Hello....I want to open and rewire this Weller iron. Does anyone know how it comes apart? I believe it's an MT1501 but not sure of that. Thanks, Dave.

 

hi,
The Red boxed area's appear to be crimped, getting it apart and reassembly could a problem.
If its completely unusable, I would start by prising it apart at that double crimped area.
E

 

This view of that area raises my concern:


It looks like the metal band is spot welded to something. Is it a clip that can be compressed or pushed back to release the innards? It seems unlikely those spot welds were made after assembly, as the heat affected zone might melt the plastic. If desperate, you might try drilling the spot welds out, then sliding the band backward , or maybe the innards will just come out once the welds are disconnected.

 

Or once you get it apart there is nothing that is repairable. And it just has helical resistance wire separated by a ceramic holder like they are in a cartridge heater, made to be discarded when they reach end of life.

 

Ok, thanks for that everyone. Nearly £200 for an iron that's not repairable....jeeps!

 

Just want to add....jpanhalt, the ring is a sensor that detects when the iron is picked up and releases it from standby. A wire is spot welded underneath. Thanks again everybody.

 

hi,
The Red boxed area's appear to be crimped, getting it apart and reassembly could a problem.
If its completely unusable, I would start by prising it apart at that double crimped area.
E
View attachment 163890

I'd start by buying something that hasn't been got at by the Cooper Tools bean counters.

 

Ok, thanks for that everyone. Nearly £200 for an iron that's not repairable....jeeps!

That's what happens when companies discontinue an item. If there is a demand those that still have them increase the price.

 

Just want to add....jpanhalt, the ring is a sensor that detects when the iron is picked up and releases it from standby. A wire is spot welded underneath. Thanks again everybody.

Lesson learned. Back in the day (pre Y2K) when I was making decisions about major equipment, one of my requirements was repairability. Power supplies were the usual weak spot, and I required schematic of the PS, if not component level support. We saved thousands as a result, but I was at a large institution and the vendors valued our business.

As an individual, it is pretty much buyer beware (aka caveat emptor).

John