What soldering iron to get

I have some circuit board repair I would like to try. The immediate need is replacing caps on a board. Does anyone have any recommendations on what soldering iron to get, and any other accessories I should consider? I currently have a 40W Weller pencil style iron with a flat broad tip. I am assuming there would be something better to use.

I want one of these or one like it:

http://www.parts-express.com/stahl-tools-tcss-temp-controlled-soldering-station-esd-safe--374-200

Smaller is better. I have a 10W pencil iron that i really like. I use it for all my board and component work.

This is the station that the Stahl is a copy of. It's $10 cheaper, too. There's a coupon code on the EEVBlog.com forum.

I have the older version of This station. We found it at Radio Shack for $50 on clearance. Might want to check them out to see if they still have them. I tore mine down to see how well it was built, and it seems solid. It heats up fast and has good thermal capacity.

Here's mine:

Sorry for the potato pictures, I didn't feel like waiting for my phone to charge up to use its flash, and it's cold out there and my CFLs were taking forever to warm up.

As for tips, use the tip that's right for the job. For rework, I prefer either conical tips or chisel tips, depending on the size of the component. A chisel can usually cover 90% of your typical soldering tasks. The rest would be special tips for big packages.

I have this guy: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10707

Works fantastically well for $44.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3132686 I have this and love it!!! Plus its on sale too

We use the 60 watt version of the Weller you have for all the through hole assembly work at DIYAutoTune.com. Not fancy but it works great - we tried getting our solder tech a $800 soldering station a while ago, and he asked us to send it back because he'd rather use the plain Weller.

I'd love to be one of your rework/soldering guys.

Does anyone have experience with the ones sold at HF? I'm in the market for one too.

Just by looking at their site, I'd skip them all. Get a Weller stick iron instead if that's your budget for an iron.

Derick Freese wrote: I'd love to be one of your rework/soldering guys.

A hot air rework station is on my xmas list too. Right after milling machine and lift. I seriously need to curtail my hobbies.

Yes, there is only one answer (sort of like "Miata") and that answer is "Weller".

I have the Weller butane one and love it. http://www.amazon.com/Weller-PS1100C-Super-Pro-Cordless-Soldering/dp/B000JG40EW

Klayfish wrote: Does anyone have experience with the ones sold at HF? I'm in the market for one too.

For $3.99, you can't get too hurt. I bought one for my dad and it worked fine for soldering a couple of connectors.

A Weller workstation is nice to have but since this is GRM...I use the cheapest soldering iron Radio Shack sells, as long as you know how to solder on circuit boards it works fine.

It depends on what you're doing. I'd never do small SMD packages with a low watt soldering iron, as it takes too long to heat the solder.

Then again, I expect most people looking for a soldering iron to be working with SMDs every once in a while, at least. If all you're doing is through hole, just about any of the 30 watt irons will do, but you'll be rewarded with buying a Hakko or Weller at $15 or $20 instead of $5 at HF or $8 at RatShack. In my teens, I'd go through an RS iron every year or two. Now that I can afford better, it lasts a ton longer.

Hot air stations aren't terribly expensive if you're willing to go with a cheap Chinese unit.

http://www.amazon.com/WEP-858D-Soldering-Station-Suitable/dp/B0055B6NGE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vva2t21sOAs

Derick Freese wrote: Hot air stations aren't terribly expensive if you're willing to go with a cheap Chinese unit. http://www.amazon.com/WEP-858D-Soldering-Station-Suitable/dp/B0055B6NGE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vva2t21sOAs

This. And from my research, it seems that many of the "Chinese" offerings are using guts/heating elements from the big name guys. Usually Hakko.

Speaking of which, i've previously also used a Hakko FX-888D and loved it. Under $100 on Amazon.

Here's my Chinese beast. http://www.amazon.com/852D-Soldering-Rework-Station-Nozzle/dp/B009POW2XA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1393623196&sr=1-1&keywords=wep+852d

Might be able to get it a little cheaper on their Ebay site than through Amazon. I remember getting the station, a buttload of tips, nice little pair of Hakko cutters, and some other miscellaneous things for under $100 to my door.

Looks to be the same brand as the hot air station I posted.

"Cheap Chinese" is a bit of a misnomer. Most electronics have plenty of parts in them from China. Hell, my Fluke meter was made in China (thanks Danaher). The problem is quality control. Things like using lower temp rated caps, or Won Hung Lo parts all over the place. At least when you buy a top name tool, you can expect it to be properly engineered, assembled, and tested. Check out some cheap multimeter teardowns if you want to see some real rubbish.

I got a Hakko FX888 when they were on clearance prior to becoming the FX888D. I think they're still pretty cheap.

It's been really great to me and the swappable tips are pretty handy too.

In a pinch/inside a car I've been using a temperature-uncontrolled Canadian Tire soldering iron which I should probably find an alternative to.

I just got a mid-range Weller soldering station (I believe it's this one but I'll have to go out to the garage to confirm) from Santa, and it ROCKS. I have never made cleaner, smaller, neater, shinier joints. It heats up in no time, holds heat like a beast... Honest to Steve, I legitimately enjoy soldering now, whereas I used to approach it with an attitude somewhere between tolerance and dread.

I also have the Weller butane iron, which I actually prefer to both of my underpowered pencils, which have left me deeply frustrated in the past. Plus, it works well for mobile or hard-to-reach stuff, and if you take off the tip it's a very good cigar lighter.

Apparently I need to step up my soldering iron game. Thanks GRM.

I have horrible soldering iron game too.

I don't solder that often anymore, but I used to do 1/28th scale R/C car boards. My iron of choice was a 15W Radio Shack iron. I also have a Radio Shack 40W and Weller 40W for bigger and quicker tasks.

Just keep the tips clean and tinned all the time and you'll always have good heat transfer. My cheap Radio Shack irons do the job just fine and replacement tips are easy to buy. I've noticed the Weller is much quicker at heating up, but I can't get the tips at any store. While I'd like to splurge for a nicer iron, I've never felt the need to.

I used to think that I'd never need to step up above my Weller pen iron until I got my current station.

It's like welders, but a whole lot cheaper!