soldering iron recs?

[bazookaman]

Yeah. I'm sure everyone has a favorite. I don't need some pro quality set up. OTOH, i don't want some cheapo POS. My immediate need is to do some soldering on a wiring harness for a new head unit for the wife's car. I had a kit at some point but it's long gone. So I need a soldering iron. Some flux. Some solder etc. So a kit would be nice I guess. I looked it up on Amazon and predictably there are about a million options.

[wowzer]

I went to RadioShack and bought whatever looked about right...

[clay]

I asked the same question about a year ago: http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,1580837 , and ended up with one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hakko-FX888D-23B...0841241952

It's been a reliable workhorse for me so far, and I'd recommend it if it looks like it will meet your needs. I probably could have gotten something cheaper, but this one seems to get good reviews, and I've had nothing but great luck using it.

[cbelt3]

If you have a heat gun (or a VERY hot hair dryer or are comfortable with a mini torch), a 'butt splice' is a nice thing to use for wiring attachment jobs... it has a ring of low temperature solder in it that solders the wires together, then covers the whole thing with a nice heat shrink tube.

A soldering iron can be useful, but then you have to insulate, etc..

Harbor freight sells cheapies.


http://www.harborfreight.com/30-pack-wat...66729.html

[Filliam H. Muffman]

Fry's had a Hakko temp controlled on sale for $60 but I could not find a link.

More recently they had an adjustable Weller WLC100 for $35, currently $45. They used to typically fail pretty quickly and you had to keep a couple of temperature sensors on hand.

[RAMd®d]

If not dealing with small electronic components, especially SMCs, I'd get a soldering gun, rather than a pencil, and definitely not an iron.

A gun heats much quicker and cools much quicker. Care is needed in use, but you don't have to worry about carefully replacing a constantly hot pencil.

I've used one of these for years, even building a few Heathkits.

For SMCs or delicate components, a grounded-pencil is probably a good idea. I've been looking at this for no particular reason, but I can't really justify it based on the infrequent use it would see.

Not that it's never stopped me before.

[OWC Jamie]

you shouldn't need any more than 60 watts for 18-22 gauge wires/socket pins

[Mike Johnson]

Me, I have never once in my life regretted buying a nicer tool than I needed at the time. But the other way around? Hoo boy. Cheap tools often cost the most.

[Speedy]

If only you can find good tools anymore. Everything is made in China.

Mike Johnson wrote:
Me, I have never once in my life regretted buying a nicer tool than I needed at the time. But the other way around? Hoo boy. Cheap tools often cost the most.