Soldering iron/gun suggestions?

[khaangaaroo]

I've always used soldering guns because I like how fast they heat up. I like the simplicity over a soldering station cause I usually just pull it out to solder one thing and then put it away. I don't solder enough to want to a station or something with temperature adjustments.

However, I wish I had something that was more precise. The tips for my soldering gun are sometimes too large for cluttered PCBs. Do you guys know of something in-between that is precise like a pen but heats up fast like a gun? I'd use it mostly to solder wires and electronics and car stuff. What I have now is a cheapo 100w soldering gun from Radio Shack.

[jwaz]

Hakko n454? I just saw one go for $20 on eBay.

[khaangaaroo]

I'm looking for something that can heat up in a few seconds. Cause for most of my projects I'm just soldering one or two wires. I don't want to wait two minutes for it to heat up just to do 10 seconds worth of soldering and then wait another 5 minutes for it to cool down before putting it away.

[alaricljs]

Really all you should look for is a temp controlled iron.  Soldering guns heat up fast because they are over-powered and not really meant for PCBs.  Temp controlled irons heat up fast because they have plenty of power, and when they reach your set temp they immediately back off.  The Hakko 888 hits 550F in a few seconds.

[khaangaaroo]

Ah ok that makes sense. I didn't know temp controlled irons heated up quickly. I thought anything that wasn't a gun would be slow.

I'm not a big fan of the colors on the Hakko 888 though haha. If I look for another temp controlled soldering station, will they all heat up just as fast? is there some spec to look for to know for sure that it's quick to heat up?

[alaricljs]

The 888 is actually available in 4 or 5 colors (black included).  Good luck finding any of them other than blue/yellow tho.

In the range of 50 watts and *temperature* controlled, not a simple rheostat like on the WLC100 (Weller) which is just a limiter on how much power hits the heat element.  So look for a dial with actual temperature readings.

[khaangaaroo]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice!

[TheProfosist]

Go for the hakko fx-888 best in that price range.

[PointyFox]

Generally, the higher an iron's wattage, the faster it heats up.

[Lanx]

i would gladly take a big ass yellow hakko over my old black hakko, why? cuz then i could identify it faster, over every other piece of equipment i have that is black.

[khaangaaroo]

So I went to Fry's today to check out the Hakko fx-888, and the colors aren't as ugly as I thought. I would still prefer something like the black/blue color combo that Weller uses on their stations, but the fx-888 was a lot more compact than any of the Weller stations.

Then something else caught my eye: a battery powered Hakko fx-901. I was skeptical because I tried a battery powered soldering iron once before, it was called a Cold Heat, and it was pretty useless. I looked up some reviews for the fx-901 on my phone, and they all looked good, so I bought it. $30



I put in four fresh AA eneloop batteries, switched it on, and it got hot enough to melt silver solder in under 30 seconds. I'm impressed...haha. There's also a heat shield cap, so I can even put it away right after using it without having to wait for it to cool down. I think this will do just fine for me. I'm sure a temp controlled station would perform better, but for the little amount of soldering I do, I'd rather have something that's easy to pull in/out of a drawer than a kit cluttering up my work bench.

I'll have to see how this thing holds up as I start to use it more. But I think the combination of this for small electronic work, and the soldering gun for bigger car stuff, I'll be pretty happy.

[PointyFox]

Just some advice- Never hold the hot metal part of a soldering iron like a pencil, or solder when you're tired.  I learned this from experience

[WhiteFireDragon]

Cold heat is something I'd never buy. Doesn't work as well as a normal iron. You're trading convenience for functionality, and in this case, it's not worth it.

[Glod]

Go for the hakko fx-888 best in that price range.

i regret not getting this instead of what i got, the Weller WLC 100 Station