Soldering equipment....one better than another?

[Georgeb]

I use rosin core, clean and quick no need for separate flux.

This^^^

 

[highdesertrange]

Weller is good stuff I have had mine for 40 years. highdesertranger

 

[74 Shortbed]

It's about the best you'll get..

 

[Green79Scottsdale]

Great info! I have been researching soldering equipment also for the small R/C kick I am on right now. It is something that can be applied many places.

 

[yevgenievich]

Just remember that cheap solder is really not worth it. It is cheap for a reason. Also on weller, I have one at home, but switched to Hakko brand at work after seeing weller stations drop dead like flies one after another. I also prefer the wire type tip cleaner. For wite to wire connection, the basic soldering gun style would be fine. I always have a crappy old radio shack iron in my vehicle for emergency repair and it works fine for putting wires together. Also do not forget heat shrink

 

[Camar068]

Always wear safety goggles!

We solder all the time at work as we work on medical equipment and replace components. Really you don't need expensive stuff to solder correctly. If I didn't have any soldering equipment, I wouldn't spend more than $30-$40 for everything I need. Here's a short list:

1. Soldering iron (be it a hand held or a station....as long as it reaches 600-700°) You can use a metal lid/bowl to set your iron in

2. Flux - I like the paste tube because you will have better heat flow throughout the components giving a quicker/even flow of the solder around everything. Sure it's not the funnest stuff to clean up, but a few wipes with alcohol on a rag and your done.

Nothing wrong with rosin-core solder, I just prefer the paste

3. Solder - I honestly haven't seen a difference in any solder I've ever used. Maybe I've not used the cheap stuff....dunno. lol I use what I've got, which I didn't pay much for.

4. Solder wick - it's a weaved copper mesh. You use this to remove the solder from a component so you can remove it to install another. Anyway, put the wick on the solder joint and put the iron to it.....the wick will "suck" out most if not all of the solder. no flux needed using wick.

Here's a few things to take note of.

When soldering wire together, I put flux paste on all exposed wire. If the heat from the wire stops taking in the solder (your flux is basically gone), stop and add some more.

A clean soldering iron is your friend. If it has a filthy tip, it's not going to transfer the heat as well. It takes 10 seconds to clean and tin your iron. Let it get up to temp, lightly brush it with a metal brush if it's super filthy. If it isn't rub the iron across a wet rag/sponge.

After that tin your tip. You do this by applying solder to the tip. Then take your iron to the wet rag/sponge again wiping off any excess solder. It will look nice and smooth/shiny after this step. That's how you know you've got a clean iron that isn't gonna waste your time trying to heat up the component/wire.

If your soldering something small, (one handed method of soldering) put a little blob of solder on your tip and add it that way. You need more, do it again. Larger stuff (two handed) you'll need to get it up to temp and feed the solder into it with your other hand.

lol look for some crap electronics and play for a bit, you'll feel like a pro in a few minutes. There's technique, but you'll figure that out quickly.

Ton's of video's on Youtube.

Hope this helps

 

[Eccho]

I have just a cheap handheld solder not really a gun more of a stick... I also prefer the paste flux as stated its awesome for wire to wire you just put the flux on the exposed wires, solder just flows onto the wires perfect... I've used rosin core also and it does work good.

 

[Old77]

Ended up picking this up to get me started along with some rosin core solder.

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[74 Shortbed]

Bought one of them back in the early 80's, still working like the day I bought it.

 

[75gmck25]

If you are going to be taking larger soldered components apart you may find a "solder sucker" very useful. Its a spring loaded syringe with a plastic tip. You just preload the syringe against the spring, heat the joint until the solder is melted, then quickly put the sucker on it and press the button to release the spring. If you are quick enough it sucks the solder out of the joint before it hardens. You can do the same thing with solder wick, but it may take several applications before it absorbs all the solder.

I bought my solder sucker from a vendor on Amazon for about $14 as part of a kit that had a large tweezers and sharp picks that you can use when you are trying to get all the solder out of a fitting. I was rewiring a 1938 RCA console radio, so I had to replace a lot of old capacitors and resistors, and replace all the wiring where rubber insulation had turned to dust. I got a lot of good practice with unsoldering and soldering.

I have a 25 watt iron that is similar to the one you just bought, but moved up to a newer 40 watt iron that I got at HD. Its got an on/off switch, and seems to have better ergonomics (handle shape, etc.) than my old iron.

Bruce

 

[bedwards]

I've got a Weller soldering gun from the 50s my dad had. Works well, had to replace the cord once. They have a high and low for most jobs and I have a couple of irons like yours with much smaller tips for fine work. The guns are great but they do eat tips so keep a spare.
I have used both rosin core and paste. The rosin core works fine for 90% of jobs.

 

[theblindchicken]

I've got one of the Weller stations. Works pretty well, sometimes it doesn't seem to heat up though it doesn't happen very often. I've worn out a good couple of tips though.

Also have one of the oldschool Radioshack soldering guns. Thing will melt any amount of solder you're trying to use. Feels like you could almost braze together some body panels using the thing, but it is bulky and a bit unwieldy for tight space or small projects.

 

[77 K20]

Ended up picking this up to get me started along with some rosin core solder.

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I think that was a good choice for you. I bought the same brand/type back in 1994 when I went to school for electronics. Still using it to this day.

 

[Old77]

Here's a pic of my very first attempt at soldering. The top of the joint is me. The bottom is @gmachinz when he soldered in the crimp for the kit. I've got some practicing to do lol

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[74 Shortbed]

Better than my first one, lol, just need a little practice that's all..