What soldering iron to go for?

saitrix

saitrix

saitrix

Soldato
Joined
2 Jun 2003
Posts
8,950
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Nottingham
Hi,

I am looking for a new soldering iron, got a few jobs for my car which needs soldering so would rather use something of better quality than my cheap 25W one. I already have a stand so I don't need one but I have had a look round and found a few I can get.



First one is the one in the picture above. Here is the specs on it. Costs £10.

• 50W soldering iron
• Adjustable temperature range (350°F (180°C) to 900°F (480°C))
• Anti-static ground output
• Supplied with a sponge, stand and one spike point tip



The second one is in the image above. Here are the specs for it. Costs £9.50.

POWER INPUT : 220V / 50HZ AC
POWER OUTPUT: 15W TO 60W
RANGE OF TEMP: 100-400°C
HEATER: CERAMIC


So which would be better? Any suggestions also for the £10-15 range, I don't solder often enough to need to spend more.
 
what kind of things will you be soldering?
i'm rather partial to Antex soldering irons though.
 
Antex stuff is good and reasonably priced - I've had a few over the years and they're great for light work. I've never had a high powered Antex though as if I want 50w I use my Weller.
 
Antex are cheap and cheerful, good enough if you are just doing the odd spot of soldering.

If you're doing a lot, i'd heartily recommend getting a 24 volt Weller iron, a 45W TCP one with power supply comes in at about 70 pounds though.
 
Well I am fitting an alarm and audio to my Dolomite so will be doing small wires where I need to join them. Then I am building an electronic ignition system for my car aswell, this means soldering direct to pcb.

But then on the other hand I do soldering of larger guage wires for RC Planes/Cars, for example I use up to 16AWG or even 12AWG. So I need something that is flexible, hense why I was looking at temp controlled ones.
 
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saitrix said:
So do you lot think it isn't that needed to have temperature controlled?
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Temperature control is more important when your working on PCB's with components, soldering the odd few wires isn't going to matter too much. I don't remember what make mine is but it is a low voltage temperature controlled one with a big transformer base unit. Unless your working with PCB's and SMT components a lot then a standard one will probably do.
 
just get a bog standard cheapo, I manged a few years of electronics at uni with on soldering everything from microprocessors to decent thickness wires. Unless your doing it for a job or some serious hobbying it's not worth the outlay on a top notch one.
 
Fair enough, probably doing a few pcb things soon. Better to go for an Antex or one of those cheap temp controlled ones I got in the OP? That's what I'm not sure on.
 
Nip into a popular electronic store beginning with M, and get the Solderpro 70 kit for £20 instead of £40.

It does 25-80w according to instructions and lasts for an hour on a full tank of butane. Need to buy an extra larger tip though for bigger wires. The kit has a fine solder point, blow torch, heatgun & hot knife tips. Feels pretty well made too.

No power cable is a major bonus when soldering in the car.
 
I have one of the Weller TCP irons, has lasted me years. Not sure what wattage it is (although it was fine for soldering Deans connectors to a lipo battery, saitrix;)).
Where I work, the problem with the variable temp irons is that everyone always turns them up to maximum, and ruin the tips within a week.

We've had a few Antex irons as well, seem ok but I prefer the Wellers.
 
saitrix said:
Ahh just what I need to know KotFM, soldering on those are a pain with a cheap iron.
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Well, I haven't tried it with a cheap iron, so maybe you don't necessarily need a Weller. I'm just a little spoilt because that's what I've mainly used for soldering from the start. We've had some of the cheaper Weller irons at work (the red ones) and I don't think they are very good.
We initially had a problem after the RoHS compliance came into place, but that was because the solder was the wrong type.
 
We use mainly Antex 18-25w with silicone cables at work. Big stuff (50watt +) is Weller, and for small stuff we use a JBC temp controlled station.

I'd say Antex if you're buying cheap. Ours seldom fail and they're normally very good.
 
Jokester said:
I use an Antex 25W iron.

Jokester
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Absolutely horrific iron, avoid............

Mine blew up with sparks coming out of it after i changed a tip. Get a cheaper temp controlled iron as it does allow much more control. i got mine from an online electronics store that also has shops in certain areas, and begins with an M. Fantastic piece of kit for around 30 notes although i got mine for 12 quid :)

Also get some good leaded solder, or something like kester solder. Nothing else comes close to ease of solderability, and please avoid antex solder, especially their silver stuff, horrible to use and takes ages to melt. Horrific constituents, a good 60/40 lead tin solder is the best as it'l be closest to the eutectic point of the alloy, which is a good thing.
 
adfinni said:
Absolutely horrific iron, avoid............

Mine blew up with sparks coming out of it after i changed a tip. Get a cheaper temp controlled iron as it does allow much more control. i got mine from an online electronics store that also has shops in certain areas, and begins with an M. Fantastic piece of kit for around 30 notes although i got mine for 12 quid :)

Also get some good leaded solder, or something like kester solder. Nothing else comes close to ease of solderability, and please avoid antex solder, especially their silver stuff, horrible to use and takes ages to melt. Horrific constituents, a good 60/40 lead tin solder is the best as it'l be closest to the eutectic point of the alloy, which is a good thing.
Click to expand...

how did you manage to get your soldering iron to expode?!?
the tips just slide on/off, so i can't see how changing could have damaged it!

i agree with you about the solder though, avoid silver-based-solder at all costs unless your soldering HUGE components and using a +50w iron.
 
Thanks for the tip on what solder to use! I didn't know it would affect it that much to be honest. I think I will go into that shop tomorrow and have a look at the irons themselves.

I am guessing with a temp controlled iron you try and get away with the lowest heat possible? So start it low and see if it works, if not then turn it up?
 
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