Butane pen torches?

[fullsmoke]

Anyone have experience w these micro/pen torches for soldering or as a hot blower?

FS

[stj]

Re: Butane pen torches?

yes, DONT USE THEM!

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Butane pen torches?

yes, DONT USE THEM!

+1 They are good for jewelry and perhaps detailed glass work, electronics work not so much. Every time I've seen someone try to work on electronics (or even splicing a wire) with a pen torch they wind up burning the shit out of things and themselves.

[R_J]

Re: Butane pen torches?

we used the weller portasol with the hot air attachement to change 208 pin dsp chips in dvd players without a problem, but if you have no experience with them people should not use them.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Butane pen torches?

just posting the following information on what wikipedia has to say about butane torches:

A butane torch is a tool which creates an intensely hot flame using butane, a flammable gas.

Consumer air butane torches are often claimed to develop flame temperatures up to approximately 1,700 K (1,430 °C; 2,600 °F). This temperature is high enough to melt many common metals, such as aluminum and copper, and hot enough to vaporize many organic compounds as well.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane_torch

therefore, butane burns at too high a temperature for soldering. most soldering irons have a max temp setting of only 450°C at most. even silver soldering, hard soldering or brazing needs only a max temp of around 750°C. 1400°C+ is much too high a temperature and is more closely into the realm of welding instead!

so i hope the above information is useful to newbies (like myself!) who are thinking of using butane torches/pens for soldering and/or reflowing like a hot air gun. like stj and homer simpson said, DON'T/DOH!

[ReeceyBurger123]

Re: Butane pen torches?

I had a weller one that my uncle gave me and it ran out of gas sooooo fast would not recommend them.

[stj]

Re: Butane pen torches?

to get an idea of how hot some get, i'v seen chinese ones sold as "can melt glass"

maybe good for specific criminal entry scenario's but not soldering.

[ReeceyBurger123]

Re: Butane pen torches?

Haha lol

[diif]

Re: Butane pen torches?

I have an iroda gas soldering iron that has changeable ends, great upside down in cars for imobilisers and the blower for heat shrink. Ok at a push for doing laptop charging sockets.
I also have one of the larger butane torches that chefs use for browning the tops of meringue that i've used for soldering copper pipes.
I wouldn't want either of them near electronics.

[zomi]

Re: Butane pen torches?

Used antex and portasol variants before
To lift chips etc..
Soldering as well
If you know what you are doing they are excellent.
Very good for bios chips etc.

If you are not skilled, then its an accidenet waiting to happen.
Just boils down to how skilled you are to be honest.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Butane pen torches?

The alternatives are much safer.

[goontron]

Re: Butane pen torches?

The alternatives are much safer.

I use a butane powered one.... It's all about what skills you have. Butan irons have a much shorter recovery time, but also go to much higher temp like to the point of a glowing soldering tip. They are dangerous, but if you skilled in one they are as controllable as a hakko, and more powerful.

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Butane pen torches?

I don't dispute your skill at all. For someone asking about it and not indicating their experience the best answer is still probably a no.

[stj]

Re: Butane pen torches?

a friend of mine who does car work has a cheap temp controlled iron with the 24v transformer removed and a lithium battery of some large size from a drill - it works perfectly!

[Behemot]

Re: Butane pen torches?

I use one from time to time as well. But only those which are actually cigar lighters even though here they sell them as soldering torch lol. They never handle such usage if you use them regularly for even two years. I RMA'd couple of them than just broke the vent on the bottom and added more pressure. I think the flamers get obstructed over time, carbon maybe.

I tried those chinese aluminium, long pen-like torches. Blue sticker (which colors everything it touches). Their bloody filling vent is made so stupid than when you pressure butane bottle into them, you just press the whole frelling vent inside. The result is all the gas vents and it's screwed. Because the went is just pressed in a tube. I managed to solder one, it works since. Just a stupid beginner design flaw…

[eccerr0r]

Re: Butane pen torches?

Speaking of which, what's the cheapest place to get butane for these things? I suppose it's best to use the same kind of butane as the refillable butane lighters?

[Behemot]

Re: Butane pen torches?

Yeah orinary cans for lighters. I remember how I bought some biger can from a company supplying smoke shops, I think I still got it. Than I bought some at Aukro (auction site like fleebay), like a ten of them so I am supplied for the rest of my life…

[teletwanger]

Re: Butane pen torches?

Believe it or not, the cheapest cans of butane actually seem to burn cleaner than the expensive ones. Do not buy Ronson or Bernzomatic brands of fuel. They are too pricey and I have found that both of them do not really burn clean and can clog up the valves and nozzles. My bet is they both have additives in the fuel. I have the best luck with the big cans of the cheap stuff sold at 7-Eleven for $3.99. You also get about 2 1/2 times the fuel for half the price of that Ronson garbage.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Butane pen torches?

Need to find which ones are actually clean and which ones are not... I doubt that they put any additives. I bought some of the Ronson stuff and it seems actually good, it doesn't have any mercaptan in it. However I'd imagine most larger cans for cooking would have mercaptan in it. Now I don't know if Bernzomatic has mercaptan or not, might need to sample it but it indeed is expensive compared to the cheapest butanes out there.

What brand does 7-Eleven sell? Does it have mercaptan in it?

I was thinking about getting some of the cooking butane from cooking stores, but I'd imagine it'd have mercaptan in it.

[stj]

Re: Butane pen torches?

i use SWAN for lighters - it's not got mercaptan or any other marker in it.

it wont help with flameless pens though, they use a catalyst - the byproduct is a sticky tar-like substance.