How do I use this soldering iron with an American Plug?

FrankFalcon

Hi all

I tried to do a good deed for a mate in work and have made myself look silly. He was doing a soldering job so he bought one from screwfix for less than £20. He said it wouldn’t melt the solder on a high bay led light board and asked me to get him a more powerful soldering iron from Amazon. Me being me I just ordered the highest powered one. I wondered who it took over a week to arrive and then found the answer. It had been shipped from USA. I’m sure I didn’t see this at the time… we discovered it had an American Plug. See pictures. So now I’m stumped. I’ve got a soldering iron that we can’t use. I could try sending it back to Amazon but don’t know if they’ll accept it now the box is open. Or, I could try getting an adapter. What’s your thoughts guys?

chocomonsta

buy an adaptor?

LENCENT US to UK Plug Adapter, 2/3 Pin USA to 3 Pin American Plug Adapter | USA to UK Plug Adapter with 13A Fuse, American, Mexico, Canada to British Travel Plug Adapter, 1 Pack(Type A,B): Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

oldernonethewiser

That gun is 120V so plugging it into UK 220V will likely fry it.

GrahamLM52

I agree with @oldernonethewiser

I'm in the electronics trade and have a soldering gun just like the one you show, but it is the UK version with a UK plug and rated for 240V.

Check the rating plate/label on your gun. If it says 110 or 120V then it's not safe to use in the UK as the UK mains voltage is 240V.

CliveOfIndia

Yep, as per the previous comments, check the voltage it's designed for. Yes, you can buy a plug adaptor, but that's no good if the tool is designed for American voltage (120 V I believe).

I'm sure it's probably possible to buy a voltage converter - you may wish to investigate, but I'm not sure how much it would cost.

But either way, you can't just use a standard adaptor, you need to make sure it's running on the correct voltage.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6681678/how-do-i-use-this-soldering-iron-with-an-american-plug

It's a US style plug, though also widely used in LatAm, Canada and Japan. Most of the americas are on 120v and 60hz whereas UK is 230v and 50hz

You need to find the devices rating plate, some things can run off either electrical supply in which case a decent travel adapter is ok but more likely it's only rated for 120v. Looks like something like a Weller D550 which will go pop very quickly if used on 230v

You could buy a transformer to step down to 120v, it will still be at 50hz but the device can cope with that. Probably be about £75 as you need a half decent one of 750VA given the draw the device is going to have.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82122041#Comment_82122041

https://amzn.eu/d/05szYQLC

this Is the type of thing I think - whether or not youd want one bought off Amazon is up to you!

marlot

Assuming it's this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weller-D650PK-Industrial-Soldering-Gun/dp/B000TDGI18, it appears to be 120v only.

I'd send it back and buy the 230v version https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weller-WLG940023G-Heavy-Duty-Soldering-Applications/dp/B09CZ4CQ8C

marlot

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82122071#Comment_82122071

That adapter looks like it only has two cores in the mains cable, and is marked as class 2 (double insulated).

I don't know whether the USA soldering iron is expecting an earth. If it is, that adapter could be really dangerous.

Bigphil1474

See no.14 Safety Precautions, I'd be sending it back and getting a UK soldering iron.

chrisw

Send it back. They won't be bothered about the box having been opened. Often you get the refund as soon as it's been scanned in at the post office.