Recommend a soldering iron
 

Recommend a soldering iron...that wont break the bank. I need one to solder connectors and motor wires, etc...

I personally use an old Weller 60w pig (from the days of NiCd/NiMh)
40w makes short work of smaller jobs.

Irons this large were intended for stained glass & bigger projects.
The heat stored in a huge tip is your friend.
A clean tip is also very key to being efficent.

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-SP40LK-...5075654&sr=8-1

If you can find one, I'd go with an old Ungar UTC 300 race station iron. The one I have is over twenty years old and still going stong.

However, since it's no longer being produced and since most people don't really need a high wattage iron to solder battery packs anymore, I'd recommend this Weller.....

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...tion-5-40-Watt

If you want a higher wattage iron, go with this one.....

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ation-80W-120V

The most popular brand with RC'ers seems to be Hakko, the (now discontinued) 936 is what a lot of people use, which has been replaced with the FX888. Weller WES51's can now be found for about the same price as the Hakko's (around $80-$100), which is also a really great iron. There are knockoff Hakko's for about $40, a lot of people love them (blackjack solderworks bk2000 looks like the going model, check circuitspecialists.com ). I have a Weller WLC100, it's about $40, adjustable wattage / temperature but it is not a true temp controlled station. It's better than a non-adjustable iron, but if I had it to do over again I'd probably go for the knockoff hakko for the same money. On the other hand, I'll probably be going for an FX888 or WES51 when I upgrade.

http://www.harborfreight.com/

They have cheap stuff. Love this place.

I bought a knock off hakko. What a POS. Plugged it in and within five minutes I heard a loud popping noise and when I pulled it apart to look inside there were several capacitors that had blown up inside. Also the handle was melting from the heat. I sent it back and got my money back the next day.

Then I bought the FX-888. I love it. It works awesome.

Do yourself a favor and buy a real Hakko. It will be the last one you ever buy.

This is who I bought from. They were very quick with shipping it out. And shipping was free.
http://www.kimcodistributing.com/sto...FQ10gwodNRJRBg

Cost was right at $80

+1 Hakko

I've had the 936 for 5 years, awesome. I'm sure the FX888 is just as good, probably better.

I gotta say, I went with a cheapo from Radio Shack and it is worth the extra money to get a decent temp controllable one if you can. I have to flip mine back and forth between 15 and 30watts. I've seen some other ones posted on this forum for that $80 range as well, but have no experience with any. I had one from my Navy days (1993-1995) that I should have kept. One of my shipyard friends in Philadelphia gave it to me.

Found some : http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...4p?&I=TCPR0950

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/9748

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/10369

If anyone has any info as far as experience with any of these, I think I'm ready to chuck my crappy one too.

Probably more than you want to spend, but I use the Weller WD1002T station. 80 watts, makes short work of deans connectors/heavy gauge lipo wires etc. Second choice would be the Weller WES51 50 watt station. Myself personally not a fan of the hobby grade Hakko's but their industrial stations are excellent and on par with the Wellers.

A cheap but reliable iron is the Weller 40Watt. It's under $20 and performs like a more expensive iron.

It heats up quickly and transfers heat well enough to build NiMH battery packs though it is a bit much for fine work on circuit boards.

That Weller WES51 is also eligible for a $20 rebate through July 31st, which makes it $75. Sounds like a great one to me. They are definitely one of the oldest brands in soldering irons. Great reviews on that one too.

Which knockoff did you end up with that first time around? There appear to be at least a half dozen different brands, all very similar. Was it the Circuit Specialists one or one of the others?

Where did you see info about this? I've been watching prices off and on for a year now and so far the lowest I've seen them go is about $78 (just the other day on Amazon), just checked around and not seeing anything cheaper than $95 at the moment. I almost pulled the trigger @ $78, kind of kicking myself right now.

EDIT: found it: http://www.cooperhandtools.com/welle...Rebate2011.pdf

This place has some other brands I haven't heard of (take that for what it's worth...) and free shipping http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/ne...erstations.htm

This one looks interesting http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/el...ions/sl30a.htm

http://cgi.ebay.com/SOLDERING-STATIO...item58840c4dcf

This is the exact one I bought. Komec 936. I would bet all the knock offs are made in the same place with a different sticker on them. But who knows.

I also went the cheaper route before the Komec with the radio shack soldering irons etc. The one I bought from radio shack was $22. When I went to buy another tip for it they didnt stock them. My mistake for not checking in the first place. They could order them in for me though. For about $15 a tip :ha:

I've spent as much in cheap soldering irons as I have on one good one that will last.