/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.1207911]

What's the best soldering iron?

[Anonymous No.1207931]

every fucking noob wants ''the best'' in everything. how about settling for adequate? coz the best soldering iron costs more than you make in a month. Weller WP25 is more than adequate for 99% of users.

[Anonymous No.1207942]

>>1207911
That's a fucking brazing iron you idgit.

[Anonymous No.1207950]

>>1207931

Thanks. I need to replace my radio shack piece of shit. Why do people use adjustable soldering irons? Amazon has one for $22 that goes from 300 to 840 degrees. At that price I assume it's poor quality, but if I buy a decent one, what would be the rationale?

[Anonymous No.1207965]

>>1207950
People use adjustable irons because non-adjustable ones suck, they are always either too hot and burn flux, or too cold and can't even melt the solder. I would recommend something hakko t12 based like http://s.aliexpress.com/F3EbuqUz (this is a kit and you need a 19-24 v power supply for it)

[Anonymous No.1207970]

>>1207965

thanks. that looks interesting, and the price is surprisingly low. I've bought chinese products for unbelievable prices and quite often the quality is excellent.

[Anonymous No.1207992]

>>1207970
>chink shit
>quality

Choose one

[Anonymous No.1208000]

>>1207992

Ask your grandpa to tell you what "made in Japan" used to mean.

Before some period, perhaps the 70s or so, it meant utter garbage. Nowadays it pretty much means excellent quality.

I think China might be in a transition period. You can still buy fake as hell shit like a huge capacitor that you cut open to find a tiny one inside, but you can also buy chinese products for way less than products made elsewhere but the quality is equivalent.

I agree that it's still a crap shoot, but if someone you trust recommends a source it might be worth the risk.

Pic related is a new chinese carb I bought for about $100 and it seems fine so far. The alternative is a rebuilt one for about $300, and a rebuilt carb is usually a piece of shit.

[astra lost in space No.1208002]

>>1207911
>best soldering iron
depends on what you want to do
if you need only fixed temp iron or you want soldering station with temp regulation
"the best" one are the industry ones kek -like wave soldering, paste soldering - afther you bake the pcb and so etc.
if you do meme shit just get a random iron you can aford and you can get replacment tips and parts for it

[Anonymous No.1208013]

>>1208002
I have a cheap one and it can't even melt solder without taking like 10 seconds, I'm using non lead solder, would a lead one melt more easily?

[Anonymous No.1208015]

>>1207965
>adjustable irons suck

Not if you buy a decent one, you clown.

[Anonymous No.1208017]

>>1208015
Learn to read

[Anonymous No.1208019]

Buy a weller or a hakko, or if you are feeling like taking risk buy a chinkshit hakko clone from a brand called yihua, aparently the thing works like a charm but it's prone to failing randomly (iirc the heating element mostly).

[astra lost in space No.1208028]

>>1208013
do u use colophony ? just asking
probably weak iron or bad solder or many other things
also consider the investment in a solder station - with ajustable temp

[Anonymous No.1208050]

>>1208015

There are exactly zero instances where a non-adjustable iron is better than a proper, temperature-controlled one.

The only advantage is the situational convenience afforded by not having it attached to the controller base (although there are regulated irons without that, even) and cost. The only time I ever bother bringing out the unregulated iron is if I need to solder something I don't want to move, as taking my regulated iron/hot air station is a bit of a hassle.

[Anonymous No.1208341]

>>1208013
Leaded solder is way easier to work with. No-lead solder has way worse handling properties and is not for beginners.

>>1207970
The T12 kit works great but the calibration will likely initially be in the wrong time zone after you put it together and you'll need a tip thermometer to calibrate it. Any cheap Hakko 191 clone should be enough to get an accurate temp set.

>>1208050
A TS100 is handy for that. It'll run straight off a 24V truck battery or laptop PSU, or lower voltages for lower wattage.

[Anonymous No.1208343]

>>1207970
You probably want one that includes an enclosure of some sort for the power unit.

[Anonymous No.1208618]

>>1207911
Weller soldering station. Also that picture is a brazing iron

[Anonymous No.1208650]

How do Aoyue made Hakko clones fare?

[Anonymous No.1208654]

I have nothing to contribute. My wife does all the soldering.

[Anonymous No.1208656]

>>1207950
If I'm not mistaken, adjustable temperature and temperature controlled are two different things. You can dial back the heat on an adjustable iron, but a temperature controlled iron has a thermostat. If your soldering to something that sinks a lot of heat, like an amp chassis it will heat the iron more to maintain the temperature you've set. I noticed a huge difference when I switched from my cheap red Weller station to my Hakko FX888

[Anonymous No.1208675]

>>1207911
Buy a Hakko FX888D. If you happen to ever need more, you'll know when and what you need.

[Anonymous No.1208679]

>>1208017
>>1208050
Plebs.

Temperature controlled are non user adjustable most of the time, which was my point.

Lrn2solder

[Anonymous No.1208680]

>>1208679
you seem confused

[Anonymous No.1208683]

>>1207911
I own a JBC iron but the entry level model is $700. The gap between very good and absolute best is a lot of money.

I'd recommend getting hot air plus an iron over one super expensive iron.

[Anonymous No.1208707]

I need a decent hot air station, anything good around $50 or less?

[Anonymous No.1208794]

>>1208000
>thinking we are anywhere near the made in japan levels in china

[Anonymous No.1209458]

>>1207942
That's MIG/FCAW gun you hobo knobber, though if you use argon and MIG brazing wire you can MIG braze with it however that in no way makes it a "brazing iron". It's a fucking Binzel which is a good brand gun though I prefer Tweco because more common means more aftermarket tips, nozzles and liners.

[Anonymous No.1210376]

>>1207942
No its not dumb ass. It's a mig/wire feed welder.

[Anonymous No.1210438]

I know a sautering iron when I see one.

[Anonymous No.1210473]

>>1210438
>bingbongs actually call it a soul-dur-ing iron

disgusting