Does My Soldering Iron Need a Quick Connect?

We field calls from roofers looking to replace the hose of their soldering iron and when they receive it, the fittings don’t connect correctly.  How does this happen?

It’s important to understand that many irons that are shipped in the United States have come here from Europe.  European irons have European fittings.

If you have a European iron, THIS QUICK CONNECT WILL SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS.

The piece above is a European quick connect. It’s called a quick connect because it disconnects the iron from the hose. The part on the left will connect directly to the back of European irons. The portion on the right has a threaded section which will connect to the standard USA (9/16″, left hand thread) hose. This is standard for propane regulators that fit propane gas tanks. These two pieces come together.

Here’s an example of how a quick connect should fit to a European iron.

If you have an American iron, a 9/16″ hose will connect directly to the back of both your iron and regulator with no quick connect needed.

The obvious question is, do I have a European or American iron? Most likely you won’t know  and the difference in size between the imperial and metric system is small so even measuring is difficult. A few general thoughts about the brands:

Express – Any irons you buy from Stortz currently will not have a quick connect. Irons purchased 3+ years ago were most likely European.

Sievert – All couplings and fittings are American. They also have a different quick connect that will fit all American connections.

Perkeo – It is a European iron that will require a quick connect.

Aero – Acetylene irons have a completely different set of fitting sizes