I am leaning towards a better/hotter iron. But would attempt a new tip. Plus a much cheaper option.

philb - I have the default tip.

Please supply link to the tip that you recommend from the weller site.

http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/weller/

Also I see many racers with the blue weller iron. If anyone is using the blue one can you also specify the model. It would be nice if I could keep the base and replace the iron.

I used someone else's Hakko and that for sure does the trick. And I agree with the comment, you can easily overheat the batteries.

Thanks for the quick responses.