Homebrew PCBs

Yes Filaments are prone to break with vibrations and flexing from the on/off. I have been using mine through a transformer for Isolation and have used the same Iron for 5 + years. It works fine and I use it daily at work. It will be on an hour or two if I don't forget to turn it off.  The Auto Transformer would be the best, but its the hard thing to find cheap. I don't have one so I used a light dimmer.
Larry Taylor  KF6JBG

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: JanRwl@... 
  To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, September 26, 2004 11:18 PM
  Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Making the simplest board



  In a message dated 9/27/2004 12:47:41 AM Central Standard Time,  
  cvrcsoaring@... writes:

  Use a  Lamp Dimmer or a small autotransformer to turn down the power to your  
  Iron.  They will last along time and you can adjust the heat. Works  great!!!




  Larry:  You suggest two methods here, the effects on the life of a  
  heating-element or light-bulb completely different!  If the "Lamp Dimmer"  you mean is 
  the triac-duty-cycle control kind you buy at Home Depot, the  "chopping" those 
  cause make a lamp-filament or heating-element vibrate, often  even AUDIBLY, 
  and this will NOTICEABLY shorten the useful life!  My  front-door light is left 
  on during dark hours, and the bulb goes out three or  four times per year.  
  Once when the dimmer failed, I temporarily installed  a plain switch, and the 
  bulb lasted more than a year.  Of course, it was a  pain to remember to switch 
  it off during daylight hours, so I eventually fixed  the photo-switch/dimmer, 
  and same thing, again, very, very soon after "working  again".  Moral:  
  Chopped 60 Hz. is TERMINAL to lights and  heating-elements!   Though initially more 
  expensive, an  autotransformer (Variac) would EXTEND the life of either, of 
  course!   JRR


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