Which is the best conventional premium soldering iron?

I have one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/2...p;chn=ps&lpid=82

But if you are looking for new I would look at something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...f_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3

I've had my EC2002 for nearly 20 years.  I've never removed a tip for cleaning.  But, you can not run one of these for hours without adjusting the temp up and down as you need it.  Keeping the temp up all the time burns the tips and causes them to wear out prematurely.  One of the tips I own I've had as long as the solder station.  I don't use it a lot but the point is if you take care of the tips, they will last a good long time.

Tony

From your short list of tasks I would suggest, at least two different tools would be better. To solder wires on to toggles a 35 watt small chisel tip pencil iron is best. For soldering wires to rails a larger tip with around 50-100 watts behind would be better. Some will suggest temperature controlled irons that require a controller but I find these to be clumsy when working on the layout. A pencil iron on a lamp cord extension cord is much more convenient.

Consider a variety tools. I have an Ungar 35 watt pencil iron thats over 40 years old that still does 90% of my model train work. I can plug it into a Variac for bench work or any outlet or extension cord when working on the layout. In addition I have a 200 watt iron and a homemade resistance soldering station plus the ubiquitous soldering gun which I rarely use. 

Pete

I've seen the Hakko FX888D come highly recommended here on the forum by some folks that do a fair amount of soldering.  It looks pretty good to me as well, and seems rather reasonable at about a hundred bucks.  

I've always used fairly cheap soldering irons and had pretty good luck with them. The downfall of those radio shack 30 watt types is the junky tips they have that start to disintegrate after a short while.  other than that they will put up with being plugged in for hours and hours... unless the design has changes in the last 10 years, which is possible.  the key to these things is keeping the tip clean if you want it to last any sort of reasonable time.  

Currently I'm using a fairly cheap adjustable, NOT constant temp Velleman iron I picked up at Micro-Center.  For $30 it does everything I need it to for occasional tinkering.  I have no idea how it will hold up with heavy use, but I'm happy with it's performance so far.  

When it comes to soldering anything thicker than 16 gauge I recommend using a larger soldering gun such as the Weller 100/140 model, or my favorite gun, the D550 200/250 Watt gun.  this will make your life a lot easier working with large lugs on big toggle switches or soldering wires to track or bus wires, and because it heats quickly you are less likely to damage things. 

JGL

Looks like you are doing "electrical" wiring rather than electronic stuff, larger wires rather than circuit boards, and perhaps "in the field" rather than on the bench.

If my assumptions are correct, I would look at the Weller W60P or even the W100P line. These are larger temperature-controlled units, but the control is all in the iron, there is no "station" to which they are connected, which makes them more convenient for field use. The temperature is selected by the choice of tip, they are available in a variety of sizes and shapes at temperature settings from 600 - 800 degrees F. Yes, these are truly temperature controlled, the tip contains a sensor that triggers a switch in the iron.

Here is a URL of a search that shows a bit about this line.

 http://www.weller-toolsus.com/search?q=W60P+Tips

If you are indeed doing bench work one of the larger soldering stations may work for you, but if you spend much time with wire 14 awg and larger a typical station may not be the best choice.

My choice has always been the American Beauty. Do a Google search, and you can purchase direct from them.

I second the Hakko FX888D. Between my model trains and rc car and plane hobbies it gets quite the workout!  Everything from 22 to 8 gauge and I've never had a problem. I have a few different tips for specific tasks and I'm very happy with it.

For small wire, 18AWG and under, small toggle switches, and work on printed circuit boards, I use this one - and really like it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...ui_search_detailpage

Note that it includes 10 extra tips. However, I bought mine in August 2014, and I am still using the same tip even after thousands of solders.

For the heavier wire stuff and larger toggle switches, I use a soldering gun.

Alex

My dads got Weller soldering iron stations in his basement which see periodic use. He got them used 15-20 years ago and they still work. You can still buy the magnet style tips for them in many different shapes. Weller is a good brand that has been around for years. Don't hesitate to get a used one.

I use a butane powered soldering iron.  When I started my garden railway, trying to work with a corded iron became a nuisance.  I've been using a Weller P2C soldering iron.  It's small and has a fine tip.  I use it on my workbench also.

I also recommend the Hakko FX888D, I use mine heavily and it just trudges on without a bump.   I like the fact that you can calibrate the tip temperature so it is exactly what appears on the display, I bought the calibrator on eBay for around $20.  I also have a couple of handles for it with different tips, that makes it very convenient and quick to swap tips without waiting for it to cool.

For track and heavy work, I use the Weller 100/140W gun, I don't see the need for precise temperature regulation when soldering heavy wiring or track.

I also have the Hakko FX888D, had it for a year or so. Works great for electronic parts, boards and smaller wires. I have not yet tried it on anything large like #10 wire or soldering to track. I have tinned some #14 stranded wire leads (largest I have used it on) and it was just fine for that. I got it in a package deal with a few extra tips from Amazon.