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RE: Pad Cup Heater

Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-06-07 06:16

I'm not sure which soldering tool you are asking about, but they work similarly.
One is the Weller-type soldering gun with the very tip cut off or split so that the two 'arms' become separated 'probes', The Triton/Votaw device is essentially the same but the metal probes are substituted with carbon.

When soldering with a soldering iron it is difficult to conduct enough heat to the work through just a point or line of contact for conduction, and difficult to get good enough tip alignment to ensure a FACE of contact, so we tend to rely somewhat on melted solder as a medium through which heat is conducted from the soldering tip to the work.

The operation of these heating devices is quite different. The key (or anything else)itself becomes the heating element in the electrical circuit. This is because the heating occurs where the electrical resistance is greatest. This is either within the key (because of this alloy being the worst conductor in the circuit) or at the points of contact.

(Using them is a problem with lacquered saxophone keys because the lacquer has to be removed at the contact points to complete the electrical circuit.)

The solder gun type has the advantage of robust (but bendable, especially if copper wire is used) contact arms. The Votaw has the advantage of the heavy transformer component not having to be held in the hand. An advantge of the bunsen burner is that when it is applied to a key OFF the instrument both hands are free of the heating device - the operator does not need to put down the heating device before picking up the pad to instal it or adjust it.

Some repairers report arcing damage to the key. This should be avoidable if the contact is secure before switching on. I suspect it also depends on the voltage of the device. If I recall correctly the Weller is about 0.5 volts, whereas cheaper versions of solder gun may be around 3 volts. I don't know what the Votaw is - I've never seen or used one. Of course the higher the watts the faster the heating, and also more chance of arcing. I'm sure you would use the Votaw's 100 watts in preference to its 50. The standard Weller with the 100/140 watt option would clearly offer more heat.

The solder gun I initially used was so scruffily made that it had no clicking microswitch to switch it on, but had a child's toy clicker thingy to make a microswitch sound. It had nothing to do with the switching whatsoever!
It is 3 volts, and its 100 watts is rather slow for sax keys. I use it for piccolos because using a bunsen burner on them poses a high risk of burning linkage corks or melting plastic bodies. I have no such problems with a bunsen on clarinets.

I hope this provides some answers.

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Pad Cup Heater new

jbutler

2001-05-28 23:42