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Soldering Iron recommendation

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FiendFX

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What are you guys using? Should I go cordless, butane, or cord? Which brand? Please share.

It mostly automotive, I do prefer portable, but also something that is hot enough. Thanks.
 
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Davefr

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Portasols are nice for automotive.

portasol-superpro125-kit-lg.jpg
 
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nanofrog

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I'd also say Portasol for automotive work where you can't take it out of the vehicle.

Hakko FX-888D or Weller WES51 for bench use for entry level stations (~$100), JBC otherwise (~$430 for a compact model).
 
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BirdMobile

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For bench work, I loves me some Weller 51 station. So much in fact, that I bought two.
For portable/car stuff, portasol is great - just trickier to use properly and get the same quality results.
Still waiting for a good rechargeable cordless... all the attempts at this I've seen so far have been capital-F fails.
 
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Kirbot

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For everything automotive, I use an old 240 watt Wen soldering gun.

Everything else gets the soldering station. A Weller EC1002
 
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FiendFX

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I'm not the best soldering guy. I get frustrated when the soldering iron is not able to melt the solder when placed on top of the wire because it's not hot enough. Will Portasols be the one for me?
 
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BirdMobile

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FiendFX said:
I'm not the best soldering guy. I get frustrated when the soldering iron is not able to melt the solder when placed on top of the wire because it's not hot enough. Will Portasols be the one for me?
Click to expand...

Your main problem with the Portasol is that there is TOO MUCH heat... seriously.
 
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MBfreak

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Hi.
As your skill level incrases and ambition level goes up, you will probably come to the conclusion that you actually need several soldering irons.
For general electronics repair
A weller 40 W with adjustable temperature and several tips.
For soldering larger cables
A 150 W non regulated
For tinning body panels ( Yes , I do that , and it works great)
A 2 kW cannon with a switched power supply to get the right temp on the body lead so that it is like jelly and can be formed with a beech spoon.

And if you are into more serious electronic repairs.
A soldering station with a built in vacuum pump. With these, desoldering a 65 pin connector or a 64 legged CPU is quite easy. The pic attached is my MBT, which was given to me when a large company outsourced all their repairs.

Best regards

Ola
 

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zakmartin

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I absolutely HATE butane soldering torches. They have their place (i.e., no electricity), but I've never used one that had decent heat control. The Master MT76K is garbage. Don't get near it.

Like a previous poster above, once you go with a soldering station, you'll never go back to a simple 15 Watt Weller.

My workhorse is an Aoyue 9378 60 Watt Programmable Digital Soldering Station. I've been using it for year or so, mostly for restoring older PCBs on 80's and 90's vintage Kurzweil and Yamaha synthesizers. Also just restored a NOS Pioneer boombox from 1983. Changed out all the caps and a few other parts before turning it on for the first time. The Aoyue heats up and cools down instantly, is beautifully ergonomic and has a ton of functionality. For $85, you can't beat it. I have no complaints whatsoever.
 
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quattroJoe

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This is a topic that comes up pretty often, but I'm always happy to talk soldering irons! I'm not a fan of butane irons though. After using several brands, I'm a huge fan of Hakko. At work, I use a FX-888D station for bench jobs, and even drag it out with an extension cord to use on cars if I'm doing more than a few wires. For quick jobs under a hood or dash I use a Weller pistol type iron (which I would replace with a Hakko in a heartbeat if they made a pistol iron that could handle 12 AWG comfortably.)

For through hole and surface mount PCB projects at home, I've got a Hakko FX-951 station and an Aoyue hot air rework/vacuum pump setup. For a low cost Chinese brand, Aoyue is surprisingly decent.
 
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browntown

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I have no experience with the butane jobs, but I like the idea of using something better than a bic while under the dash playing with heatshrink. I'll have to look into that portasol

For bench mounted, I have a Weller WLC100 which is wildly popular on Amazon. I would buy something nicer though in hindsight. The Hakko's are very well thought of in the mid-price range and will likely be the Weller's replacement even though they look like Fisher-Price "My first solder station".

If you can find one second hand, the weller ec1002 is a huge improvement over the wlc100 and I have a buddy that swears by it.
Also, don't know what tips the hakko takes, but you can find weller tips everywhere, even sears. So if you like the ability to get tips on a sunday night, get a weller.

If you're hamfisted like me, buy yourself the little third hand arms. They're annoying to setup just right, but allow me to make better joints. This guy made one with coolant flexy pipe, and I aim to copy the design: http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/
FJC0OH2F7PCOX6T.LARGE.jpg
 
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FiendFX

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augustus said:
Weller. Using butane is a real pain.
Click to expand...

Can you please elaborate on how the butane is a pain? They don't solder well? Reason why I was thinking about getting one is better it's portable. But I've never experienced one. I do agree well most on the Weller soldering iron, but it's tethered to plug.
 
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wild cowboy

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quattroJoe said:
After using several brands, I'm a huge fan of Hakko. At work, I use a FX-888D station for bench jobs, and even drag it out with an extension cord to use on cars if I'm doing more than a few wires.
Click to expand...

ha! - I do this as well! :beer:

BirdMobile said:
For bench work, I loves me some Weller 51 station. So much in fact, that I bought two.
Click to expand...
but for that budget, you could have had two Hakko FX-888D's - silly rabbit!
 
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MattPersman

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FiendFX said:
How much do you use yours and what model? I'm reading the reviews on Amazon, people said you cannot even reach customer service when unit goes bad, you are screwed.
Click to expand...

Use it at least a few times each week, had it for several years probably 5-6. I was just using a master appliance torch but this is more controlled.
 
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Formula

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I love my portasol. I had the snap on branded version that recently died after 15 years of use. It was the tips that wear out but I decided on buying a whole new setup. They are very reliable and I've never had an issue with them, other than the tips wearing out after a few years with heavy use.

I'm not sure what issues people have with butane. It works great for me.
 
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FiendFX

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wild cowboy said:
It is well made and engineered and will be good for small stuff, like the electronics in modern cars that handle the navigation system and all of those zillions of small diameter wires behind the dash and in the interior that don't carry any significant current and also sufficient for most components on circuit boards.

For anything that carries any current much, it may have insufficient wattage at only 35W as well as anything that is well grounded, such as a larger component in a circuit board on a large ground plane.


with a large enough extension cord it can reach 250 feet!
Click to expand...

I sat down and thought about it. This is the way to go. Thanks!
 
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fsae0607

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Weller WES51 for small stuff. Like others have said, once you go station, you never go back to cheap iron.

For automotive, I have a two Weller guns: a 100/140 watt and a 200/260 watt. Butane ones are tricky. I just use an extension chord to drag one of my guns out to the work when I can help it.
 
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nanofrog

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Kester 44, Sn63Pb37 0.020" or 0.025" diameter.

If just tinning wire, 0.032" is more appropriate, and less expensive (the smaller the diameter, the more expensive it gets).
 
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FiendFX

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nanofrog said:
Kester 44, Sn63Pb37 0.020" or 0.025" diameter.

If just tinning wire, 0.032" is more appropriate, and less expensive (the smaller the diameter, the more expensive it gets).
Click to expand...

It's mostly soldering for sensor wires and headlight wires.
 
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darkzero

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I have a BluePoint branded Weller Portasol. I've had it for over 10 yrs & used it daily to do a lot of engine wiring harness modifications. It's never failed me, I only use Master Appliance butane in my butane tools. Cheap gas is a common killer of butane tools.

At home I use a Hakko 936, great unit that also has never failed me. Use it for a lot of electronic work. My prev job I worked in electronic repair, every rework tech used the 936 too. I don't think they make it anymore though, their new models are blue & yellow. Lots of copies of the 936 though, wonder why. ;)
 
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