soldering iron

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I finally bought a Weller butane soldering iron. I always thought they were overkill, but I bought one of the smaller, simpler models because I was working on a lot of very small gauge wiring (guitars). My Jeep needed a ton of wiring repairs, and it was nice to not have to drag extension cords around.
 
Weller makes good ones. I've used sears in the past too with good results. Make sure you clean & tin the tip every time you use it & keep the set screws tight so it will work correctly.
 
72ScampTramp said:
Looking to buy one looking for automotive use. Any brand and watt suggestions?
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I'm not sure there IS any "one" iron/ gun

For most daily soldering of wires, I don't like an iron as I don't have to wait. I still use a transformer type Weller. which heats up quick. But I'm an old guy, and I keep my eyes open at garage sales, thrift stores. Hell I can't CARRY all the irons and guns and soldering stations I've got

For LIGHT wire soldering, the "regular size" Weller (8100?) is OK, and heats fast, and if you don't mind waiting, an electric 50W or so iron is OK. The thing about irons is that the TIP SIZE makes a huge difference as to "capacity." For auto use, you don't want some delicate little thing meant for circuit boards.

BETTER if you anticipate soldering heavier, no12/ no10 stuff is the big old heavy 550 series like this

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002N7S1/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=3782460081&hvpos=1t3&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16715432281478818337&hvpone=42.05&hvptwo=40&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_955yslg8o6_e"]Weller D550PK 120-volt Professional Soldering Gun Kit 260/200 Watts - Amazon.com[/ame]

The disadvantage to ANY transformer gun is you have to "teach yourself" that every time you get it out of the drawer, you "wiggle" the element clamp nuts to make contact. They seem to lose contact from frequent heat cycles and oxidation. This is not a big deal, and to me is second nature

I have a Weller one of the "big blue" Butane irons, and it puts out a LOT of heat, but I see that they are now really expensive.

Frankly I think everybody needs a good old fashioned about an 80 watt "big iron." Something with about a 5/16 dia tip, these things will solder anything short of battery cables. I've picked up a few of these at garage sales or thrift stores, typically for 2- 5. bucks
 
x2 , we have a medium size weller butane unit, been running ggreat for 5 years. Pull the tip and you have a butane torch to solder heavy items. Extremely handy with adjustable heat. Obviously portable, you can solder in the top of a tree in a random field without the cord to hinder you.


dusterglenn said:
I finally bought a Weller butane soldering iron. I always thought they were overkill, but I bought one of the smaller, simpler models because I was working on a lot of very small gauge wiring (guitars). My Jeep needed a ton of wiring repairs, and it was nice to not have to drag extension cords around.
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Well some great advice. Wasnt planning $50 on one maybe $20 at local supplier. Mainly one to do like 20-16g wires. the big stuff i just use a torch and melt the solder into the terminal. Ill check out sears see if they hae something that will service decent.
 
I only have cheap ones at home. For most automotive, I use a trigger gun type since it heats fast. Occasionally for delicate wires, I use a 60 W radio shack one. Most important is to change the tip occasionally and keep it clean by wiping on a wet sponge, and tinning the tip with solder.
 
Josh those $20 irons may be ok for small stuff (and I mean real small stuff) but they don't last long and won't do anything heavy at all. I have both the Weller 100/140 watt iron (link)

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WEL8200PK-120-Volt-Universal-Soldering/dp/B00002N7S0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1370489746&sr=8-2&keywords=weller+soldering+gun"]Weller WEL8200PK 120-Volt 140/100 Watts Universal Soldering Gun Kit - Amazon.com[/ame]

And the 200/260 watt for the big stuff (link)

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Weller-D550PK-120-volt-Professional-Soldering/dp/B00002N7S1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370489746&sr=8-1&keywords=weller+soldering+gun"]Weller D550PK 120-volt Professional Soldering Gun Kit 260/200 Watts - Amazon.com[/ame]

You can buy a el-cheapo harbor freight $15-20 special but that's exactly what you'll be getting.

My suggestion> Buy something good that'll last you a lifetime and you won't regret it. IMO the Weller 8200 is one of the best deals out there. Mines over 25 yrs. old and I've probably used up 500 tips with it so it's had a ton of use yet still works fine and had no repairs at all.

BTW: I have no problem soldering wires as small as 24 gauge with my Weller 8200 on the 100 watt setting, but I have been soldering for 40 yrs.
 
I bought a soldering gun the other day. 100w. WEN is the brand from the hardware store. It seems to work pretty good once i figured out how to use it. I still will look for an iron the gun is kinda bulky and awkward.
 
You just have to get used to them. First time I started playing with electrics/ electronics was about the 8th grade. My Dad's boss used to carry a GIGANTIC soldering gun called a "Versa Tool" It was a huge, heavy, transformer gun, with a hollow tube, a ceramic sleeve, and a carbon in the tip. You could LITERALLY heat it up to bright red hot, "snap" the tip and pieces would fall off. OVERkill LOL.

Anyhow, guys were always dropping and breaking them, and Dad would bring the remains home to me. I finally collected 3, and had enough parts to put one workable iron together. As I recall, there was some electrical tape involved, LOL I can find no evidence that these ever existed, at least not on the www

The one great thing about guns is they heat quicker, so if depending on what you are doing, you don't have to have the iron sitting there hot for hours.
 
I have got one of those gun pull the trigger ones i hate it. the one that Bad sport is nice
 
goldduster318 said:
I have one of these. Works well on anything 10ga or smaller with some patience http://www.homedepot.com/p/Weller-40-Watt-Soldering-Iron-Kit-SP40LK/100391613?N=1lw#.UbEmEdK1F8E
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That is actually a pretty fair choice for most automotive work.

You have to consider, with irons, that the tip size plays a big part. Over and above the wattage, the tip acts as a buffer. This 40W iron will probably be better than the smaller Weller transformer gun.

Speaking of transformer guns, it is VERY important to loosen/ tighten the tip nuts "just about" every session. The seem to corrode or work loose, and this simple step seems to solve about 90% of gun problems

Also, "in a pinch" if you ruin a tip, you can just make one --- bend one up out of a scrap of no 10 or 12 solid copper wire. "Everybody" has some scrap Romex layin' aroun', right?
 
72ScampTramp said:
I bought a soldering gun the other day. 100w. WEN is the brand from the hardware store. It seems to work pretty good once i figured out how to use it. I still will look for an iron the gun is kinda bulky and awkward.
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I had a WEN yrs. ago and didn't care for it at all. It was bulkier than my Weller and nearly every time I got it out to use it the darn tip was corroded at the connections and wouldn't heat up until I loosened the screws and tightened them again. And I hated the tip being held in by screws. Wellers use a nut. Much easier to tighten properly. As 67Dart said corroded connections is a trait that all soldering guns/irons suffer from, some just worse than others. He also mentioned loosening and tightening the connections every time you use them and it's not a bad idea but I find with my Weller's I rarely have to do that. Iron's definitely have an advantage of not being bulky but their generally not instant heating so you have to wait on them a little while. The one Gold duster showed the link to looks like a real good deal. I may have to get one of those to add to the collection.
 
fishy68 said:
LOL... I thought I was the only one that did that.
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Friend of mine a couple years younger than me, and now gone, taught me that about the time that I was a freshman in high school.

"I'm not gonna buy those tips, they're too damn much money" he says
 
Here is my rig. I have an orange 20 watt weller, and a handfull of new tips. Using a tip once its worn out kills irons.

For large stuff, I went to harbor freight and got a soldering gun for twenty bucks. Use that for the heavier stuff that doesnt allow the small gun to heat up the metal fast enough to prevent it from traveling it too far.

Something else, Go to radio shack and get a white can of that greasy flux. Works great. Go to hobby lobby and get a cheap pack of small paint brushes
 
Weller makes a good one. Get a quick heating unit. I have a Weller and I also have two butane units. The butane is so portable it is great, but if I am near a plug in, the Weller works better.
 
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