Recommend me a Soldering Iron

Little Dorrit

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I have given up buying cheap soldering irons and would really appreciate a recommendation for a reasonably priced iron at about £25 (+/-£5). I have tried gas and electric but have not had much success finding a decent one. I am not worried if it's 12V 220V or Gas I just want one that works!
 

Daverw

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I think you may have to increase your budget to get a good one, I’ve a gas one that cost £45 10 years ago and still going strong, the issue with gas ones is they can be too hot and need good regulation of gas flow, a lot of the lower price ones don't have this. Also if electric get good tips, often the ones supplied are not but you can upgrade most
 

lustyd

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What is it that's not been working for you? I've never had a soldering iron that didn't work, it's literally just a metal stick that's hot enough to melt solder, and they're pretty hard to break too (although I did break a gas one once)
 

Little Dorrit

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I think you may have to increase your budget to get a good one, I’ve a gas one that cost £45 10 years ago and still going strong, the issue with gas ones is they can be too hot and need good regulation of gas flow, a lot of the lower price ones don't have this. Also if electric get good tips, often the ones supplied are not but you can upgrade most
Thanks for the advice, I'll see what others say and I am quite happy to spend more if necessary.
 

Little Dorrit

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What is it that's not been working for you? I've never had a soldering iron that didn't work, it's literally just a metal stick that's hot enough to melt solder, and they're pretty hard to break too (although I did break a gas one once)
Well, the gas one broke and the electric one is not melting the soldier. Presumably, there is a difference between a £10 iron and a £45 one? I am not sure if the electric iron it's getting hot enough but I could try buying a new tip and see if that improves things. I think it's a very basic low wattage one which would be less than a tenner and was assuming that if I paid a bit more I would get something that worked better...but perhaps not?
 

Boathook

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Wellers? used to make good electric soldering irons. Mine is at least 45 years old and still working well. I did have to put a new cable on it a few years back as the pic on the original went sticky.
 

DeepKeel

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What do you want it for? On the boat, 12V is useless IMHO, but gas works brilliantly - for small electrical connections - modest wires and heatshrink I use one that looks like this - but I don't promise it's the same supplier and range of accessories:

Iso-Tip #7971 Solderpro 50 Butane Soldering Iron : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Mine also came with a knife blade perfect for the sailor cutting and sealing ropes and a range of replacement tips.

But if you need to solder more substantial joints, you need a more powerful device. As pointed-out, there's not much to go wrong, they just need to be able to pump in as much heat as required to quickly bring your join up to temperature. Struggling with an underpowered soldering iron will never give decent results.
 

lustyd

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Well, the gas one broke and the electric one is not melting the soldier. Presumably, there is a difference between a £10 iron and a £45 one? I am not sure if the electric iron it's getting hot enough but I could try buying a new tip and see if that improves things. I think it's a very basic low wattage one which would be less than a tenner and was assuming that if I paid a bit more I would get something that worked better...but perhaps not?
Quite possibly mismatched solder and iron. Modern solder needs a bit more heat so you could try sourcing some traditional leaded solder. It could also be a dirty tip, so make sure it's clean and tinned. Naturally, it could just be a low wattage thing that's not up to the job, lower wattages have become less useful with modern solder but should at least be able to melt it on the tip. More expensive isn't the answer there, higher wattage is. Mine is 25W and works well.
Finally, if you're soldering components and having issues then check out soldering videos on YouTube. Appologies if you're an expert already but it's worth pointing out that this resource exists. Good technique goes a long way and I learned a lot in a short space of time. Some of the techniques will make up for a less than perfect soldering iron.
 

Wing Mark

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Depends what the OP is soldering.
I have an Iron from Rapid Electronics.
It's a simple variable power model, obsolete I think.
These days with most things being lead-free, you need a hotter iron. Some sort of temperature control is good, because if the tip gets hot enough to melt lead free in a reasonable time, a few minutes later it's likely to be hot enough to quickly burn the tip.
For some jobs those 'Solder Gun' quick heating types are quite good, and can also take a hot-knife blade for rope work etc.
At work we have Metcal irons which cost north of £300 and get through £20 tips frequently.
I also have a Weller 12V TCP iron, but for anything lead free you need to change the tip to a hotter version.
 

anoccasionalyachtsman

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On the boat, 12V is useless IMHO, but gas works brilliantly - for small electrical connections - modest wires and heatshrink I use one that looks like this - but I don't promise it's the same supplier and range of accessories:

Don't be so quick to dismiss 12v irons....

TS100 Soldering Iron (B2) With XT60 Lead

Absolutely brilliant on 12 or 240v for small to medium stuff - note the temp control.

For big jobs though I love my Portasol, and wish I'd bought one years ago, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003H6NN2Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

sailorbenji

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Don't be so quick to dismiss 12v irons....

TS100 Soldering Iron (B2) With XT60 Lead

Absolutely brilliant on 12 or 240v for small to medium stuff - note the temp control.

For big jobs though I love my Portasol, and wish I'd bought one years ago, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003H6NN2Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

TS100 is absolutely brilliant...even on 12V...and you can even run it off some of the newer style portable power bank type things...or hobbyist lithium batteries. I've yet to come across anything on the boat I couldn't solder with it, but it's worth getting a selection of tips...it really benefits from a larger tip with more thermal mass for some larger soldering jobs.
 

Little Dorrit

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Don't be so quick to dismiss 12v irons....

TS100 Soldering Iron (B2) With XT60 Lead

Absolutely brilliant on 12 or 240v for small to medium stuff - note the temp control.

For big jobs though I love my Portasol, and wish I'd bought one years ago, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003H6NN2Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The TS100 looks like a great piece of kit. With Christmas round the corner methinks a letter to Santa should be composed and sent soon.
 

davidpbo

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For most of my working life I have used the most basic Antex soldering irons. 15 and 25 Watt.

I did get a more expensive 50 Watt temperature controlled Antex some years ago which is also good.

I have a large 100W Portasol (I think) gas soldering.

I also have a Weller Wsm 1C but at £300+ and £30+ for tips (Which include the element and sensor) that is not probably what you want but is lovely to use.

So Antex, Weller, Portasol would be my suggestion. Problem is with the demise of high street electronics shops such as Maplin or Tandy it is hard to eyeball one in the flesh.

I would go for something like this. Get one with a silicone lead if you can.
 

laika

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For most of my working life I have used the most basic Antex soldering irons. 15 and 25 Watt.

I have a 15w antex. This could fall into the “bad workman blames his tools” category but it’s rubbish. It hardly works at all with lead free solder and even with my remaining leaded solder it takes an inconveniently long time to melt it which does not aid precision. I keep promising myself a new, beefier one so am following recommendations here
 

steadyeddy

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I have a 15w antex. This could fall into the “bad workman blames his tools” category but it’s rubbish. It hardly works at all with lead free solder and even with my remaining leaded solder it takes an inconveniently long time to melt it which does not aid precision. I keep promising myself a new, beefier one so am following recommendations here
 
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