LIDL (Parkside) B2 soldering iron hack and schematic

[@joshuaanothereraseddad]

"That's because the safety industry is detached from reality." Thank you Clive. You're a classic sir! :)

[@heckelphon]

There was a former H&S guy on the radio (LBC?) the other day saying that the majority of the personnel in H&S in the UK nowadays completely misunderstand their purpose. The idea is to identify risk, appreciate it, and to manage the risk within the parameters of what you are wanting to do. It isn't just to say No No No No all the time! So a modded screwdriver is fine as long as you restrict its use to occasions where there is no HV element -- which is what any sensible person would do.

[@alexanderkupke920]

Simple solution to that is to use the "right" tools. For example Wera or Wiha, and I assume others as well, sell "Slim" Versions of their screwdrivers which are considerably thinner, even with the insulation. Besides that, in this case, the device is not powered and if so powered at a low Voltage anyways, so any normal non insulated Screwdriver would work and would be adequate in this specific application anyways. As long as it is not powered up, there is no requirement for insulated (or according to the German "VDE" recommendations) tools anyways.

[@alexanderkupke920]

@@Kevin-mp5of Indeed, but I didn´t want to go into too much details, as here in Germany where I live, not even every electrician is allowed to work on systems under power. But whenever feasible, shutting of power and locking out is absolutely preferrable anyways. For what Clive shows I also kept it simple as, mobile devices with a plug can be considered safe to work on while unplugged (which means some things he shows, as he says himself, are not advisable). I think there are even lockout boxes for plugs available. Oh yeah, and of course make sure to discharge capacitors (Guess how I learned that in my youth...)

[@alexanderkupke920]

@@Kevin-mp5of Sounds like you discharge them anyways ;)

[@RobertCraft-re5sf]

@@Kevin-mp5of Or because of dumb lawsuits

[@Arek_R.]

7:09 second line is the actual part number - "OB6606" from on-bright. It's some sort of a brushed motor controller/uC. I guess it makes sense for powertool company to come up with different use cases for their favourite ICs... Here's the spec: Features Built-in MOS driver l Output high-level clamped on 13V LDO l Output 5V l Current capability is over 50mA l Built-in short circuit protection and over temperature protection Driver over current protection（SCP） l Threshold is set by system for high flexibility l Result of SCP comparator shutdown driver. Hardware protection is safer. Low standby current l Low standby current, less than 10uA High-speed rail-to-rail amplifier l Gain bandwith production is over 1.1MHz l Slew rate is over 10V/us High performance 1T-8bit MCU l 16MHz Internal RC oscillator, with programmable clock divider. l 1~8T can be switched on the fly. l Instruction-set compatible with MCS-51. l 8KB on-chip program memory. l 512B RAM as standard 8052. l Dual 16-bit Data Pointers (DPTR0 & DPTR1). l Three 16-bit Timer/Counters. (Timer 0,1,2） l 14 GPIOs l External interrupt 0,1 with four priority levels l One IIC interface. (Master/Slave mode) l One serial peripheral interfaces in full duplex mode. Additional Baud Rate Generator. l Programmable watchdog timer. l 4-channel 10-bit PWM（1-channel is used to control MOS_DRV） l 8-channel 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), ADC6 is interal current detection. l CMP x1 Set l ISP/IAP/ICP functions and EEPROM function l LVI/LVR (LVR deglitch 500ns) l Power management unit for IDLE and power down modes. l On-Chip in-circuit emulator (ICE) functions with On-Chip Debugger (OCD).

[@daveh7720]

Good catch!

[@johndododoe1411]

I wonder if they programmed in a reconfiguration command that changes the setpoint temperature by operating the single button in some funny pattern that the marketing people removed from the instruction sheet .

[@daveh7720]

@@johndododoe1411 Having been an embedded programmer myself, I'd have added such a command and not told Marketing.

[@Spritetm]

And it's an 8051. It's always an 8051.

[@TheAces1979]

The blown up, printed pictures was a stroke of genius! I haven't seen this done on any other channel and it's so much easier to follow along with than the shaky footage captured from a digital microscope. Brilliant! 10 out of 10 stars!

[@der.Schtefan]

I am always impressed by your dexterity when soldering (or anything else for that matter), but knowing your fingers are able to move that well below 20 C leaves me puzzled and with an open mouth. 12C is way below my operating specs. Whenever I am out in such an environment an alarm sounds, alerting people around me of a potential voided warranty.

[@SeanBZA]

Think Clive would melt into a puddle by me, where it is currently evening, and only 28C indoors, and peak today was only 333C, while yesterday was 36C.

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

@@SeanBZA 333C? How are you even alive?

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

Clive is apparently NOT a lizard, that's useful to know. I'm surprised that his house doesn't suffer with damp, at that kind of temperature surely condensation forms on walls and the inside of windows?

[@manolisgledsodakis873]

@@SlartiMarvinbartfast Only if he breathes out.

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

@@manolisgledsodakis873 Perhaps he could breathe into a tube that vented outside?

[@TopEndSpoonie]

Now we know that Clive uses a soldering iron temperature of 370 ohms ( 12m41s ).🤣 I mock, only because I would not be able to do what you do. Thanks for another massive effort Clive. I always look forward to the release of your next video.

[@Comrade_YG]

You could just type 12:41 insteadof (12m41as)

[@LasseGreiner]

Quite high, I could not resist that!

[@SirBoden]

As a fellow autistic polymath, I can say words are hard sometimes. 🤓

[@dino6627]

I added a 22 ohm resistor in the white wire, reducing tip temperature to 360C, which works well for me with leaded solder. This is a similar tip temperature to my Tenma soldering iron set to 400C with a narrow bit. To get it to work with other 18/20V batteries or power supplies you need to add a 10k resistor between the B- and BS. The two round pads at lower left of the PCB are a convenient place for a resistor, but shouldn't be left in place for the original Parkside battery.

[@gsp911]

The sponge is useless....behind the tray you can glue a few neodymium magnets before assembling it again, and suddenly you have a magnetic tray for small screws. 👌 Thx for the video.

[@Motoralbi]

I got my B2 version as soon as the previous video about the B1 came out (and i was disappointed that the B2 didn't have the simple hack method haha). I made a similar modification by putting a 100 ohm potentiometer in the base in series with one of the thermistor leads (there's plenty of room in the base); i made a hole in the case so the potentiometer shaft comes outside and the temperature can be controlled. You cannot use a higher value potentiometer as the iron will go in an error (and even with the 100 ohm sometimes it goes into an error). Also note that when you put the resistor/potentiometer in the circuit, the iron will take much less to go from red to green, even if the tip isn't at the right temperature yet; the higher the resistor value, the worse this problem gets. The cone tip will last maybe two times before crumbling at 480°C, but they are easily found online. The flat tip is almost indestructible even at max temperature, it just gets concave but for tinning big wires it is phenomenal. Finally, in case you want to use it with a power supply instead of a battery, you can simply make a base where you connect the middle pin to the negative through a 10kOhm resistor, and make sure you use a power supply with over 100 watts of power, as it pulls a lot of current when first heating up. Maybe a 19V 6A laptop brick could be enough, i have yet to test it, as some laptop power supplies could go into protection when such a high current load is applied.

[@DraganPanjkov]

Same here :)

[@georgevachev4356]

Hello. Can you please give me more info on the mod. I am thinking of putting a lower ohm potentiometer something like 80 or 50 so it doesent error. Connect in series with the white wire on the board?

[@Motoralbi]

@@georgevachev4356 yes. There are four wires coming from the handle, two are for the heater and two are for the temperature sensor, you just need to put the potentiometer in series with one of the two thermal sensor wires.

[@sweetpeaz61]

These irons are brilliant for auto electrics where the connections are often quite large and massive heat sinks, being really hot means effective solder joints quickly..i love this tool

[@shytot4x4]

I came here to say exactly this! I use mine with the big chunky tip for soldering Lucar type spade connectors on classic car wiring looms. Unfortunately it doesn't transfer enough heat for brass bullet connectors - I have a 'chefs' butane torch for those...

[@shytot4x4]

Look at factory harnesses from 50 years ago. Not a crimp in sight. If I repair a classic car I keep it original. Crimped joints open to the elements eventually go (very) high resistance. One is fairly easy to trace and repair. When there's a whole car full of them it becomes a nightmare.@@Kevin-mp5of

[@maidsandmuses]

@@Kevin-mp5of The never-ending debate 😁 . Reality is that a good solder joint is better than an average crimp, and a good crimp is better than an average solder joint. Both can be done well and are fit for purpose, provided proper adjacent cable support ensures the connection itself is free from vibration stress.

[@maidsandmuses]

@@Kevin-mp5of They are _both_ gas-tight when done properly. The problem is that a properly calibrated crimp tool is the preserve of a factory production environment, where it is re-calibrated for every batch of crimps and cables following inspection of a cross-cut through a series of test-crimps to check for sufficient strand deformation and void elimination. The red/yellow/blue coded universal crimp system often used in the field is for electricians & amateurs and is very unreliable. Solder connections have the advantage that the flux dissolves the copper oxide layers surrounding the individual strands, upon which the solder itself forms a gas-tight molecular bond to the copper with some of the copper dissolving into the solder. In a crimp these oxide layers stay embedded. But again, when done properly, both are reliable.

[@maidsandmuses]

@@Kevin-mp5of Poorly executed solder joints where the solder has wicked too far underneath the insulation into the cable do indeed have this problem. But that is a sign of insufficient soldering experience or using a low power soldering iron so heating the joint to the wetting temperature takes too long. A properly done solder joint will create about the same length of fused strands as a proper crimp does. That is the main issue in my experience; someone can be trained quickly in executing good crimps provided they are given an accurately calibrated crimping tool. Learning how to solder reliably and to a high standard takes a year or two (it really does!). Teaching engineers how to reliably and repeatedly create good solder joint suitable for vibration & stress environments simply takes too long and is too expensive.

[@TheTruth.K.J.V.]

I razor blade cut the labels at joining seams....Leaves them on most of the time and no heat to remove. THANK YOU watching you do what I do is FUN!

[@technic550]

I've been using this iron for nearly a year out in the field and it's become indispensable. perfect for led strip installs, just gotta be quick as it does get hot. Used it loads up on ladders too by clamping the pack to the side rail

[@ivok9846]

reply here if it reaches 1.5 or 2 years. i don't trust chinese heaters. low voltage supply might help, though, as those working on 240v are mostly junk.

[@MartinzW]

​@@ivok9846Chinese heaters are good. But you also get what you pay for when choosing among Chinese-made products.

[@BrainHurricanes]

@@ivok9846 But you do trust your chinese phone, I ?

[@matthewmarks6951]

@@ivok9846 I can reply here now because my "Chinese heater" mains soldering iron has been fine for several years... until I dropped it. Those ceramic elements are brittle, but also cheap and easy to replace.

[@ivok9846]

@@matthewmarks6951 i had 5 that failed without falling. so "infant mortality " of those is rather high. so it doesn't make sense to buy these anymore. should try japanese. goot or so.

[@haroldsmith45302]

04:33 - "That was pointless." Not at all. Your technical explorations help us. Thank you, Clive. And another thank you for using a fine-tip pen to mark component values on the schematic.

[@michaelkaliski7651]

I would venture to suggest that the high heat is intentional because most of the time these portable irons are likely to be used on outdoor projects with wind cooling a significant factor. Having used standard mains powered irons powered by an extension lead up a ship’s mast, I can say it was a struggle to get enough heat to make decent connections.

[@duroxkilo]

@@Kevin-mp5of to me it looks like a 900M series tip

[@cambridgemart2075]

It's temperature controlled, so should be able to maintain whatever temperature it is set to without being set ridiculously high.

[@ManWithBeard1990]

What I've done to my Yihua iron is to add an aluminium shim between the ceramic heater and the tip. There's other ways to do it but providing better coupling between those parts dramatically improves performance.

[@ManWithBeard1990]

​@@Kevin-mp5of Don't worry, it's not meant to fit together that tightly, so there is some room to move.

[@robertsneddon731]

@@Kevin-mp5of I bought three el-Cheapo mains soldering irons from The Usual Suspects and have them set up with different tips for various jobs rather than swapping tips around on one soldering iron. My "Hakko knockoff" tips are actually genuine Hakko tips which I bought from a little electronics store under Akihabara railway bridge in central Tokyo. Actually quite affordable if you happen to be in the vicinity.

[@rexsceleratorum1632]

@@ManWithBeard1990 I gave up on my 936 clone and moved to a T-12 station. Much better performance because the element is built into the tip.

[@PainterVierax]

@@rexsceleratorum1632 yep since I got a pinecil, I barely use my 936 station anymore.

[@Dandan-tg6tj]

@@Kevin-mp5of The ceramic element ALWAYS expand way less than any metal used for the tip so even if it fits almost perfectly, it would still have room for expansion. As a matter of fact, the higher the temperature, the more room for expansion would be created due to the different expansion of ceramic and the metal.

[@dcallan812]

Very interesting 2x👍 Its funny because the safety people cant work out why you sometimes need to modify a bit of kit or find an alternative. I had a right run in with one while doing some testing. I told my boss who went loopy when I told him the customer would have to wait until I found some new tools and wait for thier delivery. I was back testing 5 mins later.

[@daveh7720]

The safety people are driven by lawyers and insurers, who are detemined to not be put in a position where they have to pay out any money. They use that argument to convince executives that they'll be bankrupt in a month if a technician is allowed to use an unapproved screwdriver.

[@robertsneddon731]

@@daveh7720 Apprentices aren't as cheap and disposable as they used to be.

[@daveturner5305]

can't bounce them off the live rails anymore! 😈@@robertsneddon731

[@johndododoe1411]

I was taught that it's compliant if you scratch off the safety rating too . Then it's officially just an uninsulated screwdriver .

[@markstuckey6225]

15:10 Not only will over-temp damage the bits, also overheat the joints leading to premature failure. Then again you could put a variable resistor in the base unit. Years ago, I used Antex irons exclusively. I found Wellers to be too fragile (worked a lot in the automotive sector). Antex made a huge array of bits, including DIP bits in 8 and 16 (the easiest way ever to remove THT ICs). But they never made temp-controlled irons. I originally made an (rectified to DC) analog controller based on the resistance of the element (current controlled). Later on, I redesigned it with A PIC 16F84 (remember them) when they came out last century. It proved to be much more stable and even heating. For a few useconds, every two seconds the supply voltage would disconnect and read the resistance of the element thus determining the current for the next two seconds. What a great, even revolutionary, those PIC uCs were. When I first started in the mid-late 1970's, components were very delicate, and we used to use simmerstats and made sure it didn't melt plumber's solder to determine how high the temp was, then we got thermocouples. Thanks for letting an old man reminisce. Thanks again for this posting. Always interesting to see how things are designed.

[@damonburroughs5283]

They did make a TCS series, possibly later on , 80's I think, basically a 50w Iron with a small pot on Iron itself. I still use Antex to this day

[@TheSlyMouse]

Fascinating, I always love when you modify a device.

[@solarfusionuk]

Thanks Clive. Added a 22 ohm resistor into the iron as you described and now it's actually a useful soldering iron. Previously it was getting far too hot to actually be of any use.

[@cuddlestsheep5863]

I'm glad I'm not the only person who modified their electrical safety screwdriver 😂

[@AlexanderKrivacsSchrder]

@@Kevin-mp5of It's called the singular they. It's been around for hundreds of years. Get with the times.

[@jamesplotkin4674]

@@Kevin-mp5of The pronoun crazies won't like the use of "his" soldering iron.

[@sierra991]

​@@Kevin-mp5ofclearly you lack a basic understanding of grammar

[@remty516]

If you look at the original comment, a "person" could be he or she, it's neutral, so using singular "they" makes sense. At least it does to me. A neutral pronoun is a thing that exists in many languages, and you have the luxury of having one that's pretty damn natural to use even if it didn't originally exist. Some gendered languages like French are really inadequate to use in a neutral form, and to me, it personally feels like a missing "feature" to my home language. To see English speakers complaining about something that has seen a lot of use for over a decade already, when we don't even have that option here, is kinda annoying.

[@maidsandmuses]

If you are not working on mains or high voltage equipment, an electrical safety screwdriver isn't really needed anyway, although they can help prevent accidental shorts when working on battery powered stuff. I've seen electricians use them on kitchen cupboard door hinges... Slim versions _are_ available should you need them for live equipment; you don't have to butcher a regular one.

[@ferrumignis]

Clive, the controller appears to be an OB6606 made by On-Bright Electronics, and is intended to be a brushed motor controller which includes a microcontroller, 5v regulator and a rail to rail amplifier. I can't find a datasheet for it though.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Looks promising. Shame they don't even have a numbered pinout for it.

[@linuxranch]

Five decades ago, a US company that made "electronic kits" to build your own equipment, called "Heathkit" had a soldering iron kit. It had a tapped secondary, a selector (high, medium, low and off) switch, and a GE soldering iron handle and tip. The kit assumed you didn't own a soldering iron. It instructed the owner to wrap the stranded wire internal connections around the connection tabs, crimping them with needle nose pliers. Then they told you to plug the iron in, wait for the tip to heat up, unplug the iron, and solder it's internal connections using itself! There is no way such a product would pass muster with the "safety goons" today. I miss the old days! It automatically excluded idiots from the hobby! (They were busy taking up a tray down at the Coroners.) There top of the line kit was a fairly large screen color TV. It had it's own built-in alignment instruments for adjusting circuits as you built them!

[@TheGreatAtario]

Yeah, no soldering exists today, damned "safety goons" (◔_◔)

[@u.e.u.e.]

Even not understanding each and every detail - your channel is widening the knowledge to things you normally don't see; temperature regulated soldering irons, ionizers, dimmable LEDs, destilled spirits (when will be the next one of mulled wine, hopefully before Christmas 🤭), electromechanical displays and so on - cool! 😃👍 Thank you, Clive!

[@JWolff-md3ij]

Mulled wine please🤚

[@AnonyMous-pi9zm]

Give it a few more years of watching, and you'll be understanding everything, and fixing the flickering LED light driver for your electronics workbench at work. I did it yesterday. Thanks Clive! :)

[@kingofnfsfan]

I have been using a modded A1 for a while now and its crazy what you can do with it for such a low price. I can solder tiny SMD components and XT90 connectors with a bit of practice. That beeing said, i recently tried a friends Pinecil V2 and that is just on another level. I will probably buy one of these for christmas this year.

[@lloydevans2900]

As I understand it, the corrosion of soldering iron tips is primarily caused by the solubility of the metal the tip is made from in the molten solder. Temperature is also a factor, since the hotter the molten solder is, the faster other metals can dissolve into it. Using solid copper tips with traditional leaded solder is rarely a problem. The 40% lead (or 37% for eutectic grade) lowers the melting point such that copper from the tip doesn't dissolve in the solder to any significant degree. Lead-free solder is a very different story though. For a start, it is at minimum 99% tin, so the melting point is much higher. But it also has between 0.5% and 1% copper already alloyed with it, so copper is clearly soluble in tin. At the higher temperatures required to melt the lead-free solder, copper dissolves into it much faster. So if you are going to do a lot of soldering with lead-free solder, don't use a solid copper tip - unless you want the copper from the tip to end up in all the solder joins you make.

[@AnonyMous-pi9zm]

I had a hakko tip dissolve to the point of unusability after 3 months of 8 hours a day always on at 780F, 37% solder. I beat the hell out of that tip, and 3 months of my tools for 20 bucks is still super profitable. If you're using it hobbiest grade, an hour or two per week, and you aren't using the iron at 900F like this one was unmodified, it'll last you a long time. I really think tip wear isn't something to be SUPER concerned about.

[@silviuguseila2552]

@@AnonyMous-pi9zm wear not, corrosion yes, most hobbiests will have this issue, the tip gets corroded although they do not use it much, and it becomes very difficult to use it or to restore it to a nice shiny surface

[@cambridgemart2075]

Actually copper is a bad choice as it does dissolve in regular leaded solder, that's why all the decent bits were iron clad copper.

[@pepperpepperpepper]

I just got my first proper soldering station, so this was a very timely video. Especially enjoyed seeing the inside of the handheld part. Not advanced enough to know what the hack was about.

[@bigclivedotcom]

The more you play with electronic stuff, the more knowledge you gain.

[@LordCarpenter]

The "mystery chip" appears to be the OB6606 brush motor controller. Interesting application. Great video.

[@baz8755]

Excellent video and thanks for the resistance values and temperatures as I don't have anything to measure the temp. Over the coming weeks I'll try and source a suitable pot and 3D print an inline enclosure with the temps on the dial. If everything works out I'll add a link to the .stl when I've finished so that others may benifit.

[@patomahony9747]

Nice video Clive. Thanks for sharing One can never have enough soldering irons 15:35 Out and about my go to is an old 3xAA Iron that never worked on the disposable batteries. I discovered I could fit an 18650 holder on it and it’s perfect. On the flip side I mostly use a cheap Chinese iron that has a tiny screen and a temper nsetting on its handle. Only issue I ever had was while working on an ebike one day and left it switched on hanging from the handle bars. After a minute or so I was horrified to find the complete tip glowing red hot. So quickly pulled the power and left it cool before moving it. Appears to be working normally since but I had to replace the tip. As for the current accuracy of the tip will check it with A hand held laser temperature gun when I get a chance some day.

[@Providence83]

With boards that small, I'm a little surprised it has a dock at all. Some clever placement and I reckon you could fit the guts into the handle without it being too bulky of a form factor to handle. Replace the coil with a sheath you just pop it in. Battery can get a belt clip too. Hell actually, the sheath bit is attached to the battery pack so you can holster your "big iron" at your hip, lol!

[@YugoZex]

Clive, this is great video . I wanted to make my own version of portable soldering iron but this gave me idea. This can be even better if added various temp settings with rotary 6 position switch and every position can be different value resistor so it can be more useful. Thanks you just made my day.

[@bikeforever2016]

Thanks Clive, been trying figure this out for weeks.

[@DrJules27]

Thanks. Now I have modified my iron it is a bit cooler and won't be burning through those tips quite so quickly. Great explanation of the circuit.

[@trickysoft]

I bought one of those for working on EM pinball tables, it has been great and even being too hot was good for the industrial writing :) I will turn it down a bit and maybe get a second turned down more for more normal travel use. Thanks for the great tips as always.

[@damustermann]

I use the Wera VDE Slimbit screwdriver, it's slim enough to get into tight openings, I love it. Changeable tips and VDE and slim. All that you need.

[@maidsandmuses]

Indeed, they are very useful. Interesting channel logo you have there by the way, looks a little familiar... 😁

[@KG4JYS]

You should try a cartridge-based soldering iron (JBC or a JBC clone). While the genuine stations are expensive at $450 and up, you can get knockoff bases for closer to $50 USD and plug a real JBC handle and cartridge into it. You've got the skill to use one of the Weller style irons as you show here but cartridge tips are just so much better as they keep the tip at temp much better.

[@meowchin]

Pinecil sells for 26 bucks and also has tips with integrated temperature probes (Hakko T15 style). It can be powered from USB C PD or via a DC barrel. There's ton of adapters on thingiverse for different powertool batteries.

[@tonyweavers4292]

I've never seen any of these irons in Lidl, I always look out for them.

[@the_grand_tourer]

There's a rush each time BC does a vid. Give it a week or two, well before his next one.

[@matthewmarks6951]

@@the_grand_tourer Lidl doesn't work like that. They come up perodically - not, as far as I know, synchronised with Big Clive videos on the subject!

[@marcse7en]

Hey Big Clive, you'd be right at home in my flat, it's currently 10.1c! ❄️ And that's how it's been in winter for the last 20 years! The lowest indoor temperature ever was around 3c! The green PCB was pulsating in brightness!

[@rexsceleratorum1632]

Winter here in India and only 33C outside currently.

[@paulmcdonough9595]

Thank you for the hack Clive, it’s great that we don’t have to open base with all that this entails. I must look out for one of these, it will come in handy for repairs ‘in the field’.

[@trueriver1950]

These units are great for someone like me who only rarely wants to solder things. It is indeed my only spring iron, so if I was going to do the back I'd go into the local hackspace and use their soldering iron. I'll not be making a special trip, but next time I am visiting them anyway I will probably do this while I'm there.

[@AlphaLimaTango]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🛠️ *The video is a revisit to the LIDL soldering iron series, focusing on the B2 version. It's the third video covering these units.* 00:30 🔍 *The B2 version has a button issue, possibly misaligned. The video will test its functionality and address the problem.* 02:06 🌡️ *The soldering iron temperature is found to be too high at 480°C, requiring exploration and potential adjustment.* 05:38 🧰 *The soldering iron internals are explored, revealing a hackable design. The key components include a temperature sensor, MOSFET, and a control board.* 08:12 📐 *The schematic of the soldering iron's circuit is explained, detailing the connections, power supply, and temperature sensing mechanism.* 10:56 📉 *The video discusses a mysterious resistor and the monitoring of various parameters like battery voltage and fusible resistor.* 13:40 🛠️ *The video demonstrates a simple hack to adjust the soldering iron temperature by adding a resistor, improving its usability.* 15:57 💰 *The LIDL B2 soldering iron is considered affordable and, with a minor hack, can be a reliable tool for soldering tasks.* Made with HARPA AI

[@davidkempton2894]

Thanks for sharing this, Clive. I will modify mine very soon!!

[@matthewf1979]

I’m impressed with the Hakko FX600. They managed to fit the temp control inside of the pencil style handle. It’s really good temperature control too.

[@Fynn.s]

3:05 wiha has VDE screwdrivers that are very slim that will be Perfect for that Situation

[@tinygriffy]

Probably not a bad idea to add a little pushybutton that can be hotmeltglued to the handle to bridge the resistor mod in case you need the extra oompf...

[@bigclivedotcom]

That's not a bad idea.

[@erikdenhouter]

When the iron is tamed down the chance of a faulty heating element also reduces, and then you are tempted to buy some more spare tips at start. Hate to choose between enough tips for the future and a faulty heater, or a working heater without a clean tip.

[@zedman442]

Thanks! I instantly bought this when I saw this a few weeks ago in lidl. It does run way too hot though so this hack is most welcome! 😊

[@dodgydruid]

I am a big fan of Parkside, my oldest item is a 16v cordless drill which after many years is still going very strong and even the battery is solid and performs as good as it was when new. My Parkside cordless dremel thingy is also just as resilient, think I bought it like six years ago and it gets used a great deal, I give it a drop of oil in the end bit once collet is removed and its weird in I can leave it months without use and keeps its charge perfectly. Cordless impact driver still game too, very potent driver again the 20v battery just goes on and on, last year I really hammered down on it removing buggered lug nuts off a front car wheel, did very well. I do have the Parkside "base" mains soldering gun with its little station which is basically a storage box with a spring, sponge and a pair of handy "arms" for holding work, I use that for heavy soldering stuff, got a Katsu soldering station for dog work and a rework station with hot air and a fine tip I made into a crows beak for micro stuff.

[@mmdirtyworkz]

1mil subs, congratulations! Very well deserved!

[@AnonyMous-pi9zm]

Looks pretty similar to the Hakko FX801 iron. Could probably use replacement tips and heating elements. Good for repairability and longevity.

[@8bpspfreak2]

I bought the original version online, but they sent the B2 version to me instead. So I went on and modified it by adding a 1k Ohm 30-turn small, but long, knob potentiometer (didn't have any potentiometer with lower resistance and normal amounts of turns). I can basically regulate it really finely with that. Can do max. 4 turns from the start of one side, so basically roughly 130 Ohms-ish before it flashes an error. When it flashes the error, you have to unplug it from the battery to react again, no matter what you do with the potentiometer. Also it still seems to heat up to like 200°C when it has that error, again no matter what the potentiometer is set to. I found that the iron almost instantly flashes the "I'm done heating up" when i use high resistance to get the lower temps. And even if i use it at the absolute minimum temperature before the error, it does heat up to lower temperatures, but after like 10 minutes or so it is at 380-400°C again. (not much used in that time though) It just seems to heat up very slowly, compared to its original nuclear blast setting or any other iron i have in general. But hey, way WAY more usable this way and actually quite neat with the long cable and cheap and versatile - doubling as nice weight to stabilize the base - batteries! And congrats to the 1 Million!

[@mr.b.4048]

Never one to be interested in electronics, but I found this a compelling watch 👍

[@radio-ged4626]

Great hack, nice and simple to do. I don't think it would worry me to pull the labels off the main circuit board box. So I think I would drill a hole in the case and put a miniature pot in (wired as a variable resistor) for between 0 and 33 Ohms to give me a few more options marking the pot position with the various preferred temps.

[@Ni5ei]

Good luck finding one 😂

[@RSTrigger003]

10:41 I think the 180k resistor is connected to another ADC input. Probably this input is used to measure the actual output voltage on the pin which powers the temperature measurement circuit (10k + thermistor). High logic level voltage can be slightly less than 5V, so they want to measure it to get more accurate temperature readings.

[@gregorythomas333]

Great information on hacking this device. BTW: When I go into devices that have labels over the seams...I usually just cut them at the seam-point so I don't need to heat the glue to take them off.

[@Ppau1]

There is currently version c3 in the online lidl shop.This is the one I just purchased. Thanks for the educational video.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Darn. Do I need to get another one now?

[@kornaros96]

​@@bigclivedotcomyeah?

[@Lutchezar]

I saw C3 about two months ago in local store, as owner of A1, I just passed by...

[@grantrennie]

Thank you for another great video Clive 👍

[@Hnkka]

I had parkside soldering iron for years, but now the heating element burned and put up nice spark show for a moment. Im glad that i didnt get shocked

[@alanbickerstaff868]

Thanks Clive I went out and bought one of these soldering irons after seeing your original video and couldn't understand why I couldn't lower the temperature like you had shown. I will now try this hack although I fixed the outside fairy lights today that I managed to cut though in two places last summer works fine when it's only 2 degrees outside . Has you say works great has a portable soldering iron

[@jonplatt231]

Just had a look and the IC is from On Bright and is an OB6606. Apparently for motor control.

[@snik2pl]

Always wanted one, but then i found 3d stl files for x20 battery adapter, added case, switch, socket and cable for my TS100 soldering iron and works great.

[@seymourpro6097]

The middle of my Lidl had these irons a while ago, worryingly the tip burned itself to destruction. Perhaps a 22ohm resistor will return it to normal function. Thanks Clive.

[@Palmit_]

had same. they just destroy themselves. i thought it were old solder i was using causin the problem.

[@davidcoates4852]

When I was about 7 I remember my uncle soldering my toy airplane with the handle of a teaspoon heated on a gas stove. Nice video, great hack 🔧👍

[@rambo1152]

I once left my iron at home when I went on a service call, I had some solder though, so I took the faulty item to my car and used the cigar lighter (remember those?) as an iron.

[@jamesderrick8201]

22R added in series with the white wire. Probably took longer to find the resistor pack in the selection box than to make the mod! Anyone remember buying Radio Shack resistor packs of five? 😊

[@DrHarryT]

Maybe put a potentiometer [or a sw to bypass the resistor] in a little box on the cord to create a variable so if you need full heat it's available. This of course means not hacking the soldering wand itself.

[@A7mag3ddon]

What value Pot would you need to keep it in the useable range, say max temp down to maybe 360?

[@Palmit_]

pots are measured in resistance. simply make sure the pot is capable of dealing with the most resistance possible. Clive showed us a little card/lookup reference in the video that you can use as a guide. but consider, heat dissipation (cooling) requirement is going to be greater with the more larger resistance figures. @@A7mag3ddon conversely... the higher the pot value that the iron cant reach will give you more control (rotate it more between temps. ) i mean that with a smaller value pot, you might go from min, to max with only half a degree of rotation. if you get what i mean.. ?

[@DOCWHOK9]

I'd love to see you add a Resistance pot to the wand instead. Perhaps with a temperature readout.

[@Badgii]

Regarding the voltage monitoring. I have a theory, that the old non balancing batteries (PAP20 A3 and A1) actually does not have the under voltage T pin disconnecting feature. I use them on my DIY light and it seems that the T wasn't disconnected even if voltage was pretty low. I wanted to do more research there, but unfortunately got interrupted with "family situation". So I can't really confirm this now. :(

[@flippy9133]

the old "dumb" batteries do not have undervoltage protection as lidl decided to put it inside the tools.

[@SeanBZA]

More than likely, and the second RCD on the thermistor connection was there to allow sensing if the old battery was connected. Also likely a common microcontroller firmware, used with all sorts of batteries, many of which probably, due to being cost cutted, do not actually have a temperature sense pin, or even a BMS board on them, relying on the tool itself to provide that.

[@matthewmarks6951]

@@flippy9133 I don't think the new ones do either do they? They've just added balancing instead of simply having unbalance detection.

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

I usually have my iron (Pinecil) at 330 to 360 C. I really should calibrate both the iron I stashed at my work bench (V1) and the one in my repair kit (V2). One time I found that a guest engineer had set the V1 to 420 C, which means either he was soldering an insane chunk of copper, he forgot to lower the temp, or he didn't know how to turn it down. Either way, he drained the battery in a day's work. A colleague of mine set the workbench Hakko FX-888D a little too hot and left it on, so all but a tiny bit of the tip was oxidized to the point where tip tinner barely made a mark on the black gunk. Had to swap out the tip, I didn't want to risk eating a hole in the clean bit while trying to de-oxidize the rest of it.

[@louismarina7225]

03:29 unlike you, I have needed the safety industry to save me from my own stupidity :) and I appreciate the sometimes over engineered safety mechanisms we have in the UK

[@jpt3640]

"The safety industry is very detached from reality." 😂 Made my day!

[@TechGorilla1987]

@4:00 - "We're gonna' do the right thing and forget we even saw that." Derek - Vice Grip Garage.

[@steveoddlers9696]

Wera (and others probably as well) are now selling slimmer VDE screwdrivers. I'd imagine they might be not as robust with the thinner shaft, but I've not handled any of those yet.

[@RcAircraft]

I liked this one very informative. 👍 I have the mains powered version but still interesting to see what the battery version is like.

[@TunsaMcHaggis]

old safety regulations were written in blood, new ones are written in bureaucracy

[@GJToken]

Could you de-solder the wire on the base side of the iron and place a potentiometer in series instead and have an adjustable voltage? or a rotary switch with multiple resistors attached for fixed values? 🤔 5:17 Curiously, where do those 4 pads trace back to?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Those are for testing or programming the microcontroller.

[@DraganPanjkov]

Yes, you could, I did exacly that, I added 100Ohm pot in series with the black wire.

[@jawaligt]

I'm using a very nice soldering iron that runs on USB-C called the Pinecil. It has all sorts of nifty features such as digital temperature control and an automatic off function when it detects you're no longer holding it. It uses replaceable tips compatible with PT-100. It even runs an operating system of sorts which you can upgrade. Using a Pinecil or similar device with a power bank that's compatible with the PD spec (15w would probably be the minimum, but I saw the Pinecil 2 takes up to 88W) might be a good alternative for something like this.

[@merlin5476]

I have a Metcal soldering iron that played up so i thought I'd take the psu apart to find what i thought would be a dry joint !!! It is the most complex circuit I've seen for a soldering iron. Some kind of high frequency device !! Quite odd, as it doesnt have a variable heat controll at all, but is the best iron I've ever had, i seen the odd 2nd hand one on line ... normally around the £ 250. Mark !! .

[@Spritetm]

Yep, they're actually using 13MHz signal to heat up the tip in the same way an induction stove heats up the pan. They're really decent, even today!

[@skysurferuk]

Many thanks for this usefully awesome video, Clive! 👍

[@u.e.u.e.]

3:19 "... the health- and safety advisors will love it." A friend of mine had been working in a bicycle wholesale company. One day someone rang the door. He opened, wearing shorts and flipflops, a mojito and a cigar in his hand. "I'm your health- and safety advisor from the local administration and I'd like to do a safety inspection now." 🤣🤭🤪😂

[@phonotical]

Soldering sponge, hands up anybody whose ever actually used one of these...

[@bigclivedotcom]

I used to, but it's mainly the brass sponge now.

[@Badgii]

I did use it for a long time. In the past I even used a "brick" of salmiac (ammonium cloride) but it somehow "eats" not only the dirt from the tip. This was not a problem for the copper tip on the transformer soldering iron, but it became disaster for the expensive tip of my gas powered iron. Thus I switched to the wet sponged. Now I sort of use both the one that needs to be soaked and a brass one. Not sure why, but in some situations the water steam seems to work better then the brass sponge. But in most situations the brass one is faster. There go my two cents to this topic.

[@phonotical]

@@Badgii I never used it at all, a quick flick or a run always got rid of anything on there for me, I think steam might be faster because - there's this thing about bubbles being more effective at removing materials from objects, like cleaning, so maybe it helps to get under crud and a late it off as it expands into little steam pockets, no idea My tip went through all sorts, but changing too a new one never felt right and I always changed back to the old one, copper or coated etc, I tried them all, at one point I even heated it to red hot with a blow torch (while off the iron) and dip it in mineral oil to treat it (just because) and that -seemed- to fix any problems I'd had with the tip, in preventing it getting any shorter (I think possibly the constant heating of the metal weakens it over time) I've only abandoned it now thanks to an unrelated fire, and temporary displacement in living arrangements, but at least 5 or 6 years service!

[@patatapatatera934]

From what I know, Parkside doesn't include overdischarge protection in its battery packs, only overcharge and cell balancing. Probably the purpose of that voltage sense is just that overdischarge protection

[@loganmacgyver2625]

I got a screw in parkside iron with a potentiometer for temperture, it was nice until the tip started to wear. Apparently you cannot find tips for it unless you buy a new iron

[@xj650t]

Finally did the hack as I'm off to the loft to fix the one broken addressable LED in the string and need it to not be 500C and melt the tape.

[@volkris]

I keep waiting for these to show up in the US, and I'm jealous because they haven't!

[@Space_Reptile]

putting solder on a fresh iron is like burning insense to me, love that smell

[@remarkamado9340]

"ONE MOMENT PLEASE" that should be printed on your merchandise

[@jkobain]

That PVA or cellulose sponge, I gave them a try, yet so far the best option in my opinion is a metallic (brass or stainless steel) sponge. For instance, a basic dishwashing one will do just fine.

[@Spritetm]

You probably want to get a brass one; the basic dishwashing steel ones are hard enough that long-term they scrape the coating off your iron point, making your solder eat a hole through the underlying metal.

[@jkobain]

@@Spritetm I tend to think various compounds eat that layer through anyway. But thank you for your advice!

[@EnriqueGonzalez-rt1uq]

Hello, congratulations on Your 1 M subs...🎉🎉 . Like Your channel..

[@sjoervanderploeg4340]

OB6606 is a monolithic, high performance, low cost brush motor controller It is a MOSFET driver with MCU.

[@CoffeeFurret]

12C is nuts. I like it set to around 18C even in winter when temps drop to around -9C.

[@KarenTookTheKids364]

Photo and print quality is absolutely insane for the PCB

[@bigclivedotcom]

No secrets on this channel. It was printed on generic glossy photo paper with an Epson ecotank printer, and the photo was taken like this:- kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmfWcoZjrpdkrqM

[@Aloh-od3ef]

Returned as faulty…. Then put back on the shelf! Naughty Lidl 😂😂

[@dave0smeg]

Isopropyl Alcohol is good for loosening labels, including security and warranty. Once the solvent has evaporated you can reattach the label.

[@matthewmarks6951]

And stuck-down batteries.

[@RobertPucovsky]

The only problem with Lidls soldering irons is their tips are non standard and I can't seem to find a replacement, at least not in my area. I had to Jerry rig a tip from another soldering iron to fit mine, which is a wall powered station with a knob to set the temperature.

[@IiTzToss]

For real, lidl's tips are always a pain in the ass to get hold of. The only one that takes standard bits is, ironically, the one in this very video... This one takes standard 900M tips

[@VikOlliver]

I take the stub of the old bit and drive it very,very hard into the hollow in some locally available Chineseium bit.I was intending to tap and screw it, but turns out not to be necessary.

[@0ThomasOMalley0]

Can confirm this hack working for C3 models too.

[@mfx1]

OB6606 integrates high performance MCU, power MOS driver，high-resolution 5V regulator, high-speed rail-to-rail amplifier, comparator for over current protection(SCP). OB6606 provides higher flexibility, lower volumn and lower cost motor control system.

[@PJ-om2wq]

I had never thought of running a soldering iron from a drill battery. I have a pine64 PineCil iron and some 18V DeWalt batteries, I'm sure it would work. The only problem is figuring out how to stop the battery becoming over discharged and damaging it.

[@joeynebulous816]

15:10 The conical pointy tip that it was supplied with stared eroding within 20 mins of use with me using flux, my own known good solder and switching it off when I knew I wouldn't be using it for a few mins. I was so tempted to take it back to the store when I realised it wasn't an A1 version. 480C is an absolute joke and I have no idea why Parkside would feel that temperature is appropriate for soldering. Rant over.

[@tazz1669]

Thanks Clive i have one of these, now I know how to hack it I'll take the temperature down a bit

[@rackneh]

Heyyyy I got that one from a friend like 10 years (not b2, but def from Lidl and almost the same) ago and I still use it today But then again Lidl has been here for like 30 years

[@TokkanFX]

Can you mount a 100ohm pot on the body for a variable temp soldering iron?