19
\$\begingroup\$

I'm looking for a new soldering iron. What is the best all rounder soldering iron (soldering station) < $200 USD?

\$\endgroup\$
1
  • \$\begingroup\$ Here's a tip (no pun intended). When shopping for soldering iron, make sure to check the price and availability of tips. There are some inexpensive soldering irons that work well out-of-the box. But after the tip burns out, it's impossible to get a replacement. Probably, this issue is country-dependent. \$\endgroup\$
    – Nick Alexeev
    Commented Jan 12, 2012 at 23:08

8 Answers 8

Reset to default
10
\$\begingroup\$

Are you looking for best bang for the buck or solid reliability?

Best bang for the buck:

Chinese 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 that has soldering iron, hot air station and (with 3-in-1) smoke absorber. I went for the Kada 952D on eBay however after reading some more about the reliability, the lower risk of buying from a reputable dealer closer to home is attractive. The Aoyue apparently is made in the same factory and seems to be slightly more common so it might be worth going for an Aoyue over the Kada. Supposedly, the soldering irons on these offerings are compatible with the Hakko tips. Opinions differ on the included tips. I've ordered up a selection of genuine Hakko tips to compare.

Kada 852D+ or 952D: See eBay.

Aoyue 968:

Solid reliability:

Weller WES51

Hakko 936

You could combine one of the above with a hot air station (say Aoyue 850++) and still be under $200 (at least if you're in the US and talking USD $200).

I have no experience with any of these products but did recently face the same decision. I'm waiting on the Kada 952D and crossing my fingers that it isn't going to be faulty. I can only post one link in my first post.

\$\endgroup\$
7
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ I've got an Aoyue Int2901, using the included tip. I got it 6 months ago and it's been great ever since. Mine actually came from Fry's Electronics (outpost.com). \$\endgroup\$
    – edebill
    Commented Dec 21, 2009 at 13:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ That is good to know. Being able to return/exchange without having to ship it is a great option. \$\endgroup\$
    – Cymen
    Commented Dec 21, 2009 at 16:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ I also have Aoyue 968 for few months. I like it very much especially smoke absorber. How ever I haven't done any SMD project yet so I haven't tested hot air rework tool. \$\endgroup\$
    – Maciek Sawicki
    Commented Dec 22, 2009 at 0:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ I received my Kada 952D and it works! The package was a little under $140 shipped and it was shipped on a Friday and was out for delivery on a Monday. Included were extra ceramic elements for the iron and the hot air component and extra tips. I tried removing some SMD and through the hole compenents from an cheap networking card with the hot air and managed to make the PCB smoke and pucker on the highest heat setting. So it is certainly powerful enough. The iron seems to be fine. I'll mention downsides in next comment... \$\endgroup\$
    – Cymen
    Commented Dec 30, 2009 at 22:00
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ I've noticed two downsides: the minor one is that the soldering iron stand is plastic and really light. Replacing it with a metal one won't be expensive. The more major downside is the issue already mentioned by another poster: there is no switch that definitely turns the power off. Turning off the two switches means that the air pump stays on while the heating element of the hot air side cools down. So leaving it plugged in all the time is something I'm not comfortable doing. One final issue is that the hot air pump is a little noisy. Having separate iron and hot air would be nice. \$\endgroup\$
    – Cymen
    Commented Dec 30, 2009 at 22:03
5
\$\begingroup\$

I think Circuit Specialists has some good deals on soldering stations.

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/6388

I've got the CSI-STATION1A and CSI-STATION2A models. (Identical except for analog / digital display. I prefer analog.) They are well made, and work as well as the more expensive Weller and Pace units I've used before.

All the Chinese soldering stations seem to use the same kind of tip, and I've been able to buy 10-packs of replacement tips on eBay. Tip life seems to be about one year of daily use. I'm sure they would last longer if I could remember to turn the iron off when I'm not using it.

\$\endgroup\$
5
\$\begingroup\$

I wouldn't bother with hot air stuff. Just get a Weller or Hakko, those are both good brands. I would save up to get a de-soldering gun. They make life so much easier for so many applicatons.

\$\endgroup\$
5
  • \$\begingroup\$ Why wouldn't you bother with the hot air stuff? \$\endgroup\$
    – Cymen
    Commented Dec 22, 2009 at 6:22
  • 3
    \$\begingroup\$ I just haven't seen an application where they really beat Braid and a desolder gun. I guess maybe they are good for mounting high pin count chips and/or BGA? I have one but I never use it so I guess I might have an unfair bias. \$\endgroup\$
    – Scott Murphy
    Commented Dec 28, 2009 at 3:44
  • \$\begingroup\$ Fair enough. I don't have any experience with it so I was curious. Apparently, the SparkFun people like the hot air station but it doesn't go into why. I posted some details above my main comment above but if I was to "do over", I'd go with a stand alone iron (probably Weller or Hakko) and consider a stand alone hot air station later on down the road. \$\endgroup\$
    – Cymen
    Commented Dec 30, 2009 at 22:05
  • \$\begingroup\$ Actually, this goes into why SparkFun likes hot air for SMD: sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=102 \$\endgroup\$
    – Cymen
    Commented Dec 30, 2009 at 22:26
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ I saw that vid. that is why I got a hot air. The problem is in actual application the air is usually blocked by other components. \$\endgroup\$
    – Scott Murphy
    Commented Jan 23, 2010 at 14:42
3
\$\begingroup\$

I bought one of these ZD Electronic Tools ZD-929C and have been fairly happy with it. I accidentally wound the cord too tight around the handle once and it pulled loose, but I see that as my own fault. The tips are good quality and the iron heats up quickly and seems to hold a fiarly constant temp. A pretty good deal for $50.

\$\endgroup\$
1
  • \$\begingroup\$ I have this same one and have been happy with it. \$\endgroup\$
    – ArduinoFun
    Commented Dec 23, 2009 at 2:28
2
\$\begingroup\$

I just got one that has a ceramic tip, it seems to heat up really fast and it's lasted much longer.

\$\endgroup\$
1
  • \$\begingroup\$ Not as fast as a Metcal - small tips get up to temp in about 6 seconds, large ones maybe 10-15 secs max... \$\endgroup\$
    – mikeselectricstuff
    Commented Oct 29, 2010 at 23:54
2
\$\begingroup\$

Metcal arguably makes the best soldering equipment. It is expensive new, but perfectly good older models can often be picked up on Ebay for about the same price as a new Weller system. I paid £125 (GBP) for a second-hand STSS power unit with a new MX-500 handpiece and several new cartridges a few years ago from a UK supplier. I subsequently bought a second STSS unit on Ebay for £70. The cartridges are expensive, but they last a very long time, and there is one made for virtually every soldering job.

Leon

\$\endgroup\$
1
  • \$\begingroup\$ What are the cartridges for? \$\endgroup\$
    – Johan.A
    Commented Aug 14, 2013 at 12:50
0
\$\begingroup\$

At work we have Hakko 936, which works quite well. (Google says $75 new) SparkFun sells a copy of the Hakko 936 for $40, which is what I would recommend.

At home, I have a Weller WES50, which is ok, but not super great. (Google says $125.00 new)

\$\endgroup\$
0
\$\begingroup\$

I've got a Hakko FX888. Great iron to use everyday. I've got a cheapo Chinese eBay hot air station to go with it, and it does the job fine - soldered a fair few QFN and LGA packages with it.

Don't be afraid to go for the cheap tools from brands such as Aoyue if you're on a budget! They're not that bad!

\$\endgroup\$

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.