Soldering iron vs station

SkidMarkKing

SkidMarkKing

SkidMarkKing

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England
Hi,

i'm looking at getting my first soldering iron/station. I'm not sure if to spend a little extra and just go for the station with a heat gun instead?

I do computer repairs but haven't really got into soldering so it's something that would potentially be used to expand my business services as well (hence just getting a station from the start).

Thanks
 
For the last nearly 35 years I've got by with a Weller 45 watt iron. I've never needed any kind of soldering station, just used an iron with the appropriate sized bit. I've even managed to do some surface mount stuff with it.

It gets used a lot.

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I’ve still got my Weller 60w from way back when I used it to re-solder dry joints on IBM 5154 & 8513 monitors.
 
Different purposes for heat gun vs iron.

The DIY audio folks all swear by Weller etc. there’s a lot of cheaper stations that will die after a short while. The main thing is being able to get replacement tips etc and temperature control is very useful for getting a decent flow without the solder overheating and simply becoming bobble.

the selection of wattage is also dependant on what you’re soldering - large thick tracks for high current for example end up sucking heat out quicker. SMD that would be a heat gun but you’re into paste etc which I don’t consider a beginner thing..

If you’re repairing stuff then a desoder station is just as useful - a good weller desolder gun station then means less track damage etc.

I use MG chemicals SAC305 4900 solder - lead free and low in dodgy chemicals, it’s also got a small amount of silver for audio work with silver plated connectors. Flows nicely but it gets to hot it will flow fast causing it to bobble. Not a real problem in use. Also RA flux so no additional flux needed. If you’re learning you may as well start with lead free - it acts different and has a narrower working temp to get a good flow (hence temp control is useful)
Keep solder in an airtight bag.

I just use a simple Antex 25W iron because the tip is small and close to the fingers compared to some of the big irons. Antex as a brand has been going for decades. Tips are easy to get. Cleaning the tip often keeps the solder joint clean and lowers the temp.
 
Last edited:
NickK said:
Antex
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Yup, nothing wrong with Antex irons.

NickK said:
the tip is small
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I have a tip for my Weller that is a point and another that's a huge wedge (plus different sizes in between). It really is a case of using the right tip for the job.

NickK said:
Cleaning the tip often keeps the solder joint clean
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Wet sponge, wipe the tip every time it's taken out of the stand. It's just good practise.

Soldering is easy, I find it very relaxing.
 
NickK said:
Different purposes for heat gun vs iron.

The DIY audio folks all swear by Weller etc. there’s a lot of cheaper stations that will die after a short while. The main thing is being able to get replacement tips etc and temperature control is very useful for getting a decent flow without the solder overheating and simply becoming bobble.

the selection of wattage is also dependant on what you’re soldering - large thick tracks for high current for example end up sucking heat out quicker. SMD that would be a heat gun but you’re into paste etc which I don’t consider a beginner thing..

If you’re repairing stuff then a desoder station is just as useful - a good weller desolder gun station then means less track damage etc.

I use MG chemicals SAC305 4900 solder - lead free and low in dodgy chemicals, it’s also got a small amount of silver for audio work with silver plated connectors. Flows nicely but it gets to hot it will flow fast causing it to bobble. Not a real problem in use.

I just use a simple Antex 25W iron because the tip is small and close to the fingers compared to some of the big irons. Antex as a brand has been going for decades. Tips are easy to get. Cleaning the tip often keeps the solder joint clean and lowers the temp.
Click to expand...


Wouldn't the heat gun be used for removing mosfets on motherboards though?
 
Pinecil.

A cheap hot air station (with external air pump, not the cack that’s built into the handle).

Desoldering gun.

These are the three soldering tools that serve me proud.

Along with that as above, decent leaded solder, decent flux (amtech nc559 or similar) and a decent wick (goot wick).
 
Feek said:
Another useful tip.

Leaded solder.

Lead free is horrible stuff.
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haha boo hiss ;)

yes a good quality lead solder is a joy to work with but I’ve made the switch to lead free and it’s as good if you are aware it’s more temperature sensitive. There are some comments about lead free and length of service - given lead free sac305 is used for military.. I’ll take that as a sign of capability.

learn with lead free and have the right equipment then it’s less of a pain.
 
Hehehehehehe, I still have two large reels of proper leaded solder that'll last longer than I will.
 
SkidMarkKing said:
Wouldn't the heat gun be used for removing mosfets on motherboards though?
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Both air and iron will solder but for smd fets or track ground pads under ICs then air is easier. However you’ll want to be careful or the air will blow the small surface components :)

You can do surface mount with an iron using the solder drag technique or use paste (you’ll want a solder stencil to put paste precisely on the pads or the paste will get everywhere).
 
V F said:
All electronics use this today do they not? Hence why they're fragile and can be prone to cracking the joints?
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Cracked solder joints tend to have more going on - like heat expansion and poorly designed cooling.

yes lead free has been suggested to be less forgiving than leaded solder for joint quality. Old timer techs swear by leaded. I learnt soldering using leaded.

just *do not* use solder with gold as part of the makeup as that is known to result in very brittle joints - you don’t need gold in it, and silver isn’t needed unless you have silver plated wire or RCA jacks etc. normal solder chemically absorbs and strips the silver from the wire underneath.

I have 600V PTFE wire for tube amps, issue there is that the wire is copper with silver plate (just so happens that’s more common than non-plated plus the rca connectors are solver plated). For <300V wire you’ll have no issues with normal leadfree solder.
 
I used to hear many cracked joint issues with the phat PS3s back in its day with all the excessive heat cycles. That eventually lead to the Yellow light of death.
 
V F said:
I used to hear many cracked joint issues with the phat PS3s back in its day with all the excessive heat cycles. That eventually lead to the Yellow light of death.
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probably wave soldered then all it needs is the PS3 to last as long as the warrantee..

I used to have a radio as a kid that had dry solder joints (leaded) for the power connector.
I’m not a fan of connectors on the PCB. I use point to point for the tubes - if I was to use a pcb then the sockets would be wire bridged and not a direct connection. Same for thermal expansion.
 
What does Louis Rossmann use? He uses flux like icing on a cake. Squiggly lines everywhere. Looks like ectoplasm everywhere. :D

Or, it's the magnification that makes it look worse than it really is?
 
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