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  1. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Chuck, I've re-read your earlier message - and it makes sense to me now, with my own realisation of where my problem was: overheating within the soldering iron itself. Thanks for drawing my attention to that - I'm only sorry I didn't pick up what you were telling me earlier (but as I've said...
  2. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Hi DanMcG ... I'm afraid photographs were far from my mind yesterday, and today I'm getting ready for a week's trip ... but when I get back I'll see if I can master the photo thing. Is there a guide somewhere on the forum?
  3. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Well, I'm happy to report that it looks as if the problem of the RCD/GFCI tripping has been solved! I loosened the screw on the barrel of the soldering iron, drew the tip out an extra half an inch or so, and tightened it ... drilled a hole in my new can the same diameter as the tip ... filled...
  4. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Just about midnight here in Scotland. Will try a two-hour cheese-smoking (Cheddar) session tomorrow using the "new", modified, tip-only technique with my soldering iron. I'll presumably have to fill the can a few times (I haven't succeeded in using the soldering-iron-and-can technique for...
  5. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Hi again ... the electrician has just been. He had a couple of special test meters with him. Electrically, he found nothing wrong with the RCD (GFCI) or the soldering irons or the extension leads. When I set up one of the irons and the tin can to produce smoke (which I expected to trip the RCD...
  6. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Linguica : < What's needed here is an IBEW electrician. Or the Scottish equivalent. > I've had one booked for a couple of weeks, he should be here later today. Stovebolt / Chuck : < Just guessing, but I expect that the heat from having the iron inside the cooking area overheated and shorted...
  7. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    DanMcG : < Is there a chance that when your setup was tripping that there was excessive moisture in the air. rain or high humidity? are your cords it good condition? > It was spitting lightly with rain but I had everything covered and protected (as I say, I'm dead scared of electricity because...
  8. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    dward51 : I note and thank you for your words about the concrete slab. Not knowing enough about electricity, I respect - and am dead scared of - the stuff. In my situation I I treat every factor as a possible lethal hazard - including the concrete blocks that are laid on my patio. "Flip...
  9. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    SparkyPyro : < Plug the iron into a non GFCI outlet and see if it trips > It seems that the whole domestic power system in our house is protected by the GFCI so I don't have access to a non-GFCI outlet (and with some kind of fault lurking around, I don't feel like asking the neighbour if I can...
  10. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Linguica : < Something (information) is missing from this problem. 25 + 40 = 65 W..........?? > I have two irons (a 25w and a 40w) and only plug in one at a time so there wouldn't be any question of a simultaneous total of 65w - if I've understood you correctly. < Heating element shorted to...
  11. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Hi Dave ... no, they both say "230v 50Hz" on the actual tool - which is the power standard in Scotland  Thanks - Charles
  12. hotandcold

    Hi from Scotland

    Hi, folks ... I discovered food smoking earlier this year, and I've been having fun with a charcoal BBQ grill using lumpwood for both hot and cold smoking. But obviously it occurs to me that charcoal (with its heat) is not too smart for cold smoking at low temperatures so I bought an A-Maze-N...
  13. hotandcold

    Soldering irons are blowing my fuses

    Hi ... I'm new on the forum ... I enjoy both hot and cold smoking (I'm a charcoal man, live in Scotland). In the case of cold smoking, I've only recently become aware of the soldering-iron technique ... I like it. But I've run into what to me looks like a serious problem: My setup is...
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