Want to buy a soldering Iron, any suggestions?

[turbotalon1g]

Any suggestions, i had a cheapy radioshack one the tip went bad lent it to a friend and it was basically shit.

I want something that could do 10ga if I had too, if not just regular wire is fine.

Figure some of you might have some suggestions.

Thanks

Aaron

[turbotalon1g]

Did some research on radioshack, and to help you help me.

I am looking for a pencil style one. Was thinking maybe a dual wattage one.

watt ranges from 15 to 40. I think 40 would basically cover me for most wire, but I am worried it would destroy the smaller stuff which is what it would be most used for.

25 watt one seemed to get best review and I think its what I had.

Dual wattage 20 to 40 people seemed to have a hard time finding tips for it.

I think 40 right now and to just be careful with smaller stuff or maybe a 30ish one

[desolate]

Don't get a pencil style iron. They've never worked well in the past for me.

I bought radio shack's soldering gun which goes for ~$30 and I never looked back. It is one of the best things I've purchased. So overall I'd recommend a soldering gun. Usually they come with two power settings, low/high, allowing you to solder and cover almost any solder job.

[turbotalon1g]

^my issue with the gun style is that there isn't a tip, so you get a spade to heat up instead of a tip, but then again i don't really do circuit boards just wire. hmmm.

I found this: http://www.amazon.com/WLC100-Soldering-Station-Hobbyist-Yourselfer/dp/B000AS28UC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Weller seems to be a name that comes up as one of the best, a lot of good reviews seems like the bad reviews 4 out of 30 were from people that got a bad one.

[hippiekiller]

Advice I got from one of my friends, get a butane one. They rock the socks off of any electrical one. Heats up WAY faster and does a heck of a lot better job. Also, no cords to get in the way. You should be able to find them at Fleet Farm or any good hardware store.

[hippiekiller]

http://www.amazon.com/P2KC-Portasol-Professional-Self-igniting-Soldering/dp/B000WOHSHM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1239569260&sr=1-1

Something like that.

[Kevin 1G Drummer]

I agree on the Butane. I have one and it pretty much kicks ass. I need more Butane for it though. It gets hot enough to do up to 10 gauge wire, but is also precise enough for 18 gauge wire.

[Matt D.]

This is what I have:

http://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_936.html
http://images.amainhobbies.com/images/large/hak936-13%5Ep.jpg

If you want a good soldering iron I wouldn't suggest anything else. Got it for about $100 with a larger chisel tip (helps hold the heat for heavier duty things) from Ness Electronics.

I have been through every imaginable type of soldering iron... Pencil, gun, butane, electric... Butane is great for the "handiness" factor, but they do not put out the heat that electric can and are aren't very good for heavier wire like 12ga and up, and can be finicky at times especially as they get older. Guns aren't very good, plain and simple, especially once they get older. I've used Radio Shack, Weller, Ungar and now my Hakko. Radio Shack and Weller are about on par with eachother, yes they work and will get the job done, but aren't very good quality. The Hakko is nice, designed for electronics work in a ESD-free environment.

If you want something on the cheap side get yourself a 40 watt Weller iron. If you want something nice that will last your lifetime get a nice soldering station like a Hakko, or Weller makes a soldering station with adjustable temp as well. The Weller station you linked will work decent.

[JET]

I agree to go with butane. If you are doing precise stuff, then a pencil style with a separate power unit like Matt put up. The butane rocks for what most people use it for. Port-a-sol is the big brand name for butane ones.

[95talonracer]

Do NOT get the peice of crap Cold Heat!