Soldering Iron? Home use...

[ZenkiS14]

So my HF special has lasted me a few years, but i'd like something nicer for home garage work. What's my best bang for buck out there in world of simplicity, reliability, and ease of use? Dont need a whole bench setup at all, something mobile, dont mind corded, that I can use laying on the floor of my car in the garage.

What's your go-to?

 

[richfinn]

I like my gas Portasol 125 (also sold by Snap-On etc) made in Ireland, reasonably priced and nice quality

 

[matt_i]

I like to use the Master Appliance butane cordless soldering iron. UT100Si

https://www.masterappliance.com/ultratorch-ut-100si-soldering-iron-heat-tool/

Have to fill it with butane from time to time but no cords, heats very fast, and portable all over. Added benefit is the "exhaust port" for the combustion does a nice job shrinking tubing.

For just basic use you could get a cheap corded iron and solder all kinds of stuff. A big hog 100W can come in handy at times if you encountered heavier wires.

 

[Bert_]

The blue weller's. I think I have a wp35. Very happy with it.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I splurged and bought a Hakko. $50

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006MQD7M4/?tag=atomicindus08-20


And oh my god is it amazing compared to HF specials and even butane soldering irons. I would buy it again at $100 if need be, it's that good. Get a soldering tip cleaner as well, it's like a ball of steel wool that keeps junk off the tip. I actually enjoy soldering now.

 

[ZenkiS14]

The Weller and the Hakko are both pretty interesting! I like the price on the Weller! haha

 

[c5greg]

I have both. I did a bunch of research when buying my soldering station and went with the Hakko. I liked several features on the Hakko FX-888D soldering station vs the comparable Weller, but really you cant go wrong with either.

 

[Copymutt]

$2.00 at a garage sale. American Beauty, 330 watts. Couldn’t pass it up. Big enough to solder sheet metal or dehorn a goat!

 

[NHDave]

I recently replaced my standard pencil type iron with a TS100, thing is amazing, gets much hotter much faster, goes into standby when you set it down, and will run off of a battery for those jobs that don't have an outlet nearby.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I like my gas Portasol 125 (also sold by Snap-On etc) made in Ireland, reasonably priced and nice quality

The Portasol is sold under many different brands, Good stuff !

 

[theoldwizard1]

I recently replaced my standard pencil type iron with a TS100, thing is amazing, gets much hotter much faster, goes into standby when you set it down, and will run off of a battery for those jobs that don't have an outlet nearby.

Great for electronics and small wire. Will it handle 18 gauge ? How about 16 ?

 

[Rabid Badger]

Great for electronics and small wire. Will it handle 18 gauge ? How about 16 ?

The TS100 will outperform pretty much any iron that doesn't have the heating element integrated into the tip.

 

[glenng]

Hakko FX888. I have the model with the dial, before they came out with the FX888D. Excellent soldering station.

 

[skulldrinker]

Garage tuff garage proven the big weller

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[mrobins297aaa]

another vote for the hakko fx888d

 

[sreeb]

For under your car, the big weller guns. d650 is best but the d550 is still very good and a lot cheaper.

You will want something different for your electronics bench.

 

[d.mcfarland]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hakko-60-Watt-Red-Soldering-Iron-503F-V12ED-P/204215957

$15 and works very good in my opinion.

 

[MarineScott]

Wall Lenk, is the way to go. Reliable, even outside when it's windy.

 

[dogdog]

For electronics or for tin... I think those makes a huge differences.

 

[driz]

My big Weller like the one in the picture dates back to 1992. Still going strong. I use it for anything but tiny wiring jobs.
Watch out for the cheap Chinese irons you see all over. Notice how they are often grossly unbalanced with the weight right out on the hot end. Fine working with a station on a desk but that’s about it. Even in the handle some get uncomfortably hot as well. Get climbing around upside down under a dashboard with both hands involved and it gets ugly fast. After 3 or 4 burns because that cheap POS slips flips or falls because it’s so clumsy your vocabulary will be nothing but 4 letter words. Yea I bought one of those, been there done that.


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[bamawildcat]

Hakko is my preference.

 

[Git]

Hakko FX888D

I have fixed two laptop computers with it now - both had a failed charging jack on the motherboard. I had desolder the old jack and solder in new ones.

For other stuff I have a butane Portasol that I have been very happy with

 

[ZenkiS14]

Most of my stuff is fairly crude wire soldering for race car stuff. Almost nothing gets done at the bench, it's hunched over an engine or laying on the floor looking up at the dash.

You guys think I'd wanted any thing more than the Weller 35 for that?

 

[sreeb]

I wouldn't get a Weller 35 for anything. It is too crude for electronics and too wimpy for power.

For electronics, something with closed loop temperature control is a must.

For power/wiring, something like a weller d550 would be a good choice.

 

[Mas78]

I've had a Weller for several years, one of the best investments i made for electronics of any kind.
The Hakkos work well also.
I went with the Weller due to tips being available locally at the time, now I'd consider the Hakko a bit more since I'd have to order both online.

They are both bench units but easy to carry around and set on the floor or where ever I'm fixing stuff.

 

[richfinn]

Most of my stuff is fairly crude wire soldering for race car stuff. Almost nothing gets done at the bench, it's hunched over an engine or laying on the floor looking up at the dash.

You guys think I'd wanted any thing more than the Weller 35 for that?

You want a cordless/gas iron really for working in and around the car

 

[geojag]

If you happen to have Milwaukee M12 tools, their soldering iron is great. Heats up quick, and lasts a good while for a battery powered unit. It is a little bulky, so I wouldn't want it for fine work.

 

[ZenkiS14]

If you happen to have Milwaukee M12 tools, their soldering iron is great. Heats up quick, and lasts a good while for a battery powered unit. It is a little bulky, so I wouldn't want it for fine work.

Honestly that's what i'd like to do, but I dont have any M12 stuff at all, and likely wont do much. I'm still stuck on hand tools here at the house haha

 

[richfinn]

http://www.portasol.com/products_sc_r2.asp?sC_ID=112

I think for the money you can't beat these, I do roadside assistance and have successfully repaired everything from keyfob circuit boards to rodent damaged wiring harnesses with mine

Tips and accessories are readily available via eBay or Amazon

I would be worried that Milwaukee cordless might be a bit big for under dash work to be honest, a great idea though!!!!

 

[smackey05]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AS28UC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Weller makes a good budget soldering iron for $40 that I really like. Have had luck with it for years as a hobby soldering iron. I have the blue Wellers at work... but that precision isn't necessary for the work I do at home.

 

[Bert_]

I use my weller wp35 for electronics mostly, through hole stuff. When I had a cheap iron I thought I should get a fancy station but I got a good weller and now I could care less about a station.

If you're doing bigger stuff I might look at a 100W iron. You won't be happy with the 35W. I would still get a blue weller, maybe a w100

 

[ZenkiS14]

I think that WP35 might be the plan for me honestly. Guess I'll watch Amazon and wait for a deal.

 

[Citation]

For basic home use I would suggest a temperature controlled Chinese thing. If cost isn't an issue then either something like the $100 Weller or Hakko stations are really nice. I have a 936 that's about 25 years old. I still love it.

Some of the irons like the ST100 are really interesting (I just got one the other day). They are very cost effective for what is possibly a very well temp controlled iron. The down side is I really don't like the ergonomics vs my Hakko station. Also, the Hakko came with a really nice iron holder. The cheap stuff typically does not.

The hard part about suggesting a Chinese thing off Amazon is which are reasonable but cheap knock offs of Hakko et al vs which are just junk. Even if the knock offs look the same they often aren't under the skin. As an example, recently I bought a cheap hot air rework station.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y7BNQ2F/?tag=atomicindus08-20
For the price I'm not unhappy however, the iron isn't reliably temperature controlled. As far as I can tell it doesn't actually have a temperature sensor in the tip and the temp setting is just a power setting. Sure that can be OK if your needs are basic but it *claims* to be temp controlled.

Something like this could be a good budget iron (under $25) if it's actually temp controlled vs just power controlled.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GLXC42J/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Something that is nice about the TS100 or a T12 based iron
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08THG87W4/?tag=atomicindus08-20
is they are often powered by a 12-24V plug. That means you can run them off a car battery or car's 12V plug. That is really nice if you are doing work in the car. I have a little Hakko iron that runs on 4AA batteries. It's poor in terms of power but it certainly is handy to have an iron that doesn't require 120V power.

Disclaimer. I am not endorsing any specific link I provided. They are just examples of the type.

 

[AndeiH]

my most used soldering iron is my hakko fx-901. just can't beat the simplicity and portability. not great if you really need temperature control but it's not an issue for me. i've been really impressed with the performance.

 

[redidbull]

I got this one a while ago and it works great. I have a lot of the tools so got tool only but they have a complete kit. Jim
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SG7M1MB/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Bert_]

I think that WP35 might be the plan for me honestly. Guess I'll watch Amazon and wait for a deal.

What size wires are you dealing with?

I have the wp35 and I like it a lot for electronics but for what you want I really wonder if a 100W iron might be better. They make a 60W also but it doesn't have the mass that the bigger irons have.