I wanted to buy a soldering iron for some hobby tinkering, ordered one long ago from Wish! For a few quid, but as you must imagine it's awful. Doesn't heat uniformly, overheats and melts plastic. Tips are bad, i could go on, but I'd rather buy something decent without going mad price wise. I've seen prices from £10 - £300. Soldering irons, sets, kits, stations, extras, you name it. They have different settings, Watts and other characteristics. Which one of these characteristics will help me make an informed decision on what to buy for now, what I may need for more serious projects? Do I go by the price, Watts, extras, origin? Any help appreciated.
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1\$\begingroup\$ I go by company/reputation first, temperature control/adjustment, and available tips. I do not go by watts unless I am looking for a big iron to do a big job. For "serious" projects, get a station, not a pencil. Just having the cord not flop around and dragging the cord towards the wall outlet is worth it. That's what pushed me towards a station at the very beginning. It wasn't temperature control or anything like that (but stations should have that too). \$\endgroup\$– DKNguyenCommented May 30, 2019 at 21:21
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1\$\begingroup\$ What companies make good ones please, any recommendations? \$\endgroup\$– Bartek MalyszCommented May 30, 2019 at 21:25
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\$\begingroup\$ Companies like JBC, Edsyn, and Hakko are good but practically all of it is probably out of your price range. Weller/Apex apparently used to be good but is no longer. Out of the three I mentioned only Hakko has something more affordable. I've not seen anything from Edsyn that was affordable and JBC is even worse. So Hakko is almost the only place to look out of the "brand names" (there are probably others but I don't know them). My experience with Goot's PX-201 pencil iron was really good and it was less than half the price of comparable pencil irons so I imagine their stations are good too. \$\endgroup\$– DKNguyenCommented May 30, 2019 at 21:37
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4 Answers
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- Don't underpower, as this may force you to solder for more than two seconds, which is generally bad. 40…50W is okay for the pieces hobbyists want to solder.
- Use iron coated "long-life" tips. They are totally worth it.
- A silicone cable for the iron is totally worth it.
- Temperature control is nice feature because it prevents the tip overheat while in the stand. For the actual soldering it's not so crucial as the heat transfer from the tip to the PCB and pin should only last two seconds. No time to regulate a temperature.
Good brands in my view are Ersa and Weller. Ersa has tube-shaped tips and matching irons. I find them easier to change once the iron is a bit rusty.
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- 40-70W
- Temperature controlled
- Interchangeable tips
- Silicone cord
My Weller (obsolete model) is 30+ years old and still works great. Don't know about their quality now.
answered May 30, 2019 at 21:43
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I would suggest finding one that uses tips with integrated heating (Hakko T12 are the most popular type).
Many manufacturers make them now and they offer multiple advantages over the old type of tips like:
- nearly instant heating
- faster temperature recovery when in use
- possibility to change tips without waiting for it to cool down
- incredible selection of good tips
Plus the off-brand irons for them work very well and are relatively affordable.
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Personally, one of the first things I look for a wide variety of tips, especially chisels, hoof/spoon/bevel tips (they go by different names but the tip that is a conic section, sometimes with and sometimes without a cup ground into the end). Forget conical tips...they're terrible.
A large variety of good tips is sort of a sign that the iron isn't too much of a cheapo.
Tips can make or break things. I'd rather have a inferior soldering iron with an appropriate) tip than an superior soldering iron with an inappropriate tip.
