$10 soldering irons

[Ferroto]

Ok about a year ago I saw a soldering iron at "The source" which was once in canada known as radioshack. So i bought it i've done some simple repairs with it but I don't like how long you have to hold the tip to the component to get it hot enough for the solder to flow to the component and the lead this iron is almost useless through for PCB work and completely useless for surface-mount devices. On the other hand a good soldering station will cost almost $200. What type of soldering station would you guys recommend a hobbyist such as myself get.

[desolatordan]

Weller WES51 or Hakko 936 are ~$80 and both excellent irons with good tips available. I'd recommend both of them.

The Aoyue 2900 looks REALLY nice for $65, I wonder if it has good tips. The grip is small and close to the heating element which is nice. Anyone had experience wit this model before?

[charliex]

The problem is a lot of irons are rated at X watts but thats not the whole story, so you get one thats rated where you think you need, and it performs really badly. For light work on the road, when i'm not at the bench, I use a Weller WM120 http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/CF_Files/model_detail.cfm?upc=037103477118 , its 12W and 800F which is quite hot but its a tiny tip, it'll struggle to do heatsinks and what not but handles components fine. But the Weller's are great irons.

A good temperature controlled iron is definitely the way to go, but a lot of people just take it as read that the temperature they set on the dial is the temperature they'll get, its good to check.

The irons i use on bench are the metcal mx500, Edsyn 1036DX and EdSyn 951SX, with a hakko 808 desoldering gun, that covers me for most stuff.

ebay again is an excellent source of used irons, i've seen metcals go for just over $100, the tips are replaceable but can cost as much as a cheap iron, but the temperature is preset. They've got that 'smartheat' technology that keeps the tip temperature hot, some irons just don't have the juice to keep the tip at the temperature needed.

like this one, just remember the metcal replacement tips can be costlly though, but they also turn up on ebay cheap too.
http://cgi.ebay.com/METCAL-SMARTHEAT-Soldering-System-SP-PW1-10_W0QQitemZ370277857269QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item563647b7f5

of course avoid those instant on 'cold' irons at all costs.

[dexters_lab]

i used to use antex 25watt xs irons, but when i started soldering up proper pcbs, some with smd components i wanted something a bit better and with more control.

There's loads of cheap soldering kit on ebay, but for myself i thought well if i'm going to buy something i better get something half decent and something that can be serviced/repaired in the future.

So i ended up buying a Xytronic LF-1000 ( http://www.xytronic-usa.com/LF-1000_index.htm ), i can certainly recommend it and are available pretty much globally

[KuchateK]

Aoyue 936 (~$45 with shipping on ebay), 937 digital (~$55 on ebay) or the one I have, 908 with hot air (~140 ebay) are compatible with Hakko 900 series tips. They are rated 35-40W, but I think they are about 30W. Beware of auctions with good price but with shipping charge of $50-$100. If you check ebay regularly you can get them even cheaper. There is big step in quality and how easy is actually to solder when you move to temperature regulated soldering station with very good tip.

Original tips are crap, but with Hakko stuff that equipment is very good for nice soldering. Hakko tips are packed individually, there is Hakko logo on the foil. That is stuff you need to get. When buying on ebay look for pictures, because there are a lot of auctions with tips "for hakko", basically useless aoyue copies. I got 5 genuine Hakko tips on ebay for $15 shipped, but they are usually going for $5 a piece. Amazon has good selection, sometimes with free shipping.

Since those stations I've mentioned are copies/clones of older Hakko models there is big chance that 2900 is also copy of something and good tips are available. Someone would have to try it.

[Andrew]

If you are experienced, you can do SMT work with a $10 iron - in emergency situations.

The problem: how to get the experience? Unless you are exceptionally talented, a regulated soldering station helps. There is an upper limit on the help such a station provides, and a $500 station doesn't make you better compared to a $100 station.

Your choices are basically some Chinese stuff or expensive stuff. Many Chinese stuff is the same, as you can see from the handpieces. Aoyue, Gordak, Hakko, CSI, Blackjack, Xytronic is largely all the same stuff. There is probably just one large component manufacturer behind them all. 

Expensive stuff means Weller, OKI (former Metcal) and the like.

[charliex]

I've yet to see a $100 soldering station that'll match the tip temperature calibration or stability of a metcal, that may hinder a beginner, but I haven't seen them all yet.. Given you can pick up a used metcal for not much more than a new chinese one, i don't see the desire, other than replacement tip costs, but the metcal tips are really good too. Same goes for the EdSyn's, though they're rarer in the USA, especially used.

It just depends what you're doing, how much you're doing of it, repeatability and accountability on it. I do use my weller 12W a lot its probably my favourite iron, unless its a larger item where it cannot keep up with the temp.

You can get by with a cheaper meter, but how many of us use flukes ?

[Andrew]

Ah, I see, we are already at the typical "my soldering iron is my fetish" penis size discussion. Because that's where these discussions always end.

Sooner or later someone comes up with "I have $expensive_brand(s), buy only $expensive_brand(s), because everything else is rubbish", followed by a detailed inventory of what they have. The reason why I always just list brands in such discussions without labeling one as "must have" is to avoid these.

Here is a hint:

There is a difference between having an iron (or oscilloscope, or multimeter) running 10 hours a day or even 24/7 in a professional shop, taking all kinds of abuse, and having an iron for hobby purposes you turn on two hours a week, if at all. In a pro shop I want¹ nothing like Weller² and not trust a Chinese brand for a second. At home it is a different story. It only has to be good enough. Because what's the difference between having an expensive brand sitting there and fetching dust most of the time or a budget one fetching dust? The money you are out of pocket, nothing else.

1. Disclosure: I currently work in a line of work where I no longer have and not need access to a workshop with hot soldering irons. But that wasn't always the case. I think I still know how decisions are made.

2. The decision for a brand (like Weller) is not entire rational. Weller was what they had in the first pro shop I ever worked in and what I tried to get in every pro shop I ever worked in since then. For others it is JBC, OKI, or Ersa (a European brand), often also because that's what they experienced first, not because they are necessarily "the best".

[GeekGirl]

I actually liked my ERSA Iron, but it is a bugger to get tips for locally in Perth (if Australia is the furthest pace from anywhere, Perth is the furthest place in Australia from anywhere). I was given a Hakko 926 station as a prize for winning the WA regional workskills final. I have never used anything but since I got it (and this was back in 94) I can get tips for it locally (is all well and good to buy them off the internet, but no use when you need a new tip to finish off a production run NOW).

I also have a chinese copy of the hakko hot air station which I use for SMD work, it does the job

For out in the field I use a portasol butane unit, it gets hot, melts everything in sight but atleast it works.

When I buy equipment I *try* to buy a good brand, it lasts for years .....

[Brakk]

I got the Aoyue 937+ from Amazon for $50 and I love it, though I only use it for hobby work, not professional.

It comes with a very small pencil tip that's good for small work (haven't tried it on SMD yet) and you can other tips for it.

[charliex]

Oh dear, someone's touchy.

As i said i use my 12W Weller most of the time probably being my favourite iron and suitable for just about anything, and the one to get. I suggested buying used metcal's from ebay and never paying full retail, and that they can be had for around the same price as some of the more well known chinese imports. I'm not really sure how that qualifies as my stuff is better/more expensive than yours etc. But I do think that the tip temperature on the metcal is more stable and that one of the i've had students struggle with is the tip temperatures dropping too quickly on drag soldering etc, they end up with the iron stuck to the PCB, unable to release it.

Perhaps you've become jaded on the forums Andrew, but i can assure you my reply had nothing to do with cost or penis size. Especially since i recommended an iron that costs about $30.

I did list the irons I use, since this is a thread on someone wanting opinions on irons we've used, I  suppose i could have given recommendations on iron's i hadn't used instead, perhaps thats more your cup of tea.

Granted as I said the tips are a bit more expensive, but they are excellent quality, you may not always get what you pay for, but sometimes you do, and again i recommend searching ebay for deals on them.

So to recap just for Andrew,  get the $30ish Weller, or if you want to spend a bit more, search ebay for a good metcal, but don't pay more for it than you would for a chinese name brand. Be careful about who you buy it from, and that they have a good return policy. And for the record, i never said anything bad about chinese brands, and i did quantify that you should match what you do and need with what you buy.

[mightyohm]

I bought a bunch of Xytronic 200GX's recently for a beginners soldering workshop, and I was pretty impressed by the quality of these <$15 25W soldering irons.  I would not hesitate to recommend them to a beginner, for the price you can't beat them.

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&productId=129040

BTW - I use a Weller WES-51 myself and I absolutely love it.  You can find them easily for under $150.

[Fathead]

As earlier mentioned you can get a Chinese soldering station that is compatible with expensive brand tips like ayoue with hakko tips or solomon with weller tips(there are probably more out there).
One thing you should watch out for are the stations that do not have a feedback temperature control which means that you can adjust their power but not the temperature because they do not have a temperature sensor. Velleman sells these and they are not much better than a standard soldering iron.
Most cheap stations work perfectly well (not that I have tested many stations) but they tend to have small annoying details usually in the finish and so on. Many of them use a cheap PVC cable that is stiff and thick instead of a nice supple silicone. Both get the job done but the PVC can be really annoying. Another thing is that the hand piece might get pretty warm after a while although I've read that the older wellers have the same problem.
Things to consider:
-Price(obviously)
-power/heating technology(like metcal or jbc)
-number of different tips available (when you get into smd you might need mini wave tips)
-tip price
-tip availability
-tip durability (generally brand name tips are better when it comes to this)
-handpiece/iron size and shape (you want a comfy one that's not too big and that stays cool)
-cable
-heat up time
-tip change on the go
-ESD safety (it's not that important for a hobbyist)
-accessories, irons, spare parts (extra irons and spares are usually very expensive, the heater can sometimes break (has not happened to me yet))

Here are some brands you might want to look up:
Pricy(depends on model):metcal(oki), weller, jbc, pace, ersa, edsyn, hakko
Cheaper: xytronic, ayoue, quick, solder peak, stannol, solomon (sorny roog/ pensol) many more are under reseller brands.

Most of these will work perfectly fine and in many cases the difference in price is not justified for a hobbyist. The best thing is to get a second hand brand name one that is in good shape. Buying hobbyist stations from the "expensive" companies is generally a bad idea.

[Zero999]

Temperature control is more important than power rating.

Beware that some temperature controlled irons only use a lamp dimmer circuit and have no feedback mechanism.

If you want a cheap temperature controlled iron, I recommend buying a 50W iron and adding a lamp dimmer, it won't be perfect but it's better than an iron which is too hot which will overheat components and have a short tip life.

[APS]

I have weler SPI27. Its a 220V 25W soldering iron and I am quite happy with it. Cost about 70$.

I have it for about 6 years now and never have to change tip until now (now because my friend cleaned the tip with file, therewith removed protecting coat).

You can buy a tip in several dimension. Litle drawback it`s not so good for soldering heavy gauged wires.