Know anything about solder iron systems and parts? 60w is toast.

Have a 60w iron I got some time ago. Seemed to work well but heat element burned out after probably only 5hrs use and have not touched it since. I sort of need that thing! I took the handle apart and verified the element is OL but what puzzles me is when I test voltage, I see 36VDC to the handle. The handle indicates 24V. I am wondering if this is common to get the tip to temp quicker with a digital solder iron? Guess I have never tested this.

However, I guess this could explain the quick failure.

Kinda frustrated because my iron is a 4 pin connector and all I can find is 5 pin. Suppose I could rewire one but don't really want to. I would be happy paying a few bucks for the element and solder it in but need to know more about this higher voltage thing first.


UPDATE: decided to just test this and heated the solder iron tip with a torch. It seems the digital supply is variable and rolls off smoothly and rolls back in as needed. I watched it turn off, then at about 3-5C under set temp, it was about 5V, then slowly increased to a max of 36V.

So is that going to shorten the hell out of the life of the heat element? I know the handle is thermally controlled but I am sure the coil wires get way hot before the thermocouple seems it and rolls back the power.

This is exactly the version I use, but at least 30 years older.

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-80-Wa...sr=8-3&keywords=weller+soldering+iron+80+watt

Weller makes cheaper versions with LED's, if that really helps. To me, that is like getting a 16# sledge hammer with LED's to tell when you hit the mark. When I use it, I am not trying to solder a TQFN chip.

John