Looking for new soldering iron, suggestions?

[Livinloud]

Im looking to get a new soldering iron to replace my old one. Its nothing special and old so why not replace it. Im looking to get a good quality soldering iron but doesnt need to be anything special.

Interested to see what you all are using and what you think of it. What do you like and dislike about your units and where can i buy one

Ive got a few ive been eying but i need to dig the links up and update this post

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Lolvo]

Honestly, I bought a Weller Pro Series at Home Depot for around $40 (with flux, solder, and deposit pad) back when I needed to repair my Rifle.

It's a nice iron, especially at the price. Sits well on any flat surface, no need for a holster; it warms up to operating temp in less than 30 seconds, and has an on/off switch. The tip became contaminated quicker than I would have thought, but they are easily interchangeable. A great bargain if you ask me.

 

[Livinloud]

was looking at THIS one, not sure if its the same as the one you are talking about

 

[Lolvo]

This is actually the one I bought, and it works perfectly for what I need. I don't need an overly-intensive power output, as I do work on micro PCB boards and gaming systems, and it would be easy to overheat a component with a more powerful iron/gun.

 

[hakzaw1]

Many pros will tell you to avoid buying cheap-I got a Vellerman( I think they chose than name in hopes of stealing buyers from Wellerman cheap and hate it-
get a HAK< thats a reak name--lol
a better one will heat up much faster will recover quickly and be grounded-- static form a cheap iron is yet another diode killer- if the plug is just two blades do buy that one.

I was wrong also thinking that one I saw that was also a PS and a DMM was a smart move-- I suggest you add a search to your Ebay and keep watching what that until it finds a nice for you. if think you have seen a good one then make a thread here and take the advice from a Vet member-- try to get one with the tip you will need the most.

One bad thing about all-in-ones can come up if you need one part to be repaired= while that happens you are out more than just one part.

GL hak

 

[csshih]

if you ever do decide to go all out, try an oki/metcal

ceramic heaters have nothing on RF ones.

 

[hakzaw1]

if you ever do decide to go all out, try an oki/metcal

ceramic heaters have nothing on RF ones.

^^ highly respected member- he would not steer you wrong--
***************************
I did a little searching for LL- he deserves it-

found these-


Hakko 936 ESD Soldering Station with Soldering Iron | eBay

hakko ^^ great brand to get--

weller

New Weller WES51 Soldering Station Iron Kit 2DaysShip | eBay

10$ cheaper same as above

Weller WES51 Analog Soldering Station | eBay

eBay Feedback Profile for gq_electronics_llc

^^ this one caught my eye- made is USA-penny auction- buyers have gotten these from 140$ to a low of 67.66$ they sure throw i a lot of extras and seems they honor their warranty. its always good when the seller is also the maker- good item to try snipe on IMO.
their BIN is 124.8$ ans MANY go for that price- i would set your snipe at $65 and keep trying until you luck out--PM if you need a snipper that is the best and only way I buy at Feebay.

 

[Livinloud]

^^ highly respected member- he would not steer you wrong--
***************************
I did a little searching for LL- he deserves it-

found these-


Hakko 936 ESD Soldering Station with Soldering Iron | eBay

hakko ^^ great brand to get--

weller

New Weller WES51 Soldering Station Iron Kit 2DaysShip | eBay

10$ cheaper same as above

Weller WES51 Analog Soldering Station | eBay

eBay Feedback Profile for gq_electronics_llc

^^ this one caught my eye- made is USA-penny auction- buyers have gotten these from 140$ to a low of 67.66$ they sure throw i a lot of extras and seems they honor their warranty. its always good when the seller is also the maker- good item to try snipe on IMO.
their BIN is 124.8$ ans MANY go for that price- i would set your snipe at $65 and keep trying until you luck out--PM if you need a snipper that is the best and only way I buy at Feebay.

Thanks for the help/search Hak, +1 for going out of your way. Ive been searching fleabay for a little while but ive missed out on a few great ones (my fault since ive been busy as heck these past few weeks).

I appreciate the help from everyone but what do you guys have and use? would like to see those units and if they are out of my price range or whatever then i will obviously revert back to the ones Hak found and a few i am watching.

I trust Craig and know he wouldnt steer anyone wrong, he was VERY helpful with the GB i just did and my hats off to him and Illumination Supply for slashing their already killer prices even more for LPF members :beer: +1 for that, if i already havent Craig

EDIT: Hak, when you mentioned the hakko i added THIS to my watch list. good to see you linked to the same model so i picked a good unit to watch

 

[scumbagatheist]

LL, I bought a Weller WES51 and absolutely love it! I've never played with the RF irons, but this station has it all, even a temp lockout. It's my trusty side-kick and I love putting fat heads in it for the big soldering jobs on vacuums and such.

 

[Livinloud]

sweet, ill check into that unit now. any cons of the weller and how long have you had it?

EDIT: BF, i have that one in my watch list already so good to hear you like it

 

[scumbagatheist]

If there are any cons, they're not noticeable to my noobness in soldering tiny things. It handles my big solder jobs like a champ. I had never used a soldering station before this, but it beats guns and cheap irons hands down.

 

[Livinloud]

so far that would be my choice but still open to options if someone has anything better. keeping my eye of fleabay for one i can snipe

 

[hakzaw1]

Weller has been around forever- they have sold a boatload of the pistol shaped soldering irons- that kind only heats when you press the trigger- I have a few- but no longer use them-I guess they are better than no iron- LL if you want one of those its yours for the cost to ship== it will work until you get a real soldering station. Certainly not so good for tiny jobs like diode pin leads.

I came across an air mattress tossed out that had an AC powered inflater built in- I cut it away from the rest and plan to attach it to a desoldering tool i have that sucks up the solder with a squeeze bulb- so i will 86 the bulb and run a air line to the air pump and use this too vacuum the solder -- I saw a factory built one in action and they work great for removing parts from PCBs. I have a foot pedal switch that will allow me to turn on the vacuum when I want it.

 

[Livinloud]

PM coming Hak

 

[Things]

I've got it easy when it comes to choosing irons. I've never used anything but the $12 cheapies from my local electronics place, and they've never failed me

 

[Livinloud]

i have one of those that i used with modding my xbox controller a while back but the tip isnt the best and im afraid of killing a diode with the lack of a ground (2 prong). i could always get a new tip to hold me over for a while but that doesnt fix the ground issue or is it not really an issue? i just dont want to drop $300 on buying 3 or 4 diodes from DTR and then burn every one out with a crappy soldering iron :undecided: