Soldering iron

Hi, I decided to post this here because it's not really going to be used on a computer. I'm looking to buy a soldering iron because I don't have one and I want to solder some electronics (want to take up circuitry as a hobby). I don't really know what to get though as you can spend anywhere from $10 (and probably less) to $1000 or more on a single soldering iron. So I need some reccomendations and guidelines on what's good for a beginner. So far I know that I don't want a Cold Heat (not good for sensitive electronics) and that a stand would certainly be nice. I read that a finetip 50w capable of 700 degrees F would be good (~370 celcius) and I've heard of the Weller W60p. Any input would be great.

Well, I don't know that brand but I don't think that brands matter all that much (provided that you don't cheap out on the deal that is).

What I would reccommend would be that you start with lower wattages (30 watts) for your first iron as the delicate components you are going to be dealing with are more forgiving at lower energies.

I vote for a soldering station with a temperature knob. When I first did some soldering, I used my roommates soldering station and loved it. Later, I picked up a cheap soldering iron at Home Depot and the thing barely had enough power to melt the stupid solder if the solder or the tip was slightly dirty or tarnished. I wound up holding the soldering tip to the stove to get the thing hot enough to get it going.

As for the wattage, I dunno. Higher is better as long as you can turn it down. I'd say start out checking www.mpja.com for something. They tend to have decent deals on stuff.

just get a cheap one and keep the head clean.
after every solder rub the head on a wet sponge.

If you want something good brand, get a weller 15 or 30w. They aren't too expensive, and they are most likely the best brand out there.

fine tip are always nice ..along with adjustable .....

another important thing that can be extremely handy is a desk mount magnifying glass/light ....

i got me one at radio shack for $10. i got a stand for $10 too. it works perfectly fine for everything ive done...

Either a fixed 15 or 30w, or an adjustable weller. I have always trusted Weller, be it for home projects or industrial work, and they never have let me down.

if you refer to the sticky in my sig, i did that with a radioshack 15/30 watt switchable, that cost like $8.00. for getting started, one of those is great. or you can grab a used temp controlled station off of ebay. i have an edsyn one, its about 20 years old (im obviously not the original purchaser, as im only 17) Just be sure you can easily get new tips for whatever you get. Nothing as fun as placing the order online for 6 new tips, selecting to pay via money order, getting a call and arguing over whether or not the site has an option to pay with MO, then being notified after the call ended that theres a minimum order of $25.00. thats about when i said screw my edsyn, im gonna get a weller when the wallet agrees. so i just went and grabbed the cheap RS and went on with the mods (this all happened right before i made that guide)

on a side note, Computer Power User magazine actually plugged the cold heat, saying "ColdHeat’s Pro Soldering Tool is useful on everything from motherboards to Xboxes… or so we’ve been told." in their "PC Modder V2.1" issue, i dont see a publication date but it says on the cover to display until 10/15/05. It's terrible that paid advertisements can get something like this in the mag. at least they put on the or so we've been told part... It's just terrible, actually plugging something so potentially destructive.

Cool, thanks guys I got me a radioshack 20w/40w switchable with a stand. It was $20 and I'll use it soon.

Xtreme Barton said:

fine tip are always nice ..along with adjustable .....

another important thing that can be extremely handy is a desk mount magnifying glass/light ....

Click to expand...

that and some bendable arms, with alligater clips

I have a cheap Radio Shack model with switchable 15/30w 15w is ok for really small job like SMD devices while 30w for wires and standard sized compoments.

After 10 years, the power cable have been melted twice by accident, the handle is cracked and is held in by tapes but it still works for me. Soldering station to hold the iron is a must as if you don't the iron is liable to roll around a bit and you defiantly don't want it rolling off your desk or table and falling on your legs or worse...

For cleaning tip, any cheap sponge will work, just make sure it's wet for better result. Radio Shack wanted too much for a single replacement sponge, I got a 9 packs from a dollar store that when cut down to size is close to 54 total sponges for the iron station. A real money saving tip, 54 from $1, almost $550 cheaper than lot of 54 from Radio Shack.

Anyway for basic soldering work, 30 watts should be enough. For larger job like heavy gauge wires or metal plates you will need higfher temp iron. Finally if you have access to a local electronics surplus shop look for a bunch of really cheap PCB boards so you can practice desoldering since you probably will need to desolder something at one point like repairing your own mistakes or modding your work.

I actually have to desolder and canabalize, it's not too bad i've done it before (but with a friend's iron). The project is simple enough that practicing shouldn't be too much of a problem.

weller, 15-30 watt adjustable.
with a fine tip.

easy but great little bit of hardware.