Author Topic: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?  (Read 8296 times)

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Offline ELS122Topic starter

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what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« on: June 22, 2020, 12:12:38 pm »
I'm looking for a pretty cheap portable-ish soldering iron, I intend to use it mostly for automotive and vacuum tube equipment.
currently I have one of those cheap shitty uncontrolled 70w irons and am PWM'ing it so it doesn't overheat. and it works fine for the soldering joints I solder, only thing it can't solder well is chasis soldering but not many irons can.
I'm thinking about the TS100 but as I've seen in some videos of it, it really looks like it wouldn't be powerful enough for vacuum tube equipment. maybe they just used lead-free solder and a lower temperture  :-//
can you maybe recommend me a better option? or is the TS100 enough for my use?
 

Online wraper

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2020, 12:18:46 pm »
TS-100 will do the job fine if you use it with a large tip and 24V power supply. It's a 65W soldering iron. There is no other more powerful portable temperature regulated soldering iron.
 
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Online Gyro

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2020, 12:20:42 pm »
If you're using it for larger joints like automotive and valve then you need to fit a 'C4' (4mm Chisel) tip and run it at 24V. That way you get the full 65W with decent mass and contact area.

Edit: Snap!  :)
Best Regards, Chris
 
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Online wraper

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2020, 12:27:34 pm »
You could also use something like quite small KSGER soldering station with T12 cartridges. Though you should get genuine Hakko cartridges for best performance.
 

Offline ELS122Topic starter

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2020, 12:32:20 pm »
I actually think I might get the TS80, it has an aluminum body afaik which is sick af.
even tho it's 16w it seems like it should do the job, seeing the demos of it.

Idk about soldering stations. I would prefer a more portable iron if I have to solder some fuel pump cable on the side of the road in the middle of a forest, where am I gonna find 240V xD
and the TS80 being powered by USB would be adequate for that.
 

Online wraper

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2020, 12:39:34 pm »
I actually think I might get the TS80, it has an aluminum body afaik which is sick af.
even tho it's 16w it seems like it should do the job, seeing the demos of it.
TS80 is much weaker. It will do the job only if heat accumulated within a tip is enough to melt the thing. If it's something that needs longer heating, it will suck due to the lack of power..
 

Offline capacitor_explosion

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2020, 12:49:27 pm »
To my knowledge the Ts80 outperforms the ts100  because of better  temperature reading  therefore better PID control.
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Offline ELS122Topic starter

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2020, 12:51:09 pm »
I actually think I might get the TS80, it has an aluminum body afaik which is sick af.
even tho it's 16w it seems like it should do the job, seeing the demos of it.
TS80 is much weaker. It will do the job only if heat accumulated within a tip is enough to melt the thing. If it's something that needs longer heating, it will suck due to the lack of power..
well, I've heard that the TS100 under load only draws about 10w anyway. and also EEVlog showed the TS80 soldering 15 gauge wire with lead-free solder at 370C and it soldered fine, so that should easilly be enough soldering power for me.
 

Offline GlennSprigg

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2020, 01:04:05 pm »
People forget what their intended purposes are. Anything from 'SMD' work, through to repairs
to old valve electronics. You need 'various' soldering stations, with varying temperatures,
depending on the 'application'?  When (and if!) you need to 'solder' to say a 'chassis', then
you need a high heat load/supply... "Old circuitry" is typical in this regard. It's ALL 'horses
for courses'. you need the 'minimum' at times, but depending on what you are doing, you
need maximum heat, in the shortest period of time. There is NO one answer!!!
Diagonal of 1x1 square = Root-2. Ok.
Diagonal of 1x1x1 cube = Root-3 !!!  Beautiful !!
 

Online Gyro

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2020, 01:17:21 pm »
To my knowledge the Ts80 outperforms the ts100  because of better  temperature reading  therefore better PID control.

The Ralim alternative firmware is more or less a 'given' for the TS100 (and maybe the TS80 too?) due to the better tuned PID, that allows it to achieve the best from its higher power (from my experience anyway).
« Last Edit: June 22, 2020, 01:19:52 pm by Gyro »
Best Regards, Chris
 

Online wraper

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2020, 02:10:42 pm »
well, I've heard that the TS100 under load only draws about 10w anyway.
Total bullshit  :palm:. Also what it draws when it's not soldering anything has nothing to do with how much power it can deliver when there is such need.
 

Online wraper

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2020, 02:15:16 pm »
I just checked and TS100 draws up to 2.7A when powered from 24V.
Quote
and also EEVlog showed the TS80 soldering 15 gauge wire with lead-free solder at 370C
There is no standard 15 AWG wire, only 16 and you don't need much power to solder it.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2020, 02:18:51 pm by wraper »
 

Offline ELS122Topic starter

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2020, 02:39:23 pm »
well, I've heard that the TS100 under load only draws about 10w anyway.
Total bullshit  :palm:. Also what it draws when it's not soldering anything has nothing to do with how much power it can deliver when there is such need.

it is so, Marco Reps did a comparason and the TS100 drew only 10w compared to 16w to the TS80 when soldering the same thing.
and the TS80 had better soldering performance after all. probably it's the TS100 temperture control being pretty shit. idk, but if a TS80 can solder 15 gauge wires with ease it's good enough for me, plus the metal body I would preffer from plastic. it's a clear choise for me.
I'll buy the TS80P since it has a cool tip removing thingy  ;D and more power without a huge size diffrence.
 

Online wraper

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2020, 03:30:57 pm »
well, I've heard that the TS100 under load only draws about 10w anyway.
Total bullshit  :palm:. Also what it draws when it's not soldering anything has nothing to do with how much power it can deliver when there is such need.

it is so, Marco Reps did a comparason and the TS100 drew only 10w compared to 16w to the TS80 when soldering the same thing.
and the TS80 had better soldering performance after all. probably it's the TS100 temperture control being pretty shit. idk, but if a TS80 can solder 15 gauge wires with ease it's good enough for me, plus the metal body I would preffer from plastic. it's a clear choise for me.
I'll buy the TS80P since it has a cool tip removing thingy  ;D and more power without a huge size diffrence.
Did he bother to measure if they have the same temperature and did he bother to use the same type of tip? According to other tests TS-100 can solder beefier objects. TS-80 simply drops it's temperature due to lack of heating power. Again, I effing tested how much TS-100 consumes an hour ago.
EDIT: I found his video and I actually disliked it a while ago. He used a smaller conical tip on TS-100 and larger tip on TS80 :palm:. What a surprise TS-100 did not deliver much power. Still both tips were too small to check how much power soldering irons can deliver. What a joke, if you make comparisons, conditions must be equal. Not apples vs oranges. If you make such small tip comparisons, then compare TS-B02 with similar TS-B2, not TS-B02 with TS-ILS  :palm:.
Also he said that 20oC difference he measured is not a game changer. Then, proceeded to further testing without temperature adjustment. Such temperature difference easily results in soldering OK vs not able to solder  :palm:.  Especially considering the setting was only 300oC.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2020, 05:29:06 pm by wraper »
 

Offline pickle9000

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2020, 03:56:08 pm »
For field work I always used butane. They are reliable, quick to recharge and light. Weller is a good brand.   
 

Offline tooki

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #15 on: June 22, 2020, 04:14:08 pm »
I just checked and TS100 draws up to 2.7A when powered from 24V.
Quote
and also EEVlog showed the TS80 soldering 15 gauge wire with lead-free solder at 370C
There is no standard 15 AWG wire, only 16 and you don't need much power to solder it.
Well, there certainly is a standard for what size 15AWG is. But yeah, nobody makes odd-numbered AWG wire. But often, nominally-metric wire is stated by vendors with the next-smallest AWG. For example, 1.5mm diameter (not cross section) solid wire is just a hair thicker than 15AWG, which would be 1.450mm diameter, so one might sell it as 15AWG in USA.
 

Offline Benta

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #16 on: June 22, 2020, 10:00:14 pm »
For field work I always used butane. They are reliable, quick to recharge and light. Weller is a good brand.

I agree completely. Gas soldering irons are brilliant, I even use them at home, not just for "portable" jobs.

But forget Weller, their gas irons are rubbish (as their electrical irons also are nowadays).

I use the Portasol SuperPro with piezo ignition, here's a link (you'll need to click on the UK flag):
https://www.zevatron.de/loetkolben/regelbare-gasloetkolben-2/

It ignites reliably every time (which my previous Weller did not)
Temperature control is super (it wasn't with my Weller)
Tips and accessories are really good and do the job (Which the Weller parts didn't)
You can use it without tip as a burner.
And, and, and...

I've NO affiliation to this company at all, but am completely satisfied. For very fine electronics work I use an ancient Antex 25 W electric iron :)

« Last Edit: June 22, 2020, 10:11:14 pm by Benta »
 

Offline ciccio

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #17 on: June 23, 2020, 05:23:36 pm »
Thw buthane soldering tools sold by Weller were not manufactured by Weller, but by some Japanese Company.
Now Weller sells Portasol branded tools , like the ones  quoted by Benta.
For what I know, Portasol tolols are made in Ireland, but if you search Weller Portasol you'll find some with dual logos.
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Offline Benta

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #18 on: June 23, 2020, 07:10:18 pm »
ciccio is right, on my Portasol it says "Made in Ireland". But as it's over 10 years old (and still going strong), who knows what's happened in the meantime.
It appears that Weller has merged from being a quality manufacturer to just doing brand marketing.

 

Online Gyro

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #19 on: June 23, 2020, 08:39:01 pm »
Are gas irons really that good for temperature stability / controllability?  I've always naively assumed that they would have similar characteristics to an unregulated element, ie. constant heat input, leading to excessive tip temperature when idling and temperature drop when soldering.  :-\

Do they have some sort of temperature feedback regulation mechanism?


Edit: The reason I ask is because when my son was at Uni, one of his friends who was working part-time at Maplin, was offering gas soldering irons at staff discount price. At the time, I told him not to touch it and gave him my spare Weller TCP (Magnastat) instead. Come to think, he's still using it!
« Last Edit: June 23, 2020, 08:54:46 pm by Gyro »
Best Regards, Chris
 

Offline Benta

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #20 on: June 23, 2020, 09:01:09 pm »
Are gas irons really that good for temperature stability / controllability?  I've always naively assumed that they would have similar characteristics to an unregulated element, ie. constant heat input, leading to excessive tip temperature when idling and temperature drop when soldering.  :-\

Do they have some sort of temperature feedback regulation mechanism?

Good question, the answer is no. The temperature feedback is the operator. When idle, just turn down the gas flow, it heats up very fast when needed.

That being said, temperature regulation is easy and fast (on my Portasol at least) and gives no problems, but requires an experienced solderer (just as for all soldering operations). It's actually easier to operate than the classic quality magnetic controlled Weller.
But yes, if you need to warm up a large object, your concern is justified. For that, the heat nozzle is included for pre-warming.

In short, if you need an iron that will hit 313 degrees C and stay there, the gas iron is not the right choice. If you want an iron that can be regulated easily, is light and compact with no cable and has plenty of heat reserve, go for the gas iron.

« Last Edit: June 23, 2020, 09:03:32 pm by Benta »
 
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Offline pickle9000

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #21 on: June 23, 2020, 09:04:36 pm »
Tip mass has a great deal to do with temp range and if you adjust with a meter you can easily get a stable15 minutes. Having said that the temp drop is minimal is the tip mass is as small as possible.

Portasol is Weller. In my experience 100 bucks will get a very decent butane iron. I don't typically change tips in the field and load three irons with what I need. I have only killed one iron and that involved dropping it into a sump filled with oil.

I have tried some Chinese guys they work fine but you can't light them reliably so carry a lighter to get them started. Portasol have the nice cover that turns off the iron and keeps you from getting burned.
 

Offline Benta

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #22 on: June 23, 2020, 10:27:42 pm »
Tip mass has a great deal to do with temp range and if you adjust with a meter you can easily get a stable15 minutes. Having said that the temp drop is minimal is the tip mass is as small as possible.

Portasol is Weller. In my experience 100 bucks will get a very decent butane iron. I don't typically change tips in the field and load three irons with what I need. I have only killed one iron and that involved dropping it into a sump filled with oil.

I have tried some Chinese guys they work fine but you can't light them reliably so carry a lighter to get them started. Portasol have the nice cover that turns off the iron and keeps you from getting burned.

Yes, Portasol is today unfortunately Weller. Expect the same downward spiral in quality as with other Weller stuff...

 

Offline GlennSprigg

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #23 on: June 24, 2020, 11:21:41 am »
Ha!!  I just had flash-backs of an aspect of my previous work, on large building Fire-Systems...
In big buildings, the Thermal-Detectors are often quite high. When I was testing them, (and
I'm talking about literally 500 to 1000 in big buildings!), I used one of those Butane 'Portasol'
style gas Irons, with a Coke can under the screw-in Tip, and the can top cut off. And mounted
it all on the end of an aluminium extension pole, like for a swimming pool vacuum head.   8)
Used to work perfectly!!  (Held up against the detector). Would set them off in about 5 seconds.
Some (stairways/foyers etc) would be up to 5 to 8 metres high!  No probs!!   ;D
And yes, they can put out a LOT of heat when turned up high, even soldering to a metal chassis!!   :-+
Diagonal of 1x1 square = Root-2. Ok.
Diagonal of 1x1x1 cube = Root-3 !!!  Beautiful !!
 

Offline ciccio

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Re: what portable-ish soldering iron should I buy?
« Reply #24 on: June 24, 2020, 02:16:18 pm »
Yes, Portasol is today unfortunately Weller. Expect the same downward spiral in quality as with other Weller stuff...
I was curious, and went to www.portasol.com
Nowhere in the site they affirm of being bought by Weller.
The Weller site shows only one gas iron, the old Pyropen Jr, that is not a Portasol, but on Amazon you can buy a Weller Portasol /https://www.amazon.it/Weller-gas-saldatore-Portasol-T0051608099/dp/B003A62U5E/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=83529439571&dchild=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk5638c-a6gIVAxUYCh0bLwxTEAAYAiAAEgKXe_D_BwE&hvadid=381443988670&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1008626&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10351294123279931369&hvtargid=kwd-301729107541&hydadcr=12845_1758538&keywords=weller+portasol&qid=1593007639&sr=8-1&tag=slhyin-21.
This is funny...
I had once a Portasol (the original orange one) that was too unreliable in use, then I bough a (very expensive) Weller Pyropen (light blue, made in Japan. with a metal box) that is still in my toolbox after 12 years of very occasional use, and  it worked. I steel prefer a long cable reel and an electric iron.. :)
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