery, you can simply make a base where you connect the middle pin to the negative through a 10kOhm resistor, and make sure you use a power supply with over 100 watts of power, as it pulls a lot of current when first heating up. Maybe a 19V 6A laptop brick could be enough, i have yet to test it, as some laptop power supplies could go into protection when such a high current load is applied.

@DraganPanjkov 7 ай бұрын

Same here :)

@georgevachev4356 6 ай бұрын

Hello. Can you please give me more info on the mod. I am thinking of putting a lower ohm potentiometer something like 80 or 50 so it doesent error. Connect in series with the white wire on the board?

@Motoralbi 6 ай бұрын

@@georgevachev4356 yes. There are four wires coming from the handle, two are for the heater and two are for the temperature sensor, you just need to put the potentiometer in series with one of the two thermal sensor wires.

@dcallan812 7 ай бұрын

Very interesting 2x👍 Its funny because the safety people cant work out why you sometimes need to modify a bit of kit or find an alternative. I had a right run in with one while doing some testing. I told my boss who went loopy when I told him the customer would have to wait until I found some new tools and wait for thier delivery. I was back testing 5 mins later.

@daveh7720 7 ай бұрын

The safety people are driven by lawyers and insurers, who are detemined to not be put in a position where they have to pay out any money. They use that argument to convince executives that they'll be bankrupt in a month if a technician is allowed to use an unapproved screwdriver.

@robertsneddon731 7 ай бұрын

@@daveh7720 Apprentices aren't as cheap and disposable as they used to be.

@daveturner5305 7 ай бұрын

can't bounce them off the live rails anymore! 😈@@robertsneddon731

@johndododoe1411 7 ай бұрын

I was taught that it's compliant if you scratch off the safety rating too . Then it's officially just an uninsulated screwdriver .

@TheTruth.K.J.V. 7 ай бұрын

I razor blade cut the labels at joining seams....Leaves them on most of the time and no heat to remove. THANK YOU watching you do what I do is FUN!

@paulmcdonough9595 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for the hack Clive, it’s great that we don’t have to open base with all that this entails. I must look out for one of these, it will come in handy for repairs ‘in the field’.

@solarfusionuk 6 ай бұрын

Thanks Clive. Added a 22 ohm resistor into the iron as you described and now it's actually a useful soldering iron. Previously it was getting far too hot to actually be of any use.

@technic550 7 ай бұрын

I've been using this iron for nearly a year out in the field and it's become indispensable. perfect for led strip installs, just gotta be quick as it does get hot. Used it loads up on ladders too by clamping the pack to the side rail

@ivok9846 7 ай бұрын

reply here if it reaches 1.5 or 2 years. i don't trust chinese heaters. low voltage supply might help, though, as those working on 240v are mostly junk.

@MartinzW 7 ай бұрын

@@ivok9846Chinese heaters are good. But you also get what you pay for when choosing among Chinese-made products.

@BrainHurricanes 7 ай бұрын

@@ivok9846 But you do trust your chinese phone, I ?

@matthewmarks6951 7 ай бұрын

@@ivok9846 I can reply here now because my "Chinese heater" mains soldering iron has been fine for several years... until I dropped it. Those ceramic elements are brittle, but also cheap and easy to replace.

@ivok9846 7 ай бұрын

@@matthewmarks6951 i had 5 that failed without falling. so "infant mortality " of those is rather high. so it doesn't make sense to buy these anymore. should try japanese. goot or so.

@sweetpeaz61 7 ай бұрын

These irons are brilliant for auto electrics where the connections are often quite large and massive heat sinks, being really hot means effective solder joints quickly..i love this tool

@shytot4x4 7 ай бұрын

I came here to say exactly this! I use mine with the big chunky tip for soldering Lucar type spade connectors on classic car wiring looms. Unfortunately it doesn't transfer enough heat for brass bullet connectors - I have a 'chefs' butane torch for those...

@shytot4x4 7 ай бұрын

Look at factory harnesses from 50 years ago. Not a crimp in sight. If I repair a classic car I keep it original. Crimped joints open to the elements eventually go (very) high resistance. One is fairly easy to trace and repair. When there's a whole car full of them it becomes a nightmare.@@Kevin-mp5of

@maidsandmuses 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of The never-ending debate 😁 . Reality is that a good solder joint is better than an average crimp, and a good crimp is better than an average solder joint. Both can be done well and are fit for purpose, provided proper adjacent cable support ensures the connection itself is free from vibration stress.

@maidsandmuses 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of They are _both_ gas-tight when done properly. The problem is that a properly calibrated crimp tool is the preserve of a factory production environment, where it is re-calibrated for every batch of crimps and cables following inspection of a cross-cut through a series of test-crimps to check for sufficient strand deformation and void elimination. The red/yellow/blue coded universal crimp system often used in the field is for electricians & amateurs and is very unreliable. Solder connections have the advantage that the flux dissolves the copper oxide layers surrounding the individual strands, upon which the solder itself forms a gas-tight molecular bond to the copper with some of the copper dissolving into the solder. In a crimp these oxide layers stay embedded. But again, when done properly, both are reliable.

@maidsandmuses 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of Poorly executed solder joints where the solder has wicked too far underneath the insulation into the cable do indeed have this problem. But that is a sign of insufficient soldering experience or using a low power soldering iron so heating the joint to the wetting temperature takes too long. A properly done solder joint will create about the same length of fused strands as a proper crimp does. That is the main issue in my experience; someone can be trained quickly in executing good crimps provided they are given an accurately calibrated crimping tool. Learning how to solder reliably and to a high standard takes a year or two (it really does!). Teaching engineers how to reliably and repeatedly create good solder joint suitable for vibration & stress environments simply takes too long and is too expensive.

@u.e.u.e. 7 ай бұрын

Even not understanding each and every detail - your channel is widening the knowledge to things you normally don't see; temperature regulated soldering irons, ionizers, dimmable LEDs, destilled spirits (when will be the next one of mulled wine, hopefully before Christmas 🤭), electromechanical displays and so on - cool! 😃👍 Thank you, Clive!

@JWolff-md3ij 6 ай бұрын

Mulled wine please🤚

@AnonyMous-pi9zm 6 ай бұрын

Give it a few more years of watching, and you'll be understanding everything, and fixing the flickering LED light driver for your electronics workbench at work. I did it yesterday. Thanks Clive! :)

@YugoZex 7 ай бұрын

Clive, this is great video . I wanted to make my own version of portable soldering iron but this gave me idea. This can be even better if added various temp settings with rotary 6 position switch and every position can be different value resistor so it can be more useful. Thanks you just made my day.

@baz8755 7 ай бұрын

Excellent video and thanks for the resistance values and temperatures as I don't have anything to measure the temp. Over the coming weeks I'll try and source a suitable pot and 3D print an inline enclosure with the temps on the dial. If everything works out I'll add a link to the .stl when I've finished so that others may benifit.

@bikeforever2016 7 ай бұрын

Thanks Clive, been trying figure this out for weeks.

@haroldsmith45302 7 ай бұрын

04:33 - "That was pointless." Not at all. Your technical explorations help us. Thank you, Clive. And another thank you for using a fine-tip pen to mark component values on the schematic.

@trickysoft 6 ай бұрын

I bought one of those for working on EM pinball tables, it has been great and even being too hot was good for the industrial writing :) I will turn it down a bit and maybe get a second turned down more for more normal travel use. Thanks for the great tips as always.

@mmdirtyworkz 7 ай бұрын

1mil subs, congratulations! Very well deserved!

@grantrennie 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for another great video Clive 👍

@zedman442 6 ай бұрын

Thanks! I instantly bought this when I saw this a few weeks ago in lidl. It does run way too hot though so this hack is most welcome! 😊

@kingofnfsfan 7 ай бұрын

I have been using a modded A1 for a while now and its crazy what you can do with it for such a low price. I can solder tiny SMD components and XT90 connectors with a bit of practice. That beeing said, i recently tried a friends Pinecil V2 and that is just on another level. I will probably buy one of these for christmas this year.

@michaelkaliski7651 7 ай бұрын

I would venture to suggest that the high heat is intentional because most of the time these portable irons are likely to be used on outdoor projects with wind cooling a significant factor. Having used standard mains powered irons powered by an extension lead up a ship’s mast, I can say it was a struggle to get enough heat to make decent connections.

@duroxkilo 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of to me it looks like a 900M series tip

@cambridgemart2075 5 ай бұрын

It's temperature controlled, so should be able to maintain whatever temperature it is set to without being set ridiculously high.

@davidkempton2894 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing this, Clive. I will modify mine very soon!!

@radio-ged4626 7 ай бұрын

Great hack, nice and simple to do. I don't think it would worry me to pull the labels off the main circuit board box. So I think I would drill a hole in the case and put a miniature pot in (wired as a variable resistor) for between 0 and 33 Ohms to give me a few more options marking the pot position with the various preferred temps.

@matthewf1979 7 ай бұрын

I’m impressed with the Hakko FX600. They managed to fit the temp control inside of the pencil style handle. It’s really good temperature control too.

@DrJules27 5 ай бұрын

Thanks. Now I have modified my iron it is a bit cooler and won't be burning through those tips quite so quickly. Great explanation of the circuit.

@trueriver1950 7 ай бұрын

These units are great for someone like me who only rarely wants to solder things. It is indeed my only spring iron, so if I was going to do the back I'd go into the local hackspace and use their soldering iron. I'll not be making a special trip, but next time I am visiting them anyway I will probably do this while I'm there.

@ferrumignis 7 ай бұрын

Clive, the controller appears to be an OB6606 made by On-Bright Electronics, and is intended to be a brushed motor controller which includes a microcontroller, 5v regulator and a rail to rail amplifier. I can't find a datasheet for it though.

@bigclivedotcom 7 ай бұрын

Looks promising. Shame they don't even have a numbered pinout for it.

@mr.b.4048 6 ай бұрын

Never one to be interested in electronics, but I found this a compelling watch 👍

@ManWithBeard1990 7 ай бұрын

What I've done to my Yihua iron is to add an aluminium shim between the ceramic heater and the tip. There's other ways to do it but providing better coupling between those parts dramatically improves performance.

@ManWithBeard1990 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of Don't worry, it's not meant to fit together that tightly, so there is some room to move.

@robertsneddon731 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of I bought three el-Cheapo mains soldering irons from The Usual Suspects and have them set up with different tips for various jobs rather than swapping tips around on one soldering iron. My "Hakko knockoff" tips are actually genuine Hakko tips which I bought from a little electronics store under Akihabara railway bridge in central Tokyo. Actually quite affordable if you happen to be in the vicinity.

@rexsceleratorum1632 7 ай бұрын

@@ManWithBeard1990 I gave up on my 936 clone and moved to a T-12 station. Much better performance because the element is built into the tip.

@PainterVierax 7 ай бұрын

@@rexsceleratorum1632 yep since I got a pinecil, I barely use my 936 station anymore.

@Dandan-tg6tj 6 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of The ceramic element ALWAYS expand way less than any metal used for the tip so even if it fits almost perfectly, it would still have room for expansion. As a matter of fact, the higher the temperature, the more room for expansion would be created due to the different expansion of ceramic and the metal.

@patomahony9747 6 ай бұрын

Nice video Clive. Thanks for sharing One can never have enough soldering irons 15:35 Out and about my go to is an old 3xAA Iron that never worked on the disposable batteries. I discovered I could fit an 18650 holder on it and it’s perfect. On the flip side I mostly use a cheap Chinese iron that has a tiny screen and a temper nsetting on its handle. Only issue I ever had was while working on an ebike one day and left it switched on hanging from the handle bars. After a minute or so I was horrified to find the complete tip glowing red hot. So quickly pulled the power and left it cool before moving it. Appears to be working normally since but I had to replace the tip. As for the current accuracy of the tip will check it with A hand held laser temperature gun when I get a chance some day.

@skysurferuk 7 ай бұрын

Many thanks for this usefully awesome video, Clive! 👍

@LordCarpenter 7 ай бұрын

The "mystery chip" appears to be the OB6606 brush motor controller. Interesting application. Great video.

@dodgydruid 6 ай бұрын

I am a big fan of Parkside, my oldest item is a 16v cordless drill which after many years is still going very strong and even the battery is solid and performs as good as it was when new. My Parkside cordless dremel thingy is also just as resilient, think I bought it like six years ago and it gets used a great deal, I give it a drop of oil in the end bit once collet is removed and its weird in I can leave it months without use and keeps its charge perfectly. Cordless impact driver still game too, very potent driver again the 20v battery just goes on and on, last year I really hammered down on it removing buggered lug nuts off a front car wheel, did very well. I do have the Parkside "base" mains soldering gun with its little station which is basically a storage box with a spring, sponge and a pair of handy "arms" for holding work, I use that for heavy soldering stuff, got a Katsu soldering station for dog work and a rework station with hot air and a fine tip I made into a crows beak for micro stuff.

@Providence83 6 ай бұрын

With boards that small, I'm a little surprised it has a dock at all. Some clever placement and I reckon you could fit the guts into the handle without it being too bulky of a form factor to handle. Replace the coil with a sheath you just pop it in. Battery can get a belt clip too. Hell actually, the sheath bit is attached to the battery pack so you can holster your "big iron" at your hip, lol!

@pepperpepperpepper 7 ай бұрын

I just got my first proper soldering station, so this was a very timely video. Especially enjoyed seeing the inside of the handheld part. Not advanced enough to know what the hack was about.

@bigclivedotcom 7 ай бұрын

The more you play with electronic stuff, the more knowledge you gain.

@RcAircraft 6 ай бұрын

I liked this one very informative. 👍 I have the mains powered version but still interesting to see what the battery version is like.

@damustermann 7 ай бұрын

I use the Wera VDE Slimbit screwdriver, it's slim enough to get into tight openings, I love it. Changeable tips and VDE and slim. All that you need.

@maidsandmuses 7 ай бұрын

Indeed, they are very useful. Interesting channel logo you have there by the way, looks a little familiar... 😁

@jimgkoodman 7 ай бұрын

Nice job Clive, I bought this iron about summer, but I didn't find a way to modified and have adjustable temperature, so I take it back to the lidl store.

@erikdenhouter 7 ай бұрын

When the iron is tamed down the chance of a faulty heating element also reduces, and then you are tempted to buy some more spare tips at start. Hate to choose between enough tips for the future and a faulty heater, or a working heater without a clean tip.

@alanbickerstaff868 7 ай бұрын

Thanks Clive I went out and bought one of these soldering irons after seeing your original video and couldn't understand why I couldn't lower the temperature like you had shown. I will now try this hack although I fixed the outside fairy lights today that I managed to cut though in two places last summer works fine when it's only 2 degrees outside . Has you say works great has a portable soldering iron

@Ppau1 7 ай бұрын

There is currently version c3 in the online lidl shop.This is the one I just purchased. Thanks for the educational video.

@bigclivedotcom 7 ай бұрын

Darn. Do I need to get another one now?

@kornaros96 7 ай бұрын

@@bigclivedotcomyeah?

@Lutchezar 7 ай бұрын

I saw C3 about two months ago in local store, as owner of A1, I just passed by...

@markstuckey6225 7 ай бұрын

15:10 Not only will over-temp damage the bits, also overheat the joints leading to premature failure. Then again you could put a variable resistor in the base unit. Years ago, I used Antex irons exclusively. I found Wellers to be too fragile (worked a lot in the automotive sector). Antex made a huge array of bits, including DIP bits in 8 and 16 (the easiest way ever to remove THT ICs). But they never made temp-controlled irons. I originally made an (rectified to DC) analog controller based on the resistance of the element (current controlled). Later on, I redesigned it with A PIC 16F84 (remember them) when they came out last century. It proved to be much more stable and even heating. For a few useconds, every two seconds the supply voltage would disconnect and read the resistance of the element thus determining the current for the next two seconds. What a great, even revolutionary, those PIC uCs were. When I first started in the mid-late 1970's, components were very delicate, and we used to use simmerstats and made sure it didn't melt plumber's solder to determine how high the temp was, then we got thermocouples. Thanks for letting an old man reminisce. Thanks again for this posting. Always interesting to see how things are designed.

@damonburroughs5283 6 ай бұрын

They did make a TCS series, possibly later on , 80's I think, basically a 50w Iron with a small pot on Iron itself. I still use Antex to this day

@tinygriffy 7 ай бұрын

Probably not a bad idea to add a little pushybutton that can be hotmeltglued to the handle to bridge the resistor mod in case you need the extra oompf...

@bigclivedotcom 7 ай бұрын

That's not a bad idea.

@jpt3640 7 ай бұрын

"The safety industry is very detached from reality." 😂 Made my day!

@marcse7en 7 ай бұрын

Hey Big Clive, you'd be right at home in my flat, it's currently 10.1c! ❄️ And that's how it's been in winter for the last 20 years! The lowest indoor temperature ever was around 3c! The green PCB was pulsating in brightness!

@rexsceleratorum1632 7 ай бұрын

Winter here in India and only 33C outside currently.

@davidcoates4852 6 ай бұрын

When I was about 7 I remember my uncle soldering my toy airplane with the handle of a teaspoon heated on a gas stove. Nice video, great hack 🔧👍

@rambo1152 6 ай бұрын

I once left my iron at home when I went on a service call, I had some solder though, so I took the faulty item to my car and used the cigar lighter (remember those?) as an iron.

@tonyweavers4292 7 ай бұрын

I've never seen any of these irons in Lidl, I always look out for them.

@the_grand_tourer 7 ай бұрын

There's a rush each time BC does a vid. Give it a week or two, well before his next one.

@matthewmarks6951 7 ай бұрын

@@the_grand_tourer Lidl doesn't work like that. They come up perodically - not, as far as I know, synchronised with Big Clive videos on the subject!

@lloydevans2900 7 ай бұрын

As I understand it, the corrosion of soldering iron tips is primarily caused by the solubility of the metal the tip is made from in the molten solder. Temperature is also a factor, since the hotter the molten solder is, the faster other metals can dissolve into it. Using solid copper tips with traditional leaded solder is rarely a problem. The 40% lead (or 37% for eutectic grade) lowers the melting point such that copper from the tip doesn't dissolve in the solder to any significant degree. Lead-free solder is a very different story though. For a start, it is at minimum 99% tin, so the melting point is much higher. But it also has between 0.5% and 1% copper already alloyed with it, so copper is clearly soluble in tin. At the higher temperatures required to melt the lead-free solder, copper dissolves into it much faster. So if you are going to do a lot of soldering with lead-free solder, don't use a solid copper tip - unless you want the copper from the tip to end up in all the solder joins you make.

@AnonyMous-pi9zm 6 ай бұрын

I had a hakko tip dissolve to the point of unusability after 3 months of 8 hours a day always on at 780F, 37% solder. I beat the hell out of that tip, and 3 months of my tools for 20 bucks is still super profitable. If you're using it hobbiest grade, an hour or two per week, and you aren't using the iron at 900F like this one was unmodified, it'll last you a long time. I really think tip wear isn't something to be SUPER concerned about.

@silviuguseila2552 6 ай бұрын

@@AnonyMous-pi9zm wear not, corrosion yes, most hobbiests will have this issue, the tip gets corroded although they do not use it much, and it becomes very difficult to use it or to restore it to a nice shiny surface

@cambridgemart2075 5 ай бұрын

Actually copper is a bad choice as it does dissolve in regular leaded solder, that's why all the decent bits were iron clad copper.

@snik2pl 7 ай бұрын

Always wanted one, but then i found 3d stl files for x20 battery adapter, added case, switch, socket and cable for my TS100 soldering iron and works great.

@tazz1669 7 ай бұрын

Thanks Clive i have one of these, now I know how to hack it I'll take the temperature down a bit

@Hnkka 6 ай бұрын

I had parkside soldering iron for years, but now the heating element burned and put up nice spark show for a moment. Im glad that i didnt get shocked

@AnonyMous-pi9zm 6 ай бұрын

Looks pretty similar to the Hakko FX801 iron. Could probably use replacement tips and heating elements. Good for repairability and longevity.

@phonotical 7 ай бұрын

Soldering sponge, hands up anybody whose ever actually used one of these...

@bigclivedotcom 7 ай бұрын

I used to, but it's mainly the brass sponge now.

@Badgii 7 ай бұрын

I did use it for a long time. In the past I even used a "brick" of salmiac (ammonium cloride) but it somehow "eats" not only the dirt from the tip. This was not a problem for the copper tip on the transformer soldering iron, but it became disaster for the expensive tip of my gas powered iron. Thus I switched to the wet sponged. Now I sort of use both the one that needs to be soaked and a brass one. Not sure why, but in some situations the water steam seems to work better then the brass sponge. But in most situations the brass one is faster. There go my two cents to this topic.

@phonotical 7 ай бұрын

@@Badgii I never used it at all, a quick flick or a run always got rid of anything on there for me, I think steam might be faster because - there's this thing about bubbles being more effective at removing materials from objects, like cleaning, so maybe it helps to get under crud and a late it off as it expands into little steam pockets, no idea My tip went through all sorts, but changing too a new one never felt right and I always changed back to the old one, copper or coated etc, I tried them all, at one point I even heated it to red hot with a blow torch (while off the iron) and dip it in mineral oil to treat it (just because) and that -seemed- to fix any problems I'd had with the tip, in preventing it getting any shorter (I think possibly the constant heating of the metal weakens it over time) I've only abandoned it now thanks to an unrelated fire, and temporary displacement in living arrangements, but at least 5 or 6 years service!

@gregorythomas333 7 ай бұрын

Great information on hacking this device. BTW: When I go into devices that have labels over the seams...I usually just cut them at the seam-point so I don't need to heat the glue to take them off.

@simonhopkins3867 7 ай бұрын

Thanks Clive. 👍🏻

@brunselltorp 7 ай бұрын

100 ohm pot in the base?

@8bpspfreak2 7 ай бұрын

I bought the original version online, but they sent the B2 version to me instead. So I went on and modified it by adding a 1k Ohm 30-turn small, but long, knob potentiometer (didn't have any potentiometer with lower resistance and normal amounts of turns). I can basically regulate it really finely with that. Can do max. 4 turns from the start of one side, so basically roughly 130 Ohms-ish before it flashes an error. When it flashes the error, you have to unplug it from the battery to react again, no matter what you do with the potentiometer. Also it still seems to heat up to like 200°C when it has that error, again no matter what the potentiometer is set to. I found that the iron almost instantly flashes the "I'm done heating up" when i use high resistance to get the lower temps. And even if i use it at the absolute minimum temperature before the error, it does heat up to lower temperatures, but after like 10 minutes or so it is at 380-400°C again. (not much used in that time though) It just seems to heat up very slowly, compared to its original nuclear blast setting or any other iron i have in general. But hey, way WAY more usable this way and actually quite neat with the long cable and cheap and versatile - doubling as nice weight to stabilize the base - batteries! And congrats to the 1 Million!

@jamesderrick8201 7 ай бұрын

22R added in series with the white wire. Probably took longer to find the resistor pack in the selection box than to make the mod! Anyone remember buying Radio Shack resistor packs of five? 😊

@fynnschroer857 7 ай бұрын

3:05 wiha has VDE screwdrivers that are very slim that will be Perfect for that Situation

@RSTrigger003 7 ай бұрын

10:41 I think the 180k resistor is connected to another ADC input. Probably this input is used to measure the actual output voltage on the pin which powers the temperature measurement circuit (10k + thermistor). High logic level voltage can be slightly less than 5V, so they want to measure it to get more accurate temperature readings.

@jamiejoker118 7 ай бұрын

Brilliant hack

@EnriqueGonzalez-rt1uq 7 ай бұрын

Hello, congratulations on Your 1 M subs...🎉🎉 . Like Your channel..

@jawaligt 6 ай бұрын

I'm using a very nice soldering iron that runs on USB-C called the Pinecil. It has all sorts of nifty features such as digital temperature control and an automatic off function when it detects you're no longer holding it. It uses replaceable tips compatible with PT-100. It even runs an operating system of sorts which you can upgrade. Using a Pinecil or similar device with a power bank that's compatible with the PD spec (15w would probably be the minimum, but I saw the Pinecil 2 takes up to 88W) might be a good alternative for something like this.

@Aloh-od3ef 7 ай бұрын

Returned as faulty…. Then put back on the shelf! Naughty Lidl 😂😂

@pissman69 7 ай бұрын

it will match my lidl christmas jumper and everything

@louismarina7225 6 ай бұрын

03:29 unlike you, I have needed the safety industry to save me from my own stupidity :) and I appreciate the sometimes over engineered safety mechanisms we have in the UK

@volkris 7 ай бұрын

I keep waiting for these to show up in the US, and I'm jealous because they haven't!

@thomasholmes9765 7 ай бұрын

Thanks! Very useful

@soundspark 7 ай бұрын

I see the "it's" misuse has made it to Isle of Man too, unless you did the description on mobile and trusted the spell check. That said, 12°C is too cold for me in the house.

@soundspark 7 ай бұрын

@@Kevin-mp5of Don't forget Samsung and Apple with their "smart" spell check. P.S. 19°C according to my 3D printer's sensors and I'm still feeling a bit chilly.

@MMuraseofSandvich 7 ай бұрын

I usually have my iron (Pinecil) at 330 to 360 C. I really should calibrate both the iron I stashed at my work bench (V1) and the one in my repair kit (V2). One time I found that a guest engineer had set the V1 to 420 C, which means either he was soldering an insane chunk of copper, he forgot to lower the temp, or he didn't know how to turn it down. Either way, he drained the battery in a day's work. A colleague of mine set the workbench Hakko FX-888D a little too hot and left it on, so all but a tiny bit of the tip was oxidized to the point where tip tinner barely made a mark on the black gunk. Had to swap out the tip, I didn't want to risk eating a hole in the clean bit while trying to de-oxidize the rest of it.

@chrisrogers2848 7 ай бұрын

I wonder whether reducing the set temperature affects the performance of the iron when used in outdoor environments eg on car wiring? In the past I’ve found using soldering irons outside to be challenging because they lose temperature in the wind, but not had that problem with a stock one of these Lidl ones.

@steveoddlers9696 7 ай бұрын

Wera (and others probably as well) are now selling slimmer VDE screwdrivers. I'd imagine they might be not as robust with the thinner shaft, but I've not handled any of those yet.

@joey0079 7 ай бұрын

Hey BC, love your vids buddy, here's a thought, what about adding a small pot on the base & making it a variable temp iron?

@TokkanFX 7 ай бұрын

Can you mount a 100ohm pot on the body for a variable temp soldering iron?

@TechGorilla1987 7 ай бұрын

@4:00 - "We're gonna' do the right thing and forget we even saw that." Derek - Vice Grip Garage.

@CoffeeFurret 7 ай бұрын

12C is nuts. I like it set to around 18C even in winter when temps drop to around -9C.

@AKG58Z 7 ай бұрын

Very nice can you compare these soldering iron bits I want to know which is better and which can be bought in which package like I have some t12 bits (runs direct at DC 12 to 20v at 60w maybe) but the thinner ones are useless to me as they don't get hot enough.

@TunsaMcHaggis 3 ай бұрын

old safety regulations were written in blood, new ones are written in bureaucracy

@theinstallerguy786 7 ай бұрын

I’ve recently picked up a cordless 4v one from aldi branded ferrex. It’s rated at 480 degrees too. Wondering if that can be modded?

@charlesgould8436 6 ай бұрын

Omg the eq:) thanks!

@sjoervanderploeg4340 5 ай бұрын

OB6606 is a monolithic, high performance, low cost brush motor controller It is a MOSFET driver with MCU.

@merlin5476 6 ай бұрын

I have a Metcal soldering iron that played up so i thought I'd take the psu apart to find what i thought would be a dry joint !!! It is the most complex circuit I've seen for a soldering iron. Some kind of high frequency device !! Quite odd, as it doesnt have a variable heat controll at all, but is the best iron I've ever had, i seen the odd 2nd hand one on line ... normally around the £ 250. Mark !! .

@Spritetm 6 ай бұрын

Yep, they're actually using 13MHz signal to heat up the tip in the same way an induction stove heats up the pan. They're really decent, even today!

@KeritechElectronics 7 ай бұрын

That's a cool and easy mod :)

@remarkamado9340 7 ай бұрын

"ONE MOMENT PLEASE" that should be printed on your merchandise

@jvsyoutube3298 7 ай бұрын

well that was a handy hack!

@loganmacgyver2625 7 ай бұрын

I got a screw in parkside iron with a potentiometer for temperture, it was nice until the tip started to wear. Apparently you cannot find tips for it unless you buy a new iron

@Space_Reptile 7 ай бұрын

putting solder on a fresh iron is like burning insense to me, love that smell

@patatapatatera934 6 ай бұрын

From what I know, Parkside doesn't include overdischarge protection in its battery packs, only overcharge and cell balancing. Probably the purpose of that voltage sense is just that overdischarge protection

@KarenTookTheKids364 6 ай бұрын

Photo and print quality is absolutely insane for the PCB

@bigclivedotcom 6 ай бұрын

No secrets on this channel. It was printed on generic glossy photo paper with an Epson ecotank printer, and the photo was taken like this:- kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gpyjdLZe3piVqHU.html

@nexpro6985 7 ай бұрын

Hot tip of the day.

@jkobain 7 ай бұрын

That PVA or cellulose sponge, I gave them a try, yet so far the best option in my opinion is a metallic (brass or stainless steel) sponge. For instance, a basic dishwashing one will do just fine.

@Spritetm 6 ай бұрын

You probably want to get a brass one; the basic dishwashing steel ones are hard enough that long-term they scrape the coating off your iron point, making your solder eat a hole through the underlying metal.

@jkobain 6 ай бұрын

@@Spritetm I tend to think various compounds eat that layer through anyway. But thank you for your advice!

@jonplatt231 3 ай бұрын

Just had a look and the IC is from On Bright and is an OB6606. Apparently for motor control.

@theAngelofhevn 7 ай бұрын

I once bought a 100w soldering iron from Biltema. It got so hot that the end literally glowed when you turned the lights off. Another one i bought was a "Lux" brand and it was 40w. Worked great until i used a solder sucker and i actually sucked last 3mm of the tip into the solder sucker as it had melted.