Wonder if it is still available?I have an Ungar UTC 600 I think that is the right number but I will check later. It is a station with adjustible temp and a pencil style iron on a very flexible cord. I have owned it over 20 years and it performs flawlessly. I love it and hope I never have to replace it.
Get a good brand and If you are soldering automotive wire, make sure to get one with enough wattage to heat it up quick so you keep the heat at the end and not 2-3" up the wire!
. Those guns are not that useful, they heat the loop red hot and you never know when to let up on them, destroying the tips quickly.
For me, smaller is always better. I'd get something like this if I didn't want to spend too much. If I need to do something bigger like battery terminal connectors, a small butane torch works just fine.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Weller-WES5...509?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27e0da0aad
Luv my Weller station. Have had it for over 15 years now. Still has the original tip it came with. Didn't know or ever need to replace it. I have wired at least 8 cars complete with it using belden wire and the thin solder I believe is for electronic repairs. Can't remember or read the lead / tin % on the spool anymore?
The larger welding cables I use a torch.
Its been slightly abused over the years but never let me down. The clamps are good for the extra set of hands I always seem to need when building harnesses.
I'm too cheap to have stuff that nice!Ya know, I've got one of those SnapOn butane pencils (YAKS32), and I have to say, I love it for light stuff over 12 gauge. It's not like the Weller pencils you'll get at Home Depot or Lowe's. I have used it enough to need to replace a couple of tips.
That said, there is no way in hell I ever would have bought it... They're about $200. My father, God rest his soul, bought it for me almost 10 years ago because all the guys at the shop he worked at were raving about them.
I disagree, depending on what you are doing
Some of those regulated irons are trouble. The Weller ones have several different series of tips and are a ***** to sort out, and some of them actually had switches in the handles For soldering occasional wire splices and connectors, they are uneeded complications and not reliable.
For the record, I've got several old soldering stations in various states of workability, and never use any of it on automotive or hardware type stuff.