Soldering iron sensor

[beatnik]

I have been getting tired of manually turning on and off the solder fume extractor.

Do you think it would be feasible to add a sensor on the soldering iron stand to control the fan ?

Perhaps a temperature sensor controlling a power relay ?

I have never used sensors so am not sure what kind of parts are available around. If you have any ideas I am all ears.

 

[cyrano]

On an unregulated soldering iron, I used to add a footpedal to short the diode in series with the iron. At half power, the iron was kept warm without burning and heated up fast.

That same foot pedal also switched my fume extractor.

I don't think something like a smoke detector would work as sensor in this application. And a Raspberry Pi with a camera to detect fumes seems like extreme overkill. I also don't see any other sensor that could make sense in this application.

 

[mad.ax]

I'd use a spring + a micro-switch.
The spring keeps the stand up as long as said stand is empty.
When you park the iron, its weight pulls the stand down.
One milimeter difference between the two positions is enough to action the micro-switch...

Axel