Soldering iron under $50?

  • Thread starter Thread starter gbondo9
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mshilarious said:
If you need cordless, that would be the way to go, but once you get in the $100 range, the electric irons have temperate-controlled tips, meaning that when they are under a heavy soldering load, they will increase power to the tip to maintain temperature. My iron (Weller WES51) heats up in 10 seconds, and only weighs 2 oz., vs. 5.5oz for the butane iron.

Also, I've done 4 hours of soldering already today, with another 2 to go . . . that would be 3 1 oz. tanks of butane, according to the specs, at a few bucks per tank, whereas I could leave my iron on for a week, and it would be $1 in electricity.

So electric irons certainly do have their place . . .
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Oh sure, electric is fine. I just personally like the freedom of the butane and knowing when I set the iron down it's not going to move. I can get several fills out of 1 $3.00 can of butane. I can't tell you the last time I had to buy any. Now if I was you doing 6 hours soldering in a day a few times a month, I would have a nice work bench set up and use an electric iron.

I only use mine for repairs and making up cables once in a while so I tore out my work bench for the room. My work bench is a large double layer aluminum cookie sheet that fits in my electrical kit:D

It's all in what's right for your situation. I was just throwing it out there.

Your electric iron is way nicer than any I ever had. I have a couple of weller soldering "guns" and an old archer soldering pen.

F.S.
 
Freudian Slip said:
Now if I was you doing 6 hours soldering in a day a few times a week
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;) Yeah, it's what you need it for, really. Casual portable use, butane would be great.

I have to think pretty hard about ergonomics, I have been having hand problems from repetitive stress lately. Fortunately it's my right hand, and I write (and solder) left handed, but it's getting hard to hold the solder. My current solution is to wear a wrist brace, and thread the solder through the brace :(
 
mshilarious said:
;) Yeah, it's what you need it for, really. Casual portable use, butane would be great.

I have to think pretty hard about ergonomics, I have been having hand problems from repetitive stress lately. Fortunately it's my right hand, and I write (and solder) left handed, but it's getting hard to hold the solder. My current solution is to wear a wrist brace, and thread the solder through the brace :(
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Geez man! Edward solder hands:eek: I went threw the wrist crap when I used to ride technical mountain bike alot and write on quadruplet forms all day. Along with guitar & the comp. I was wearing two wrist braces all day and all night. I would run my wrists under the water fountain at work and pain would shoot up to my arm pits & neck.

You might try stretching your tendens some once in a while. The physical therepist had me put my fingers on the edge of a desk or the dash of my car and press to bend my wrist backwards a few times a day. Just be careful none of your fingers slip off. You could screw your self up worse.

My problems went away with the job. Good enough to avoid surgury at least.

Good luck with that. Get to a doctor if you haven't already.

F.S.
 
Yeah, the guns are awkward for soldering wires. The pencil iron works well for me too.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
I have a gun for larger stuff like ground wires to chassis but i much prefer my pencil iron for making audio cables.
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Have to agree on that one. I have a mini-torch for big stuff:D What can I say, I'm a pyro:D I keep it in my batman utility belt.

F.S.
 
I mostly use this gun for soldering cables and stuff. I only resort to an iron if I need to solder to PCBs or silicon.

On the flip side, when I use the gun to heat up the soldering pencil, I can bring it up to operating temperature in about a quarter second. :D

Any soldering gun that uses more power than your stereo just rocks. Oh, and 1100 degrees Fahrenheit is only about a hundred degrees short of being hot enough to weld to steel with some types of welding flux. :D
 
dgatwood said:
I mostly use this gun for soldering cables and stuff. I only resort to an iron if I need to solder to PCBs or silicon.

On the flip side, when I use the gun to heat up the soldering pencil, I can bring it up to operating temperature in about a quarter second. :D

Any soldering gun that uses more power than your stereo just rocks. Oh, and 1100 degrees Fahrenheit is only about a hundred degrees short of being hot enough to weld to steel with some types of welding flux. :D
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that's the gun i have. i've used it 3 or 4 times out the 5 or so years that i've owned it.
 
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