In need of a decent soldering Iron

10fenny · Nov 1, 2014

Hello all! Joe here!
I am in the market for a decent soldering iron. The only one I have is for work. Its a butane style pen for aggressive soldering on semi thick wiring, so about 10 gauge. I am a full time mechanic!
I was going to use the search feature, but 1... for some reason I am terrible at any search feature on forums and 2... I wanted the most updated info!
I was looking at the weller station, but after reading a lot of the mixed reviews I'm not so sure. I would like to have one with good temp control but if there is also a basic one that's recommended I'm all ears.

djQUAN · Nov 1, 2014

If you used the search function up top, then indeed it sucks. Use the google search bar below which is much better.

There was a thread about soldering stations a while back somewhere around here.

USAbro · Nov 1, 2014

Radioshack or habor frieght tools are good for small wire but no temp control.

10fenny · Nov 1, 2014

As a full time mechanic I will tell you that harbor freight stuff is complete garbage! Anything there will work OK ish! at best.. the first time. My Snap-on tool box was about $6k.. empty.. no tools! But that's my job not a hobby. Also my box color is about 532nm

!!

crazyspaz · Nov 1, 2014

I got a hakko fx888d a while ago and love it. Zero problems thus far, and for 130$ I got the station and a variety of tips. Very worth the money.

USAbro · Nov 1, 2014

I'm saying I've had a standard Harbor Freight Tools iron for about 2 years now. It is a trusty iron. Never burned up, good for small and big and it maybe what this guys needs for only $7.

10fenny · Nov 1, 2014

I'll hafta look into the hakko thanks.
And harbor frieght... It was a good day in the factory when that one was made.. hehe. Sorry I don't mean to give you crap, but I've been in and out of that place for over a decade(for some reason) and the only thing i will buy there is cheap wear items like sandpaper/rol-loc discs/crappy tarps! So I am not the biggest fan of that place. BUT! Get the Aluminium floor jack! its about 80$ and get the extended warranty! I know thats sounds crazy, but you can return it for ANY reason up to two years... Like paint flakes. Then the warranty resets!!!!! sry I didn't mean to de-rail my own thread but you hit a chord hehe!!!
I used to be into robotics when I was about 12 so I have been through many low quality irons. My social life took over most of my cool hobbies up until a few years ago!!!

djQUAN · Nov 1, 2014

I have an older 888 (analog one) and it works great used it for about 2 years no problems but stopped using it since I acquired an FX951. Although I still have the 888 on the bench for those odd jobs that need two irons at the same time.

vortish · Nov 1, 2014

I have a used Weller that need a new tip I sell for ten plus shipping

Bionic-Badger · Nov 1, 2014

Also look into those Aoyue soldering stations on Amazon. They're cheap, well built, have replaceable tips, and you can get other models with other nice things like reflow, etc. I also like their soldering iron holder with the solder-spool attachment.

Eudaimonium · Nov 1, 2014

Bionic-Badger said:
Also look into those Aoyue soldering stations on Amazon. They're cheap, well built, have replaceable tips, and you can get other models with other nice things like reflow, etc. I also like their soldering iron holder with the solder-spool attachment.

I second that. I have a basic Aoyue 936 station for years now, and it's of far better quality than you'd expect for that price (and it's even cheaper now, then when I got it).

It accepts the standard soldering iron tips that nearly all stations use.

Alaskan · Nov 2, 2014

If you buy a Weller pen soldering iron, they are temperature regulated through the use of a magnetic solenoid inside the assembly to keep the temperature within a range.

For example: Weller WP25 25 Watts 120V 750¬°F Professional Soldering Iron 3 Wire A27 P101 | eBay

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WP25-P...73&sr=8-2&keywords=weller+25w++soldering+iron

I have used these for over 30 years, always a good iron. How I use an iron is have a hot one, get on it and get off it fast.... With an iron this hot don't keep the tip on the item being soldered very long. If soldering temperature sensitive devices they must be heat sinked first, or buy a iron you can dial the temperature down though some kind of digital temperature control but semiconductor devices should still be heat sinked before soldering them.

I've also owned Hakko soldering stations as well as a few others, I like Hakko as much as any.

LtKernelPanic · Nov 2, 2014

Stay away from anything from rat shack or harbor freight. They're almost always total shit.

I bought this Weller station back in 2010 and it's been rock solid.

Weller WES51 Analog Soldering Station - Soldering Irons - Amazon.com

There's also a digital version too.

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WESD51...&sr=8-3&keywords=weller+50w+soldering+station

USAbro · Nov 2, 2014

They absolutely are not total shit. They're decent. If you want to really get one get a good one.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GRHD5RA?psc=1

That is better I was just trying to tell you one that worked but I guess nobody else thinks it does. It works great for me. I fixed my MP3 player speakers with it.

Pman · Nov 2, 2014

fx888d seconded

10fenny · Nov 3, 2014

well thanks guys! sorry for the late reply! I had a long weekend. Well look like I have so decisions to make. I do like the idea of digi though

In need of a decent soldering Iron

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