tdls87
Well-known member
What is better suited for car wiring? Any info is greatly appreciated. 
I know Weller is a good brand.
I know Weller is a good brand.
Soldering Gun or Iron
- Thread starter tdls87
- Start date
DARKSCOPE001
Well-known member
depends on what your doing. Irons are more accurate and easyer to handle than a gun in tight delicate situations. Guns heat up fast and produce more heat overall but the small tip size tends to cool down way to fast for any "real" soldering. It has always been my opinion that guns are more of a convenience and less of a "real" tool.
Now Im not sure how it works in the car world but when I was racing Rc cars and when I was in aviation school i had the weller 40 and 80watt pencil irons and they were the best damn irons made for the money. Buy yourself a good stand. these are available at radio shack sears and what not. and keep the tip nice and cleaned and tinned at all times.
Good luck
Sean Scott
Now Im not sure how it works in the car world but when I was racing Rc cars and when I was in aviation school i had the weller 40 and 80watt pencil irons and they were the best damn irons made for the money. Buy yourself a good stand. these are available at radio shack sears and what not. and keep the tip nice and cleaned and tinned at all times.
Good luck
Sean Scott
slip knot
Well-known member
They cheap enough to get both....
I use both for wiring trailers, tractors and such. For general porpuse soldering such as connecting wires to terminal rings I prefer the gun but for finer work I go with a pencil. each has its application. I recommend both!
I use both for wiring trailers, tractors and such. For general porpuse soldering such as connecting wires to terminal rings I prefer the gun but for finer work I go with a pencil. each has its application. I recommend both!
neverenoughtools
Well-known member
As previously stated.......they both have their attributes.
MaximRecoil
Well-known member
Soldering is excellent for e.g., plumbing and printed circuit boards. For wiring, crimp connectors with a quality crimper are superior to soldering. A soldered joint is not flexible like a crimped joint is, and if forced to flex (or through vibration over a long period of time), the solder can crack.
With that said, if you do want to solder wires, unless you are trying to solder some heavy gauge wiring or terminals, then a soldering iron is what you want. A typical soldering iron should be fine for soldering up to say 12 AWG wires.
The best name in soldering irons in my opinion is Metcal, but those can run you $500 or more. I used one working in a PCB factory for 2 1/2 years, soldering about 1000 boards a night, and nothing else compares, no matter how much you pay (I have one of my own now that I got a good deal on used). However, soldering wires is neither delicate nor precise work, nor does it require the 10-seconds-to-reach operating-temperature or lightning fast recovery time of a Metcal (which is important for production line work), so a Weller would be fine, or even a cheap Radio Shack iron, or most anything for that matter. I've even soldered with a flat blade screwdriver heated with a propane torch before (works fine in a pinch).
With that said, if you do want to solder wires, unless you are trying to solder some heavy gauge wiring or terminals, then a soldering iron is what you want. A typical soldering iron should be fine for soldering up to say 12 AWG wires.
The best name in soldering irons in my opinion is Metcal, but those can run you $500 or more. I used one working in a PCB factory for 2 1/2 years, soldering about 1000 boards a night, and nothing else compares, no matter how much you pay (I have one of my own now that I got a good deal on used). However, soldering wires is neither delicate nor precise work, nor does it require the 10-seconds-to-reach operating-temperature or lightning fast recovery time of a Metcal (which is important for production line work), so a Weller would be fine, or even a cheap Radio Shack iron, or most anything for that matter. I've even soldered with a flat blade screwdriver heated with a propane torch before (works fine in a pinch).
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For general electrical work I have to side with the soldering pencil style.
Those battery powered ones (Cold Heat?) are good to carry around if you can't get to an outlet, but have caused me to issue an absolute mountain of foul language that would have made Charlie Sheen blush if he had braved the snowstorm in a certain parking lot. Lets just say I used it that once, and while it worked, you need to be more accurate with it, which is hard to do upside down under a dashboard. There are two contacts on the tip, and both have to be touching a conductive surface for the tip to heat up. I think it is still in the back of my car, but if I ever need it again, I'll just twist in some spare wire and hope that works well enough to get somewhere with real tools.
I have also fixed my car's remote unlocker with a huge soldering gun I borrowed off of some very nice guy in the pits at a snowmobile race. So you *can* use them for small electronics, but I don't recommend it. It was bearable because I was inside a heated trailer.
Bottom line, soldering iron (pencil style), wire strippers (optional, but make things easier), collection of shrink wrap, and practice can make some awesome connections.
Those battery powered ones (Cold Heat?) are good to carry around if you can't get to an outlet, but have caused me to issue an absolute mountain of foul language that would have made Charlie Sheen blush if he had braved the snowstorm in a certain parking lot. Lets just say I used it that once, and while it worked, you need to be more accurate with it, which is hard to do upside down under a dashboard. There are two contacts on the tip, and both have to be touching a conductive surface for the tip to heat up. I think it is still in the back of my car, but if I ever need it again, I'll just twist in some spare wire and hope that works well enough to get somewhere with real tools.
I have also fixed my car's remote unlocker with a huge soldering gun I borrowed off of some very nice guy in the pits at a snowmobile race. So you *can* use them for small electronics, but I don't recommend it. It was bearable because I was inside a heated trailer.
Bottom line, soldering iron (pencil style), wire strippers (optional, but make things easier), collection of shrink wrap, and practice can make some awesome connections.
scott37300
Well-known member
For auto work a butane soldering iron is by far the best. I have installed many remote starters that require lots of soldering under the dash. The cordless butane irons are the best.
I have about 6 soldering instruments from irons to guns to a hakko soldering station and each has it's purpose. The soldering station is by far the best for benchtop soldering but for in car soldering the cordless butane is great.
I have about 6 soldering instruments from irons to guns to a hakko soldering station and each has it's purpose. The soldering station is by far the best for benchtop soldering but for in car soldering the cordless butane is great.
KCarGuy
Well-known member
I have grown to love my "Butane" portable solder pencil.
Its small, lightweight, heats up quickly and cools down fairly fast.
I cant even remember the last time I pulled my Solder gun last.
I have 2 now...one at home and one with my tools in my van, going from job to job with me.
Love them, and have used them for at least 12 years now.
Its small, lightweight, heats up quickly and cools down fairly fast.
I cant even remember the last time I pulled my Solder gun last.
I have 2 now...one at home and one with my tools in my van, going from job to job with me.
Love them, and have used them for at least 12 years now.
AZ_Catskinner
Well-known member
+1 on the Butane. I've got a little Bernzomatic pencil that has paid for itself many times over. When the big wires come into play, the little $20 Bluepoint Turbo Torch comes out.
What is better suited for car wiring? Any info is greatly appreciated.
A good Weller Soldering Station.
Seriously, they are the best, you can change tips, they stay hot and ready, have the place for the wet sponge and heat wire and flow solder really well.
Guns, plug in pencils - junk.
I'm a EE with many years of wiring off and on, and speak from a reasonable amount of experience.
Don't forget a good heat gun for shrink tubing.
I will have to say that this is actually a good tool to have in the box. I bought one when I was doing integration work for a sea trial when I was an active EE...
Bought one because there was not outlets near where we were working and had to do some rework on the fly and figured it might work. It did a great job.
Just remember to turn the sucker off so your butane does not run out...
Lotek
Well-known member
I grab the butane one for wiring now, it has a tip to shrink tubing as well, Powerprobe sells the one I have. I used to use a 40 watt pencil, worked ok, but not great, soldering station works great, but it's too much junk to drag inside a car. Most of my wiring is crimp connectors and oem micro64 terminals, but some signal wiring connectors need to be crimped and soldered, and some wiring repairs need to be soldered to keep the harness size down.. Soldering gun is good for re soldering defroster tabs, and checking ignition modules.
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84bimmer
Well-known member
I used to use irons and guns. Then I bought this torch, and I haven't looked back.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GAUYEQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20
BTW, the guy who reviewed this on amazon, I think he's full of it. The torch is not hard to light. The torch is a dangerous tool, YES it can take 2 hands to light, but you'll figure out a way to do it with one, although it's not real safe to do. And the torch isn't as sensitive with wind as he makes it out to be. I would buy it again if it fails me.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GAUYEQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20
BTW, the guy who reviewed this on amazon, I think he's full of it. The torch is not hard to light. The torch is a dangerous tool, YES it can take 2 hands to light, but you'll figure out a way to do it with one, although it's not real safe to do. And the torch isn't as sensitive with wind as he makes it out to be. I would buy it again if it fails me.
Greatbear
Well-known member
For small wiring and PCB stuff I have a couple Weller EC-series temp controlled stations. The problem with non-controlled irons and guns is the temperature can creep to well over 1000 degrees while the iron is sitting idle, then when you apply that heat to small wiring or circuit board it burns the work. THE other problem is that once you've begun soldering the work, the heat level often falls too far, resulting in cold joints. For heavy work a soldering gun works well, and being trigger controlled, it's possible to manually regulate the temp. Since the gun shuts off when you set it down, it will not run away in temperature while sitting, nor will it burn the life out of the tips doing so.
An iron is much easier to handle in fine work, and a gun works better with the heavier stuff.
An iron is much easier to handle in fine work, and a gun works better with the heavier stuff.
tradesmanschoice
Well-known member
I've used both. I
tradesmanschoice
Well-known member
I've used both. I like the guns for the quick heat up time, you don't have to wait around for ages for the iron to reach temperature. They also often have a light on them which turns on when you press the trigger which can be handy if working under a car dashboard in the gloom.
Temp controlled soldering stations are the way to go for electronics work.
Sorry about the double post, my little finger has a big plaster on it making typing difficult lol.
Cheers,
Mark
Temp controlled soldering stations are the way to go for electronics work.
Sorry about the double post, my little finger has a big plaster on it making typing difficult lol.
Cheers,
Mark