Spec me a Soldering Iron

Antar Bolaeisk · 8 Mar 2012 at 12:25

Hi all,

Looking to get a decent soldering iron for working with laptops and motherboards, specifically for the repair of DC jacks and replacement of blown capacitors.

Not sure on price point at the moment, but most likely less than €100 though I'm sure I can stretch if it's really worth it.

Regards,
Antar.

sandyle · 8 Mar 2012 at 12:28

Go for one with adjustable temperature would be my only advice - makes things loads easier

Jono · 8 Mar 2012 at 12:46

You want a decent soldering station for that.

Feek · 8 Mar 2012 at 12:49

In over thirty years of soldering I've never needed a variable temperature iron and I'm damn good with an iron.

I use a Weller PU-3D station and change the bit as appropriate. It's all I've ever needed.

sithlord · 8 Mar 2012 at 12:51

Anyone know if gas powered soldering irons ones are any good ? Nearly bought one a couple of days ago.

Feek · 8 Mar 2012 at 13:03

sithlord said:
Anyone know if gas powered soldering irons ones are any good ? Nearly bought one a couple of days ago.

It's been a few years since I used one and it served a purpose. I found it very useful when I needed to solder a connector on a cable when I was on the roof and it really wasn't convenient to drag a powered one up there. The problem I found was that it didn't last very long per charge and the one I used had a small surface area bit so it took a while to get the core hot enough. It was a long while ago though so I'd hope they've improved since then.

I wouldn't consider one as a main iron.

anything I don't mind · 8 Mar 2012 at 13:18

You can get them from robert dyas for less than £10. I was surprised at the price.

http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/P~102465~Draper-Soldering-Iron-25W

arknor · 8 Mar 2012 at 13:32

groen said:
You can get them from robert dyas for less than £10. I was surprised at the price.

http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/P~102465~Draper-Soldering-Iron-25W

u can get 60watt ones off ebay for 8quid including postage.

he wants a temprature controlled one for circuit board work though

Feek · 8 Mar 2012 at 13:34

groen said:
You can get them from robert dyas for less than £10. I was surprised at the price.

http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/P~102465~Draper-Soldering-Iron-25W

Look at the size of the bit though, totally useless for precision work.

Adam_151 · 8 Mar 2012 at 14:18

Feek said:
I wouldn't consider one as a main iron.[/font]

This. Alright on site when you haven't really got access to power, but not the best tool available when theres power available

I Need to get a gas one tbh, making a soldered joint in an inconvienentplace by plugging the electric soldering iron to warm up and then unplugging to use it wasn't ideal.....

Djwayne · 8 Mar 2012 at 14:36

I use an ATTEN 936 which is a clone of a discontinued hakko model bought it off a well known auction site cheaply and am well impressed with it as a variable tempreature solder station. Good thing is you can use the hakko tips on it and there is a huge variety of shapes and sizes available.

taliesyn · 8 Mar 2012 at 14:41

I almost exclusively use this at home.

Temperature stable, LV iron, grounded iron so ESD safe, standard tips, separate iron holder, and fast warm up. OK for Lead or horrible lead free solder. Cheap as chips too.

I bought one a while ago on the offchance that it wouldn't be too bad, but it's actually excellent and does the job rather well. It's a rebranded Chinese jobbie, I think the high street electronics place does them (again rebranded but more expensive), and I think Atten rebrand them too. It uses a ceramic heater in the iron and the irons are replaceable.

Having used all kinds of kit over the years, Antex, Weller, Metcal etc. it's safe to say that I'm pretty impressed with this one

Antar Bolaeisk · 8 Mar 2012 at 22:03

Cheers guys for all the info

JAMAL · 8 Mar 2012 at 22:58

Metcal is what we use in out assembly department at work

Mr Joshua · 9 Mar 2012 at 02:00

Great time for this thread to appear.

I was considering the Antex soldering station for £100 but the ATTEN Djwayne posted and the one taliesyn linked look just the bill, decisions, decisions!

robj20 · 9 Mar 2012 at 06:17

Feek said:
In over thirty years of soldering I've never needed a variable temperature iron and I'm damn good with an iron.

I use a Weller PU-3D station and change the bit as appropriate. It's all I've ever needed.

same here, use a metcal mx500 myself

Goldy · 9 Mar 2012 at 08:00

I recently acquired a basic 40W soldering iron. First time i used it the nib had no issues accepting the solder. However now its rubbish, i cant solder anything with it.

The nib looks dark and dirty, even though i've tried to keep it clean as possible. Should i file down the nib to clean it? Or get a new nib? How long should a nib last?

Feek · 9 Mar 2012 at 08:11

Pens have nibs, soldering irons have bits or tips!

Don't file the bit down, replace it.

Make sure your sponge is always damp, I almost always wipe the tip on the sponge as soon as I lift the iron out of the holder and it always gets a wipe back on the sponge when it goes back in.

When you make the joint, just tin the end of the iron slightly so it has a little melted solder on it and then wipe that clean when you put the iron back down.

Also, when you switch an iron on with a brand new tip, be ready with the solder. Get the tip tinned properly as soon as the iron heats up and it will extend the life. Keeping it clean though is essential.

A bit that's looked after will last for years.

hux · 9 Mar 2012 at 08:22

I find a 25w iron would scorch a board in no time. For fine work i find my 12w draper expert plentiful, that and decent solder.

arknor · 9 Mar 2012 at 08:26

Goldy said:
I recently acquired a basic 40W soldering iron. First time i used it the nib had no issues accepting the solder. However now its rubbish, i cant solder anything with it.

The nib looks dark and dirty, even though i've tried to keep it clean as possible. Should i file down the nib to clean it? Or get a new nib? How long should a nib last?

what are you trying to solder?