Best Soldering Iron for circuit board work

I would look for Hakko or Weller.

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-...eller+soldering+iron

https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-F...Hakko+soldering+iron

Replacement and various tips and parts are readily available for these two brands.

My vote is on the Hakko - when I bought mine, it was clear that the temperature control on it was better than the Wellers. Make sure you get one with the temperature control box and separate wand. I love that thing.

I note that the one you are looking at is only 45 watts. The Hakko is 70. Makes a huge difference. I would not be worried about picking up a used one on ebay to meet your price point. Mine was used and about $50, has been bullet proof for several years - so far.

Jim

I read somewhere that when working on boards to not go above 15 watts, is this true? 

Trainlover9943 posted:

I read somewhere that when working on boards to not go above 15 watts, is this true? 

Old school thinking.  It's not the wattage of the soldering iron, it's the temperature of the tip.  Since a modern soldering station has controllable tip temperatures, more power is actually better.  One issue with a 15 watt iron is when you are soldering larger components on a board, you simply don't have enough power to do the job.  I use the Hakko FX888D, it's a 65W workstation.  I do a ton of PCB work, including a lot of surface mount components.  If you ever go into a commercial shop or repair station, you'll find that a vast majority of them use a similar type of soldering station.  AAMOF, many will use the exact same Hakko workstation.

I would also recommend the Hakko FX888D (GRJ's link above and cjack's further above). I got one of these a couple of years ago from others recommendations here on the forum. I have been very pleased with it's operation, it is a very nice unit for the price and should last for many years. I expect mine will outlast me. Also has a variety of tips available for it. It's a hard one to beat, IMO. 

Here's a good 60W soldering station available from Hobby Town USA.

TK-950 Soldering Station by TrakPower.

https://www.hobbytown.com/tk95...wer-tkpr0950/p204594

I got a soldering Iron from Circuit Specialists website, and that one works well for what I do with it, though they no longer produce that one Link to the one I bought, Soldering Station, but I may look into buying this one, Solder Station.

Ditto on the Hakko.  You have to get the spot hot enough and quick enough so as not to linger too long.  They offer various tips too.  I got mine from Adafruit:

https://www.adafruit.com/?q=hakko

MRich posted:

Here's a good 60W soldering station available from Hobby Town USA.

TK-950 Soldering Station by TrakPower.

https://www.hobbytown.com/tk95...wer-tkpr0950/p204594

 

No offense, but for almost the same money you get the Hakko FX888D which is an industry standard, and many are used in industrial settings.  No reason I can see to go for a no-name brand at that price.

Hobby Town charges a bit more...many stores in most states. The Hakko price is somewhat more than one can find at Amazon or even Adafruit. A reason to buy there may well be to buy in a retail store. Instant shipping, eh?

Since I firmly believe the Hakko is a far superior product, I'll pay the extra $20 and wait a couple days to get it.

I ended up going with a X-Tronic 3020 unit. I really like it. https://www.amazon.com/X-Troni...eywords=xtronic+3020

I also have a Hakko and consider it to be one of the best and enjoyable tools I've ever bought for my trains.

Roger

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Since I firmly believe the Hakko is a far superior product, I'll pay the extra $20 and wait a couple days to get it.

eBay has them for $96 with free shipping.

Amazon seems to have them for the same price with Prime.

Jim Waterman posted:

My vote is on the Hakko - when I bought mine, it was clear that the temperature control on it was better than the Wellers. Make sure you get one with the temperature control box and separate wand. I love that thing.

I have the Weller WESD51 (50W), I didn't know of the hakko or of it being an industry standard, but I love the Weller. I am genuinely curious about what you mean exactly when you say "when I bought mine, it was clear that the temperature control on it was better than the Wellers."  

Just a FYI on the Hakko: I went to Micro Center yesterday and they now carry the Hakko FX888D, it was something like $96 as well, less than $100 anyway. They also have tips for it, the 'brillo' pads for tip cleaning (whatever they call those things?) and some other stuff they didn't have last time I was there. They have also totally remodeled the store and everything is now in a different location than it was previously.

Might take a look, if you have a Micro Center and are wanting one or need some supplies for yours. They had a couple of others too, but I didn't really take a look at those.

pennsy484 posted:

Jim Waterman posted:

My vote is on the Hakko - when I bought mine, it was clear that the temperature control on it was better than the Wellers. Make sure you get one with the temperature control box and separate wand. I love that thing.

I have the Weller WESD51 (50W), I didn't know of the hakko or of it being an industry standard, but I love the Weller. I am genuinely curious about what you mean exactly when you say "when I bought mine, it was clear that the temperature control on it was better than the Wellers."  

Well, for one thing, the Hakko FX-888D is a 70W iron, important for heavy soldering, but it is obviously also good for any soldering as it will hold any temperature accurately.  It is rated to hold temperature to ±1ºC, something that few other irons will do.  stability for the WESD51 is +/- 10°F, not nearly as close as the Hakko.  That's what I would mean about temperature control.

I've been using a ZD Electronics Tool soldering station (ZD-929c) from MPJA.com for about 10yrs now without issue, works great. $48.95 plus $6.95 for ground shipping.

http://www.mpja.com/Solder-Sta...roductinfo/15845+TL/

gunrunnerjohn posted:

pennsy484 posted:

Jim Waterman posted:

My vote is on the Hakko - when I bought mine, it was clear that the temperature control on it was better than the Wellers. Make sure you get one with the temperature control box and separate wand. I love that thing.

I have the Weller WESD51 (50W), I didn't know of the hakko or of it being an industry standard, but I love the Weller. I am genuinely curious about what you mean exactly when you say "when I bought mine, it was clear that the temperature control on it was better than the Wellers."  

Well, for one thing, the Hakko FX-888D is a 70W iron, important for heavy soldering, but it is obviously also good for any soldering as it will hold any temperature accurately.  It is rated to hold temperature to ±1ºC, something that few other irons will do.  stability for the WESD51 is +/- 10°F, not nearly as close as the Hakko.  That's what I would mean about temperature control.

Thanks John. I like lernun stuf.  🙂👍🏻

With that said Jeff, I'm sure the Weller is fine for anything you're likely to do.  I had an old Weller soldering station that I used for over 20 years, it's still going strong at our train club.

Given that the Hakko was considerably cheaper than the prices I saw for that Weller, I'd still pick the Hakko.

Hakko FX-888D 

gunrunnerjohn posted:

With that said Jeff, I'm sure the Weller is fine for anything you're likely to do.  I had an old Weller soldering station that I used for over 20 years, it's still going strong at our train club.

Given that the Hakko was considerably cheaper than the prices I saw for that Weller, I'd still pick the Hakko.

I agree. I took a look and saw that the Weller is around 150, whereas that hakko is around 100.  Live and learn, though I hope to never need to buy a new one ever again.

I would like to add to those who are using weaker irons, for me going to one that can get the temp of the pieces up to a very high temperature  very quickly made soldering go from a frustrating ordeal into a real treat. Make sure to use heat sinks where possible though!