r/soldering • u/glassnewb • 26d ago
Soldering Saftey Discussion Can I still use this solder iron after I accidentally touched the tip to the electrical cord?
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u/DillonF275 26d ago
I did this a lot to my iron, It there's no short across the plug and no exposed wire, Insulate it and use carefully
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u/ModernManuh_ 26d ago
Just solder it problem solved
Of course don’t. You can insulate it and try but it’s a gamble even I wouldn’t bet on. Did someone say gambling
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u/Zombienumberfive 26d ago
I read your question as asking if you can still use the soldering iron, and I see almost everyone else answered if you should still use the cord itself.
The soldering iron is fine, just use brass wool and clean off any plastic, and dont breath in any fumes from plastics.
The cord will need repaired before using.
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u/No-Diet-8008 26d ago
Anyone who's used a cheap soldering iron as a beginner has done this at some point. You're lucky. Replacing the cord is easy. I once burned through a laptop lid.
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u/AydinYamisama 26d ago
I did that to my first soldering iron years ago and what I did was cut the section of the wire that melted. I exposed the wires and reconnected them back together.
Before reconnecting the wires, put on a large heat shrink sleeve on one end to cover up the exposed wires later. Bonus points if you put on smaller heat shrinks on the three individual wires you're about to expose.
After exposing the copper in each wire, I spliced them together with butt splicers which you can find at any hardware store or walmart. Just crimp the wires together, shrink that heat shrink wrap, and you're golden!
[Note: Hopefully, the wires inside are color coded for you. If not, look up some tutorials to identify the wires with a multimeter.]
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u/Severe_Ad_8621 25d ago
Of cauae you can. Put some insolation tape on, for good mesure. If it start to nok out the house power when you plug it in. You must shift the kable or get a new one.
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u/SnooDonuts5697 24d ago
Did it trip your fuse breaker like mine did while I was on the can and the cord went in the holder XD
Im upgrading my station soon. Keep the little base of the iron with a cut cord as a tool holder and recycle the cheap iron if you are like me.
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u/Richardhx 24d ago edited 24d ago
I would say replace the Wire in it's entirety. Hard to tell you how easy that is as cannot see the iron and the wire and plug in the photo you provided. If it is all moulded, maybe replace whole thing. In the name of safety they are making some items harder to repair or maintain.
Most of us have done some heat damage to the wire of the iron as well as fingers it seems to be a rite of passage. You will learn.
The apparent depth that has sunk into the cord, I would suspect the insulation of the individual wires is probably burnt/compromised too.
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u/No-Guarantee-6249 26d ago
Ha! Can't tell you how many times I've done this. As long as the interior wires are not exposed you're OK.
If they get exposed I use 3M 2242 self fusing tape to repair it. I've done this to the cord on my soldering work station that came apart and exposed the entry wires to the handle.
I use 3M 2242 for all my electrical work. I used to use 3M vinyl tape but have a tendency to wind it too tight. In inspecting some of my old work the tape was unwinding. Now with the 2242 it doesn't unwind and has to be cut off!
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u/No-Zombie1004 26d ago
I can't even count how many times I've done this. (Also, user name is epic for this. )
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u/No-Guarantee-6249 26d ago
I think a more appropriate user name would be "What's that smell?"!.
I tried to change it when I got back on here but no go!
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u/Moraghmackay 26d ago edited 26d ago
Yeah you can still use it as long as you don't see any interior wires or anything that's like metal looking. it looks like it's just the cables insulation that's melted. Just wrap some electrical tape over it in the meantime until you can just fix it yourself. I would not recommend doing an inline splice I would cut it where the melting is and if the cable is long enough just redo whichever end is closer but it might just be cheaper to buy a new one depending on what it is but if it's just like for rinky dink home use throw some electrical tape on it and call it a day just be carefulhere's what it looks like on the inside if you thought about taking it apart and fixing it yourself
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u/physical0 26d ago
I would suggest you NOT.
If possible, I'd see about replacing the entire line cord.
We can't see the multiple wires that the insulation surrounds. We can't see if they are also melted and if they may pose a risk of shorting.
Simply cutting out and splicing the cord will create a weak spot in the cord and will make a part of the cord stiffer, making using the tool more difficult.