the MiniPot

I imagined that since it is tall, that the pot was somewhat bigger than it actually isz. I should have read this part more closely: --> ' 1" Solder bath depth. 1" Solder bath diameter. 'yup, it's super small. this is nice if you're doing a few (say, dozens) wires at a time, because it heats up super fast (and cools down fast when you're done). so it turns out to be perfect for me anyway, even though I didn't expect it to be so small!if you're doing a lot of wires, it's probably annoying to keep refilling the crucible.The power knob has no markings and is clocked oddly. "off" is where you'd think "10" would be, and "full on" is at about 9'o clock. At this price they can't even put a marked plate on the thing? I drew a line with a marker at my desired temp.

I wish I could give this a better review but when I open a box and one of the screws that hold the guard on is floating around in the box while the nut and washer rattling around inside the base... and the other guard screw is loose (though still in the hole), I feel disappointed. Especially as the latter is the screw that hold the ground wire to the base.

Although I could have bought 5 solder pots from a competitor, I am trying to buy American and have used this brand in my factory for decades. This is supposed to open new markets for them, but they are ruining their image with this product. It came in a box that used spray foam inside to secure the item, but they must have used construction grade foam because I had to literally cut the box apart to get it out. I almost didn't bother because the heating element was just flopping around due to the screw that is supposed to hold it to the base not being present. I found it and the nut rattling around in the box as well. I though I would still see if I could use it but once I got it out of the box I saw that the screen around the heating element had scratched the top of the control box up and it looked like junk. On top of the fact that the enclosure couldn't be cheaper, I am hugely disappointed in this product and will be sending it back. Guess I'll buy the cheapo one.

We use this to tin the ends of stripped cable. It heats up quickly and is very convenient to use and works well.At some point, though, it seems likely the exposed pot could accidentally burn someone, it feels just a little too exposed. I don't know if there would be an easy way of better protecting against burns - perhaps some kind of cover.At the suggestion of other Amazon users I purchased a giant bolt cutter with 36" handles which makes it relatively easy to cut off small pieces of solder from the giant bars of bar-solder that are otherwise far too big for this pot. If you have a good machine shop saw that could work too. If anyone knows of a source of unleaded bar-solder that comes in pre-cut small chunks or pellets please post a comment!

Build quality is 7/10. It gets the job done, but at this price should include the optional dross skimmer.

This saves a lot of time when tinning wire. I wish it were on a little more stable base to start with as it's not inconceivable one could knock it over while it's still molten. Consider mounting permanently on a more stable board that's maybe twice the size of its current base.

Have had it for years now and I only use it for tinning wire ends... lots of them. For my personal needs this tool ended up being a God send.

This little solder pot is small with the business end about the size of a filbert nut or a marble. But it does what it's supposed to do! It warms up very quickly, is physically and electrically stable and is great for what I need it for--tinning hundreds of wire leads. [The leads are stripped first then dragged through a flux tin before being immersed in molten 63-37 solder. Works great and it's a real time-saver compared to a conventional iron and cored solder.