| Author | Message | ||
     4cammer |
Looking to get a new soldering iron to replace the cheap pencil type I have had for 15 years or so. Do some light electrical soldering and looking to get back into building some projects. Hope to stay under 50.00 if possible for a good one. Also, if you have any pointers as to wattage requirements and such I'd appreciate it. Thanks | ||
| Reepicheep |
15 watts is more then enough for electronics work, until you get to the heat sinks or heavy wire. My latest is a weller trigger unit. It is like 15 or 20 watts at idle, but has a trigger for a "boost". Mechanically, it's not the greatest, it's already getting a little sloppy. But it was cheap, otherwise works well, and is easy to find and has a variety of tips. For $24, I would probably buy another. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Oh.. http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults .cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=365&CFID=3702682&CFTOKEN= 86735447 Is where I got it... they are local to where I work... | ||
| Fahren |
Or this Weller knock-off, also at Parts Express. For the price, how can you go wrong. Get the $5 extra tip kit, too. http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partn umber=374-100&vReviewShow=1&&vReviewPage=2&vReview Rand=1642956#reviews | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Another nice one to have is a propane powered portable. I use one all the time for wires and such. The heat gun attachment is perfect for shrink tube.. Brad | ||
| Reepicheep |
Can you recommend one that works Brad? I tried a couple of butane ones, which were always a mess. I wouldn't mind a propane one, especially if it had an easy way to be "recharged" from a little propane tank... | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Bill, I've got a couple of them, one is a Portasol, one is a Radio Shack unit. The 3rd one is Bernzomatic. I was wrong, they are all butane, not propane... The Portasol is about toast after 20+ years, the tip is worn out and I can't find another one of the same style. They have changed a bit over the years... Too bad as this is my favorite one, it's small enough to do circuit board work if needed. The Radio Shack unit is OK but is only a soldering iron. It gets hot enough to do trailer wiring and such even in cold weather. The Bernzomatic is a ST200, it is a kit that has all the cool stuff. Hot knife, soldering tip, torch tip, heat gun tip, etc. It has worked well so far (I've only had it for about a year). Brad Hmm, seems Portasol was bought out by Weller some time ago. I'll have to check into that.. (Message edited by bluzm2 on January 08, 2010) | ||
| Bluzm2 |
After further review, the Portosol I have is still available! However, it doesn't come with any attachments, I may just go with the Pro version... http://www.bernzomatic.com/PRODUCTS/TORCHES/MICROM INITORCHES/tabid/251/ctl/Detail/mid/1260/xmid/6950 /xmfid/3/Default.aspx Brad | ||
| Loki |
I have used a RadioShack base unit with temp set and read on it for the past 10 years. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Thanks Brad, that looks a lit nicer then the ones I have. I'll watch for one... |
