Soldering Iron

[warrenpfo]

I need to get a soldering iron and want one that does it all unless otherwise advised. At some stage it would be nice to have a go at building one of those arduino jobbies but also need it for soldering wires together and whatever else you use a soldering iron for. Would one of those 30w £10 jobbies from ebay do the job or should i look at spending more and getting an adjustable one. Can you get one that will also shrink heat shrink? Would a very good gas/portable one be the best answer?

 

[sae70]

For the amount you'd be using it I'd buy two or three cheap ones to cover the different tasks that you speak of

From my days as a Tiffy @ ICI I have a Weller bench fine tipped iron (240v/12v 25watt I think) that is perfect for smaller electronics work indoors. Not sure how much it was but I'd be surprised if you saw any change from £100

I also used to have one of the very first gas powered irons, that also converted to a little blow torch (great for heat shrink). This was excellent for soldering heavier gauge wiring & cable especially on cold days outside. Since its demise I bought one of those 240volt 100watt Draper pistol irons & although its OK I'd throw it in the bin for another gas powered one

I've also got a medium tipped 240v 30watt iron (a cheapo) that I use around the house & on the truck on warmer days for lighter cabling

I guess what I'm saying is IMHO there's no one iron that will suit the job

If I was setting up my soldering requirements today I'd find a good quality 240v 25watt Iron with changeable tips & get a very fine tip & a medium tip. I'd then also get a gas powered iron that you could convert to a little blow tourch for heavier gauge cabling, using outside on cooler days, heat shrink & portability Oh & don't forget to get a good quality solder sucker aswell

 

[Chris]

I have a gas one from Maplin. Had several over the years. Great to have in the vehicle. This one has different tips, a flame torch and heat gun. Variable heat control too all in a box.

I'm not an electonics guru but my soldering is neat enough. This does me for everything.

Chris

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

You often need a bit more power for soldering in situ on the car which might be subject to wind cooling and or it being cold out so I use a gas pistol grip iron for all of that type of soldering which is good for smaller connections as well as big lugs on 50mm2 cable but no good for soldering components onto a circuit board etc. Using gas around the car has the advantage of no trailing power wires getting in the way. I think those are about £90. I also have a couple of cheaper ordinary shape gas irons that are handy for heat shrink. For indoors and circuit board work I have a cheap ish bench solder station from CPC with a nice fine tip and those are about £40 but an ordinary Weller type iron with a stand with a fine tip would be just as good.

 

[Chas]

I've got one of these for bigger jobs;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portasol-APS- ... 19bc21b613

and one of these for smaller ones;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140590867493? ... 1423.l2649

carried in the back of the truck.

 

[fridayman]

I've got one of these for bigger jobs;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portasol-APS- ... 19bc21b613

and one of these for smaller ones;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140590867493? ... 1423.l2649

carried in the back of the truck.

I have a similar large one (with a few different tips), and one of those small draper ones. I never use the draper any more.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

The outdoors gas one I use: http://www.pro-iroda.com/pro180.htm bought in a kit like this http://www.pro-iroda.com/Pro180K.htm

 

[Paul]

Had one like this for about 10 years, always good.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Snap-Blue-Poi ... 336b1ebd5f

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

The iroda 180 gas soldering irons are on special offer - £21.95 (+VAT,P&P etc) at www.cpc.co.uk stock code SD0107235 . They charge a handling fee for small orders, think it was about £5 but even if you incur that it's still a good deal, or buy more stuff, or club together and buy a few for your mates

 

[warrenpfo]

Thoughts on this as a soldering station

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_38195.htm

 

[Gary820]

I use a snap on gas one that can swap tips on, instead of changing tips for heat shrink I've got a small blow torch.
Don't do much soldering nowadays apart from stuff at home, it's not an approved repair method at work.

 

[OG.]

I can't speak highly enough of Portasol ones. Excellent adjust ability and work very well in most conditions. Perfect inside the house and when working on the car too.

Have an Iroda one but it won't ignite any longer unless I start it with a lighter. Annoying as its newer than the Portasol (which was temporarily mislaid at the time).

 

[majic79]

I use one of these for my DIY electronics stuff:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/60w-lcd-display-solder-station-218050

However it was on offer and half that price when I got it a couple of years back. There's also this one that looks pretty good for the job:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/60w-professional-lcd-solder-station-with-esd-protection-511927

You can pick up some good secondhand kit of ebay to do the same thing, you'll not go wrong with a soldering iron like these.

for in the garage, I use a common butane gas powered job and just go carefully - soldering wires is not ideal in cars, and to be honest, I prefer to crimp unless I know there's strain relief and minimal vibration (ideally none!)

I can't recall off the top of my head (and I'm not going outside in the cold to check) if I got the 50 or 70, but this is the style of kit I got (again, while there was an offer on!)

http://www.maplin.co.uk/solderpro-70-gas-soldering-iron-kit-34959