Soldering Irons

[NMNeil]

I dabble with electronics as a hobby, so for me I can only recommend Hakko.
https://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_fx888...
Only paid $90.
Weller used to be good until they stated making them in China.

[LordLoveLength]

I bought one from Lidl - temperature controlled, display etc. looked useful but…
The cable between the iron and the base unit is just so thick and stiff it’s basically unusable as you can’t control the iron position. Avoid.

[Griffith4ever]

Antex last a life time. Weller run too hot for leaded.

I run a Weller all day for work but I run it through, of all things, a ceiling fan regulator on 4/5 which drops it to 220v and runs at the right temp for leaded solder which I get off eBay from Poland. There are no lead fumes, only flux, which is the same as lead free. Silly regs assumed we would all be licking the solder. Much nicer to work with. I solder a lot. A lot lot. Leaded is so so much nicer to work with, it flows so well.

Wellers running at 240v eat through tips. At 220v they last many year's , not months.

I also have a temp controlled soldering station from Maplins for electronics and PCB work, which is excellent but overkill for occasional wire joining.

If you are a very occasional solderer then literally, anything around 60w to 80w will do. They are just heating coils with a tip. Use a flat top, not the pointy one,for general soldering. Much easier to spread the heat, and load with solder when you have to.

[guards red]

I think the problem with the Milwaukee one is that the heating element is too powerful for the plastics that they use on the iron.

The heat it produces can melt the mounting collar for the sleeve holding he tip. Once this moves around the tip starts to contact the ceramic heating element which then snaps. Especially if you're one of these that presses quite firmly to melt the solder.

Most you see for "spares or repair" on eBay have snapped ceramic elements. Replacing the element isn't difficult, but getting one as powerful that runs from 12v can be challenging.

It's a good iron though, and the first I reach for of the few I have as it's very convenient. The folding part and the light also really helps in tight environments like cars.

[SS2.]

S600BSB said:

RS Components

For a bit of hobbyist kit, I'd probably be looking at CPC rather than RS.

[bigpriest]

Definitely avoid the cheap Amzon ones - the length of time they take cycling to the required temperature is annoying. Also consider the stand / base, as a thick non-flexible wire attached to a lightweight piece of metal usually ends up with burnt fingers.

[motco]

normalbloke said:

V8 Stang said:

I do a fair bit of soldering at work, for years i was pissing around with gas and mains irons, then a few years ago i discovered the Milwaukee 12v cordless iron, and its a complete revelation.

It heats up really quick, batteries charge really quick, its designed so if you knock it over the hot tip won't end up on a finished surface, you can even tilt the head.
60 is pretty good value for a cordless tool.

https://www.powertoolmate.co.uk/milwaukee-m12si-0-...

Unfortunately, it’s also the most listed Milwaukee item being sold for ‘spares or repair’. Shame, as everything else I’ve ever owned by them has been exceptional.

RS Components used to (may still do) offer a cordless rechargeable iron which is pretty powerful and has lighting too. They also do (did) a gas one which has done me good service in the field on odd occasions. Neither should be your work bench iron, but for 'on-site' jobs they're good.

[Griffith4ever]

motco said:

normalbloke said:

V8 Stang said:

I do a fair bit of soldering at work, for years i was pissing around with gas and mains irons, then a few years ago i discovered the Milwaukee 12v cordless iron, and its a complete revelation.

It heats up really quick, batteries charge really quick, its designed so if you knock it over the hot tip won't end up on a finished surface, you can even tilt the head.
60 is pretty good value for a cordless tool.

https://www.powertoolmate.co.uk/milwaukee-m12si-0-...

Unfortunately, it’s also the most listed Milwaukee item being sold for ‘spares or repair’. Shame, as everything else I’ve ever owned by them has been exceptional.

RS Components used to (may still do) offer a cordless rechargeable iron which is pretty powerful and has lighting too. They also do (did) a gas one which has done me good service in the field on odd occasions. Neither should be your work bench iron, but for 'on-site' jobs they're good.

I have a cordless 18v Ryobi Iron, and just like all my gas irons in the past, they get way way too hot and vapourise the flux before it gets a chance to work.

If you are a very occasional solderer, who cares if it takes a few mins to get to temp? Just had a quick look and £16 gets you this!

Adjustable temp, sucker, tools, stands, tips, solder.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adjustable-Temperature-So...

I've used one of these too with no problems.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-643115-Solderi...

They overheat and eat tips, but for £8.....

[JimM169]

I got one of the KSGER soldering stations, there's loads of reviews, tips and tricks on Youtube and generally get pretty good feedback

Take your pick of the Chinese sites to buy from but as an example

https://uk.banggood.com/KSGER-Mini-STM32-V3_1S-OLE...

[Gareth79]

JimM169 said:

I got one of the KSGER soldering stations, there's loads of reviews, tips and tricks on Youtube and generally get pretty good feedback

Take your pick of the Chinese sites to buy from but as an example

https://uk.banggood.com/KSGER-Mini-STM32-V3_1S-OLE...

Agreed - you can get a decent Chinese adjustable temp soldering station from for the price of a regular slow heating iron. I have a different one I got from Maplin just before they closed (they resold them under their own brands) and it's great - heats in 5-10 seconds and has enough power that it can maintain the temperature when soldering something larger.

[jet_noise]

CPC/Farnell's own brand Duratool are excellent VFM soldering station
Although out of stock they say back in soon.

A previous employer used them for small volume manufacturing and I've had one for hobby use since - 20yrs!

[Griffith4ever]

Gareth79 said:

Agreed - you can get a decent Chinese adjustable temp soldering station from for the price of a regular slow heating iron. I have a different one I got from Maplin just before they closed (they resold them under their own brands) and it's great - heats in 5-10 seconds and has enough power that it can maintain the temperature when soldering something larger.

Not sure your prices stack up. £49 vs £8 :-) However, I agree the best thing about 12v stations is they heat up almost instantly.

[Radec]

Thanks for all the responses.

I didn't think it would be such a minefield.

Like I said it will only be for occasional use with odd jobs of soldering wires and maybe some components onto boards so doesn't need to be professional level.

Think I will spring for one of the cheapo kits on Amazon and hope for the best.

Shout out to whoever recommended CPC as think I will go for their Duratool version if the Amazon one breaks and then I'll still have all the other bits of kit left over that I can put to use.

[Mave]

Griffith4ever said:

Wellers running at 240v eat through tips. At 220v they last many year's , not months.

That's really interesting, I had a Weller which I binned for this very reason. I just assumed the tips were poor quality!

[OutInTheShed]

Mave said:

Griffith4ever said:

Wellers running at 240v eat through tips. At 220v they last many year's , not months.

That's really interesting, I had a Weller which I binned for this very reason. I just assumed the tips were poor quality!

Irons eating tips is all about the temperature and the solder used, as well as the quality of the tip.

For some work, you need to go in fast with a hot iron, to transfer the necessary heat quickly and get out before too much heat soaks into the active electronics. (or melts a lot of insulation!)Short tip life is the way it goes, particularly if you leave the iron hot between intermittent use.

It depends on what you want to solder. A few wires where you can get away with lead-tin solder is much easier than delicate electronics where you need to use lead-free. The other thing I can say is, flux. You can buy flux in a marker pen which makes things easier. Look for the 'no clean' stuff generally. Flux prevents oxidation and also removes it to some extent when hot.

If you're doing a bit of soldering, I can recommend wiring an old computer fan to 12V to keep the fumes out of your face. Flux fumes are not nice!

I have a cheap variable power iron and spare tips from Rapid Electronics which has been OK. I use max power to get it hot, then turn it down a bit, ad turn it down a bit more if I'm not needing it for a few minutes, dependng what the job is.

[wombleh]

I had an adjustable chinese one from Amazon, wasn't even all that cheap. The handle melted off, was lucky not to get burnt. Their CS response was useless.

Ended up getting one of the draper adjustable ones that has been going strong for a few years now:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-61478-40W-Solderin...

[Simpo Two]

OutInTheShed said:

It depends on what you want to solder. A few wires where you can get away with lead-tin solder is much easier than delicate electronics where you need to use lead-free.

Why do you need lead-free solder for delicate electronics? Is it a melting point issue?

I thought lead-free was a modern aberration along the lines of solvent-free Tipp-Ex and water-based Nitromors, neither of which work properly.

[Griffith4ever]

Simpo Two said:

Why do you need lead-free solder for delicate electronics? Is it a melting point issue?

I thought lead-free was a modern aberration along the lines of solvent-free Tipp-Ex and water-based Nitromors, neither of which work properly.

Never heard of that myself - been making PCBs etc for most of my adult life since my teens, on and off. Always tin-lead until lead free started becoming the norm.

[Flibble]

I use Sn62 solder, it's really nice to use compared to lead free. Also getting proper multicore brand solder made a huge difference compared to cheap ebay stuff. The latter had really poor flux cores which made it hard to use.

Soldering iron wise I have a cheap Chinese temp controlled thing, it's fine though the stand is a bit crap.

[Griffith4ever]

Flibble said:

I use Sn62 solder, it's really nice to use compared to lead free. Also getting proper multicore brand solder made a huge difference compared to cheap ebay stuff. The latter had really poor flux cores which made it hard to use.

Soldering iron wise I have a cheap Chinese temp controlled thing, it's fine though the stand is a bit crap.

INteresting. What makes Sn62 stand out?

(I have a 500g roll of Chinese Pb solder in a drawer I don't use - the flux stinks , and it is horrible to use/ flows badly/dries matt). I only buy Cynel solder when I can)