Hi.
What is the optimal copper wire gauge to replace the factory tips ? Cannot remember if awg 12, 14... other ? Too thin heats up to much and fails early, too thick and does not deliver the temperature... Anyone remembers ?

 

Oft forgotten in the Weller Gun is the first and second pull of the trigger.!
The first pull is the highest heat, I wish it was reverse!

 

Oft forgotten in the Weller Gun is the first and second pull of the trigger.!
The first pull is the highest heat, I wish it was reverse!

Yours must be backwards to mine. I don't know which model but mine is, first pull is low power.

Edit: I had to look it up. Mine is Model 8200 100/140 WATTS, Kingston Ontario.

 

This seems to be the standard..

 

Yours must be backwards to mine. I don't know which model but mine is, first pull is low power.
Edit: I had to look it up. Mine is Model 8200 100/140 WATTS, Kingston Ontario.

All the web searches seem to say otherwise?
e.g.

 

Take a caliper gauge and measure the width and heigth of the tip wire. If you lived in a country with SI units, a simple multiplication would give you the result. So you have to convert the cross section into AWG.

 

BUT: could it be that the tip is not made of pure copper but made of some alloy which has a higher resistance so that the power is only dissipated inside the solder tip and not in the whole secondary winding of the solder gun? A solder gu is a simple transformer with a primary oil consisting of many windings and a secondary coil consisting only of 1 winding: the solder tip and its fixture.

 

All the web searches seem to say otherwise?

That's strange. Every Weller soldering gun I have ever used has always been low power on the first click.
I had to double check my soldering gun. I even put it on a AC current meter to check.
Sure enough, it draws 0.8 A @ 120 VAC on the first click and 1.2 A @ VAC on full trigger.

 

A solder gu is a simple transformer with a primary oil consisting of many windings and a secondary coil consisting only of 1 winding: the solder tip and its fixture.

Also Basically describes a spot welder, be intersting to see if a weller could be adapted, pressure would have to be maintained at the points, however, during the weld.

 

Oft forgotten in the Weller Gun is the first and second pull of the trigger.!
The first pull is the highest heat, I wish it was reverse!

I think the idea is that you do most of the work with the low-heat setting (the high-heat being primarily used to quickly heat the tip, but also for particularly husky jobs). It's easier to focus on putting the tip where you need it for the job if you aren't having to also make sure that you keep just enough tension in the trigger to keep it in the first position. Conversely, if you are doing work that requires high heat, it is more likely that fine control of the tip position isn't as critical.

 

Sure enough, it draws 0.8 A @ 120 VAC on the first click and 1.2 A @ VAC on full trigger.

I wish mine was the case, it is awkard to maintain the first pull!

 

I have a couple of the old model D-550 240/325W.
I think there was a hack for that to make it HI only but can't remember what it was. I seem to remember there being something strange about that trigger switch assembly... I have used 10AWG solid copper wire to make a broad area heating element for it to make grounding solder puddles on steel radio chassis.

 

But the most important part is maintaining a gas tight seal with high torque on the wire nuts

 

mine is, first pull is low power.

I've had both. Can't tell you which models they may have been.

it is awk(w)ardard to maintain the first pull

I agree. But I've never found it difficult to maintain first click.

As for tips: I've made out of copper wire flattened tips for cutting plastic. Made special loop tips for scooping styrofoam out of a board leaving just a wire channel for other projects. I've found (at Harbor Freight) replacement tips for cheap. But I've also found that they break before long. And since I rarely use my soldering GUN it mostly sits in the garage. Last job I did with it was to trim insulation (styrofoam) to form a support underneath a pond lining.

 

Using copper wire to solder projects - the solder bonds with the copper. The more you use it the more the copper deteriorates. I have an iron with a steel jacketed copper tip. The jacket has worn away and the copper has a huge cavity in it now. Not from before. While using a piece of copper wire as a heating element will work it's not good for the long haul. I repaired the lights on a tractor/trailer (just the trailer part). My tip broke down fairly quickly. I think it was a Harbor Freight gun and tip. I was able to use copper wire but had to make several tips because they wouldn't last long.

 

It must be very close to the orifice of the nuts, whatever your model is. If finding copper wire is difficult, brass brazing rods will do it too. In fact, they last longer. I used brass when I had a Weller.

 

Pleas consider that there are VASTLY BETTER soldering systems available, and that have been available for many years. At least that is what I have concluded. Variable power, a more compact and much longer lasting tip, and lighter as well.```AND, the tips last longer.

 

Pleas consider that there are VASTLY BETTER soldering systems available, and that have been available for many years. At least that is what I have concluded. Variable power, a more compact and much longer lasting tip, and lighter as well.```AND, the tips last longer.

Sounds like you may be comparing two tools that both have a different range of use !
The Weller I use for larger jobs that need considerable heat source in order to satisfactorily join larger surfaces, but totally impracticle for circuit work..

 

I wonder if a Weller Soldering Gun would work as well as a spot welder? (not highjacking the thread, just posing an idea)

 

I wonder if a Weller Soldering Gun would work as well as a spot welder? (not highjacking the thread, just posing an idea)

No. The current is enough (from those two brass studs ) but the voltage is tooooo low. As post #13 said, a perfect conduction is key to get maximum from the gun. Spot welding is normally two steel or nicke tabs which have big impedance. That drops heat to nothing