Oh yeah, 4800w off a standard plug?

They don't say it can't be used because they know it can be used. They obviously know about UK more than you do. Industrial (or maybe even ordinary trade) generators can produce that kind of power, though I have 0 knowledge about them but somethings are just obvious. The domestic feed for the cooker has that kind of power. 30A is rated at 5100kw. The chinese tool is conveniently and strategically below that.

Copper has natural wetting (sticking) ability for solder. When oxidation fails it, sand it and it's new again. If properly tinned, I believe oxidation will never happen. So, there's not even a need for sanding. I was going to make a thread asking why copper was discontinued. I didn't think anyone would have the right answer, and so I refrained. The real reason I think was to cut material cost for more profit, or deliberately fail products so people had to keep buying more. Copper tips are less suitable for the high temperature needed for lead free solder. It seem to me lead free was a deliberate attempt to fail consumer soldering so that they don't repair stuff and have to buy new. 400C needed for lead free will damage components and melt insulation, also cause rapid oxidation on copper. 60/40 solder melts at 190C. That's all a DIYer needs.

I had some bad china solder. The buggers gave lead free claiming as leaded. The china market for that is contaminated and not worth the hassle. The locally made 60/40 are fine.
 
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opps said:
But what happens if the the item is as described. In your case the chaser is 4800w and 220v, but useless in the UK. At no point does the product say that it cannot be used in the UK, but I suspect that Aliexpress will say the the onus is on the buyer to ensure that it is suitable for their country. AFAIK, given that the product isn't being sold directly in UK. The Aliexpress postage is £126.

I have used Aliexpress twice, the first time to purchase a Japanese product, the second time to order 100 caulk gun nozzles. Both experiences were positive and I will definitely use them again.

BTW, copper soldering tips, I have never used them, and I don't consider myself to be particularly competent at soldering. Can you (please) explain how they make soldering easier, and are there any caveats (regarding temperature etc).
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Copper soldering tips can be recovered from the unrepairable loss of surface wetting that happens to Iron clad bits when left hot and not being used. It only needs a file to expose some fresh surface. Not suitable if your usecase happens to need one of these:
Again, that has those special shenzen watts in use. The delta T when trying to pass 2000W to a point!
So for general use where you need to keep the iron warm, but there are other tasks between each joint then they work quite well. If it is for constant prototype soldering on a large board, then Iron tips kept wetted at all times are more useful.
An alternative is a "METCAL" soldering iron that gets the tip up to temperature in seconds, but that is pricey.
 
opps said:
BTW, copper soldering tips, I have never used them, and I don't consider myself to be particularly competent at soldering. Can you (please) explain how they make soldering easier, and are there any caveats (regarding temperature etc).
Click to expand...

Some tips are copper plated iron, and once you burn them or the copper wears off, they are useless. Best is proper copper, which can be easily cleaned and in a temperature controlled system of some sort.
 
Harry Bloomfield said:
Some tips are copper plated iron, and once you burn them or the copper wears off, they are useless. Best is proper copper, which can be easily cleaned and in a temperature controlled system of some sort.
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an iron coated tip is prone to losing its ability to adhere to the solder, but if used correctly are the right answer for many soldering tasks. The pure copper tips dissolve slowly into the solder.
If you had to solder or repair one of these:
https://www.topline.tv/drawings/images/qfp/QFP208T19.7-2.6.gif a copper tip would not last at all and would need constant refiling.
 
Harry Bloomfield said:
Some tips are copper plated iron
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Never heard of one of those. Only heard of iron plated copper. Then nickel plating on top of the iron plating. The idiotic freebie china tips that come with irons are pure iron with a thin coat (probably sprayed on) of nickel on the wetting tip. Temperature destroys that quickly, turning them useless. A pure iron tip cannot be wetted.
 
Mike13 said:
an iron coated tip is prone to losing its ability to adhere to the solder, but if used correctly are the right answer for many soldering tasks. The pure copper tips dissolve slowly into the solder.
If you had to solder or repair one of these:
https://www.topline.tv/drawings/images/qfp/QFP208T19.7-2.6.gif a copper tip would not last at all and would need constant refiling.
Click to expand...
You are contradicting yourself. Firstly you say copper dissolves slowly. Then you say it will not last. How can it dissolve slowly and then stop lasting quickly?

My tip stays tin plated during and after use and ready to go without the BS elaborate preparation described in youtube videos. Why would it need filing? Compared to conventional tips, I can have as large a wetting area as I want with copper. The discoloration on the silver is flux. The dried flux is not black because the temperature isn't high enough to carbonise it. The apparent "chip" at the end of the tip is a mirror reflection of my monitor.

iron-tip.png
 
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DiyNutJob said:
They don't say it can't be used because they know it can be used. They obviously know about UK more than you do. Industrial (or maybe even ordinary trade) generators can produce that kind of power, though I have 0 knowledge about them but somethings are just obvious. The domestic feed for the cooker has that kind of power. 30A is rated at 5100kw. The chinese tool is conveniently and strategically below that.
Click to expand...

Oh, so they provide it with enough 6mm cable to reach the consumer unit?
DiyNutJob said:
Copper has natural wetting (sticking) ability for solder. When oxidation fails it, sand it and it's new again. If properly tinned, I believe oxidation will never happen. So, there's not even a need for sanding.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that.
 
You want them to supply an electrician too, plus the silver spoons to feed you with?

Paying cheap means you get the bare minimum to get something going. What you do after that is your business. If you want to tap into the cooker supply, makes more sense to go to the cooker, or the space for it. I don't remember seeing 6mm wires coming off a cooker. Whatever supplied by the shop will be adequate for the job, but unlikely to withstand nit picking from armchair BS enforcers. It's very much a case of he who dares, wins. A lot of the things from china are for people who know what they are doing and there will be no hand holding.

You can contact the seller for information, assuming they are not a simple reseller who doesn't know anything. The other place for potential info is youtube.
 
DiyNutJob said:
I don't remember seeing 6mm wires coming off a cooker
Click to expand...

You mentioned a 30 amp cooker. That requires 6mm cable.

DiyNutJob said:
A lot of the things from china are for people who know what they are doing and there will be no hand holding.
Click to expand...

Then for the love of Mike, why are you ordering from China?
 
I buy from china because I dare to win. I don't think you should because you are liable to cut yourself an arm off from accidents. 4800w / 220v = 22a = 2.5mm cable.
 
DiyNutJob said:
It's very much a case of he who dares, wins.
Click to expand...
Sometimes the one who dares does not win but loses.
DiyNutJob said:
A lot of the things from china are for people who know what they are doing and there will be no hand holding.
Click to expand...
People can be ignorant of the hazards and many of these people are painfully surprised when that ignorance allows them to be a loser
DiyNutJob said:
but unlikely to withstand nit picking from armchair BS enforcers.
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Some of the dangerous items that are targeted at the ignorant by unethical manufactures and resellers are removed from sale by the armchair enforcers.
 
No. NO! You and Cleveland Cable have got it all wrong, Bernard. The Chinese manufacturer is the one to trust, according to SuperNutter ;-)
 
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