5 ms·

The hairdryer as heat-gun method was first shown to me by an incredibly gifted Electrical Engineer (from China) who used this method to fix dry joints on PCBs (

The hairdryer as heat-gun method was first shown to me by an incredibly gifted Electrical Engineer (from China) who used this method to fix dry joints on PCBs (including consumer mainboards). It was astounding the first time I saw a dead MB revived with nothing more than a bathroom accessory!

linker3000 12y ago
In reverse, I have used a heat shrink heat gun to make an awesome toasted cheese sandwich on a lonely night shift.
rasz_pl 12y ago
Sounds like quite a feat considering hair dryer wont produce more than 50-60'C and solder needs >180'C to even start thinking about melting. Hair dryer in Bunnies case was used to heat up the GLUE between glass and screen.
- noonespecial 12y ago
  Just partially block the air intakes. It'll get hot fast. Just be careful it doesn't start to melt inside.
  - rasz_pl 12y ago
    no it wont, there is a thermal cutoff inside
    - noonespecial 12y ago
      Hmm. I've got one here I use for heat-shrink tuning I used masking tape on to lower airflow and boost temp. I'm not sure its hot enough to melt solder (probably not) but its great for heat-shrink. I suppose a YMMV is in order.
      - rasz_pl 12y ago
        If you remove thermal cutoff you will: a/ burn the heater b/ melt whole thing c/ burn your house a combination of those things.
- Intermernet 12y ago
  You're almost certainly right, I've not had success with it myself, and I originally thought the same, but I've heard anecdotal evidence from others that it's worked for them, and there are a few mentions of it online, including a video at http://www.anandtech.com/show/6840/hardware-tricks-can-you-fix-a-failing-mobile-gpu-with-a-hair-dryer http://www.anandtech.com/show/6840/hardware-tricks-can-you-f... , but I've also found mentions that the likely cause of the hair dryer trick is old capacitors being temporarily "revived" by the heat (http://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-a-dead-power-supply-using-a-Hair-Dryer-Reflow/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-a-dead-power-supply-usin...). It seems like something is being at least temporarily repaired by the heat, but it's probably not anything to do with solder.

linker3000 12y ago

In reverse, I have used a heat shrink heat gun to make an awesome toasted cheese sandwich on a lonely night shift.

rasz_pl 12y ago

Sounds like quite a feat considering hair dryer wont produce more than 50-60'C and solder needs >180'C to even start thinking about melting. Hair dryer in Bunnies case was used to heat up the GLUE between glass and screen.

noonespecial 12y ago
Just partially block the air intakes. It'll get hot fast. Just be careful it doesn't start to melt inside.
- rasz_pl 12y ago
  no it wont, there is a thermal cutoff inside
  - noonespecial 12y ago
    Hmm. I've got one here I use for heat-shrink tuning I used masking tape on to lower airflow and boost temp. I'm not sure its hot enough to melt solder (probably not) but its great for heat-shrink. I suppose a YMMV is in order.
    - rasz_pl 12y ago
      If you remove thermal cutoff you will: a/ burn the heater b/ melt whole thing c/ burn your house a combination of those things.
Intermernet 12y ago
You're almost certainly right, I've not had success with it myself, and I originally thought the same, but I've heard anecdotal evidence from others that it's worked for them, and there are a few mentions of it online, including a video at http://www.anandtech.com/show/6840/hardware-tricks-can-you-fix-a-failing-mobile-gpu-with-a-hair-dryer http://www.anandtech.com/show/6840/hardware-tricks-can-you-f... , but I've also found mentions that the likely cause of the hair dryer trick is old capacitors being temporarily "revived" by the heat (http://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-a-dead-power-supply-using-a-Hair-Dryer-Reflow/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-a-dead-power-supply-usin...). It seems like something is being at least temporarily repaired by the heat, but it's probably not anything to do with solder.