Soldering irons

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JimC

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What kind of soldering irons do forumites prefer for boat work? I'm making a switch &, fuse panel and I'm finding that the small irons intended for electronics work don't hold enough heat while the pistol grip ''soldering guns' don't work for me at all - they're too big and clumsy and it's impossible to tin the bits - they get red hot.
 
JimC said:
What kind of soldering irons do forumites prefer for boat work? I'm making a switch &, fuse panel and I'm finding that the small irons intended for electronics work don't hold enough heat while the pistol grip ''soldering guns' don't work for me at all - they're too big and clumsy and it's impossible to tin the bits - they get red hot.
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If you have battery power tools there might be a soldering iron that works from one of the batteries. I have one for my Milwaukee power tools, cost peanuts, but works really well.
 
Usually such panels don’t require solder on boats, mostly crimps or some variation of a Wago pressure connector.

I just have a cheap mains powered yellow soldering iron on board but it’s very rarely used.
 
JimC said:
What kind of soldering irons do forumites prefer for boat work? I'm making a switch &, fuse panel and I'm finding that the small irons intended for electronics work don't hold enough heat while the pistol grip ''soldering guns' don't work for me at all - they're too big and clumsy and it's impossible to tin the bits - they get red hot.
Click to expand...
I was in that place "too small or too numb". Then someone good showed me how. You may know this and I can't explain here fully. But getting solder onto the soldering iron then onto the target, maintaining contact with the iron, increases heat transfer amazingly, only then offer up the solder wire. All in the blink of an eye. Something like that.
 
I have a 12v iron that is good as long as I'm inside cabin and no cooling air moving across it ....

But the best iron I have is a gas powered one .. I can solder out on deck ... big / small / electronics .. etc .... it has a whole raft of different heads including Hot Knife that cuts and seals ropes !!

Once you've used one .. reckon it will be the only one you'll ever use !!

I bought the Eviron Set .... about 50 quid all in ...
 
Like Refeuler above .. soldering within a randome, whilst up a mast, the gas powered soldering iron was the only type that had any chance of working.

My longest lived/used/ favourite is the Gascat 75P.

As Refueler says, it comes with a couple of soldering tips, a very useful hot knife tip, a hot air tip and a small blow torch tip, all of which have been well used.

I actually got a second, to keep with the rope tools, in order to have one with a permanent knife tip fitted.

I do have others, but the other nice gascat feature is the spark generator in the cap with which to light it.. It's a bit like the sparky top on a small cigarette lighter.

You might wonder what the hot air tip could be used for... I have successfully used them for surface mount chip replacement in mobile phones.

To sum up... Very versatile... and you will wonder how you ever did without one... Oh and they have easily variable temperature control..

They even get used at home in preference to plugging in the desk based soldering station.
 
And as the OP mentioned... if the tip is way too hot, the flux will probably evaporate instantly, and thus be useless, hence the need for quick and easy temperature control.
 
Like the OP I struggle to get things hot enough, fast enough. I'm sure it's a lack of skill, but it's not a skill I practice much 🤷

I now have a 90W pencil type (obsolete brand) and a gas (Iroda) one - both are excellent. I tend to use the electric one for boat work as the gas one is a bit awkward to put down - it gives off heat sideways.

I was given a Dremel gas one - complete junk. Likewise pistol types - I've never got them to work for me (which reminds me, I have two I must throw away!)
 
Soldering irons have improved enormously in recent years. The best models have heating elements directly in the tip (sometimes called cartridge tips) instead of a dumb solid metal tip.This improves the performance considerably.

I use a JBC model, which is expensive, but there are much cheaper models that use the same technology.

An example is the Miniware TS21:

Amazon.co.uk
 
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Martin_J said:
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I do have others, but the other nice gascat feature is the spark generator in the cap with which to light it.. It's a bit like the sparky top on a small cigarette lighter.
..
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My mistake.. It's my Iroda Solderpro 50K that has the cigarette lighter style flint within the lid.

The Gascat has a slide clicker in the handle.

Neither is favourite.. They are both great.
 
Martin_J said:
Like Refeuler above .. soldering within a randome, whilst up a mast, the gas powered soldering iron was the only type that had any chance of working.

My longest lived/used/ favourite is the Gascat 75P.

As Refueler says, it comes with a couple of soldering tips, a very useful hot knife tip, a hot air tip and a small blow torch tip, all of which have been well used.

I actually got a second, to keep with the rope tools, in order to have one with a permanent knife tip fitted.

I do have others, but the other nice gascat feature is the spark generator in the cap with which to light it.. It's a bit like the sparky top on a small cigarette lighter.

You might wonder what the hot air tip could be used for... I have successfully used them for surface mount chip replacement in mobile phones.

To sum up... Very versatile... and you will wonder how you ever did without one... Oh and they have easily variable temperature control..

They even get used at home in preference to plugging in the desk based soldering station.
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Had to sand the tip of my Gascat quite aggressively before solder would stick to it.
 
That looks familiar used those Wellers for years in the RAF..

For boat work, ancient landrover and underneath model railway layouts I use a gas iron.
On a bench I have a temperature adjustable solder station, which has a hot air blower gun as well.
 
I have one of those Weller ones, but believe it or not, the £20 Ebay one that works off of my Milwaukee battery is better for boat stuff. It will solder small stuff, 2.5mm wires or PL259s etc. The Weller one is good for delicate electronics.
 
lustyd said:
Essentially the same as using oil in a frying pan was how it was explained to me. That bit of solder isn’t for the joint it’s for contact and heat transfer.
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Well that explains a lot. I am not familiar with soldering. However, I was repairing the toaster contacts that power the elements when the lever is pushed down. It was a flat piece of copper that had a button of solder on the end, which was missing, leaving a punched hole in the copper. I could not get any solder to stick and then, by accident, with a solder blob on the end of the iron, shaky hands trying to hold it in place, and a wee bit of solder wire poked into the hole, voilà. A nice blob of solder filled the hole. A file to flatten and job done.

Now that you and @IanCC have explained it, I hope to remember that in the future.
 
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