Which Soldering Iron

[enzoferrari650]

I went through probably at least 30-40 projects with that one tip..... never ever changed the tip on that iron before..... lol

 

[Voodoochile]

Horrid, isn't it? I still have the same one also, I sometimes use it to shrink heatshrink if I don't want to use the heatgun.

You are going to be pretty pleased with your newfound soldering skills when you get this station.

 

[Earwax]

I have a Weller SP23 25W which works well enough for me, but the tips don't seem to last very long. I think I burned through the first one really fast because I was cooling the tip too much by using a soaking wet sponge for cleaning it. Doh. But they still don't last very long. Am I still doing something wrong, or is that par for a cheap iron?

Would the tips on that $35 circuit specialist iron last longer? I see replacements cost $5, instead of the $2 for SP23 tips, so maybe they are made better?

 

[enzoferrari650]

i just tried soldering one last time with that crap...... the tip isnt even hot.... the only place on that thing i can solder with is the sides...

i wish the hakko would hurry up... one more quesiton... do you think they sell capacitors at frys? i know they sell resistors. I think i'm gonna buy fresh parts to start my cmoy over again.

 

[Excalibur]

If you want to keep your tip from constantly vaporizing, always keep solder on it - especially when it is sitting idle. If you do that, the solder will burn and not the tip.
Wipe the tip before each use. Then add solder to the tip when finished.

 

[dokebi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by enzoferrari650 i just tried soldering one last time with that crap...... the tip isnt even hot.... the only place on that thing i can solder with is the sides... i wish the hakko would hurry up... one more quesiton... do you think they sell capacitors at frys? i know they sell resistors. I think i'm gonna buy fresh parts to start my cmoy over again.

Hi, If you want to use that tip temporarily, you can sand it down and coat it with solder. It should give you enough for a few more projects. I only did this with the insanely crappy radioshack tips which seem to melt and degrade away. Never did a decent tip require this.

 

[enzoferrari650]

you guessed right! that crappy thing is a radioshack iron!

 

[PinkFloyd]

A good old branding iron and some hot coals are the order of the day.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by enzoferrari650 just thought i'd show you guys the reason why i got a new soldering iron/ station. I just could not stand my old one..... I WONDER WHY? TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF

File the tip down it'll be as good as new.

 

[enzoferrari650]

I cancled my order for the 936 esd...... i saw the weller wes51 on sale at frys today so i got it..... it works very nicely

 

[primer]

Bought myself a Hakko 936 ESD and it's great, joints are better and easy to use (excellent tip). My previous was a $15 cheapie.

 

[morgan jones]

I use an old-fashioned Weller where you buy different tips for different temperatures. I use "6" (600F), and have five tips ranging from small enough to wire pick-up arm wires to big enough to solder to 10A terminals. I'm not sure when I last bought a tip. It was at least five years ago...

 

[amisdad]

I have a hakko 936ESD with the 907 iron. I love it. I keep it on about 8 hours a day and have not changed the tip in over six months. This is definately the way to go. I use the small chisel tip for almost everything.