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A lot of soldering iron stands have the metal shaft of the soldering iron in contact with a metal part of the stand. Is this desirable, or should it be avoided?

I've had a couple of those stands with the chrome plated springy spiral that surrounds the shaft. Some designs are made of plate metal and the shaft rests on the metal. Either way, heat is drawn away from the iron and the stand itself heats up.

Shouldn't a stand ideally not come in contact with the shaft/tip of the iron at all? Why are these designs so common?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't see anything bad about the stand drawing an insignificant amount of heat from the iron. Honestly, if the iron cools down while in the stand, that's a good thing, it reduces wear on the iron. Though this wouldn't happen to any significant degree from just a metal iron stand; the usual way is either a motion sensor to see when the iron is in use (Weller) or a magnet in the stand and a reed switch in the handle (JBC). \$\endgroup\$
    – Hearth
    Jun 3, 2022 at 0:03
  • \$\begingroup\$ no issues amazon.ca/Weller-PH100-Solder-stand-W100PG/dp/B00FS75W94 \$\endgroup\$
    – Tony Stewart EE75
    Jun 3, 2022 at 0:03
  • \$\begingroup\$ The designs are common because it's not an issue. The tip gets way way way hotter than the metal shaft that connects it to the plastic handle. The heater doesn't heat ALL the metal up to 'solder melting' temperature, just the tip. So don't rest the tip on your stand, and you're good to go. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kyle B
    Jun 3, 2022 at 1:19
  • \$\begingroup\$ I find the springyness quite annoying, especially on irons that aren't stations because the cord weighs down the entire handpiece and can pull the iron out if it's not stable. \$\endgroup\$
    – DKNguyen
    Jun 3, 2022 at 3:17
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for the comments. I'm not so concerned about it now. Cheers. \$\endgroup\$
    – Molonglo
    Jun 4, 2022 at 0:16

1 Answer 1

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Decent soldering irons cycle down the temperature when you place them in the stand. The cartridge shouldn't sit there unused at some 350°C or the tip life will be reduced, so you ideally want it to cool down. Though as mentioned in comments, the very tip itself should not be resting against anything.

Great solder irons (read: Metcal) don't just lower the temperature when not used, but also heat up quickly as you remove the tip from the stand. Poor ones (like my Hakko...) lower the temperature but heat up so slowly that the feature becomes a useless burden during bigger solder jobs. As always, pick one corresponding to your needs.

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