soldering iron

[ed1380]

well im back. the prodical son lol

im regretting squandering the past few years of my life on video games. i went back and forth between embeded electronics and making a dune buggy, but lack of funds have stopped me. but now my car is finally paid off and i actually have some spendable income. i just bought me some helping hands and now want a soldering iron fit for small stuff.
ive survived so far with a soldering gun, so i dont need all the bells and wistles. id like something that will last and it wont be hard to find tips. temp control isnt a necesity but would be nice. id like for it to be under $40. now if theres an amazing deal or something i might pay more

thanks

[Admin]

im regretting squandering the past few years of my life on video games.

I know exactly what you mean!


As for soldering irons that fit your specs:
http://www.google.com/products?q=weller&lnk=pruser&price1=20&price2=70&btnP=Go

The Weller WLC100 is probably perfect for you. I haven't used it before, but Weller is a good brand and I almost bought that model.

[mackmelby]

I'm looking for a soldering iron too...I just got some helping hands and oops... I just had to buy the battery operated soldering iron. I went through a whole twelve pack of AA batteries in one project. So yea, if you are not rich and have lots of batteries, I wouldn't suggest that type. So, I am totally interested in seeing what good deals there are too. I think the radioshack ones are pretty good, the one I had lasted two years and then burnt out. They arent too expensive either. They have a dual wattage (15-30 watt) one for $10.99 at their website.

[HDL_CinC_Dragon]

This is the exact iron that I have and I would easily recommend it to anyone. I even have that little rest plate that shows in the picture
http://www.castlewholesalers.com/WELLER-SP40L-Med-Duty-Solder-Iron-with-Indicator-Light-40W.html

The end is lighted so you can easily tell if the iron is plugged in. Thats REALLY helpful because one day I forgot to unplug my iron when I was done and my cat didnt notice until it sat on it luckily the iron didnt touch anything flammable after the fact but a good thing is that cat never knocked a single thing off my desk after that

[Admin]

I just had to buy the battery operated soldering iron. Sad I went through a whole twelve pack of AA batteries in one project. So yea, if you are not rich and have lots of batteries, I wouldn't suggest that type.

I didn't know battery powered soldering irons even existed . . . anyway, always use rechargeable batteries for robotics. They hold like 4x the charge, and you only need to buy them once

[HDL_CinC_Dragon]

The only battery powered one that I know of is the "Cold Heat Soldering Iron"

I got it as a gift last year or maybe the year before and hated it. Took it right back to the store. It sounded much better than it actually was IMO...

[mackmelby]

I hate to make a useless post but I just bought a new 40 watt one from the tractor supply store for $2.10. That was Cheap!! Just explains how many people in my town actually use soldering irons. lol

[fuzzyt]

Cheap knockoffs, but they are functional and have a lot of bang for the buck...

http://sra-solder.com/smt_rework.htm?gclid=CIq6lpnsy5ICFQ58PAod_SoHqg

I have had the Aoyue 968 for a few months and and its really been a treat compared to my old RS special... 

[ed1380]

i bought a 30watt RS one with a starter kit for $8, and an inline 120v dimmer for ghetto voltage regulation 

HDL- how is that iron? any good? i saw it at home depot today for $16, but i cheaped out. now im kinda regretting it.


also i bought this. it seems like a great deal. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320224696873 what more could i need?

[ed1380]

do i really need temp control? cause the stupid thing was $10. might not seem much but thats a days wages for me

[HDL_CinC_Dragon]

eh I wouldnt bother with temp control... I never needed it yet. I dont really trust irons from radioshack. The solder and components yes but not the irons. 30W would be ok but it would just take an extra second or so to heat everything up properly. Dont see why you couldnt use it. I still prefer the weller iron I have though. This thing is great!
I also picked up a Helping Hands thing from Radioshack and that thing has been a real treat to have. I would recommend that to anyone.

The link you have for the iron is a 5 piece kit. Because the 5 pieces are all ~$8 total I wouldnt trust anything to last for very long at all... who knows

I would go with this iron:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3348443
Its $50 but youll probably NEVER need to replace it.

This one is $10 cheaper but is 50W so youll need to be careful to not overheat anything:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3348440

[ed1380]

the $40 weller looks like something id like. all the other ones seem too fat.
but im going to get the one like you have

thank you everyone for your help

[HDL_CinC_Dragon]

You mean this one?
http://www.castlewholesalers.com/WELLER-SP40L-Med-Duty-Solder-Iron-with-Indicator-Light-40W.html
Cuz thats the one I have

[ed1380]

yep this one
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100391613

[ed1380]

less than 24hours and i already melted my breadboard 

stupid switching regulator started frying for no reason, and i yanked out the mm wires not the psu wires. and i was thinking WTF why aint it stopping

[frodo]

on my soldering iron, i had it for a couple of weeks and it wouldn't work so i cleaned it and it turned black when i tryed it again. i bought another one and the same thing happened in a day. i think i'm cursed when it comes to soldering irons. even a soldering iron at school turned black and didn't work. lol