Soldering irons

[EddiePJ]

Possibly a daft question, but having never really dabbled with that much soldering in the past, and not being able to find my existing soldering iron, I'd be interested to hear what others are using, or would recommend to someone (me).

I'd also be interested in hearing/learning about any tips or tricks, including again possibly another daft question, but even what solder to use.

My first play is going to be on the cree lights, and I also have a tow bar to fit, and I'm anti scotch/snap locks. Beyond this, who knows.


btw... There is no such things as a daft question, but it's sometimes daft not to ask.



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[selrahc1992]

Possibly a daft question, but having never really dabbled with that much soldering in the past, and not being able to find my existing soldering iron, I'd be interested to hear what others are using, or would recommend to someone (me).

I'd also be interested in hearing/learning about any tips or tricks, including again possibly another daft question, but even what solder to use.

My first play is going to be on the cree lights, and I also have a tow bar to fit, and I'm anti scotch/snap locks. Beyond this, who knows.


btw... There is no such things as a daft question, but it's sometimes daft not to ask.



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I thought I was technically inept (and in a capable of soldering) until I got a Weller wsd81,its very expensive (you can get the sp80n for twenty quid from toolshed,but it won't do delicate work) but makes difficult work ridiculously easy

 

[Alan Quay]

Antex XS 25w. Have been using these for a long time. Good all round soldering irons, £25 (ish)

I have a few. Last week a bought a 12v version which works just as well as the mains version, and (for me) is a better solution for portable soldering.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The soder and the technique is more important than the iron. Use solder with lead in it (60/40), not the lead-free stuff.

If you want to do heavier stuff like battery connections, you need a more powerful iron, say 40w or more.

 

[RobF]

I used to have a soldering iron which was a nib attached to a lump of metal - which acted as a heat sink - which was in turn attached to a handle.

The idea was to heat the metal lump over a gas ring.

Heavy old brute, and temperature control was a bit hit and miss, but it did the job.

 

[Fordulike]

I moved away from electric soldering irons and onto the gas powered type.
This is what I'm using at the moment:



So much handier for soldering on things away from power points, cars etc..
No annoying power cord to get in the way either.
Also has two neat little attachments in the case, a mini blow torch and a mini heat gun.
The blow torch is great for soldering very large joints, where a soldering tip won't heat the joint up enough for the solder to flow.
The heat gun tip is perfect for heat shrink tubing.
Tin snips, soldering tip wiper, solder sucker and stand, make this a great little package.

Oh, and the main unit lid has a rotary flint striker built in, so you don't even need to carry round a lighter to fire the unit up

BTW, d8veh is right on the mark when he says use a 60/40 solder.
Lead free stuff is utter shite

 

[Alan Quay]

The soder and the technique is more important than the iron.

Up to a point that's true but.....

Some of the cheap ones don't have proper tips. It looks like a piece of an old screwdriver held in with a screw. Those are total junk.

The tip (or bit) is the important thing. Copper coated with iron is best and with the Antex (and others) you can buy interchangeable bits of different sizes/shapes.

Very cheap soldering irons are only good for keeping your coffee warm.

 

[Kinninvie]

Lead free solder is like alcohol free beer! Totally pointless and wont do the job
I use a 100 watt iron but then I do mainly 10 guage wire and XT90 connectors.
Anything delicate I get a mate to sort as my hand shakes too much.

 

[flecc]

Very cheap soldering irons are only good for keeping your coffee warm.

Or welding split battery cases and the like.

The right size and wattage of iron is more important than it's make, nothing worse than attempting to solder with inadequate heat and/or bit size. I've got three irons from a 12 watt for delicate work to a 65 watt with a 6mm wide thick bit, plus a gas iron for mains free odd jobs.
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[Gringo]

I agree with previous posters, the correct iron makes all the difference
Where I dissagree is with "lead free" being sh1te, I use it at home on my RC stuff and at work we use it repairing surgical equipment ( endoscops ). heres a few of my irons

 

[Fordulike]

I bought some lead free stuff accidently a few years ago from Maplin.
My experience was that it needed a hotter soldering iron, and longer exposure to heat, for it to flow properly.
Even then I couldn't really get it to bond to the wire satisfactorily.

Bought a job lot of 60/40, as I heard that UK regs were going to prevent the sale of leaded solder. Haven't looked back since, it's awesome stuff.

It's probably down to my technique as to why the lead free stuff didn't work for me, but I couldn't risk destroying components with heat soak, by using it.

60/40 for me every time... Well, until I die of lead fumes poisoning

 

[EddiePJ]

Anything delicate I get a mate to sort as my hand shakes too much.

You could just give up the beer!

Thanks for all of the replies. It's interesting seeing the differing of opinions.



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[Kinninvie]

I very rarely drink beer actually..
Brandy has far fewer calories in

Unfortunately the shaking is a hereditary thing,my poor mum has to use a teacup with a lid on these days.

 

[selrahc1992]

Up to a point that's true but.....

Some of the cheap ones don't have proper tips. It looks like a piece of an old screwdriver held in with a screw. Those are total junk.

The tip (or bit) is the important thing. Copper coated with iron is best and with the Antex (and others) you can buy interchangeable bits of different sizes/shapes.

Very cheap soldering irons are only good for keeping your coffee warm.

Whatever you do don't buy the bargain basement maplin types,not enough heat for even delicate work and doesn't survive

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hmmm! I've never found a soldering iron that Wouldn't solder. The only problems I've had is with the ones with temperature control, where the control units pack up. Then, I wire them straight through to bypass the temperature control.

Some of the cheap ones run too hot, which burns the tips, but I just file them a bit before using them. I always thought that the Maplin ones were pretty good, but a bit too expensive for cheapskates like me.

Lead free solder works if you have the right equipment, but it's not for amateurs.

I taught electronics to schoolkids for 10 years. They could all solder with 60/40 tin/lead solder, but I don't think one of them managed with lead-free. We did a lot of tests and trials to try and optimise the equipment. I could do it OK, but they couldn't, which is why I wouldn't recommend it unless you're competent at soldering.

 

[shemozzle999]

Watch these old guides to understand the process before buying any equipment:

 

[EddiePJ]

Thanks shemozzle999, I'll take a look at that later.

 

[Geebee]

A decent gas soldering is great for cables and connectors as the "wattage" heat is extremely adjustable from heavy gauge power wire to hair like wire (ideal for Ebikes), PCB work an electric of 25~30 watts is good for general purpose.

I own several electric irons from pin tip to several mm chisel tip, but unless doing a PCB just grab the gas one now days.
I generally find high temp and short contact time is the least destructive best results.

Banggood sell lead solder still in a selection of thickness, as others have said stay away from lead free if possible.

 

[Croxden]

Watch these old guides to understand the process before buying any equipment:

So I've been mispronouncing solder all these years, no wonder I had so many failures.

 

[Kinninvie]

That was a great help.
Thanks