This is exactly what I needed. Thank you! So glad bigclive has links here. Love subscribing to all you EE genius's channels. You guys/gals always know how to make my live easier - something manufacturers don't seam to care about. I have two of these and both will be having this mod very soon -sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!
My "stubby" iron tip, with the flick of a switch now puts out 54 or 27 watts.😊 Now I only use full power to heat up iron faster then switch to half power unless have a larger mass to solder; and, if I forget to turn it off it won't burn up any more. Low setting feature will also allow you to have a nice shinny properly tinned tip, and for me, help prevent or minimize my careless carpet drop burns (what's that I smell burning - dooh !!!).😢 If you have a watt-o-meter, they make for a quick power test. My other similar 20W iron I left as is because tip is still good and I have changeable tips that help somewhat with temp control and SMD/Biggy soldiering tasks, and because I don't have another in-line switch. Now, wondering if one of those very small tactile-like clicky switches salvaged from a discarded HDTV would do the business - any thoughts? Also, is there some way to half the power again so I only get 25% ? Thanks Again !!!! Anyone who has one of these types of irons should add a switch and a diode, or add what the el cheapo manufacturer should have originally included.😒😒 Yes, if you have a light dimmer box circuit that could work even better, and of course pretty cheap chinses adjustables can be purchased.
I have a heat lamp for kennel which uses the same method for a high/low switch, they just tacked the diode across the switch, Job done!. You cant get more simple
That's great! It's a very common technique and a very simple, easy thing for the DIY to do. And of course the simpler it is the less that can go wrong.
Wiring up an AC heated bed for my 3D printer soon. Figured the 1300 watts might be a bit much at times for our old house's power grid with other appliances plugged into the circuit, so I'm looking forward to trying this out. I really don't need to get to temperature in less than a minute and my battery backup system only supports 800 watts, too.
@@MyProjectBoxChannel I'm looking at the BYV79E. 200 volts 14 amp should be enough for a 120 volt 10.8 amp application I'd assume. Or maybe I should give it a 80% overhead and go for a 19.44 amp minimum?
Thanks! The little diode halfwave trick comes in handy for many different things. You will often find it inside a hair dryer to control the motor speed.
What a piece of sensitive equipment you have acquired there... I'm using 100W gun. Transformer based, so I can't half wave it. But I have successfully soldered SMD LEDs with it before, It's about practice.
I agree! with enough determination you can solder almost anything, with any size soldering iron. I have done LED strip lighting with my dad's automotive soldering iron, which he used to repair starter motors!🤣🤣😜 Sometimes you need that extra grunt, to solder things with high thermal mass.
@@cotto887 it could be done, but there is a risk of ruining certain components with that noise from the triac switching in middle of the wave, it couples much easier thru the loop of wire as a tip.
@@cotto887 Vince, I was thinking the same thing and so I grabbed a spare dimmer I had laying around and measured the output with my digital meter and at the lowest setting, it didn't seem to drop the voltage much at all. I am in the US where 120 VAC is standard household voltage.
@@hootinouts My vintage Craftsman 200W 3 pound behemoth has a dial that that goes from low to high. Not sure, but feels like the dial is just a switch inside the iron that taps into a second transformer output giving you a low power setting, albeit 120W. Those beasts had triggers for almost instant heat that you regulated manually by "firing" on and off.
Will this work with 120VAC? I live in the US where that is the standard household voltage. I tried your tip by placing a diode on the "hot" (ungrounded) side of a power cord wired up to a receptacle and checked the voltage across the hot and neutral with no load. My digital meter showed very little drop in voltage with the diode in the circuit. Am I overlooking something?
Yes it will work on 120vac. The diode will effectively make half-wave DC. So the voltage can't be measured on the AC setting. It's not going to be easy for a voltmeter to measure the true RMS voltage on half-wave DC. For a soldering iron the power will be reduced, by giving it half-wave DC.
I have a soldering Iron which work on 110v ac. By fixing diode 4007, can I use it on 230v ac as this diode may drop 50% voltage as it will give half cycle Anil Kumar Goel
Yes you can 😉. And I have done it in the past. I have even build a dimmer circuit from scratch, many years ago. But a diode circuit is as simple and cheap as it gets! And a simple "hi /low" setting, is good enough for most use cases.
This is exactly what I needed. Thank you! So glad bigclive has links here. Love subscribing to all you EE genius's channels. You guys/gals always know how to make my live easier - something manufacturers don't seam to care about. I have two of these and both will be having this mod very soon -sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes! this is an oldie but a goodie👍 So simple but effective 😉
My "stubby" iron tip, with the flick of a switch now puts out 54 or 27 watts.😊 Now I only use full power to heat up iron faster then switch to half power unless have a larger mass to solder; and, if I forget to turn it off it won't burn up any more. Low setting feature will also allow you to have a nice shinny properly tinned tip, and for me, help prevent or minimize my careless carpet drop burns (what's that I smell burning - dooh !!!).😢 If you have a watt-o-meter, they make for a quick power test.
My other similar 20W iron I left as is because tip is still good and I have changeable tips that help somewhat with temp control and SMD/Biggy soldiering tasks, and because I don't have another in-line switch. Now, wondering if one of those very small tactile-like clicky switches salvaged from a discarded HDTV would do the business - any thoughts? Also, is there some way to half the power again so I only get 25% ?
Thanks Again !!!! Anyone who has one of these types of irons should add a switch and a diode, or add what the el cheapo manufacturer should have originally included.😒😒
Yes, if you have a light dimmer box circuit that could work even better, and of course pretty cheap chinses adjustables can be purchased.
I have a heat lamp for kennel which uses the same method for a high/low switch, they just tacked the diode across the switch, Job done!. You cant get more simple
That's great! It's a very common technique and a very simple, easy thing for the DIY to do. And of course the simpler it is the less that can go wrong.
Same as I did 50 years ago. It's still a good hack.
It's a oldie but a goodie! The simple hack's are sometimes the best ones 😉
thanks for posting. hoover in the 80s used this system to make their vaccum cleaners have two motor speeds :)
It's simple and really effective. 😉👍
Wiring up an AC heated bed for my 3D printer soon. Figured the 1300 watts might be a bit much at times for our old house's power grid with other appliances plugged into the circuit, so I'm looking forward to trying this out. I really don't need to get to temperature in less than a minute and my battery backup system only supports 800 watts, too.
Try it! It might just be the simple solution you have been looking for. Just remember to use a big enough diode, for the heating element current draw.
@@MyProjectBoxChannel I'm looking at the BYV79E. 200 volts 14 amp should be enough for a 120 volt 10.8 amp application I'd assume. Or maybe I should give it a 80% overhead and go for a 19.44 amp minimum?
That's a nifty little hack!
Thanks! The little diode halfwave trick comes in handy for many different things. You will often find it inside a hair dryer to control the motor speed.
very good video sir
It works wonders bro, thanks, 👌
Simple hacks are the best ones😉👍
What a piece of sensitive equipment you have acquired there... I'm using 100W gun. Transformer based, so I can't half wave it. But I have successfully soldered SMD LEDs with it before, It's about practice.
I agree! with enough determination you can solder almost anything, with any size soldering iron. I have done LED strip lighting with my dad's automotive soldering iron, which he used to repair starter motors!🤣🤣😜 Sometimes you need that extra grunt, to solder things with high thermal mass.
how about you use a dimmer switch
@@cotto887 it could be done, but there is a risk of ruining certain components with that noise from the triac switching in middle of the wave, it couples much easier thru the loop of wire as a tip.
@@cotto887 Vince, I was thinking the same thing and so I grabbed a spare dimmer
I had laying around and measured the output with my digital meter and at the lowest setting, it didn't seem to drop the voltage much at all. I am in the US where 120 VAC is standard household voltage.
@@hootinouts My vintage Craftsman 200W 3 pound behemoth has a dial that that goes from low to high. Not sure, but feels like the dial is just a switch inside the iron that taps into a second transformer output giving you a low power setting, albeit 120W. Those beasts had triggers for almost instant heat that you regulated manually by "firing" on and off.
Smart I have hard times with soldering resistors and led ugh and my soldering iron is crap hahah
This diode trick definitely makes a cheap soldering iron more usable. Keep at it, practice makes perfect😉. It can be fun.
Great idea. Does it matter what size diode?
Or any diode that will fit in the switch?
As long as the diode can handle more current than the iron.The 1N4007 is rated for 1A , so that's up to 200w
.
Will this work with 120VAC? I live in the US where that is the standard household voltage. I tried your tip by placing a diode on the "hot" (ungrounded) side of a power cord wired up to a receptacle and checked the voltage across the hot and neutral with no load. My digital meter showed very little drop in voltage with the diode in the circuit. Am I overlooking something?
Yes it will work on 120vac. The diode will effectively make half-wave DC. So the voltage can't be measured on the AC setting. It's not going to be easy for a voltmeter to measure the true RMS voltage on half-wave DC. For a soldering iron the power will be reduced, by giving it half-wave DC.
@@MyProjectBoxChannel You're essentially reducing the duty cycle by half 60w AC will consume 50% less power.
I have a soldering Iron which work on 110v ac. By fixing diode 4007, can I use it on 230v ac as this diode may drop 50% voltage as it will give half cycle
Anil Kumar Goel
That will work 👍. It won't be exactly right but close enough.
Ein Temperaturtest wäre nicht schlecht gewesen.
you could have used a dimmer switch
Yes you can 😉. And I have done it in the past. I have even build a dimmer circuit from scratch, many years ago. But a diode circuit is as simple and cheap as it gets! And a simple "hi /low" setting, is good enough for most use cases.
@@MyProjectBoxChannel 12 diodes are 10 cents at my electronics store.
Can the diode be place in any direction?
Sweeeeeet