Recommend a mains soldering station

laika

laika

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Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced (<£100) temperature controlled soldering station for use when on shore power? Needs to have a range spare tips readily available. Will mainly be used for boat-related electronics. I don't think I can justify the price of one of the £200+ wellers.
 
I should clarify that I have no problem with finding a large variety of options, but I'm looking for recommendations of things people have used and are happy with (DinghyMan's suggestion is looking good) or things I should look out for. I find myself needing to play with a soldering iron enough to justify upgrading my current 15w antex which sometimes doesn't seem to get hot enough to melt maplin solder unless the iron is actually touching the solder
 
laika said:
I should clarify that I have no problem with finding a large variety of options, but I'm looking for recommendations of things people have used and are happy with (DinghyMan's suggestion is looking good) or things I should look out for. I find myself needing to play with a soldering iron enough to justify upgrading my current 15w antex which sometimes doesn't seem to get hot enough to melt maplin solder unless the iron is actually touching the solder
Click to expand...

I have one of these:
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-stations/0186719/ (Bear in mind price is + VAT).

Its been great, RS stock the spare tips etc..
 
You get roughly what you pay for.
With the dreaded dolphin friendly lead free solder, you need a hot iron.
It will also need to be more powerful than you might think, as more damage is done by soldering slowly with an iron that is too small or too cold.
Personally I have a few magnastat type wellers, but at work I have the weller digital type.
None of the bits last very long with lead free.
Particularly if they are left on a lot and only lightly used.
For amateur use I would stick to lead tin solder, provided you don't expect mil-std reliability.
Also get some proper flux, eg 'no clean' flux.
The 12V TCP weller I have is OK, but TBH I run it off 13.8V.
I do a lot of surface mount experimentation, I normally have two soldering irons and often a hot-air soldering system at my bench.
 
Thanks to all. The "Lead Free" thing explains why the 15w iron was ok for years until my old solder ran out and now it's not hot enough. One thing still confuses me: the "LF" in the BK3000LF nigelmercer and DinghyMan mention is presumably "Lead Free" and I'm looking at spare tips for those things which define them as being for "lead free" soldering. Is there anything about that soldering station and accessories which makes it for "lead free" soldering other than temperature?
 
laika said:
Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced (<£100) temperature controlled soldering station for use when on shore power? Needs to have a range spare tips readily available. Will mainly be used for boat-related electronics. I don't think I can justify the price of one of the £200+ wellers.
Click to expand...

The best mains iron I've ever used and still do is an Antex TCS 50w. It is thermostatically controlled (adjustable) but does not need a base station, warms up fast, has a selection of tips available and is small & light to use. For battery cable terminals, out comes my mini gas blow torch.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ANTEX-T48JJ70-TCS50-SILICONE-LEAD-Soldering/dp/9792413030
 
My Weller soldering station is still good after 30 years. I've a couple of low wattage Antex irons which are similarly reliable.

I've been drawing from the same 2.5Kg reel of multicore solder for about 30 years.

Clearly I don't do a huge amount of soldering, but when I need to, I need dependable tools. It helps to keep the bits shiny and free of oxide and scum, by wiping with a damp sponge when hot. It's important to use an iron appropriately rated for the job at hand; a 10 or 15W for electronics assembly, and a 50 or 100W for heavier work. A low wattage iron will quicky cool below operating temperature when used for "heavy" work. A high powered iron will quicky destroy semiconductor components.
 
I install sound systems which often involves a lot of soldering usually of cables, plugs and sockets and have found the 50 Watt temperature controlled iron recommended by Ianj99 useful, I have however over the years had to replace the element a couple of times, care is needed when putting them away. There are a lot more cheaper soldering stations around now than there used to be so whether I would replace the current one (my second) with the same remains to be seen, weight is a consideration for me as I have to fly to some jobs. On the job last month I barely used the electric iron using an Iroda gas iron instead, the rope cutter head for it is also very useful.
 
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