sudomod

So I've just got out my soldering iron and it appears to be dead.... No heat after about 5 mins?
Any recommendations on a new one? Not sure what be the ideal iron for board work? Would a 40W be ok?

DO NOT get this one, unless you can afford to burn through batteries

https://www.radioshack.com/products/rad ... 7188843077

Robots86 wrote:So I've just got out my soldering iron and it appears to be dead.... No heat after about 5 mins?
Any recommendations on a new one? Not sure what be the ideal iron for board work? Would a 40W be ok?

Unless there is a switch on it somewhere that you missed then yeah it sounds dead. :\ They should be fully heated within a minute or so.

40W should be ok but I'd recommend getting one with adjustable heat (I don't even have one of those yet though, haha) and replaceable tips.

This is the one I'll be getting whenever I have some extra money: http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D-23BY ... ering+iron

Or for a little cheaper (but still adjustable heat): http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX601-02-Ad ... ering+iron

I use Hakko tips on my cheapo Radio Shack one currently.

The cheap one I picked up from HomeDepot has been really good so far.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Weller-25-Wa ... /204195328

Well the first question is: How much are you willing to spend on a soldering iron/station?
For less than $20, I would probably recommend the Hakko 936 clone on HobbyKing (wait for a few minutes, the price will be lower).
For about $50, I would recommend a slightly better digital Hakko clone. I don't really have any names, try searching it up on eBay. Otherwise, a second hand soldering station would be your best bet.
For about $100, the Hakko 888D/Weller WES51D would be your best bet. Be wary of Hakko 888 clones! There are a lot of them!
For over $100, that's probably the station we all dream of Metcal and JBC would be your best bet.

Another way is to make your own soldering iron controller (there's a lot of guides on the internet), but of course you'll need a soldering iron to make it.

Another forum, the EEVBlog, has a lot of posts on this subject, so this might be helpful in your research.
Hope this helps!

CandyManCriminal wrote:DO NOT get this one, unless you can afford to burn through batteries

https://www.radioshack.com/products/rad ... 7188843077

And probably burn through PCBs too, maximum temperature of 565 Celsius and not temperature controlled?!

crispy_tofu wrote:

CandyManCriminal wrote:DO NOT get this one, unless you can afford to burn through batteries

https://www.radioshack.com/products/rad ... 7188843077

And probably burn through PCBs too, maximum temperature of 565 Celsius and not temperature controlled?!

not much of an issue, actually
the batteries are dead before it gets that high lol

I have an Xtronic station which works awesome for anything and I have a cheapo station but works surprisingly well and I use it very often since I have it around my little project area and takes little space.


http://m.ebay.com/itm/291587767212?_trk ... rkt%3D1%26

I bought this one : http://www.banggood.com/HAKKO-FX-951-St ... 32706.html
I must say its very good soldering station. I made a little researche and find out that the company that makes the original hakko stations that sells for 300$. Make this one as well in free time and sells them for low price..

Eh, pretty sure that's a fake Hakko.
But if it suits your needs, then that's fine.