Soldering Irons

Mizzou

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As I am starting to learn more and more about reparing my stuff I think I am going to be in the market for a slodering iron in the not too distant future. I was curious if anyone could give some recomendations. So far I've had the PACE mbt250 recomended. Anyone else?
 
I have a Wells

and it has been great for me. It has a variable heat setting, which is critical for me (old solder on EM pinballs takes a little more heat than a vid circuit board).

The iron on mine plugs into the main power unit via a 6 foot or so cord, and has its own little stand it rests in.

Good luck!

-scott
 
Thanks! I guess it is also worth noting that I'll probably need a de-soldering station as well...
 
There are so many good ones. All I will say is that I used a cheap iron for years but never did board repairs with it. Once I got into this hobby and wanted to do board repairs, I purchased an adjustable temperature soldering station. I am so glad I spent the money on one. Have used it on everything I used to do with the cheap iron plus repaired various arcade and pinball boards. Makes soldering easy. Get a good one, some extra tips, and solder and enjoy.

For desoldering I use a soldapullt. It has worked great for a board repair now and then.
 
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MBT250 is what I use and I wont buy anything but pace now. However they are very expensive. From the reviews I have seen HAKKO seems to be a decent lower end unit. Whichever iron you choose, make sure its a digital station with adjustable temperature.
 
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Hakko is good for a hobby person... When you get into doing repairs for others or you just want something that will last you many years, get a Pace unit.

I have one on each of the 3 repair benchs in my shop and a couple of spare units just because I use them so much.

If you can't afford these options then you can do a few things:
  • Buy a good quality fixed heat iron such as a Weller or Edsyn.
  • Troll CL for items that suddenly show up.
  • Troll eBay several times a day for new items with a Buy-it-Now price you can afford

I did the trolling for items and have picked up many deals. One of the best was a Pace analog 2 channel system with a soldering iron and desoldering iron for $45 on the local CL. It takes a lot of work - you'll be searching several times a day for "soldering", "solder", "desoldering", and "desolder" key words. You'll get tired of it. You'll want to stop. Then suddenly it'll eventually pay off and you'll find something.

RJ
 
Hakko is good for a hobby person... When you get into doing repairs for others or you just want something that will last you many years, get a Pace unit.

I have one on each of the 3 repair benchs in my shop and a couple of spare units just because I use them so much.

If you can't afford these options then you can do a few things:
  • Buy a good quality fixed heat iron such as a Weller or Edsyn.
  • Troll CL for items that suddenly show up.
  • Troll eBay several times a day for new items with a Buy-it-Now price you can afford

I did the trolling for items and have picked up many deals. One of the best was a Pace analog 2 channel system with a soldering iron and desoldering iron for $45 on the local CL. It takes a lot of work - you'll be searching several times a day for "soldering", "solder", "desoldering", and "desolder" key words. You'll get tired of it. You'll want to stop. Then suddenly it'll eventually pay off and you'll find something.

RJ

Another thing I've had good success with when using eBay is the Make an Offer button. I've had good success offering 50% of the Buy It Now price, which kind of boggles my mind.
 
Absolutely love my Metcal. Comes up to temperature extremely fast, has no issues at all reflowing large parts, has an auto-shutoff feature to promote tip life, and you can hot swap tips. Downside is they are a bit pricey but worth it imo.
 
I have a nice digital Weller, but also use a $10 Radio Shack Iron sometimes. All I can say is they both work. Just keep the tip clean.
 
Absolutely love my Metcal. Comes up to temperature extremely fast, has no issues at all reflowing large parts, has an auto-shutoff feature to promote tip life, and you can hot swap tips. Downside is they are a bit pricey but worth it imo.

THIS is the Smartest Man here...he Owns a METCAL..best Soldering/Desoldering Stations on the Planet..i own one as Well... older one tho.. DP-500 with the desoldering and Soldering on one station :)

Metcals are used by the aerospace industry because they do what most stations can't.100% thru-hole desoldering :)

Very nice Tas :)


END OF LINE.


Daniel.
 
It is not a matter of intelligence, it is a matter of what you can afford or what you are willing to spend. Theres no way I'd go out and drop a grand on a desoldering station unless I needed it every day for work (which I don't).
 
Metcal requires filtered shop air....no thanks. My pace will drop a part clean out with little effort.

That's a bit misleading. Do some units require shop air? yes. All of them? No


I use a PACE station at work and a Metcal at home. I hate soldering at work.
 
Broodwich can testifly for my sad soldering iron I have, it is a Weller with a base, I have had it for 11 years and one of the screws that holds the iron to the plastic handle just ripped out so it is all droopy. Also the iron is hotter on on side. I want a new one, but I don't want to spend the money...
 
I'm what you would call a 'casual' soldering hobbyist. I will do older board repairs and most through hole stuff no problem.

If you want to get in cheap to practice, get this:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=374-100

374-100_s.jpg


And this:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062731

pRS1C-2160644w345.jpg


For less than $30 you're into both tools, and you can begin practicing. Once you get better skills, you can upgrade your tools to match what you'd like to do. To be honest with you, I've had these two tools on my bench for quite a while now and both have served me real well. For what I work on, it's been adequate. And it won't break the bank.

Get these tools to get you started, and then do some research (or shopping) for a good deal on a more expensive unit. Or, do like I did - ask for a nicer setup for Christmas. :D
 
i have a 20-40 year old Hakko 926, i can attest for tighes weller, but it works for him that's all that matters. I love my Hakko, paid $30 shipped for it about a year ago and replaced the micro iron with a new esd safe 907. i heard great things about the hakko's and decided to go for it especially for the price. (it's not fancy digital but it is temp controlled/adjustable).

After seeing tighe and local413 using that cheap $12 radio shack desoldering iron i decided to grab one of those as well. very happy with that purchase as well.

so for under $60 i've got a decent station starting :D

definitely not a measure of intelligence, but i think i got a better deal.
 
I use this stahl soldering tool:

http://www.amazon.com/Stahl-Tools-V...238383&sr=8-10&keywords=soldering+station+air

It's nice, temp control, comes up to heat quickly and is variable.

I also use a radioshack butane soldering iron:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062753

This is good when you need a quick fix and don't want to drag out the whole solder station.

For desoldering I use:

Braid
A solder sucker
And/or the Radio Shack desoldering tool here:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062731

A lot of people say not to use these but I don't know why. I've never had an issue.

If you're afraid of toasting a board grab some old junky board and practice removing components from it first.

It really is all about understanding the tools you decide to purchase.
 
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