Weller electric soldering equipment

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. No one hurt

   Made Nov 21, 2018 · , sent to the company Dec 7, 2018 · , published by CPSC Dec 21, 2018

   The product, in the report: Weller brand W100PG model electric soldering iron with Electri-Cord brand power cord with UL listing. Weller is ApexTool company product. They are located in Apex, North Carolina.

   Electri-Cord brand power cord attached to a Weller W100PG solder iron that I just purchased with date stamp of (19/18). Removing it from the packaging and limbering the cord from it’s twist-tied folding caused splits along the thin black jacket overwrap where it had been most tightly curved to fit in the blister card. This is an electric shock hazard, particularly if cord draped into conductive fluids.

   Cord is marked with white imprint “(UL) VW-1 E46194 (M) SVTO 3/C 18 AWG (0.824mm2) 105’C 300V FT1, FT2 LL90458 (M)” and with emboss “Made in Mexico” “E.S.Electri-Cord” “c(UL)us” on the plug head.

   The thin ‘shrinkwrap’ black electrical isolation jacket on cord is too thin and flimsy and seems to have a seam running the length of it, which is where these splits are occurring and from which the white fibrous contents is spilling out.

   With those splits, which I’m sure will extend in length and increase in number with time and any use, and gaps to the white fibrous interior, I’m sure this fails to meet UL rating because of electric shock hazard.

   My older, same model iron with date stamp (02/14) has a similar Electri-Cord power cord, except that the codes is DEBOSSED on the black jacket and it is “SVT”, not “SVTO”.

   I do not know the details of these different codings, but I’ve used this older one for years and it’s cord jacket is thicker (you cannot see cord contents texture ‘telegraph’ through, like on this new one) and more rubbery and more pliable. It’s what I’d expect in a cord for a handheld heating tool.

   Already communicated with Weller, Electri-Cord and UL about this problem.

   Model

   W100PG

   UPC

   obscured on package

   Serial number

   none

   Bought from

   Amazon

   Bought

   Nov 16, 2018, about then

   Where

   Brewer, Maine: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Unknown

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand Weller, made or sold by Apex Tool Group

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

2. No one hurt

   Made Jun 16, 2017 · , sent to the company Sep 7, 2017 · , published by CPSC Sep 22, 2017

   The product, in the report: Light Blue/Aqua Soldering Iron from Weller. Model number WESD51. It is two parts, a power supply and a iron pen. The power supply includes a digital numeric display to display the temperature of the soldering iron. It is adjustable to have a temperature between 350 and 850 degrees Fahrenheit. The product is used for soldering electronics together.

   I was using the Weller WESD51 Soldering iron. I had plugged it in and was waiting for it to heat up to 820 degrees Fahrenheit to melt lead-free solder. Usually it doesn’t take very long, but this time it was taking longer to heat up. The reading on the digital display started reading strange numbers, like 900 and then it jumped down to 600 and continued to heat up. The reading hovered between 600 and 675 for a few minutes and continued to heat up the soldering iron when I noticed the soldering iron tip was glowing red hot. I knew that when a heating element turned red, it was dangerously hot, and I unplugged the iron immediately. My friend and I went to try a different iron, as the building has several of the same ones, and the new iron did the same thing. No one was injured as a result of this incident, but there was an extremely high risk of burns despite practicing safe solder techniques.

   Model

   WESD51

   UPC

   037103191328

   Where

   Springfield, Massachusetts: School

   Who was involved

   Age 19, Female

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Self

   As this report names them

   Brand Weller, made or sold by Apex Tool Group

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

3. Hurt, no treatment

   Made Apr 19, 2014 · , sent to the company Apr 28, 2014 · , published by CPSC May 12, 2014

   The product, in the report: Weller # SP40 Soldering Iron

   I purchased a Weller # SP40 Soldering Iron from Home Depot, Bloomington, Minnesota April 2nd, 2014. I purchased this for some of my hobby stuff. On Saturday April 12th as I was soldering the soldering iron literally caught fire in my hands. There was no warning, it’s not fused for protection - it literally went poof and caught fire. It wasn’t what I was soldering that caught fire, but the actual soldering iron. It melted plastic and of course no longer works. I made 2 attempts at contacting Weller on their website but they’re ignoring me.

   Model

   SP40 Soldering Iron

   Bought from

   Home Depot, Minnesota

   Bought

   Apr 2, 2014

   Where

   Edina, Minnesota: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 57, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand Weller, made or sold by Apex Tool Group

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received

4. No one hurt

   Made Dec 3, 2013 · , sent to the company Jan 30, 2014 · , published by CPSC Feb 21, 2014

   The product, in the report: Hand Tool Heating element Hand tool soldering iron Could have been injured if holding soldering iron, but it was in the stand. Consumer has product if we need to inspect it.

   Consumer stated that while using the soldering iron it sparked and then flames (3-4 inches) emitted from handle, she immediately unplugged it. She had contacted the firm during the time they had Release #06-031. She was informed that her model was not included in the recall. However, she felt that this unit was safe to use after being advised by the firm.

   12/3/13 The manufacturer was contacted and she was advised that the iron was out of warranty which only last for a year and she could not return the product.

   Consumer feels that the product is a fire hazard and should be reported.

   The product is not part of a recall.

   I am sorry this letter has been delayed. I was caught up in the holidays, and then I could not deliver it because I was snowed in. I am writing this as an attachment to your form so that I can include more detailed and accurate information.

   I purchased a Weller brand soldering iron 6 to 10 years ago. I’m not sure of the exact date. I believe I purchased it from Warner Stained Glass Products of New Jersey. I’m not sure of that either because I have bought items from other stained glass suppliers. I have used Warner the most, however. Warner posted a recall on a couple of Weller soldering irons a couple of years ago, and I checked with Weller to see if mine was included. Weller assured me that it was not, and mine was safe to use. Apex Tool Group of Apex North Carolina is the manufacturer of Weller brand soldering irons.

   On December 2, 2013, I plugged my soldering iron in to warm up. It was in its stand. I was not holding it. After about 2 minutes, there was a ‘pop’ and coming from the soldering iron handle were 3 to 4 inch flames and a lot of black smoke. I unplugged the unit and the flames stopped. The smoke continued a while longer, but then also stopped. It really smelled.

   When the soldering iron cooled, I looked at it closer. There is a flange directly behind the hot steel element and at the top of the handle. It sticks out as if it is a way to have users stop moving their hands close to the heating element. Well, there is a crack and opening in the flange material that was not there before this incident. I believe this happened when I heard that ‘pop’, and it was through that opening that the flames and black smoke emerged.

   On December 3, 2013, I called Weller Products and informed [REDACTED] of what happened. I told them that the unit was old, but I believed it should die gracefully....like just not work. I told them that I was not hurt, just scared. But, if I had been holding the iron, I would probably have been burned. I told them that I would mail them the unit for them to investigate what had happened. They gave me a return address, and I asked if they could send me a return shipping label or return my postage. They said that there was only a one-year warrantee on the product. I said I was not asking for a warrantee because the product was 6-10 years old.

   I was just asking for return postage because I really didn’t have to send it to them. I thought that they would want to investigate. They said that they had some products on the market that were about 20 years old, but my product was only warranted a year, and they refused to send me a return postage label or reimburse my postage for shipping it back to them. I told them I contacted them a couple of years ago about the recall, but they said that was because some units sparked when they were unplugged....never any flames. I assured them that this incident did not involve sparks. It involved a ‘pop’, flames and black smoke.

   That is when I called you. I feel that there may be other soldering irons like this one that are in consumers’ hands that could cause a fire or hurt someone if they were holding it. I believe it should be part of a recall. I still have the unit and would be happy to send it to you.

   Please let me know if you need additionalinformation. You can contact me at [REDACTED]. [REDACTED]

   Model

   unknown

   Bought from

   Warner-Criv, New Jersey

   Bought

   Aug 5, 2006, about then

   Where

   Martinsville, Indiana: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 68, Female

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand Weller® Brand Heating Element, made or sold by Apex Tool Group

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources