I bought one from Lidl when they were on offer for =A320 hoping to do the s= ame = thing. Only taken it out of the box to make sure it worked before retiring it to = the garage for the time being. Dom ----- Original Message ----- = From: "Philip Pemberton" To: "Microcontroller discussion list - Public." Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 5:58 PM Subject: [EE] SMD reflow with an Argos or Wilkinson "mini oven"? Hi guys, I was going to post this in my reply to Mike Harrison's Q about the T962A reflow oven, but thought better of it... :) Seeing as we're on the subject of toaster oven reflow once more, I'm wondering if anyone's had a play with the =A316 toaster oven Wilkinson's are selling off at the moment, or any of the ones in the current Argos catalogue. I'm tempted to buy one for SMD reflow, but I'd rather not pay good money for something that may or may not be any good for SMD reflow (and most certainly won't be returnable afterwards)... The Wilkies oven I mentioned: http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0228912 Made by "Fine Elements". Thermostat goes to 280 Celsius, 15-minute timer, 35cm wide, 20cm deep, 17cm high (by my reckoning that's about 12 litres, but that's the external size, not the size of the oven itself). No idea of wattage. No idea if any of the stores keep these in as standard stock, price is =A316. Argos's offerings: Cookworks mini oven. 1050 to 1300W (variable heating power -- that's what the middle knob is apparently for), 10-litre capacity, thermostat goes up to 250C. "10 litre capacity", whatever that means. Looks about the same size as the Wilkies one. =A316.99. Next size up -- Cookworks mini oven, 1200W, 17-litre, goes to 250C. Price? =A332.99 to you sir. And the Beast -- 1370 to 1640W variable, 25 litre capacity, 250C thermostat (again!), heat resistant glass door (I'd hope all of them have that!). This one's =A358.79. The question, of course, is if these things have enough power to heat the oven to the point where SMD solder will reflow, and do so in a reasonable time... For what it's worth, I'm probably going to be using Multicore RP15 paste (tin/silver/copper, 95.5%/3.8%/0.7%, rosin flux), which reflows between 210C and 225C (Farnell's website lists 217C as the melting point). Does anyone have any thoughts or comments? Cheers, -- = Phil. piclist@philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/ -- = http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ----- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database: 270.13.45/2285 - Release Date: 08/06/09 = 05:57:00 -- = http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist