Picking a soldering iron

I browsed through a few of the soldering iron recommendation threads I could find and I've got my eye on 3 different Weller ones right now, but I don't really know what I'm looking for.

My immediate need is to reattach a wire that broke off a battery terminal in a child's toy. I know any cheap soldering iron would work, but I figure this is an oportunity to get something nicer.

I've decided I want to learn more about hardware hacking (not as in breaking and entering but as in learning more about the subject, is there a term for this like how there is free [beer/speech], if not there should be). In the image below you can see a spot where you can attach a jtag. I don't even know what jtag means yet, I just know I need it for if (when) I brick the device. My other needs would include playing with some old routers and computers I have laying around. I'm thinking initial projects would include jtag for when I brick the router, and maybe a volt mod for fun/practice on one of the old computers.

Would something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WM120-...ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1279522000&sr=8-2
be good for pcb work?

Or do I need something with higher wattage like this: http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WP35-P...ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1279608870&sr=1-5

I've read both too much heat and too little heat can be bad. In which case do I need something that can be variable like: http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51-...ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1279659565&sr=1-2

Of course I'm open to other suggestions too, because as of yet I have no idea what I'm doing.

i personally like the 40 weller that you can find cheap many places.

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-SP40L-Marksman-Watt-Soldering/dp/B00018AR40

40w might be a lil hot for some SUPER small things... but i actually find it easier as you can heat up the solder quick, make the connection without having to sit there and heat up the solder slowly and thus heating up everything else. and the tips are removable and are cheap and come in ALL different shapes.

hell that iron allowed me to do this... which was a pain due to the VERY small size of the pads i had to solder on + non steady hands + the thought of destroying my 500 dollar gfx card haha.




Too much and too little as you have read can be bad... its hard to get a one size fits all... but i have used that 40w weller for a long time, tried to stray down to a 25w a time or two and always ended up going back to the 40w

You can't really have too little heat. All that would happen is you have to keep your iron on longer, but it's a royal pain. Too much heat can destroy components, so I'd rather be safe. If you don't mind spending the money, you can't go wrong with a variable temp iron. The 40W irons will just melt solder on small components super quick so you just have to keep that in mind. I personally use a 25W and have soldered plenty of small electronics. It really comes down to the tip that you use. For small wires and IC's, having a narrow tip lets you get in and solder the individual pads. If you have some big stuff you can get a bigger tip with more surface area.

kayson said:

You can't really have too little heat. All that would happen is you have to keep your iron on longer, but it's a royal pain. Too much heat can destroy components, so I'd rather be safe. If you don't mind spending the money, you can't go wrong with a variable temp iron. The 40W irons will just melt solder on small components super quick so you just have to keep that in mind. I personally use a 25W and have soldered plenty of small electronics. It really comes down to the tip that you use. For small wires and IC's, having a narrow tip lets you get in and solder the individual pads. If you have some big stuff you can get a bigger tip with more surface area.

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if you plan on doing smaller stuff, ie playing with surface mount stuff... or general pcb play, a 25w would be ideal... i do bigger stuff as well as small stuff... mostly 8awg wire on rc cars n whatnot.. my budget allows me 1 soldering iron so i gotta have a jack of all trades. ... i tried a 25w once in a pinch when my 40w went dead... ended up breaking the 25w in a fit of rage cus it couldnt heat up the 'tiny' 10awg wire i was soldering haha.

I've been using this 5-40W Weller since high school with 3 different tip sizes for various jobs. Its also available at sears and ace warehouse for $40ish.

nd4spdbh2 said:

if you plan on doing smaller stuff, ie playing with surface mount stuff... or general pcb play, a 25w would be ideal... i do bigger stuff as well as small stuff... mostly 8awg wire on rc cars n whatnot.. my budget allows me 1 soldering iron so i gotta have a jack of all trades. ... i tried a 25w once in a pinch when my 40w went dead... ended up breaking the 25w in a fit of rage cus it couldnt heat up the 'tiny' 10awg wire i was soldering haha.

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What type solder iron did you break??When you buy a soldering iron don't buy a radio shack one beacause they are crap and are not worth the trouble.. Stick with a 25w or 30w iron from a mainstream company...

I run a
weller sp23-23w

My favorite is a
jensen 48b723 body and ungar 23w heating elment which i bought for $3.00

I have a problem with soldering irons where the tips seem to get loose. Even screwed in all they way they end up wobbling around a little, doing it more later, and they don't heat up as well. This has happened to me with generic ones from Lowes and Home Depot and a Sears Craftsman one and a Radio shack one. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Are they getting too hot and then burning or something? Replacing the tips doesn't solve any problem. Used mostly on automotive stuff. I also never remember having this problem in the old days. When I used solder irons they seemed to never go bad or even needed tips to be replaced. Now it seems like the tips wear away faster than I can believe. I would be willing to pay a lot of money for a very durable soldering iron.

Many of the soldering irons suggested in the other thread I found are Pro Weller irons which are listed as "Temperature Controlled". The irons suggested by nd4spdbh2 and MooMasster716 are "Non-temperature Controlled". One of the complaints I read about the variable control on the soldering iron MooMasster suggested is that it doesn't actually have temperature control.

After poking around some more it sounds like Temperature Controlled is the way to go. The non controlled variety depend on usage to take the heat out of them and I have the feeling while I'm learning I'm going to be taking my time and that might mean over heating while the iron just sits there.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. It definitely sounds like Weller is the most popular brand. I'll probably end up going with the WP25, WP30, WP35, or WES51.

That was the Soldering Iron I had had my old job. The thing was amazing. Now that I am no longer there I picked up this weller for all the small things I do. It works well for the $50 bucks, but definitely is not my old PACE.

shuiends said:

That was the Soldering Iron I had had my old job. The thing was amazing. Now that I am no longer there I picked up this weller for all the small things I do. It works well for the $50 bucks, but definitely is not my old PACE.

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I worked with PACE and Weller irons at work a ton. I liked the Weller ones better because of the adjustable temperature (I worked with ICs and high currents so I had to solder SMT pads and large gauge wire). But the PACE irons destroy Weller when it comes to maintaining the temperature. With the Weller irons, if you put it on something and the heat starts transferring, it doesn't do a very good job of outputting more heat to maintain the temperature. The PACE irons do, so things heat up faster.

My father in law got me this BlackJack SolderWerks station some time ago and it is a joy to work with. Heats up in seconds, comes with a solder-spool-dispensing holder and has adjustable temperature. If he hadn't bought it, I would have. Great tool.