I’ve been soldering wires and automotive electrics for years now, and I’m quite blown away at the fact that I hadn’t realised a tool like this existed up till now… A cordless soldering iron! Specifically, a cordless soldering iron from Ryobi’s 4V Lithium collection. Now that I’ve experienced what soldering is like without extension leads getting in the way, I don’t think I can really look back.
With a traditional soldering iron, you have to run cables and extension leads for mains power, which is mostly fine if you’re just working on a desk or a table. But, if you’re working on cars or if you need to move about and want that freedom of movement, a conventional soldering iron is such a pain. In particular, when you spend a lot of time working in the cramped interior of a car.
Typically, I’d need to find a place to rest the soldering torch safely, wait for the soldering tip to get hot, and then having to carefully move around with what is essentially a hot brand in hand, to where I needed to solder, practically immobilised for the most part. It’s not just dangerous and superbly sketchy, but that also makes it way too inconvenient to solder anything with satisfaction.
But now, with Ryobi’s RSI4-120G cordless soldering iron, there are no extension leads! It’s brilliantly small and lightweight, making it perfect for working on cars, since you’ll often be spending time in tiny working spaces and getting around in tight areas. Furthermore, it affords you supreme mobility that you probably didn’t know existed before, if you had only been using traditional soldering irons.
Convenience, Speed, And Mobility, All In One
Additionally, the Ryobi RSI4-120G cordless soldering iron is far easier and more productive to use. Once it’s turned on, just let it heat up, before you can make any quick repairs, and put it back. It even has a protective cap that covers the tip, ensuring that you don’t accidentally brand your own flesh or melt your skin off as you’re moving around with it.
The tip of the soldering iron also has an easy way to detach it for a replacement, so just screw it on and off as you need to. As far as its ease of use is concerned, it gets a big thumbs up from me. It’s straightforward, as all you need to do is to press and hold the button for about a second. Just as the green LED light flickers and flashes, wait until it remains solid, as that will tell you that the tip is hot enough.
The whole process is mighty quick! I’ve found that it takes way under a minute for the tip to get up to temperature, which is around 370°C for its regular operating temperature, and it could keep going up to 460°C in just under two minutes. This is really quick compared to even conventional soldering irons.
Easy Interchangeability For Its Batteries
Just in case you’re soldering something in the dark, the top of the RSI4-120G cordless soldering iron has a handy little LED that lights up your working area, which is a neat bonus. When I first got my hands on this thing, the first question I had was: how long would the battery last? Thankfully, it’s never been a concern, as the battery lasts long enough for all of the soldering that I needed to do.
So, there are no complaints from me, in that regard. In addition, since it’s a part of Ryobi’s 4V Lithium line-up of tools, this solder uses the same, interchangeable, 4V 2Ah battery. That battery could then be readily recharged via USB, so you can connect it to any old battery bank.
If you’re worried about endurance, thankfully, Ryobi has the solution. By default, in the box, all the tools in Ryobi’s 4V Lithium collection, including the RSI4-120G cordless soldering iron, come with one 2Ah battery. However, you can extend the battery capacity by purchasing the optional 3Ah battery, which can be used plug-and-play with all the tools, so no adapters or accessories are needed.
Aside from the longer battery life and increased capacity, you could otherwise use these batteries, and this goes for both the 2Ah and optional 3Ah batteries, as an emergency power bank for your electronics or your phone. All in all, for £64.99, the Ryobi RSI4-120G cordless soldering iron is a fantastic tool, and it’s already made all my soldering tasks a lot easier, so I’ve no doubt it’ll do the same for you, too.
