Soldering Iron

[Jimbo]

Can anyone recommend me a soldering iron. Plenty on Amazon going cheap but which one? Help!

[brian2957]

These are excellent James https://www.amazon.co.uk/Antex-XS25-Powered-Mains-Soldering/dp/B00862W052/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472904085&sr=8-1&keywords=antex+soldering+iron with this bit for fine work https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soldering-iron-replacement-bit-1-0mm/dp/B00DG018U2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472904187&sr=8-1&keywords=antex+soldering+iron+bits
The bits can be bought in Maplins IIRC .

[Firebottle]

+1, nice irons :)

[Jimbo]

Thanks Brian. I think you know what this is for!:lol::cool:

[struth]

+1, nice irons :)

Fit snugly :eek:

[brian2957]

Thanks Brian. I think you know what this is for!:lol::cool:

You having a go yourself mate ?

[Jimbo]

Thanks chaps. It is ordered and on the way. :cool:

[Jimbo]

You having a go yourself mate ?

Yes I am, might practice on something else first.:eek:

[brian2957]

James , remember and buy a little stand for it or you'll burn yourself and all the furniture around you . One of these will do http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Soldering-Iron-Stand-Holder-Support-Station-Metal-Solder-Rectangle-Square-Base/371701011112?_trksid=p2045573.c100506.m3226&_trkparms=aid%3D555014%26algo%3DPL.DEFAULT%26ao%3D 1%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3Df287cce6a1cb459d97d06e8d9 59714e0%26pid%3D100506%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26

[Jimbo]

James , remember and buy a little stand for it or you'll burn yourself and all the furniture around you . One of these will do http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Soldering-Iron-Stand-Holder-Support-Station-Metal-Solder-Rectangle-Square-Base/371701011112?_trksid=p2045573.c100506.m3226&_trkparms=aid%3D555014%26algo%3DPL.DEFAULT%26ao%3D 1%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3Df287cce6a1cb459d97d06e8d9 59714e0%26pid%3D100506%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26

Ta, only thing is it is from Hong Kong and won't arrive till Christmas!:lol:

[Arkless Electronics]

Antex. All I ever use. Most pros are either Antex or Weller users. Weller is temp controlled and many times the price.

[brian2957]

Ta, only thing is it is from Hong Kong and won't arrive till Christmas!:lol:

Sorry mate never noticed :doh: . That kind of thing though :)

[Jimbo]

Sorry mate never noticed :doh: . That kind of thing though :)

No worries I wil pick one up from Maplins.

[brian2957]

Aye , keep us posted James :)

[Jimbo]

You know what's coming next..... What's best type of solder to use?:)

[danilo]

Bought a Weller 'Craftsman' 25 watter in 1970 Dead simple basic thing.
It has seen 'many' pounds of solder since.
Working perfectly 46 years on, happily replacement tips are readily available.. still.
The cheap black plate mitt spring and wee sponge iron holder I found to be a PITA.
My Weller doesn't fit correctly in it so it can (does) fall out... with regularity.. grrr.
I should really put it into the trash bin.

[CageyH]

You know what's coming next..... What's best type of solder to use?:)

Anything that is not lead free.
What are you going to solder?

[brian2957]

You know what's coming next..... What's best type of solder to use?:)

Sorry James never saw the second part . If you give me your address again I'll send you some down .

[CageyH]

My address is.....

Oh, you were not talking to me.

[brian2957]

Hah ! You're the last person I would have thought would need solder Kevin :lol:

[Jimbo]

Sorry James never saw the second part . If you give me your address again I'll send you some down .

Thanks Brian but I have got some solder now.:cool:

[system7]

I think you'll find a 25W soldering iron is completely useless with modern lead-free solder which has a higher melt temperature.

I used to use a portable one fuelled by gas, but it seemed to eat tips rapidly, and I often burned myself with it.

This cheap and cheerful £14.99 40W Maplin kit works well enough on crossovers, and replacement tips are available:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-40w-mains-soldering-iron-kit-n72hy

Always tin the tip the very first time it warms up, and keep it tinned when hot, or it will oxidise black into unrecoverable uselessness. Modern irons are not copper, so you can't file them down. It's a false economy to buy those little 15g tubes of lead-free solder. 100g for £10 makes more sense.

Modern solder is flux free, so you need clean unoxidised components, and work fast because of the high temperature. I've never noticed any advantage with the more expensive 4% silver solders.

15-30A fuse wire works well for hookups. It's just tinned pure copper, in fact, and you can buy similar stuff in longer reels at electrical wholesalers.

[danilo]

Absolutely true.
I mistakenly bought Lead free solder and my geriatric 25 watt Weller pencil wouldn't melt it .
Immediately threw that solder away, it being worthless.
No one IMO.. Willingly.. uses Lead free in DIY Electro fiddling.
Or should, for that matter :eyebrows:

[system7]

I just looked it up. :)

Sn 63% (tin), Pb 37% (traditional leaded eutectic solder) melts at 183 C.
Sn 96%, Ag 4% (silver) melts at 221 C.
Sn 100% melts at 232 C.

ROHS (EU regulation: Restriction Of Hazardous Substances) compliant Lead-free solder has a notorious reliability history, and in fact is excluded from medical and military applications, where it's tendency to dry joints and cracking is too risky to contemplate. But for all that, since 90% of my solder ends up in the bin, and hence in landfill to the water supply and incineration into the air, I am happy with lead-free. Lead and its airbourne fumes from soldering is seriously bad news for your brain and body and can reduce your IQ by 10% or more.

It's rightly quite hard to buy leaded solder these days, but obviously it works better, particularly for fine work. The key with unleaded is clean surfaces to solder.

Us senile oldies breathed enough lead from lead-tetraethyl additive in Petrol in years gone by, that perhaps we should no longer care. But our children should. :mental:

[Blueflash]

Another good solder to work with is WBT 4% silver solder, 180ºC melting temp so no overheating components :-)

[Jimbo]

Thanks for the advice chaps.

Anyone got a bit of lead solder that could send me, obviously willing to pay +postage.

PM if you can oblige.

[walpurgis]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-METRES-x-SOLDER-GEN-PURPOSE-40-TIN-60-LEAD-0-3mm-/322019868193?hash=item4af9e13e21:g:D8sAAOSwUuFW0Hc O

[Jimbo]

I have been kindly sent some lead solder - thanks.

Now back to the YouTube videos on how to solder!:lol:

[struth]

Apply to the job, not the bolt :)

[Qwin]

I use a pair of Antex adjustable temp I got from Maplins, one fitted with a big bit the other with a fine one. + Silver loaded solder (Maplins) which seems to melt/flo well.

I got an eBay Chinese knock off of the Hakko analogue solder station, which was the Industry standard in Japan and the USA and is similar to Weller or Antex quality.
The knock off lasted a day before failing completely (element/sensor). I've found a UK distributor, so may treat myself to the real thing one day, the analogue type is no longer made, so it will have to be the digital version.
In all the comparative reviews I have come across, the Hakko heats up faster/recovers and maintains an even temperature closer to that selected, better than anything else anywhere near the price.

Using lead solder is OK on new joints.
If you are adding to an existing lead free joint, not so good in my experience, they don't mix well. Remove the lead free first.

I use leaded for fine work, like soldering a SMD op amp to a DIP8 adaptor. It flows well and you apply heat to delicate parts for a shorter time to get it moving.