Cost Efficient Soldering Iron
 

Can anyone recommend a good but cheap soldering iron?

I don't want to build my own NiMH packs; I just want to solder only one wire on my Novak ESC, so that's why I don't need anything expensive.

I know Radio Shack sells soldering irons, but are these sufficient for my purpose?

Also, what additional things will I need other than solder?

Thanks for any info.

Get the hobbico one. You need one that solders at 60W I believe. Tower has it, most HS have the hobbico one. Runs around $10-15. The hakko one is best one and that is the next step at $80.

I use a Sears Craftsman 45watt iron at the trackside... They are only $10... tips are $2.99 and when the iron goes bad in a year.. trade it in!


Jerome :)

Thanks for the info.

As for what else I might need; I read something that talks about using a "braid" to remove the existing solder... what exactly is that? And is there anything else I will need for this minor soldering project?

The "braid" they are talking about is actually solder wick.Here is a link to what I use.http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/pro...oducts_id=8775

soldering iron
 

Any 6$ cheapo one found at a hardware store works. I just reccomennd cleaning the tip ( i use sandpaper) before every time you solder or just when it gets dirty. Leave any soldering iron plugged in for long enough gets hot.

Radio shack, Sears, Ace Hardware and others sell irons that will easily suit your purpose and cost 20 bucks or less. As long as you get one that's at least 40watts you'll be fine. Do not use sandpaper to clean the tip, wipe it off on a wet sponge or paper towel --- it'll last longer.

That ones a piece of Shit i had it. The best one to get is the weller sp40l 40w

http://www.all2ools.com/index.pl/fro...ctid=WLR/SP40L

Have had this for over a year and it works well. That hobbico will ruin your cells the tip sucks.

Actually most of the "cheap" soldering irons imho are pos.
I have had 4 of the under $40 irons

If you really want one that works look for a good used Hakko on ebay or on here in the for sale page

I got a good (hardly used) Hakko 936 for $45 on ebay and it is amazing to say the least. You can do it all with that staion.

It may cost a lil more but you will be better off! I threw away all 4 of my "cheapo" irons! All 4 together would have bought a BRAND new 936.

For some reason, the hobbico irons eat tips. If you go with one of those, buy an extra tip.

Having a good, hot iron is essential for soldering work. At least 40W, and a chisel tip, forget those pointed tips, they don't hold the heat.

If you think it's a waste of money, I just f*cked my Tekin ESC by having a iron that wasn't hot enough, and melted part of my circuit board because I held it on the pole too long. THAT was a lot more than the cost of an iron, believe me :flaming:

Home Depot has one under 20 bucks (Weller) and comes with a chisel tip. I see alot of racers using them.

To echo the others here:

40W+
Chisel Tip

I use a 40W Weller Soldering Station for wiring and an 80W Mastercraft (Canadian Tire) for batteries. The 15W sharp-tipped pen-style soldering irons are useless.

Spend $80 on the Hakko. It's cost effective and efficient as you'll never buy another soldering iron again. ...and it's only $80.

I agree the little $8 Hobbico irons are pretty cheesy...but, they're $8. They come with 2 tips, and if you take decent care of them they'll get you through a ton of joints before they both erode away. Usually by that time the iron itself is so corroded from the heat the tip won't even come out. But I'm also reasonably satisfied in saying I got my 8 bucks worth out of it, toss the whole thing in the garbage and buy another one.

Now, if you're one of these guys that hardwires everything and is using a soldering iron nonstop, then I could see spending the money on a Hakko. But for a guy like me that has connectors on all his batteries and only pulls a motor out when it needs to be worked on, the little Hobbicos work just fine. :nod:

Just my $0.02

I hard wired everything and i use the weller fo 13 bucks... still got it and still love it.

Good point!
But some people just aren't happy unless they've got the biggest and the baddest.

I have jumped on somebody's hakko before in a pinch and it wasn't all that and a bag of chips. Just fancier and something bigger to haul around.

At home on the workbench, where I build packs and do all kinds of soldering all the time, is a top-end soldering station.
In the pitbox to go trackside, where I do little more than a wire or two from time to time, is a $18 40w Weller. If it dies or gets dropped or broken or borrowed and not returned no worries.

The Weller is by far the best iron for the money. Just replaced mine after 4 years and only because I could not get the set screw out.

High-cost is all relative. Consider these:

http://www.techni-tool.com/static-pr...al_MX_500.html

Workhorses of many electronic assembly... Hakko 936 is considered "cheap" compared to these! :eek::eek::eek:

My own personal experience, a tool has to be able to do the job and do it well. It's not the cost of the tool that weighs in, it's the quality of the job and how much that is worth...

... and of course Tool Time's own Tim Taylor has his own point to be made.

+1

+1
Another vote for the Weller 40 Watt. I've been using mine for over 4 years now. Just need to replace the tip when it goes bad, I usually get about 3 or 4 months of use out of a tip, but I don't keep the iron plugged in continuosly at the track either.

There's a silvery paste (forgot what it's called) that you can apply between the tip and the slide/collar so that it prevents the tip from fusing with the collar. Worthwhile to get if you're constantly replacing tips but don't want to break the wand in doing so...

+2

i got mine for christmas like 3 or so years ago. still on the original tip. works great, even after accidentally leaving it plugged in for like an hour with no use. high quality iron, and for the most part you can do about everything with it.

So I got a 40-watt soldering iron from Radio Shack, some desoldering braid, and .062 rosin-core solder.

Is this all I need? Is the .062 rosin-core solder the type of solder I need?

Did you get the one with the built in stand ?

I use this for batteries and high amp connecters
http://cgi.ebay.com/Stained-Glass-Su...QQcmdZViewItem
I had a ungar 40watter for everything else. The one in the Ebay auction really works great on motor plugs on brushless motors, I haven't had a cold joint since using it

Yes, it has a stand.

So, is the .062 solder ok... I'm not sure on that one.

Yes that solder will work fine.

.062 is the diameter. I personally always use the thinnest solder I can find. Usually Kester Solder or the Radio Shack 60/40 if I run out of the Kester before I order more.

Yeah, I know... I looked for the largest gauge they had, but wasn't sure if it was large enough for the gauge of wire on the Novak ESC. Why do you use the thinnest you can find?

And they had silver solder... would that work any better, as far as limiting resistance?

Mostly just personal preference. It's easier to work with and easier to control solder flow. I do a lot of soldering (but not daily) at my real job on very small electronic components from time to time. That's the reason I use the skinny stuff.

Silver Solder won't really work any better and it takes a lot more work.