another soldering iron thread...

[scaesic]

Hello!

i'v graduated from a cheap 20w soldering iron to a cheap 50w soldering iron station. im finally at the stage where im looking to put some cash down on somethign semi-professional, because the frustration of cheap irons is driving me insane.
this is what im using right now >  http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/Full/n78ar_new.jpg
i'm in britain so british suppliers/shop recomendations would be brilliant.

iv looked for xytronic stations but they seem to be based in american websites. Obviously a weller would be out of my price range, looking to spend about £30-£50 on something which will make soldering much less of a chore.


put your reccomendations here:-

[GREEN FUZ]

Just curious- What`s wrong with the one you linked to?

[jonathan perez]

i have a weller 15 watt, or something like that...i love it to death. been using it for 3 years so far.

[soulsonic]

That one in the link looks pretty crappy. The only place I can recommend for soldering equipment is http://www.circuitspecialists.com
They are great and have an excellent selection and prices. The thing is, they're not in the UK...... I don't know any UK places, but some brands to look for are Xytronic (like you said) and also Tenma. Tenma has some really good irons, but also some really crummy ones  - so you have to be very picky with which one you choose. Maybe you can find a Brit site with some good Tenma stations on it....
Pace is another good brand that's generally better priced than the equivalent Weller.
I was doing a little searching, and it appears that the OEM for the nice irons that circuit specialists sells is Aoyue. If you can find a distributor in the UK that handles Aoyue irons, I think you'd be set. Those irons are really nice for the money.
Weller irons traditionally have been considered the best, but the newer ones have been getting a bad rep because they're burning out really quick. I had a Weller that lasted a few months before it was trashed. A few years earlier I had another one, and it lasted about a year. The only Wellers that have really stood up for me have been my OLD weller guns. The old Weller stuff is great, but forget those new ones - they're not worth it.

[Plinky]

I used a Radio Shack $20 soldering station for years. Finally wore it out for regular stuff, so now its in my Macgyver box for gigs. I bought a programmable Weller soldering station for $100 (wanted something nice) at Fry's Electronics (frys.com). It lasted about a month before it crapped out internally (no power to the soldering lead, took forever to heat up too). Exchanged it for a Hakko 936. It's not programmable, but it's been rock solid for about 6 months now, takes about 15 seconds or less to heat up, and Fry's stocks tons of parts for it (something else you should consider). 

[96ecss]

Here's the one I use http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/1980-0430

It's on sale too. I love it. Way better than the 25W Rat Shack iron I have at work.

Dave

[Plinky]

Here's the one I use http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/1980-0430

It's on sale too. I love it. Way better than the 25W Rat Shack iron I have at work.

Dave

That's the one I bought at Fry's that pooped out on me.

[96ecss]

Here's the one I use http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/1980-0430

It's on sale too. I love it. Way better than the 25W Rat Shack iron I have at work.

Dave

That's the one I bought at Fry's that pooped out on me.

Really? I use mine about 4 hours a day and it's been great. I hope I didn't just jinx myself by saying that. My previous Weller iron was over 20 years old before it crapped out.

Dave

[Plinky]

Really? I use mine about 4 hours a day and it's been great. I hope I didn't just jinx myself by saying that. My previous Weller iron was over 20 years old before it crapped out.

Dave

Maybe just my luck. Sometimes you can't be too sure about stuff from Fry's. They have been known to rebox returned items, but mine looked unopened. 
Either way, I'm quite happy with my Hakko. 

[magikker]

I don't trust anything from frys. ever.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Another vote for Hakko here , but they aren't cheap, unfortunately (well, not in Australia).

[JFX09]

I was doing a little searching, and it appears that the OEM for the nice irons that circuit specialists sells is Aoyue. If you can find a distributor in the UK that handles Aoyue irons, I think you'd be set. Those irons are really nice for the money.

Got one on ebay for a total of 51$ Can  including shipping and I'm a happy cat. I can't believe how fast it heats up, and it's only 35W ( I had a crappy 25W one).

It's identical to a Hakko, even down  to the model number, although it doesn't seem as rugged , but for hobby pedal work I think it'll be nice.  I'll update after more significant usage.

just tought i'd let you know.

[tehfunk]

I've got the Weller WLC100 soldering station, and i think it works great--a point of assurance, i was visiting UCLA's school of engineering about a week or two ago, and I went into one of the laboratories and guess what i saw at each table, a WLC100 soldering station! I was like "i have chosen wisely" lol.

[bbmonster]

I just bought a soldering station just like the one pictured in the first post for $25. Looks exactly like it but the brand is Velleman and model number is VTSS5U. The station is okay but its more a cheapy quick replacement of my radio shack iron till I save up for one of the Weller models. What I don't like about it is that there is only one tip style and takes awhile for the initial heat up.

[FlyingZ]

I love how my Hakko is at temp in about 15 sec. My cheap Radio shack lasted longer then my cheap Weller.

[Ripthorn]

My Xytronic 379 is awesome, though tips are not exactly commonplace (I did find a decent selection at my local mom and pop electronics shop, though).  It is relatively cheap and works like a champ.

[tranceracer]

I have a Weller 40W... LOOOOVE IT!

I've also been looking at this one from Harbor Freight and keep my Weller for a backup.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96531

Anyone use this one?  Has push button presets but for $60, Good?  Bad?

[Taylor]

Can anyone give a rundown on what you get when you buy an expensive iron?

I've been using an $8 Radio Shack iron for a while now. I've done about 25 projects with it and it seems to be doing the job just fine. Even if it dies, I can buy about 15 more of them for the price of a Weller. That said, maybe I'm making my work harder than it needs to be.

So what am I missing out on?

[Dai H.]

I think technique is a pretty big factor. So even with a cheapo iron I'd say you can still make nice joints. Cheap ones tend to overheat easily and there isn't any regulation, so if you can get some adjustment with a Variac or maybe a resistor(of the proper wattage and whatever resistance is best) in line with the AC that should help(probably the cheapest option). It still seems to overheat, so sometimes you need to cool it off a bit by lowering the power input or turning it off.

[Ice-9]

Aoyue 937 Solder Station  is what i use and never had a problem. They are well priced as well.

link is so you can see picture only, about £35

http://www.pcb-soldering.co.uk/index.php?target=products&product_id=24