Solder iron recommendations?

[littleblazer]

Basically what the title says. I have two irons at the moment, an 80 something watt gun and a 30 or 35 watt fixed output iron. The iron uses screw on tips (light bulb socket) and it is of an older design. I don't remember the brand but it was a subsidiary of Weller. Anyway I'm going to be doing some work on the instrument cluster in the Vette and I know the iron is iffy on boards. Beefy ones it has no problems with but thin ones or smaller traces it tends to ruin. And since I don't want ruin a functional (sometimes) cluster. I was wondering what everyone else was using. I am probably going to read through the led mod thread. I think there were recommendations in there or somewhere else. I figured I would post this here as well just to get some recommendations anyway, things change with time and maybe something better is now available.

Thanks

-LB

 

[Blckshdw]

I had the same issue with my Radio Shack starter iron I got when I was a young nooblet. After getting frustrated with trying to solder little stuff, I opted for a cheap variable output iron, and bought a set of interchangeable tips for it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270901702389?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

That worked great for a few years, but I decided I wanted to upgrade to a hot air SMD reworking station, since I tried soldering some SMD LEDs with the smallest tip, and while possible, it was a royal pain in the ass. This one also came with a bunch of different shaped tips, which was great.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2in1-SMD-So...436107?hash=item3f2688c0cb:g:wHAAAOSwZJBYBdf9

 

[Capote]

I've always loved the "Weller" brand soldering stations. Great quality and get up to temp quick, adjustable as well.

 

[littleblazer]

@Blckshdw with the smd gun, you apply heat to the board to work it over rather then hitting it with the gun?

 

[Blckshdw]

@Blckshdw with the smd gun, you apply heat to the board to work it over rather then hitting it with the gun?

From the videos I watched, you'd apply a small amount of solder paste from a syringe, to the pads on the PCB, then place your component on top of the paste. Hit it with the hot air, and the paste melts, the flux burns off, and the solder sticks to the pads on both the PCB and component, leaving you with pretty solder joints.

I didn't wanna spring for solder paste (it has a shelf life), so I chose to use my chisel tip (always been my favorite for my LED mods) and tinned the pads on the PCB, held the component in place with tweezers, and then hit it with the hot air. Takes some practice, to get the solder to melt, and not start melting the plastic of the component, but so does everything else that you've never done before.

The variables to consider with the hot air gun are: temperature, blower speed, and distance held from the application. I definitely recommend practicing with some old PC cards or motherboards or something. Caution, and not wanting to melt my SMD LEDs, had me doing 5 or 6 takes before I got it right. lol

 

[djthumper]

I had the same issue with my Radio Shack starter iron I got when I was a young nooblet. After getting frustrated with trying to solder little stuff, I opted for a cheap variable output iron, and bought a set of interchangeable tips for it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270901702389?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

That worked great for a few years, but I decided I wanted to upgrade to a hot air SMD reworking station, since I tried soldering some SMD LEDs with the smallest tip, and while possible, it was a royal pain in the ass. This one also came with a bunch of different shaped tips, which was great.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2in1-SMD-So...436107?hash=item3f2688c0cb:g:wHAAAOSwZJBYBdf9

I have a reflow station like that. I have 3 other irons as well.

 

[littleblazer]

Well the good and bad news is I don't need to spend money on new tools. I pulled apart the IPC and there were 4 cold solder joints on the 12 pin connecting the boards together. They were big enough I just used the iron I had and all seems well. Maybe I'll still buy a station with the money I saved not needing components.

 

[kickass audio]

I use this http://www.steinel.net/RelId/608159/ISvars/default/TS_600_and_TS_600_K.htm for most of my soldering projects. If I will be soldering really thick wire bundles it typically doesn't get the solder to wick all the way through and I use one of these http://www.homedepot.com/p/Weller-Professional-Soldering-Gun-Kit-D550PK/204712968?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|G|0|G-BASE-PLA-D25T-HandTools|&gclid=Cj0KEQiAifvEBRCVx5up6Ojgr5oBEiQALHw1TsI-EKPTxUDiQeNq-a6tG2_ePKQbg3Y6Berqvq8Ii20aAqz-8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds. The gun is really high power output so you have to be careful if you do small jobs with it. The butane one is good but you have to be careful because the exhaust outlet for the tip blows really hot air out and can melt plastic parts if you're not careful.

If you are a beginner and not good at soldering don't get a butane one though. I am very good with soldering things so I like the portability of my butane torch. I would not recommend one smaller than the one I linked. I go through the butane pretty fast on it. Also with butane if you hold the torch so the tip is upwards it will not wick the butane into the gun and make it drop the heat output fast so you need to either hold it parallel or have the tip aimed down for it to wick the butane into the gun and operate.

edit: i'd also recommend a brass soldering gun tip cleaner to use after every job. It helps prolong the life of the tip and make it stay clean. http://www.parts-express.com/solder...source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla