Soldering irons?

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  • Andrew Pratt
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Aug 2000
    • 16507

    Soldering irons?

    I'm about to start building some crossovers and am looking for a decent budget soldering iron. I have a $5 cheapie right now but I'm sure its not going to do what I need to for this project...so what do you suggest?




  • Lex
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Apr 2001
    • 27461

    #2
    Major considerations:

    1. right size tip for job
    2. capability to heat up quickly, (if that matters)
    3. capability to stablize heat level (rheostat)
    4. Well, yes, it must get hot enough. Like if I tried to melt off a section of my bar of solder for my solder pot with a 15 watt iron? I would be there for days, lol.

    I have a 60 watt iron, a 45, a 30, and a 15. Lower wattage irons take longer to heat up, but even a 15 watt iron will get hot enough, it just takes longer. My good iron gets hot in about 30 seconds. A rat shack equivilent may take a couple of minutes.

    Radio Shack sells the budget jobs, not much with rheostatic control that I know of. But maybe, they do have that, not sure.

    Weller guns are decent. Fact is, no more than you will likely use it, about any wand style soldering iron will do. (not trigger style though)

    Secret to good joints is a well "tinned" tip. stained glass stores actually sell a block of stuff that is designed for tinning. You get the tip extra hot, then melt the solder while turning the tip on the block, scorching the block and creating a chemical transfer that adheres the solder to the tip. It's then tinned, and will be easy to work with.

    If solder gun gets to hot, solder will often get a crusty black substance on it, or bubble with to much flux.

    Some solders have flux in the core, like WBT. Other, like my favorite no name brand is solid core solder, and I use a manual paste flux.

    I have some links to iron suppliers at home, but be prepared to pay 80-100 bucks for a really good station with built in rheostat control.

    Lex
    Doug
    "I'm out there Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it!" - Kramer

    Comment

    • Andrew Pratt
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Aug 2000
      • 16507

      #3
      So you don't recomend the trigger style? I have a cheap pencil model now that I got from RS but figured I'd need something better then that for cross over work?




      Comment

      • den497
        Junior Member
        • Aug 2002
        • 12

        #4
        Hi Guys
        I like a temperature controlled iron.It can be dialed in for fine jobs like small components without getting them too hot.It can then be dialed in for thicker things like speaker cable. You can get a good solder that has flux in the center.I use solder on a reel and a fine guage,this melts easy on the tip of a iron
        Dennis

        Comment

        • Lex
          Moderator Emeritus
          • Apr 2001
          • 27461

          #5
          I definitely don't recommend trigger style. Wand is much better, a small tip will do fine for what you need to do, and in fact may be preferable.

          Lex
          Doug
          "I'm out there Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it!" - Kramer

          Comment

          • Lex
            Moderator Emeritus
            • Apr 2001
            • 27461

            #6
            FYI Rheostatic control = temperature controlled

            Lex
            Doug
            "I'm out there Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it!" - Kramer

            Comment

            • Andrew Pratt
              Moderator Emeritus
              • Aug 2000
              • 16507

              #7
              I've seen people use a wall dimmer type switch to control the power going to devices incl soldering irons...thoughts on that as a DIY approach?




              Comment

              • ThomasW
                Moderator Emeritus
                • Aug 2000
                • 10934

                #8
                Jon and I both use the Weller WTCPT solder stations. $125 or less. These are frequently on sale. While not exactly cheap they last for decades.........

                These are used in production situations where you don't want people messing with the temp of the iron.

                The tips contain temp control elements. To change the temp of the iron you change the tip. Weller makes tips that range from 600-900F for these irons.

                For all our non-PCB soldering we use the Cardas solder. Nothing I've ever used flows as well as it does, so cold solder joints are all but impossible. But as with ALL things made by George Cardas it's $$$$$

                For PCB work we use a Kester with an orgainc flux. It's H2O soluble and that allows the PCB's to be cleaned in the sink with detergent and a ScotchBrite pad. Don't believe the mfgrs when they say their flux is noncorrosive




                theAudioWorx
                Klone-Audio

                IB subwoofer FAQ page


                "Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-Bresson

                Comment

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