# 18V Milwaukee Fuel Powered TS100 soldering iron



## GreatOldOne (Mar 13, 2019)

I recently got a TS100 soldering iron - these things a great. Inexpensive, open source temperature controlled soldering irons. They run off DC, anywhere from 12 to 24v - the only difference being the time to hit a set temperature.

Mine came with a cruddy chinese-ium power supply that was quite frankly poor even for a cheap unit from shenzen, so I started running it from my bench supply. But then I saw several youtube vids of guys running them off various brands of cordless power tool battery... Hmmm. 

So, I found that someone had already done the hard work of modelling the relevant dimensions, slots and do-dads required for a milwaukee battery to slide into, downloaded the file from thingiverse and then modified it in fusion 360 to create a battery adaptor for the TS100 - making it completely portable and an absolute breeze to use on the bench (cable in your way? move the whole battery some place else so it isn't!).













The original STL files are here. They have a variety of screw holes in them for wall mounting, I think:








						Milwaukee 18V Fuel Red Lithium pack adapter/connector 2015 update by macsboost
					

My 2015 remix of the original.  Added screw holes and opened the tolerances.  Fits perfectly off my printer.  Print with support in slicer and the support pulls out easily!   Use standard non insulated spade terminals for contacts.  crimp flat and push the crimped end in in the plastic part...




					www.thingiverse.com
				




And my modified ones, sans holes but with additional rounding and a wiring cover are here:








						Milwaukee Fuel TS100 Power Adaptor by GreatOldOne
					

An adaptor based on macsboost's Milwaukee connector, to allow you to use your TS100 soldering iron on an M18 Fuel battery.




					www.thingiverse.com


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## macardoso (Mar 13, 2019)

That is awesome! I needed that last time I worked on the electrical in my car.


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## Latinrascalrg1 (Mar 13, 2019)

Ive never seen a battery powered soldering iron before, how well does it work? How long does a charge last?


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## pontiac428 (Mar 13, 2019)

With lithium batteries, they heat up quick and go for a surprisingly long time (many hours, depending on load and battery capacity). The only thing you need to watch out for is ruining a lithium battery by over-discharging it.  Not a problem for batt packs that have a built-in gauge like Milwaukee or Bosch.


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## GreatOldOne (Mar 13, 2019)

Latinrascalrg1 said:


> Ive never seen a battery powered soldering iron before, how well does it work? How long does a charge last?



It works very well. So much so I ditched my ancient temperature “set a temp and I’ll try to keep to it” bench iron in favour of this. It’s light and very comfortable to use. I used to do all the work on this DSKY replica circuit board:





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I spent a whole afternoon soldering, with a fully charged 4Ah battery, and by the time I finished and stuck the battery back on the charger. I had two lights left on the built in meter. 

It helps that the iron is “smart”. It has an accelerometer in it, and if It doesn’t detect movement for a set (configurable) period, it stops heating so draws less power. As soon as you pick it up again, it resumes heating and stops at the previously set temp. It only takes a few seconds to be ready for action again.


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