USB-C connectors, along with the QC/PD higher voltage negotiation standard, have made their way into our homes for good - but should they also make their way into soldering irons?
I invite you to test the Yato YT-82490, a soldering iron compatible with the popular T12 soldering tips, bought for just 130 PLN in a Polish mail order shop. Was it worth it? How will it cope with lead and lead-free solder and a massive motherboard? Let's find out!
Let's start with the basics. The YT-82490 operates from 9 to 24 volts, with a claimed power output of up to 65 watts. It complies with the QC/PD standard and uses T12 blades. It offers an easy-to-read OLED display, autohibernation and calibration to adjust the displayed temperature to the actual temperature. The kit is really extensive, plus everything comes in a sturdy case.
With three leads, including one with crocodile clips, this soldering iron could even be fired from the battery. It promises to be promising. One T12 tip for testing is also included - T12-D24.
Instructions:
The soldering iron is slim and handy. It fits well in the hand. The tips are not additionally fixed, so they can be hot-swapped, although they did not give a gripper for this.
The display is clear and easy to read, and looks better in person than in the photos. Even the input voltage is shown, and you can also change the language in the options.
The display is also easy to read
The whole thing is indeed capable of switching on 20 V with a suitable QC/PD-compatible power supply. What's more, I used a really old unit for testing, still from a 2021 Xiaomi 11T. The five-year-old hardware is fully capable.
Now it's time for proper testing.
Wire soldering - Sn60Pb40 lead binder - 250°C
To start with the total basics. Is it possible to solder the wires together comfortably?
Very pleasant and fast work. No complaints.
Wire soldering - Sn60Pb40 lead binder - 350°C:
Higher temperature - all too high here, but it went just as easily.
Wire soldering - lead free binder - 250°C:
Lead-free binder requires a higher temperature. At first it didn't want to melt, but it still worked.
Big pad test - Sn60Pb40 - 350°C
Now a slightly different test. Does the soldering iron heat efficiently enough to handle the larger pad?
No major problems.
Second pad:
Fun to solder the connector - 450°C:
A bit of such silly wrestling came out as the board was riding in front of the camera, but I tried applying lead binder to the connector solder and seeing if I could get it all hot enough to get the connector off the PCB. I then cleaned up the holes a bit with braid:
Results:
Not a bad way to clean it up, even considering the "riding plate" and camera tripod blocking the movements. It's a bit of a shame about the braid, suction would have been better, but I wanted to see if the heating would be enough to pick up the binder with it. Without a doubt, this soldering iron does the job.
Heating from 0 and playing with the cottage solder - 480°C:
This time the soldering iron heats up from 0, you can see it in the video. Then I try to wildly solder a transistor from it, which also has a large ground pad. Will there be enough heat output? We are about to find out.
It did the job, and a little bit of hole cleaning too, although the PCB could still be improved.
As above, test number 2 - 480°C:
Successful again, undoubtedly giving this soldering iron a go.
Brief test of actual heating power - comes out 40 W.
Finally, I still pressed the soldering iron against a wet sponge, you can nicely see how it reacts to the drop in temperature and increases the power.
In summary , it's better than I thought. I expected trouble getting 20 volts from my old power supply for the Xiaomi 11T, thought I'd have to use an adapter and run the soldering iron with a laptop power supply, and here's such a pleasant surprise - everything works fine. Comfortable to work with this soldering iron. The wide selection of T12 soldering tips gives room for improvement, and the soldering iron, contrary to appearances, does not "starve" them of energy and they heat so that you can cope even with larger mass spouts (of course, also depending on the tip used). In addition, the whole thing potentially allows for hot-rod replacement, as no tightening is required. I think it's a good buy. Indeed, it is a more contemporary version of what I used to present:
Test of KSGER STM32 V3.1S OLED T12 soldering ministation and Fubarino SD soldering
A side benefit is that you could potentially power this from the same powerbank as your phone or tablet. One common standard has its pluses.
Do you use a soldering iron, or perhaps other tools on USB C?
Cool? Ranking DIY Helpful post? Buy me a coffee.
