| GlidingDutchman |
I guess the humble soldering iron is certainly one of the important parts of DIY(Audio) but noboady ever talk about it...
I would like to purchase a new soldering iron. At the moment I use a baseline 40 watt WELLER (neon orange) but its tip is almost burnt away so soldering is becoming "dangerous".
Any recommendations?
What soldering iron do YOU use?
Dewald |
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| Nordic |
If you have access to Communica, or maybe mantech, ask them to get you the Quick936A, pretty cheap, was under R300, very nice.
Soldering iron and cord can be unscrewed and replaced
Tips are very cheap, I got an assortment of 3 for R17.
ESD safe
Home calibratable.
Can't be beaten for the money...localy |
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| GlidingDutchman |
| quote: | Originally posted by Nordic
If you have access to Communica, or maybe mantech, ask them to get you the Quick936A, pretty cheap, was under R300, very nice.
Soldering iron and cord can be unscrewed and replaced
Tips are very cheap, I got an assortment of 3 for R17.
ESD safe
Home calibratable.
Can't be beaten for the money...localy |
Is this an integrated unit?
Who sells MAGNUM soldering irons? My cousin still uses one over 18 years now - good iron that is!
D |
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| Nordic |
not sure what you mean intergrated....
It has the adjuastable base station, a seperate cast iron stand for the iron, and the iron and cable that connects to the base station... |
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| dangus |
If that's like my first Weller (WP40), it had plenty of heat, but tips didn't last too long becuase, without a thermostat it would run too hot. (I left it plugged in once when I went to bed, and after my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could see it glowing a dull red.)
You could run that iron off a light dimmer, and with some trial and error, you should be able to dial it back to a point where it has enough power for normal soldering, and only need to crank it up if you're doing heavy stuff. |
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| GlidingDutchman |
| quote: | Originally posted by dangus
You could run that iron off a light dimmer, and with some trial and error, you should be able to dial it back to a point where it has enough power for normal soldering, and only need to crank it up if you're doing heavy stuff. |
Thanx for the tip but I would really like to replace the unit with a propper soldering iron.
D |
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| bwaslo |
I can strongly recommend the Hakko irons (I think they're sold by MCM electronics?). Tips last a long time, warmup time is very fast, and they drive very-well controlled heat even into boards with heavy ground planes and via holes. Even works well on tight surface mount layouts. About $100 bucks (when I got mine for home use, several years back).
I use Metcal irons (RF absorption heating) at work, and I think there's not much disagreement (at least among those who've actually used one) that they are the best there is, absolutely no contest. But they are expensive and their tips are expensive and not particularly long-lived. Nothing solders like a Metcal, though, if you have the $$ |
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| bulgin |
Hi Dewald
I use a Magnum s/station with digital/led temp display. It's very stable whewn set to your desired temperature. I think Communica sells them. I bought one from Mantech and a second one from Christensen. The tips are reasonably priced and the cord is very nice and soft silicone sheathed.
bulgin |
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| GlidingDutchman |
Hi Bulgin
Yes, I am very temped by the Magnum soldering station. Weller stations is darn expensive!!
D |
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| dw8083 |
Seriously, invest in a temperature controlled Weller with interchangable tips. You will get 10x the life out of the iron and the quality of your soldering will improve. They cost about $100 depending on where it's purchased.
Skimping on a good volt meter or soldering costs more in the end.
-David |
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| KP11520 |
Do a search here at DIY.
This question seems to come up every 2 or 3 months and there is already much written about it. You will find many suggestions and supporting arguments!
No sense in beating a dead horse to death! (Again)
Regards//Keith |
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| wakibaki |
I use any one that comes to hand, cheap, expensive, gas, electric....
You can't argue with a Metcal iron.
Having said that, soldering covers a multitude of sins these days, and you have to think about lead-free and the different temperatures involved. If you solder a lot it really makes sense to have a vacuum fume extractor. Acquired sensitivity to colophony is not uncommon, that's why exposure is controlled in industry. Hot air is a nice addition if you're doing surface mount. You can solder some (awkward) things by heating the board on a hotplate, or from below with an industrial heat-gun.
w |
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| coloradosound |
We have the Metcals at work and by far the best.
We also have the Pace ST-45's and I like those enough
too that I picked some up off ebay for home use.
(controllable temp, digital temp display, interchangable
tip sizes, nice heavy duty stand, grounded esd safe tip,
etc.) We also use the Pace ST-115 desoldering stations
(all the things offered above for the ST-45, plus built in
vacuum, although I haven't seen many listings for
the 115 and certainly haven't won one yet. $$$$!) |
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| Steerpike |
Because you are spending Rands, I'd suggest the Magnum. The Wellers and other imports are SO expensive.
The magnum base stations are a bit plasticky - but the actual irons & tips are quite good - and they have a nice 'feel' to them.
You can buy them direct from the factory in Marlboro, Johannesburg - which will probably get you the best price.
(Don't let someone sell you the 50W station - unless it's at a good price - it's been discontinued and replaced with an 80W version) |
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| GlidingDutchman |
| quote: | Originally posted by Steerpike
Because you are spending Rands, I'd suggest the Magnum. The Wellers and other imports are SO expensive.
The magnum base stations are a bit plasticky - but the actual irons & tips are quite good - and they have a nice 'feel' to them.
You can buy them direct from the factory in Marlboro, Johannesburg - which will probably get you the best price.
(Don't let someone sell you the 50W station - unless it's at a good price - it's been discontinued and replaced with an 80W version) |
Aha Steerpike - just the right noises I wanted to hear!
I'll drop them a mail.
Cheers
D |
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| Steerpike |
In case U don't know:
Lauren Manufacturing co.
trading through S.A TechCraft
1 Caroline Street
Eastgate Gardens
Marloboro
011 262 2411
Magnum 2002/80W was just under R800, beginning of last year. |
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| Nordic |
| 80W is a bit extreme, might as well reflow over the braai. |
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| GlidingDutchman |
Thanks to my SA mates!! I have contacted Magnum and they made me an offer on the Magnum 2002 that I cannot resist.
Will hopefully report soon!
D |
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| jam |
Nice looking iron.
Jam |
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| Shaun |
| quote: | Originally posted by dw8083
Seriously, invest in a temperature controlled Weller with interchangable tips. You will get 10x the life out of the iron and the quality of your soldering will improve. |
My own Weller WTCP soldering iron is 23 years old now. It's done a lot of joints in its time. Back in the day we despised the Magnums as poor Weller knock-offs. The maintenance department was full of broken Magnums. A repair usually comprised of the heater, thermostat (magnastat) and tip getting replaced by Weller parts.
I'm not sure how that translates into today's models. What I do know is that the equivalent Weller WTCP models today do not last as long as the old ones (even though the design appears unchanged).
But the way Wellers are priced these days, the sensible option for DIY use seems to be Magnum, between the two. I'm not familiar with the Quick936A that Nordic mentions. At the price, it sounds OK.
BTW, my first soldering iron was a 30W Antex.
Edit: spelling |
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| Steerpike |
The magnums have interchangeable tips - lots of shapes to choose from, and they are a couple of Rand each, so no sweat if they don't last TOO long. The current ones are appropriate for 'lead free', (whatever that means - concerning the tip plating etc.) Lead-free is also the reason they told me the 50W has been discontinued.
The temperature control is by chromal-alumel thermocouple.
I also use a Magnum iron on my Adcola (British made) station, since the Adcola replacement iron is around FIFTEEN times the price of the Magnum.
Magnum wouldn't commit that their iron would work on the Adcola base/controller, but they were happy to let me into the factory & tell me all the constructional details, so I could decide myself if it would work. Now I know that electrically the irons are identical.
I have a bad habit of forgetting to turn irons off, and the magnum has been left on for several days at a time on some occasions - which hasn't shown any ill effects. |
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| coloradosound |
| quote: | Originally posted by Steerpike
I have a bad habit of forgetting to turn irons off, and the magnum has been left on for several days at a time on some occasions - which hasn't shown any ill effects. |
Me too! Thats one of the things I like about the Pace.
The Pace has an automatic shutdown after a programmed
period of non-use. |
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| Nordic |
| I forgot to turn my cheap Quick (Hakko) off last night... just wiped the tip this morning... still shiny and no obvious harm done... |
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| GlidingDutchman |
Just a teensy update...
I wrote to Weller explaining the trouble I had with their iron (tip that broke off etc) and they promptly responded back willing to replace the whole soldering iron...
So their after-sales service is not too shabby!
D
| quote: | By Cooper Hand Tools
Dear Dewald,
Thanks for your honest reply and pictures.
I guess the tip should not break like this and I can imagine
it'l be difficult to get it out. I'll forward the pictures to our
QA/Engineering department for their internal audit.
In the meantime I rely upon **** **** to replace with a new SP****.
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| Coober |
I read great things about the Hakko 936 and got a quote from a local (South African) distributor. Unfortunately their quote (excl. VAT) was over R2,000 (± US$270), which is rather pricey. Looking around the world, these units go for about US$70 in the USA, GBP80 in UK and US$120 in Australia.
Even if I bought a unit at full retain in Australia and paid all import duties (not much) and VAT, it would still be hugely cheaper than buying from a local (SA) retailler. Unfortunately, everyone reading this in South Africa already knows this story only too well.
So now I am also looking at the Magnum range and wondered what exactly is the difference between the 2002 & 2004.
I phoned the company and spoke with the owner. He's very helpful and informed me that there is a new model (2006, I think) coming out in about a month to six weeks. Apparently this will replace the 2004 80w and has better temp. control.
BTW Dewald, the list price on their website for the 2002/1002 (80w) is R760. You state that you had an 'offer you couldn't refuse', so was it better than the listed price?
Coober |
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| GlidingDutchman |
| quote: | Originally posted by Coober
BTW Dewald, the list price on their website for the 2002/1002 (80w) is R760. You state that you had an 'offer you couldn't refuse', so was it better than the listed price?
Coober |
No by much but certainly a sign of good business practice from their side! :)
D |
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| Coober |
| Do you know what is the main difference between the 2002 & 2004? I read on another retailler's site that the 2002 has a quick-heating tip, in addition to all the features of the 2004 (which actually made the 2002 sound like the better option. |
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| eeka chu |
I have owned one of the most expensive Hakko soldering stations available - it had a keycard to open the edit modes and a control panel on it.
http://www.hakko.com/
It was extremely nice to use. The flex to the iron was silicone and so would handle like loose silicone tubing. It gave periodic beeps to signal power on (handle would light up), at temperature and safe mode when it detected you weren't cooling the tip down. The handle was conductive plastic to discharge static and weighed practically nothing. New tips could be pushed in (pulling out the one in use whilst still hot) after scanning them on the station to set their temperature profile.
I've since sold that station and now use a $5 iron from Maplin. It has no temperature control.
If you have inteliigence and can use your eyes to watching the solder, you can do pretty much exactly the same with the Maplin iron and practice.
I haven't read the thread, but also forget the idea that low wattage irons are better for smaller parts. They're better for nothing. |
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| Shaun |
| quote: | Originally posted by eeka chu
I haven't read the thread, but also forget the idea that low wattage irons are better for smaller parts. They're better for nothing. |
The older (unregulated) soldering irons used the wattage as a guide to the application they were suited to/intended for. With temperature-controlled soldering irons, higher wattage implies quicker heat-up (a luxury, IMO) and wider compatibility (reserve power for soldering thicker material). |
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| GlidingDutchman |
| quote: | Originally posted by Coober
Do you know what is the main difference between the 2002 & 2004? I read on another retailler's site that the 2002 has a quick-heating tip, in addition to all the features of the 2004 (which actually made the 2002 sound like the better option. |
I a not sure. Why not ask Angelo?
D |
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| Steerpike |
| quote: | | what is the main difference between the 2002 & 2004? |
The 2004 has an LED temp readout. Otherwise no diff - they both claim temp accuracy to 5 degrees, and zero-crossing switching.
The actual iron/wand is the same on both - model 1002.
My 2002 gets up to temp *FAST*. |
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