Left Soldering Iron On . . . For Two Months!

Man, Terry you are lucky.

You might want to by a Power Ball ticket !!!!!!!!!!

Terry, I'm always worried about doing something like that. Glad you had a good outcome.

Tom

I always consider myself lucky if l don't burn myself, and set it down on concrete floor to cool after using...l trust those things like a chainsaw, and am VERY careful with them.  You have lucked out.

Holy Moly!  For 'lucky outcome'....this has to rank right up there, pal!!

OTOH, it reminds me of a situation in my own life.  After both my parents passed away within 4 months of each other in 1984, the family home was sold.  While my two sisters dealt with the upstairs two floors, I confined myself to the basement....Dad's workshop...his 'man-cave', if you will, of 52 years.  It was a sad and somewhat hallowed experience....taking apart what he had created, used, cherished.

Dad had been pretty savvy when it came to wiring things.  But everyone, as Terry's experience shows, can make a mistake now and then.  Dad had what probably was one of Sears' original 2-bulb flourescent light fixtures hanging over his workbench (which he made, of course!)  Apparently the light fixture came factory-equipped with a short length of wire with a plug on the end.....clearly not enough to reach a wall outlet, but only an outlet mounted on/in the ceiling.  There was a pull-chain from the light fixture for turning it on or off.

Dad had connected the light to a nearby wall outlet by using a simple two-wire extension cord.  The cord was draped over to the wall using a series of metal hooks fastened to the ceiling joist side.  From there it simply hung down to be plugged into the wall outlet.  And there it had sat for, oh, maybe 30-40 years.  I remember the bulbs need replacement at least once....probably more...but other than that, all seemed normal.

On the day I finally had removed the workbench and was ready to take down the light fixture, I pulled the plug from the wall.......and was stunned at what happened next.  Apparently the extension cord had thoroughly dried out from sitting up in the ceiling area, and most of the cord's insulation shattered and came raining down as I finally jostled the wire.  

And there up along the old ceiling joist sat two bare wires hanging on the metal hooks.

Well, needless to say, I thanked the good Lord that 1) I had pulled the plug at the wall before going any further, and 2) someone/something else had not jostled the wires enough to cause a short circuit against that ceiling which would probably caused a devastating fire.  Obviously it was a hugely teachable moment in my life, which has increased my paranoia in considering the use, placement, and quality of any electrical extension cord!!

So, Terry......   Much more to be thankful for this coming week, eh what???

KD

LOL LOL LOL ROFLMAO LOL, sorry.  Gotta pull myself together after that one.  LOL LOL

Rick

An advantage of those spring coil soldering iron rests, like you see on bases, is the safety of them if the iron is forgotten about.

I made two little signs that hang just above the lighting switches for my garage.  One says, "Soldering iron unplugged ?"  the second says, "Heater turned off ?"  

I've done the same thing, only the longest I left it on (so far) was about 4-5 hours or so. My work bench is powered from my train power circuit which has a switch (next to the light switch) that turns everything off when I go upstairs, which helps. 

I have considered getting a timer for my soldering iron and setting it for an hour or so. If you are working with, just reset it and keep going if it times out. After the time I left it on for a few hours I have been thinking about it a little more and this thread may just get me going on it.

I left mine on and went out of town for the weekend. Halfway there I realized I forgot to turn it off and called my dad to go over to my apartment n shut it off. Thankfully I remembered. After that I built a timer from an SSAC timer an outlet and a momentary push button switch. Now when I use my soldering station and glue gun I push the button and tgecoutlets turns in for 30 minutes. It's now a fire n forget system and if I work longer I just push the button again.

One nice thing about my Weller soldering guns, you cannot leave them on.
You have to hold in the trigger to get any heat.

I am joining you on that very soon. Just ordered a timer with 5, 15, 30 & 60 min and 2 & 4 hour push buttons on ebay for >$9 to do exactly that. Now I'm thinking maybe I should have gotten two of them. It was free shipping and they have more so I can always re-order. 

A timer is a good idea.

I use a gun a lot, but comparing is like comparing a magic wand to an elephant gun for those less skilled.

No criticism here as I have done my share of bonehead mistakes but you are very lucky. Thank God no one got hurt. One time I left my soldering iron on and about an hour later I realized it. I felt like I had dodged a bullet. 

Wow,can't believe you wanted to share that with us,we all make dumb moves that's how we learn....

You wanna see a dumb move, backed into my friends corvette that I knew was there

I have never backed into anything until I got this truck. I feel pretty bad but he couldn't have been cooler about it. It's just a car, could've been worse, don't even worry about it. Those were his statements

Matt Makens posted:

You wanna see a dumb move, backed into my friends corvette that I knew was there

That isn't going to buff out..... good news it can be fixed. 

Matt - Glad that wasn't mine!! I've been known to have anger issues... 

Many years ago, I was building a catenary system for my Hi-Rail layout.  I built it using 1/16" brass rod.  I did all of the work in place on the layout.  I had a small gas torch.  Can't remember if it was butane or propane, but it had to be lit by an open flame, so I had a candle burning in a tuna fish can.  Well long story short, we all went out and about two miles down the road, I remembered the cable.  Did I blow it out or not.  I turned around and drove back home to find it still burning.  Most likely nothing would have happened since it was sitting in a can, but I was shaken just the same.

Gilly@N&W posted:

Matt Makens posted:

You wanna see a dumb move, backed into my friends corvette that I knew was there

That isn't going to buff out..... good news it can be fixed. 

"Dont worry I'm a train repairman, I've got an AWESOME set of tools."

"....or wait, it's my dog that's awesome".

...how 'bout some smooth duct tape and some tasty Testors yellow!

On top of my awesome set of tools and my awesome dog I've got an awesome friend too. And I can't leave my soldering iron on

I've had the front end ran over in two vettes, not mine; a BMW rear ended with 8 miles on it, not mine, a brand new work van, maybe 10,000milez, sideswiped not mine, 3 day old pickup, headlight adjustment, mine, vintage van, t-bone, near flip, mine. ...two under 5mph, the rest standing still, 4 bent frames, 2 totaled (BMW&Vette, both sitting still)

I had a Hummer take some small windshield and roof damage too......from a soldering iron.

Funny how backing into a corvette is train related since I was coming back from Lowe's after picking up some wire for his layout. I fell pretty bad, a lot worse than he does I think.

That's one of the reasons I have gun style by Weller. I know I probably  shouldn't but I leave both of them plugged in. 

Those guns are just too hard to use when you have tons of soldering to do. Hard on the ol trigger finger

I'm really happy to read these posts I do a lot of dumb things and up till now have put it down to my age that I'm just getting old and stupid, now I feel good.

Thanks guys for cheering me up!

Now where did I put that bottle of glue? Fridge? safe? clothes closet? Roo.

Decades ago I left mine on and use a re-settable 15 amp household timer at the plug.

I am joining you on that very soon. Just ordered a timer with 5, 15, 30 & 60 min and 2 & 4 hour push buttons on ebay for >$9 to do exactly that. Now I'm thinking maybe I should have gotten two of them. It was free shipping and they have more so I can always re-order. 

A link would be appreciated. I looked on EBay, and the only ones I found were more expensive.
I think this would be OK, as long as you are not the seller.

 If I could push an easy button, I would go from Lionel to A.C. Gilbert American Flyer.  As a kid I shared American Flyer Trains, with my two brothers. 

Type count down timer in eBay search, you will find many at $9.00

Ray

Type count down timer in eBay search, you will find many at $9.00

Found lots of count down timers for cooking and such at a couple of bucks each. Didn't see any electrical ones in the first few pages I scanned. Thanks anyway.

When I built my work bench, the outlets are powered by the same switch that turns the lights on over the bench, so when I leave and turn the lights off, the outlets go out too.  I did this to specifically prevent what happened in the OP.   Glad you had a good outcome!!

Roo posted:

I'm really happy to read these posts I do a lot of dumb things and up till now have put it down to my age that I'm just getting old and stupid, now I feel good.

Thanks guys for cheering me up!

Now where did I put that bottle of glue? Fridge? safe? clothes closet? Roo.

I've always been stupid.  Now I'm getting old.  Can't win.

Im not stupid but I do some fantastically dumb sh**

Did not leave my Soldering iron on, but this is one I never forget. I think about each time I grab a drill. 

I was working on my first layout control board. 1/4" Luan board was perfect. I was drilling holes for the switches. Board was a little giving too much, so thought I would use my knee to make it sturdier. Worked great, nice and sturdy. Drilled thru the board, my jeans and into my knee. I was watching the bit trying to gauge the depth, Saw the denim material come up followed by skin shavings and then blood. I was watching in slow motion as it did not hurt right away. At least I did not have to reverse the drill to get it out. Real smart move, I know. Still have the scar, and think about overtime I grab the drill.

Truth is, I doubt I'LL ever, EVER forget to turn the soldering iron off again!

But I'm ordering a couple more of these things to be sure there is no repetition of my stupidity!

As for backing into things with vehicles, I swear I broke something EVERYTIME I put the motor home into reverse! Never another vehicle though. It was usually a porch roof . . . or a tree branch up high on the far side while I was watching ever so carefully . . . down low.

Problem has existed for some time.  My wife and the three daughters were always leaving the clothes iron plugged-in, sitting on the ironing board.  Eventually, after many years an iron showed-up that turned itself off.  Got to admit, my ladies were always well dressed and neat.

Wow interesting story. I have sure done my share of similar dumb stuff. It happens all too easily when you are working on a project and get suddenly interrupted by kids, dogs, doorbell, phone, questions from the wife, or any of a million other things that happen in real life.

In the case of the OP its lucky that a curious kid didn't come along sometime during that 2 months and grab the iron dangling there in midair. That would have been nasty.

Got a question though. Was the iron finally hot enough?

Rod

Try this

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html...imer+switch&_sac

Thank you!

3 rail alco doctor posted:

When I built my work bench, the outlets are powered by the same switch that turns the lights on over the bench, so when I leave and turn the lights off, the outlets go out too.  I did this to specifically prevent what happened in the OP.   Glad you had a good outcome!!

 

3 Rail,

          Nice workbench!!! I need ideas on building one, where to start, what I want, layout and so forth. Yours is a good starting point!

C W Burfle posted:

I am joining you on that very soon. Just ordered a timer with 5, 15, 30 & 60 min and 2 & 4 hour push buttons on ebay for >$9 to do exactly that. Now I'm thinking maybe I should have gotten two of them. It was free shipping and they have more so I can always re-order. 

A link would be appreciated. I looked on EBay, and the only ones I found were more expensive.
I think this would be OK, as long as you are not the seller.

Here's the auction number 162121353656. It's a buy it now. That is what others have been posting since some of the posts containing ebay links to electronics have been deleted. The auction title was 'Defiant 6.4-Amp 4-Hour In-Wall Countdown Electrical Switch Light Timer CFL LED' just in case. And no, I am not the seller, but it is from a US seller.

I plan to wire it into the outlet that feeds my soldering iron and I guess I will switch my glue gun to that outlet also. It's only 6 amps, but my soldering station is only 60 or 80 watts so that is more than enough. The 15 amp ones I found were all around $20 and up and I don't need a 15 amp one for what I plan to do. 

This one posted by Terry Danks  a little further down in the thread (just above MikeCT's latest post) looks good too, no wiring involved: 

Terry Danks posted: "But I'm ordering a couple more of these things to be sure there is no repetition of my stupidity!"

Just another one FYI, that looks a little easier as it's plug & play so to speak.

How about those butane soldering kits?  Just purchased one last week.  Just went to use it but it comes with no fuel! 

When my Dad and I built my work bench, we put all the outlets on a switch. With one switch, I can turn off my soldering iron, transformer, magnifier light, and heater (in winter). The added bonus is that the magnifier light tells me if the power is still on, preventing me from leaving anything on. 

Todd Knoll posted:

How about those butane soldering kits?  Just purchased one last week.  Just went to use it but it comes with no fuel! 

You got burned...