Aftermarket Product ReviewProvide questions and answers about aftermarket parts for the Third Generation F-Body.
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Was at walmart yesterday looking for a new sodering gun and came across one of these cold heat guns, you know, the ones they show on TV. I thought cool it's small, cordless, and comes with it's own little case good deal for 20 bucks right. WRONG!!! first problem i noticed was the "made in china", then the tip on them is split in the middle so you have to make a arc which is next to impossable to keep it going, it was like on off on off on off and last if you were able to keep it on long enough it still wouldn't get the soder to melt through the wires. just keep balling up on one or two stranes of wires.maybe I just got a bad run but it's going back and I'm just getting my money back on this P.O.S.
__________________ 1984 firebird 2.8/5 speed I learned how to drive with this car.this one will always have a speical place in my heart. gone and missed
1987 lt 305/4 speed my first v8 fbody gone but not missed
1992 rs 305/5 speed bought it in 96 with only 12,000 miles on it probally the cleanest fbody I'll ever buy. deer took care of that one.
1986 iroc 350/5speed car sits more than it runs but hopfully in tens years i can mold it like I want.
Yea. They're bad. The tips on them split too, so you have to buy a new tip. They don't stay hot, and even if you can get them to stay hot, it's hard to work the solder with the thing. Definitely an F- product.
i got one for x-mas a few years back...never got it to work. i ended up getting frustrated and throwing the POS out. i'll stick with my old fashioned 100W soldering gun that heats up in 2 seconds.
LG4 305ci 4bbl motor, 2.5" Cherry Bomb Extreme muffler- side exit exhaust, Cragar 15x7 Black D Window wheels (4" backspacing), Cooper Cobra Radial GT tires (P235/60R15), 36mm hollow front sway bar with wonder bar, 24mm rear sway bar, Energy Suspension endlinks and Guldstrand bushings, Edelbrock Elite 4222 air cleaner with K&N filter, FF Dynamics 16" Cyclone electric fan, Flex-a-lite Variable Speed Fan Controller, custom fixed headlight conversion with 5000K HIDs and Silverstar Ultra H7 bulbs, Pilot PL-362W driving lights with Hella 100W H3 bulbs, Deka Intimidator 9A78DT AGM battery
I purchased one when they first came out. I never got it to work right either. Maybe if they closed the gap between the prongs on the tip it might work better.
also killed my brand new batteries with in 5-10 minutes trying to get that working.I'm just glad that it wasn't me have bad luck. but I would like to know how they received award for best new tool in 2007, well I'm pretty sure how they got it, but still, come on now
Yeah, that cold heat doesn't function good. I'll stick to my corded iron and my bernzomatic torch I picked up from work. Works great. I love it, I can solder copper pipes, use it as a heat gun for heat-shrink tubing, and solder. Great to have in a toolbox!
I bought one to replace one of my corded irons that I had worn out.
I had no problem getting mine to work on small items. When you get one, you have to retech yourself how to solder.
I stopped using mine when I needed to replace the tip. $10 at Radioshack. I bought an $8 corded soldering iron to replace the Cold Heat and was happy until I wore it out.
After replacing that iron, I have had better luck with irons. When the one I have now dies, I'm going with a nice station, though. I've outgrown a standard pencil iron.
I have one. as as Said above you have to reteach yourself how to use it. It works good on small stuff like ecm boards. etc.. anything else Ill stick to my corded one.
Its a toss up. I'll grab it for some small stuff but thats about it.
whoooo... garbage. I have one, got for small stuff. contacts are too large on it, bulky and hard to keep a good connection between the two ceramic pieces. Aside from the fact they chip easily.
i'll stick to a pencil iron and a gun. a low wattage iron can be used in a car lighter with a 100w inverter. "they're about 40watt?" and the inverters are cheap.
A friend at work bought one. Junk. Itll produce a real nice cold joint for you. But we are an Aircraft finishing station, and cant get by with any cold joints. For portability, we use the butane torch/soldering gun.
I guess it would be good for small repairs to jewelry like they show in the commercial, but not soldering any electrical components.
If you can manage to get it hot, it will give you enough heat for a proper joint. Getting it hot enough is a problem, though. Your old-school butane iron is much better for portabilty, and price as well.
but hopfully in tens years i can mold it like I want. 
i'll stick to a pencil iron and a gun. a low wattage iron can be used in a car lighter with a 100w inverter. "they're about 40watt?" and the inverters are cheap. 
