COLEMAN Coleman Powermate PMS7000 Cordless Cold Heat Soldering Tool

I was disappointed with the soldering tool. It did not work with a number of solders that I wanted to use.

You have probably seen the commercials for Coleman Cold Heat battery operated soldering iron. Looks pretty nice on TV, so I decided to buy one and test it out.The tool works by applying 5 - 6 Volts DC from 4 AA batteries directly to the metallic surface being soldered on. There is an on-off switch, and a white illumination led, plus a red status led; but the heart of the tool is the special split tip, made of some kind of ferro-composite material.The tip heats up the surface you want to weld by shorting up on it.The idea basically works, indeed, you can heat up a metallic surface pretty well (though not for very long, in my trials a set of fully charged 2000 mAh Ni-MH batteries lasted less than 10 minutes). But don't throw away your corded soldering iron just yet.As many of you know, one of the pillars of successful welding is to have a clean well groomed soldering tip that sucks up the solder like a sponge, and releases it to a well fluxed surface. Well, the Cold Heat tips do not hold any solder at all, they repel it.The technique then is to apply solder directly to the welded surfaces, and that is a much more limited technique with results that can vary greatly depending on the kind of the surfaces being worked with.Besides, all the shortcomings, this is a truly portable wireless soldering iron, and it is amazing that we have this technology now.

I've successfully used Coldheat and had good luck with it. I've been soldering for the better part of 40 years. Is this a great tool? No, does it work when your in the middle of nowhere and it's all you have? Yes!The instructions specifically say NOT TO USE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES as I read one post where the used didn't read the instructions. I have had the same Coldheat for close to 10 years and still have the same tip and still follow the directions and get an ok solder joint but I'd prefer to be in the shop using the Weller!

I've tried to avoid posting, here, about this product. I happen to know *A LOT* about it (though I have nothing to do with it, nor do I benefit in any way from its sale); but it has long bothered me that it is among the most misunderstood and misused (and so, then, unfairly chastised and abused) products (certainly of its type; but quite possibly also) in all of Amazon dot com. I've rationalized my not chiming-in by reminding myself that I'm not even sure it's made anymore (though there was apparently a big resurgence of it in 2012... more on that in a moment); and so is basically a dead product.But, I'm sorry, I just can't allow all the bad reviews, here, to go unchallenged; or allow those who've so mercilessly panned this product to so mislead readers, here. Yes, what you're about to read is long, but if you'll just bother to really read and understand it, I think you'll finally begin to realize just how wrong and unfair have been this product's critics. At that point, since you can still find them -- even new, if you dig around long enough -- you may actually decide to buy one. And because you read all this, I'll bet you'll end-up being darned happy you did. Too bad there was nothing like this for those who've panned to product to read before they tried it and mistakenly thought it was bad. I'd say that I hope that they, too, will read all this......except that people who won't even bother to read an instruction manual (which is the key to understanding, properly using, and then being happy with this product; and which they so clearly didn't do) are unlikely to read this, either.First, to be clear: This is about the silver-and-gray "ColdHeat" cordless, battery-operated soldering iron which looks exactly as pictured on this page (both with and without the "Coleman" logo), and which, over the years, has had several brands on it to the left of the jammed-together-for-branding-purposes word "ColdHeat": Coleman is just one of them. Radio Shack was one of the very earliest, many years ago, and there have been several brands in between them. Even *more* years ago, even *before* Radio Shack had its brand on it, the word "ColdHeat" was a brand unto itself.More recently, in 2012, some mass marketing company and infomercial maker acquired what I'll bet was the last few train car loads of 'em that never sold (and which bear no brand name... not even the word "ColdHeat"), and it did a two-minute mini-infomercial which ran on late-night and wee-hours-of-the-morning TV in several US markets (just go dig around on YouTube, you'll find it) and sold a whole bunch of 'em to people who called the toll-free number at the end of said infomercial. Some of those no-brand-name ones from that campaign are still available around the Internet -- most of them new/unused, with instructions, but not with the really slick black plastic case that Radio Shack originally sold them in -- for about the same price (or maybe a dollar or two or three more) as what you see here. Just dig around long enough, and you'll stumble onto 'em.In fact, while doing such digging around, this very day (26 June 2014), I even stumbled onto some old Radio Shack branded ones, new and unused, still on the orange blister packaging gondola pegboard hanging cards that Radio Shack reduced them to in the final year or two that it sold them (in other words, Radio Shack ditched, just before it gave-up on them, the cool black case and just sold 'em on blister-packaged hanging cards).I even spotted a couple of brand new, never used ones with just the "ColdHeat" brand on them, coupled with a kinda' cheapo wire-stripper, on blister packaging, that's apparently leftover from one of the post-Radio-Shack, but pre-Coleman marketing campaigns from however many years ago.So, they're out there, both new and used; and Radio Shack, to this day, remains the best (or at least the fastest and most convenient, because most of its stores carry them) place to get replacement tips for the ColdHeat.In fact... wait... I forgot to mention that Weller -- the biggest name in soldering on the planet -- dared to put its name on the ColdHeat (and also change its color) not too long ago. It, too, though, gave up on it: though it's still listed here on Amazon...http://www.amazon.com/Weller-Professional-Soldering-WELCHT100-Category/dp/B000EM74S0...but sowing that it's no longer available. And its not on the Weller website as a current product, either. I'll discuss, in a moment, though, why Weller's taking a chance on it in the first place is both relevant and telling.Anyway, I'm one of the earliest adopters of the ColdHeat: bought mine literally *YEARS* ago, at Radio Shack, when they were first new, there (after they had been on the market with just the "ColdHeat" brand name for a few years, as I recall). I even wore one out; then gifted the second one to someone who admired it (he'd be using it, still, had he not died in 2008; I believe his son's using it, now); and so I then got a third one, which I'd still have, had it not been in a toolbox that was in the trunk of a car that got stolen in 2010. Who even *knows* where *that* one ended-up. [grin]And let me tell you, I really miss it......so much so that I just -- like just a few minutes ago -- bought one of those no-name new ones leftover from the aforementioned 2012 marketing campaign. That, I think, is what made me finally come here and write about it after so many years of seeing the godawful (and, frankly, godawfully ignorant) reviews of it, here.I've got a high-end 120VAC soldering station, and somewhere around here I've still got an old dual-wattage Weller soldering gun that just won't quit after pushing 40 years (boy, they don't make 'em like *THAT* anymore); plus I have a kinda' high-end butane combination torch and solderer; plus, of course, all the coolest soldering tools and accessories and nicknacks and stuff. I've got it all... even all the soldering tips for my bottle-type propane torch. I've been soldering since I was 12, and I'm gonna' be 58 in September... so that's... what... wait... [mumblemumble]... subtract the... [mumblemumble]... carry the one... [mumblemumble]... yikes! That's... [gulp]... 46 years. [sigh] Geez, I'm old. [shakes head in disbelief]Anyway, I even know how to solder stained glass and jewelry (though I rarely do it). So, I dunno', but I think I kinda' almost halfway a little bit know what I'm talkin' about, here... you know... a little.What happened was that I relatively recently decided to get another battery-operated soldering iron (don't know why it took so many years to replace the ColdHeat that got stolen); and I had some time this afternoon to shop around online for one. Of course, I wanted a ColdHeat, but, sadly, they're becoming -- especially if they're new -- like hen's teeth. Don't get me wrong: they're still out there, as my having bought a new one this very day evidences. Before I did that, though, I looked long and hard at every single battery-operated soldering iron here on Amazon (and in several other places, too, I might add). And because the only thing that ever tends to go wrong with them is that the tips go bad (as with any other soldering iron), I'll bet buying a used one is pretty risk-free (though whatever you save by buying it used, you'll likely spend on a new tip; so six of one is a half dozen of the other, I suppose).I initially looked to see if any *other* brand utilized the "cold heat" technology/methodology; and to my disappointment, not a single one of them does. To the last of them, they're basically nothing more than a regular soldering iron, except that they happen to be powered by batteries instead of 120 volts of AC current (120VAC). That means that they heat-up the same, and stay hot while in use the same, and cool-down the same -- and all at the same rates/speeds -- as 120VAC soldering irons. And so that means that they're just as capable of burning your skin as 120VAC soldering irons; and they can't be put back into your toolbox after you're done using them until they cool, just like 120VAC soldering irons. The ColdHeat, on the other hand, is cold to the touch just seconds after it has just soldered a joint; after having just heated to full soldering temperature in just a second or to: cold, to hot, to cold pretty much as fast as you touch it to whatever you want to solder, then solder, then pull it away again.Yes, that fast! Where do you think the name "ColdHeat" came from? The tip is basically cold to the touch, and can't burn you or anything else, except for the few seconds or less that it's actually soldering something. Not a single one of the currently-available battery-operated soldering irons -- not one -- works like that.And let me tell you something else: If you know anything about Ohm's Law (remember that, from high school science class?), and the principle of "conservation of energy," and how when you decrease one thing in the voltage/amperage/wattage/resistance equation, then something else in said equation needs to increase proportionately......then you should know, intuitively (but I'm gonna' point it out to you, here, anyway) that in order for low-voltage batteries to generate the kind of electrical energy that 120VAC is normally used to produce almost 400 degrees (F) of heat, then said batteries are gonna' get used-up, but fast. Yes, they get used-up kinda' quickly in a ColdHeat, too, but not nearly as quickly as in today's battery-operated soldering irons. And that's, in largest measure, simply because a ColdHeat brings the tip to soldering temperature for just a second or two or three, and then once it's done soldering it cools right back down, leaving the battery needed only to operate the little lights and internal on/off circuitry. The other battery-operated soldering irons use maximum battery power from the instant they're turned on, through the minutes it takes to get them up to soldering temperature, and then the minutes they stay at that temperature during the project (even while they're just sitting there), until the project's done and they're turned-off and then cool down......just exactly like a 120VAC soldering iron. And so they use a whole *BUNCH* o' battery! A *WHOLE* bunch! And unlike the ColdHeat, they're no safer (from causing burns) than a 120VAC soldering iron, to boot! And they cost more, too. Ugh! A triple-whammy.The more I thought about how well the ColdHeat worked for me, the more I kept feeling pulled away from buying one of those, and going out and finding a ColdHeat. And that, of course, is what I did......but not before figuring out that for the money, this little Hakko cordless soldering iron, for a mere $29 (at this writing)...http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZPUA28...ain't half bad. Oh, sure, there are better ones which cost more; but for its price, that one is pretty okay. The truth is, before I finally said to myself, "don't settle; go find and buy a ColdHeat somewhere," I almost pulled the trigger on that Hakko. If you just, even after reading all this, can't make yourself buy a ColdHeat; but you still want a cordless soldering iron, you could do, in my opinion, a lot worse than that $29 Hakko. Perform your due diligence, of course; but once you've done that, if you do a value-per-dollar analysis, I think you'll agree that that little Hakko is a surprisingly good deal. Of course, if you want maximum protection, get a Weller. I mean... c'mon... it's a Weller! But that little Hakko... I'm just sayin'.Anyway, speaking of Weller, let's take a moment, shall we, to really *think* about what it means when the biggest, oldest and most experienced name in soldering on the planet decides to put its good name at risk by putting it on a new product. Let's just apply a little common sense, here, and ask ourselves how it could even be possible for a company like Weller -- which has *forgotten* more about soldering than most other companies will ever know -- to be fooled by the ColdHeat if it were really sub-standard. Are you *kiddin'* me? You really think the engineers at Weller, of all places, wouldn't be able to tell... in a heartbeat?C'mon! Use your heads, you who ignorantly insist that this tool sucks! The problem with the ColdHeat -- the reason any company that has taken a chance on it eventually ends-up giving-up on it has nothing to do with its quality. Rather, the problem with the ColdHeat is, as any professional IT person will attest, "end users are stupid." For starters, the typical end-user won't even read a user manual, as I earlier mentioned. Similarly, and as their wives will attest, many of them who are men would rather drive around in circles than ask for directions, too: the same mentality as not reading user manuals.And trust me when I tell you that if you don't read the user manual for this soldering iron, you're not gonna' use it right; and if you don't use it right, it's gonna' seem like it's junk; and if it seems like it's junk to a given user, said user is gonna' come to places like this and give the tool one star and lambaste it......as we see among the reviews, here. They'll also send the maker's support department a lot of emails, and make a lot of support phone calls. And that costs the seller money; and, in the end, all *ANY* of this is about -- all that business, itself, is about -- is money. A company like Weller, for example, can sell a gabazillion ColdHeat products; but if it failed to accurately predict how much it was going to cost to support them -- in this case, simply because their buyers wouldn't read the user manual, and couldn't adjust to how differently this soldering iron is from pretty much all others in the universe -- then it is an easy purely-financial decision for a company like Weller to kill the product before it starts costing even more.The ColdHeat has always worked, and well. It has always done exactly what it said it would do, and has always been reliable, and predictable. It still is. The problem with it has always been that too many of its users expect it to behave like any other soldering iron they've ever used; and/or they ask more of it than it was ever intended to do; and they won't bother to really and truly learn what needs to be known about it, including precisely how to use it. And so the only thing that becomes predictable about it for at least them is that it will fail. And then they'll swear it's a piece of garbage......as we see, here. Nearly no company -- at all, in the world, much less which has ever tried to market this product -- has the stomach for that. It just costs too much money to support a product that's not intuitive, and so can so easily become a support and public relations nightmare. Even a freshman college business administration student knows that..Weller's engineers could see what I've always seen in the ColdHeat, and so they took a chance on it... like Coleman, before them did; and like Radio Shack, before that... and so on, and so on. Every last one of those companies have smart people working for them; and said smart people, when they read the user manual, and then used the tool as it instructed, saw that it was amazing, and couldn't imagine why it would not be successful. Sadly, people like that also never tend to listen to IT people, else they'd have known that "end users are stupid." And so every last one of those companies was surprised when the ColdHeat was a bust for them......even though it works just fine; even though those, like me, who bothered to figure it out, love it; and even though you, too, would love it if you simply bothered to understand it, and then used it precisely as it was intended. Heck, I'll wager you'd be downright glad you bought it; and would wonder, with furrowed brow, as I do, why it's so long misunderstood. But., then, again, I'm in IT, so... well... there you go.For starters, the ColdHeat needs the best, highest-voltage, strongest, newest, freshest alkaline batteries in it that you can find. So, then, right out of the gate, that eliminates all the no-name alkaline batteries such as what you try to save money on at places like Costco; or even Radio Shack. In fact, believe it or not, even Duracell batteries aren't good in this device......and that's because one of the little tricks that Duracell does to make its batteries last so long is reduce their output voltage by just a tad; fractions of a fraction of a volt. Remember Ohm's Law? When one thing in the equation is decreased, something else increases. In this case, as voltage decreases, amp-hours increases. Anyone in the restaurant business who noticed that certain brands of digital thermometers simply won't work with Duracells, but work just fine with Evereadies, already know -- but maybe didn't, 'til right now, know *why* they knew -- that Duracells, as good as they genuinely and objectively are, just won't work in certain devices; but that Eveready batteries will. And that's because Eveready batteries kick-out a genuine 1.5 volts (or 9 volts, or whatever is the battery's voltage on its label), where Duracells, unbeknownst to them, kick-out just slightly less than 1.5 (or 9, or whatever) volts. And some devices -- like certain brands of digital thermometers in restaurants, for example, and one of my wireless computer keyboards, and, yes, the ColdHeat, too, among many others -- require the actual full 1.5 volts that an AA, or AAA, or C or D battery is supposed to kick out.And so when choosing between the really only two brands of alkaline batteries worth considering -- Duracell and Eveready -- always choose Duracell first because if it works in the device, it'll last longer. But if it doesn't, then go with Eveready, which, because it, too, is alkaline, and is made so well, will *also* last a long time... but just not quite as long as the Duracell would have. The ColdHeat needs the newest, freshest, most fully-charged Eveready batteries you can find.Next, its tip needs to be properly installed, and tight.Next, you must use only very thin/fine solder that's 60% tin, and 40% lead, and has a rosin core. Moreover, said solder can't be the cheap stuff. Rather, it needs to be good quality "60/40 rosin core" solder; and said solder needs to be very thin/fine. The lead-free stuff, even if it's thin/fine and rosin core, tends not to do well with the ColdHeat; and solid core solder (with no rosin core; so, in other words, the kind you need to use brush-on flux with), even if it's 60/40 tin/lead, and even if it's thin/fine, also tends not to do terribly well -- or well, at all, really -- with the ColdHeat. So ya' gotta' use the right solder!Next, whatever you're attempting to solder needs to be highly conductive. That means, right out of the gate, that if you're trying to solder, for example, aluminum wire in an old mobile home (made back when aluminum wiring in mobile homes was legal; it's not anymore), then the Cold Heat is probably not gonna' do so well. Or, even if whatever you're soldering is highly conductive, but if there's just too much of it -- like, for example, if you're trying to solder a twisted bundle of six or eight 10 gauge solid copper electrical wires -- then, again, the ColdHeat may not shine.The ColdHeat is made for light duty (though can still hold its own with some of the slightly heavier stuff, at least if one knows what one's doing; but, in the end, it's a light-duty soldering iron). In fact, because pretty much all battery-operated soldering irons tend to be the equivalent of only a maybe 30 watt 120VAC soldering iron, they're pretty much all, by definition, only for light duty. The problem is that the ColdHeat's marginal propensity for light duty tends to be exacerbated by improper use in the hands of people who just don't understand it, and won't read the manual to learn about it!At any rate, getting back to our twisted bundle of 10 gauge wire: the truth is that if one slather's it with flux (even though the rosin in the core of the solder is supposed to be all the flux that's needed), even the ColdHeat can likely handle the job. But, of course, one's not supposed to have to do special stuff like that with the ColdHeat, and so one should simply avoid trying to use it for the heavy stuff... stuff for which it was never intended to be used. It'll solder a twist of couple -- maybe even three or four -- 12 gauge solid copper wires, but even then, only if there's not so much cold air blowing on the joint (and/or if the ambient temperature around the joint isn't so low) that the ColdHeat just can't heat it up to solder-melting temperature (which would be unusual because it really *can* heat!). The bottom line, though, is that it's a light-duty device, intended for smaller stuff, mostly indoors, in temperature- and air-movement-controlled environments... where it'll work just fine, if used right.However, don't underestimate the aforementioned conductivity part. The ColdHeat works by sensing when that which its tip is touching is conducting a small internal current from one of the little black "tabs" on the ColdHeat's tip to the other one. When it senses that conductivity, it heats-up to solder-melting temperature in a split second; and any solder touched to any part of the to-be-soldered thing which has subsequently reached solder-melting temperature will instantly melt and form a clean solder joint. Then, the instant the ColdHeat is lifted up and off that which was conducting its tiny sensing current from one of its black solder-tip tabs to the other, it instantly -- and I mean *INSTANTLY* -- cools back down again......to the point that it can be almost immediately touched and it will not burn the skin. Heck, it won't even feel hot, frankly: it cools *that* fast! Again, that's where the name "ColdHeat" came from: it's not that the tip doesn't really heat; rather, it's that once it's done heating and has done its job, it cools back down so fast that if it's touched even only a second or two after the soldering job is done, the tip is cold again... er... well... you know.... room temperature, at least. And so it seems, to one who doesn't know any better, as if its "heat" were "cold." Hence: "ColdHeat." Get it? [grin]But that doesn't mean it doesn't get hot -- and I mean REALLY hot -- during the seconds that it's actually soldering something. It heats to a dead minimum of approaching 400 degrees (F), and REALLY fast! You most definitely would not want to touch it at *that* point!So, then, that conductivity part -- and also making sure that *both* of the little black tabs of the tip of the ColdHeat are touching, equally, whatever it is that's about to be soldered such that its little internal current can pass through its conductivity/continuity from one tab to the other, thereby signaling the iron to heat-up -- is *REALLY* important.Fortunately, most anything that most people would tend to be soldering -- regardless the soldering iron they're using -- is probably conductive enough for the ColdHeat. Certainly any and all modern, common wires are sufficiently conductive. So, too, are the tails of circuit board components, as well as said circuit board's traces: they're all of sufficient conductivity that the ColdHeat should work with them just fine. The trick is to get both of the tip's little black tabs equally onto whatever is to be soldered so that it can sense the little current across its tabs and know that it's okay to heat-up to solder-melting temperature. If you don't get both those little tabs just right, then the little red light on top of the ColdHeat, which indicates that you've got good continuity/conductivity, won't come on; or, worse, it'll come on, then off, then on, as you (likely inadvertently) wiggle one of the tabs onto and off of that which is to be soldered.Sadly, when that on, then off, then on, then off thing happens, you can get sparking; and sparking actually *is* bad when soldering. Sparking, when soldering, can cause gasses which rise-up off of soldered joints to potentially ignite (it's rare, mind you, but it can happen, as those who solder with open-flame butane or propane torches have sometimes learned the hard way). Worse, though, if you're soldering on a circuit board, sparking can blast literally thousands of volts (with no amperage, to speak of, of course; but at least the high volts from the spark) right through sensitive electronic components or, worse, integrated circuits. A hot enough spark can even melt a physical gateway in the board's tracer path. So you definitely don't want sparking.Notice, in the description of that aforementioned Hakko brand battery-operated soldering iron, that mention is made of how the Hakko won't spark. Said mention is aimed, for marketing reasons, directly, at the ColdHeat. Sparking can, sadly, happen with the ColdHeat if the tip is not properly and steadily and firmly (but not with a lot of pressure, mind you... just enough to hold it in place against that which is to be soldered) laid, one clean time, against that which is to be soldered, then held there steadily until said soldering is done, and then the tip is cleanly pulled away. Sparking -- even if it's all done sloppily -- is not common, mind you; but it can at least happen. Soldering is already almost more about technique than anything else; and that is even more so with the ColdHeat. That, I admit, is, if anything, the ColdHeat's Achilles Heel: technique is important; and practice makes perfect.Finally, in keeping with the need for good conductivity in that which is to be soldered, everything needs to be CLEAN! There especially needs to be nothing which could impede continuity on it... like an insulator of some kind, for example. Dirt is an insulator. Or If, for example, you're soldering the kind of copper wire that's typically used in motor windings, then it's going to have an insulating lacquer coating on it; and that, of course, will impede the ColdHeat's little sensing current from traveling across the conductivity/continuity of that which is to be soldered from one of the tip's little black tabs to the other. A traditional soldering iron that is already hot before it even touches the lacquered copper wire will melt right through said lacquer, and heat everything up, anyway. But the ColdHeat can't even begin to heat, and melt away said lacquer, because said lacquer is keeping the ColdHeat's little sensor current from traveling from tab to tab on the soldering tip.So, as you can see, from all this, certain things must be true, and you must use the ColdHeat in only certain ways, in order for it to properly work. A regular soldering iron -- be it battery operated, or 120VAC, or torch/flame driven -- is already hot before it even gets to that which is to be soldered, and so it just muscles its way to solder-melting completion and is then pulled away. Not so with the ColdHeat, which can't even begin heating until and unless certain things are true, and it is used in just the right way.That's not the same as saying it's persnickety. It is not. All it means is that not just any sloppy soldering technique will do with the ColdHeat. It means that one must pay attention, and know what's going on, and must follow procedure, and must understand how things work... so that one can intuit why something isn't working, when same happens to be the case.Those, here, who wrote that it didn't work, and/or that it worked badly, and/or that it sucked, or sparked, or whatever......such as they clearly didn't understand how the ColdHeat works, and precisely how they were supposed to use it. Such as that is nearly always the case when this tool is alleged to have failed: it's nearly always simple operator error. Period. And no amount of said operators' wishing otherwise will change that (though just watch... some of them, after reading this, will chime-in and try, anyway).If they had just read the manual, and then figured-out how the ColdHeat works, and then how they should used it in light thereof; and then if they had just bothered to practice a little, on various kinds of joints, they would have become expert in no time......and they, too, would be singing the tool's praises, as I'm here doing, rather than recklessly declaring, here, that it's a piece of junk; and irresponsibly giving it just one star.The "ColdHeat" is worth five stars, any day of the week. Too bad the same can't be said for some of its clueless users.Sometimes I wish I had known about the trainloads of them that that marketing and infomercial company bought in 2012. I understand and know how to explain and sell the ColdHeat; and I'll bet I could have put it back on the map. Instead, after all these years, I fear it's finally going to die, now; that the one I just bought will be among the last ever sold. We'll see, of course.[sigh] Pity.[shrugs] Oh, well.Anyway, hope all of that helped.So, then... tell the truth: you *WANT* one now, don't you? [grin]_________________________Gregg L. DesElmsNapa, California USA

It's pretty and presented exceedingly well, and like many things that start with a description like that, it IS all show and no go. I've done advanced hobbyist electronics starting with tubes, and repair things up through and including motherboards now, just for background.Though the idea behind this is valid (power across a resistive load the create heat), this just doesn't work in the typical uses for such a device. When you CAN get it to work, which requires the finesse of a pool shark, the vast majority of the solder joints are col joints, because there hasn't been enough dwell time and/or enough thermal mass at the solder joint to heat everything to a high enough temperature to get the flow of solder evenly. In a normal soldering iron, the mass of the iron tip provides the continuous thermal mass for heat immersion in the tiny area being solder. With the COLD HEAT, the tip provide no thermal inertia and the cooling is essentially immediate, and you get a cold joint that will likely fail or provide an electrically inefficient junction that will cost you great angst tracking down.As noted by another reviewer, this has been manufactured under several brand names, and each company has pulled it from the market at the cost of a little slice of their reputation. Save your money, save your time.