Soldering Iron Purchase

The hakko is probably overkill for the odd thing here and there If you are using it several times a week it is a great investment
 
I've got this cheap orange soldering pen I snagged from walmart ages ago for like $10. Not adjustable in any way, barely has a replaceable tip, and yet it has done everything I've asked of it.

But I wouldn't even try to use it on anything small.
 
frase said:
Oh well who cares was a drunken ebay purchase
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Too funny you mention that. Listening to the radio while driving around yesterday and the DJ was talking about some poll that had been done about stupid things people do when drunk. Buying things on the Internet was up there on the list, something like 28% of people. I can personally attest you're not alone. LOL!!!
 
pcpete said:
The hakko is probably overkill for the odd thing here and there If you are using it several times a week it is a great investment
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Agreed. Especially when you can get a decent Aoyue that uses the same tips for 1/3 the price. Certainly not equivalent, but good enough for occasional soldering. To this day the iron I use most often is a $40 Radio Shack branded iron. Takes the same Hakko tips, and heats faster than any other iron I own. Wish I'd bought two of them when Radio Shack still existed.
 
DataMedics said:
Agreed. Especially when you can get a decent Aoyue that uses the same tips for 1/3 the price. Certainly not equivalent, but good enough for occasional soldering. To this day the iron I use most often is a $40 Radio Shack branded iron. Takes the same Hakko tips, and heats faster than any other iron I own. Wish I'd bought two of them when Radio Shack still existed.
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I probably have the same one. I wanted to learn soldering so went to the local Radio Shack and purchased one several years ago. It works every time and while I solder a few times a month I've never had a reason to replace it and don't see myself doing so while it's still kicking, it gets the job done. For the roughly $40 it cost me it's earned it's price more times over than I can remember.
 
One thing I like about the hakko I mentioned is you can change hot tips very quickly with your hands do to the different style the 951 uses
 
I've been looking at maybe upgrading to this:

https://www.banggood.com/KSGER-V2_1...10535&p=BX282326066583201810&cur_warehouse=CN

It's a Hakko T12 "cloner" system but is supposed to be a really well done clone. For $50 I'd be more than happy to try it out... heck my Yihua 936 clone system was about $30 and not nearly as nice and while it has worked reasonably well I have also already had to replace the iron handle once and I probably had less than 10 total hours on the iron at that point.
 
Sorry to bring up an old thread but it should keep the forum tidy. I am looking for a cheap(ish) soldering iron so i can replace a few dc jacks. I have a 30W one at the moment but it doesnt melt the old solder. I dont want to spend money unneccesarily at this point but what should i be looking for. I dont think i need a full blown soldering station, just an iron will do. From what i've ready a 30W should be hot enough.

I am in the UK so some UK suggestions would be great.
 
alexsmith2709 said:
From what i've ready a 30W should be hot enough.
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The wattage doesn't directly determine the temperature; you need to take into account the size (and heat dissipation) of what you're soldering. A measly 30W iron will be ok for small items but if what you're soldering is thermally attached to a large ground-plane or a larger component that dissipates a lot of heat, you're gonna need a better iron. I would recommend 60W as a minimum, preferably one with temperature control. For portable use, I use an iron like this (or I use my Dremel gas iron if there's no power sockets nearby). Or, if you want a cheap-as-chips temperature controlled iron, there's this (haven't tried this one myself but the reviews seem to be largely positive). For serious bench work, however, I'd still recommend a solder station; good ones are really not that expensive.
 
I saw that dremel one yesterday but hadnt heard about gas powered ones until then. Is it any good for dc jack replacement?
If i dont go the dremel route i'll aim for 60W
 
alexsmith2709 said:
I saw that dremel one yesterday but hadnt heard about gas powered ones until then. Is it any good for dc jack replacement?
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Gas irons have been around for as long as I can remember; I've personally used them for decades. Historically they weren't great and would typically be temperamental, unreliable and difficult to control with any precision. The Dremel gas iron seems well designed and well built. I've probably owned it for a couple of years and used it maybe a dozen times. So far it's worked very well. However, it still doesn't have the precision of a proper temperature controlled iron. I use it when it's convenient to but I wouldn't use it as a daily workbench iron. It's perfect if you need to go to site to solder some wires but, for frequent PCB work, it's too bulky and has no way to precisely control the temperature.
 
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