Soldering Irons

I use a Hakko for the bench when I am doing repairs but in the field I use a 30 year old weller gun. That is my favortite. I am in the Automotive 12 volt field. So I solder everyday. For wire to wire connections you can't beat the Weller.

Dan
 
Thanks for all the comments. It seems that the Hakko and Weller with a few tips plus shipping busts my $100 limit, otherwise I might go for one of them.
 
DennyMo said:
Looking to upgrade from a 30W pencil to a soldering station. My budget is $100. I assume I should get extra tips when I buy the station. Looking at these two kits, any recommendations for or against? Thanks.
https://www.circuitspecialists.com/CSI-PREMIER-75W-Soldering-Station-Kit.html
https://www.circuitspecialists.com/holiday_gift_pack.html
(Shows as still available, surprisingly...)
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Honestly I think you would be happy with either one of these options. The "Holiday Bundle" looks like it is a better value.
 
I just got one of these. I use it with a 5 cell USB power brick for portable use. This iron works really well:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272227411643

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ukewarrior said:
Hmmmm....

I wonder if these irons are static safe? (do they provide ESD protection?)
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The way ESD protected irons work is that they run a ground wire from the plug all the way up connected to the tip. Since this does not attach to the wall plug it will NOT have that sort of ESD protection.

On the other hand, there is no AC, or transformers or any of that sort of thing to generate any extra electric fields. Any static will be coming from you and obviously you do always use a grounding strap or at least touch a ground before playing with electronics, right??

This is NOT a daily user (like all the other great suggestions here), this is just a REALLY GOOD iron for mobile/field repairs and is unbelievably inexpensive (less than a tip for some other irons!!). It works as well as other way more expensive irons I use with an addition of being way more mobile and convenient for work OFF the bench. This is a recommendation for a supplemental capability that I now own and use based on this review: https://youtu.be/o-8D5t6TJYU (I love Bigclive!!).
 
I'm late to the party here, but I'm a 4 decade user of the Weller WTCPT style soldering stations. These irons with their magnetic "curie point" technology tips are the iron I keep coming back to for normal soldering work. In 3 decades at work, I went through 2 of them (and the first one was replaced simply because it had fallen one too many times from the top of a ladder, and the case was beyond economical repair). Other than the case breakage, those 2 irons needed just one replacement heating element and one replacement magnetic sense switch in the 30 years I used them. I gave away my 240V Weller when I left Australia (but kept all the curie point tips).

When I arrived in Canada, initially I bought a cheap power adjustable iron (less than CAD$20), but after fighting the iron for a couple of years, eventually I realized that I needed another Weller WTCPT. I bought a used PU120T power unit from one eBay seller for less than CAD$50, and bought a new old stock TC201T soldering pencil from another eBay seller for CAD$25. I already had a large quantity of different style and temperature tips, so the complete iron (less the PH1201ESD stand) was less than CAD$100 delivered. Following another fall (this time courtesy of an exuberant dog), the plug attached to the end of the TC201T soldering pencil's lead is in need of replacement, but I managed to fit it back together well enough for the iron to still function.

While working in Australia, I used to do a lot of soldering work on live 50 volt relay control systems, so the earthed tip on the iron was a problem as it would often operate relays while applying solder to live "wire wrapped" terminations. The solution we found was to put a high value resistor in the wiring between the iron tip and the earth pin on the wall plug. We usually fitted the resistor inside the PU120T power unit's case in the wiring to the socket for the TC201T soldering pencil. A 1 Meg Ohm resistor is ideal as this is the same value that's normally used in ESD protection systems (like wrist straps) to protect the user while still providing a static discharge path.
 
I started soldering when I was a teen, and have used many irons from Radio Shack to Weller.

Here are two of my favorite lower cost systems.

Model 898D
I bought this one for work, and liked it so much I bought one for my home use. Used it to build a E682 and Renard SS24 this year along with soldering wires, and connectors for my light show. There are several brands of this. I like it because it has a heat gun on it. While there for solder reword/surface mount I use it a lot for heat shrink tubing work. Look for an 898 D.

https://www.amazon.com/Smartxchoice...1482510592&sr=8-86&keywords=soldering+station


The other one I have had great luck with is the Weller Thermaboost soldering gun. I used this one to solder many wires and rail joiners on my model railroad.

I have learned over the years the key to great soldering is the solder. After using many brands I have settled on Indium Solder.
https://www.amazon.com/Indium-Wire-...482511101&sr=8-11&keywords=indium+solder+.032

They have both lead and lead-free solders. It is a commercial grade solder used by many professional circuit board soldering shops.

Kevin
 
toasterboy1 said:
Read through most of this but it all seemed out of my price range or were discountinued items and dead links. Decide to go with this:https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07ZY6LQDV?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image
Any one have experience or opinion about it.
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Not sure the key is that it has real temp control. normal that style with temp printed on knob is wattage controled rather than temp think light dimmer. Easy to check if you open it look to see ow manny wires go to iron up 2-3 wires = wattage controled 5-6 = temp controlled.

This is my cheap go new now has real temp control and heats up quick and fits the standard hako tips. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R4SDSP8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 or the ts-100 units but thouse are in the $80 range

You can get by with wattage controled but it will ether slow you down or cause you too more easily burn up pads if your inexperienced.
 
Last edited:
Million's of solder tips are cleaned with a wet Spong, this would have changed if there was an issue. I've seen tip cleaners that actually removed the silver plating on the tip.

I've also been in the profession for 40+ years.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
 
ErnieHorning said:
Million's of solder tips are cleaned with a wet Spong, this would have changed if there was an issue. I've seen tip cleaners that actually removed the silver plating on the tip.

I've also been in the profession for 40+ years.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I stand corrected. I have NO Idea why it went out. It just went out.
I thought it had changed is why the tip cleaners came about. The shock of the wetness on the tip being not good for it.
I did not mean to put bad information out there but I truly thought things had changed, moved away from wet sponge.
I'll take y'alls 80 + years experience as good advice. Live and earn.

Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk
 
What I see as more of a problem is not shutting a soldering iron off when you're done.

In a work environment, people will turn on an iron, use it and walk away. The constant high temperature will oxidize the silver plating, so it nolonger takes solder. Sometimes you can clean it, tin it and bring it back to life.

I had a tip that I used every day and it lasted an entire year. That lab had a keypad access door, so the personnel access was limited. One day the keypad was removed and I found my soldering iron was left on overnight and the tip was unusable by morning. After I lost 5 tips in one week, I made it a habit of pulling the tip every night.

Now, I make that every iron I buy, has an automatic shutoff. I still shut it off when I'm done though.

No proof or data but I have a theory, that leaving an iron powered on for hours, will shorten the life of its power supply and eventually kill it.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
 
I've done thousands of joints with my Weller station.
I clean my tip with both a sponge sometimes and with a spun brass wire ball.

Sometimes, things just wear out.
 
kingofkya said:
Not sure the key is that it has real temp control. normal that style with temp printed on knob is wattage controled rather than temp think light dimmer. Easy to check if you open it look to see ow manny wires go to iron up 2-3 wires = wattage controled 5-6 = temp controlled.

This is my cheap go new now has real temp control and heats up quick and fits the standard hako tips. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R4SDSP8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 or the ts-100 units but thouse are in the $80 range

You can get by with wattage controled but it will ether slow you down or cause you too more easily burn up pads if your inexperienced.
Click to expand...

I think you might be right about the iron. It came in today. I pulled the end apart and there are only 3 wires coming down the cord. Guess I will have to see what happens. I need to find something to practice on before I decide to fork out the money on a Renard, only to destroy it. All my experience is with solding automotive wiring. Maybe try a cheap SSR or if I could find stuff to do a Grinch, at least if it worked it would go towards the cause.
 
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