New soldering iron

[Guest CLARENCE]

Starting a new small layout, and find myself in need of a soldering iron.( Lost the old one in a recent house move) This to use mostly for wiring up the track, not for anything complicated like kit-building, tho' the odd loco repair, etc. might be needed.

I'm  quite confused by the offerings on Ebay. I'd be very grateful for any suggestions as to what to look for from some of you experts!

Thanks in advance.

Edited January 16, 2019 by CLARENCE

[newbryford]

At least 40W with a selection of tips.

I have one of these.

50W and temperature control without a base station.

I've used Antex, Weller and Hakko and this is now my regular "go-to" iron for layout wiring and decoder fitting (soldering stay alives to ESU Loksounds for example). I would use it for kit building but I have an (expensive) iron with base station on my workbench that isn't overly portable.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Dava]

I replaced a Weller 25w which expired with an Antex 30w from Squire's which is ideal for wiring and smaller work. No problem keeping the tip clean. I have bigger irons for bigger jobs.

[Junctionmad]

It’s often a misplaced view that higher powered soldering irons are for larger jobs. It’s important to realise that the temperature is controlled irrespective of the power of the iron

 

What the increased power does is improve the “ recovery “ rate ie the time it takes the tip temperature to recover after a soldering operation

 

Otherwise there is a danger that the next soldering operation carried out on quick succession could be under temperature

 

I’d recommend a minimum of 40 w with 60 W or more as even better , many’s irons these days with integrated elements are approaching 100W , these are all physically small irons

[cliff park]

I recently bought Draper's temperature controlled iron and am very happy with that. I agree fully with junctionmad's comments as well.

[Paul80]

I use a couple of Antex irons with a range of different size tips for different jobs, one is 25w and the other is 12w, not found anything they can't solder with the correct size tip. Had them for years as well.

[Guy Rixon]

Minimum iron: Antex XS25, a 25W temperature-limited device. It should handle electrical soldering wel enough as that's what it's designed for. But for preference, and a few more pounds, get a cheap soldering-station where you can set the temperature and it regains temperature faster.

[Guest CLARENCE]

Thanks, guys for the help; I'll have a look around and see what I can find.

[Paul80]

These look interesting as well and a full range of tips are available for peanuts as well. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80W-LCD-Digital-Thermostat-Adjustable-Lead-Free-Electric-Soldering-Iron-Tool/142939533243

 

Can't comment on how long they will last though as I have only just got one to test.  Temp control is accurate though as I have tested it.

[Tricky Dicky]

A 40 - 60W soldering station with temperature control should see you right for all you are considering. As someone has already mentioned it is a load of b*****ks that you cannot fine solder with a high power iron as long as you can fit different tips you can solder whatever. On the subject of tips do look at how easy it is to swap tips some can be a right mare after a few heat cycles and oxidation has taken place.

 

Richard

[ianLMS]

I use an Antex XS25 25w iron for all my electrical work around the layout (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Antex-S58J470-XS25-Silicone-Soldering/dp/B003ITY13W) and use a Yihua 996D Temp controlled desoldering station for all my kit building work (https://www.amazon.ca/YIHUA-Solder-Soldering-Rework-Station/dp/B01N4ICOSV). The hot air gun especially useful for white metal soldering and heat-shrink! They can still be found on Ebay for not too much money and very versatile.

[Crosland]

It’s often a misplaced view that higher powered soldering irons are for larger jobs. It’s important to realise that the temperature is controlled irrespective of the power of the iron

 

What the increased power does is improve the “ recovery “ rate ie the time it takes the tip temperature to recover after a soldering operation

 

Just as important, during the operation. A length of Nickel Silver track is quite a good heatsink. A higher powered iron will get the joint up to temperature much quicker so you can get the joint made and remove the iron. If the iron is underpowered you risk lingering and causing damage.

 

I would not be without my Antex 50W temp. controlled iron. Mid-range in cost but good build quality and spares are readily available.

[dave750t]

I've been quite happy with this:

http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/soldering/soldering-stations/csi-station75d-analogue-soldering-station-with-powerful-75w-iron/

[Butler Henderson]

Sure I've posted this before but a good few decades back at school the Technology teacher gave a demonstration of the differences between Antex and Weller irons - put simply you get more heat per watt from an Antex as the tip fits around the shaft and hence any heat dissipating from the shaft heats the metal body of the tip compared to a Weller iron where the tip fits inside the shaft and dissipating heat solely warms the room. 

[Junctionmad]

Sure I've posted this before but a good few decades back at school the Technology teacher gave a demonstration of the differences between Antex and Weller irons - put simply you get more heat per watt from an Antex as the tip fits around the shaft and hence any heat dissipating from the shaft heats the metal body of the tip compared to a Weller iron where the tip fits inside the shaft and dissipating heat solely warms the room.

 

Today the trend is towards an integrated elements in the tip

[Guest CLARENCE]

Just bought one of these

 

Its a W.E.P. 60watt adjustable iron "kit" , £15.99 from Ebay , tho' there is only a simple stand and 5 spare tips with it.

Working well so far, fingers crossed!

Edited January 22, 2019 by CLARENCE

[Hroth]

Looks tidy.

 

But a "silica gel" handle, with "anti-skiding" properties?  Is that for those "sweaty palm" moments when soldering? 

[Guest CLARENCE]

And now the bl00dy thing has stopped working! Arrived yesterday, used it to solder up a couple of loose leads on a loco, no problem, worked perfectly, sent feedback. This evening, making a start on wiring the new layout, the iron wouldn't even heat up!  Sent a message to the seller-- we'll see what happens.

[Guest CLARENCE]

Looks like I've been conned, or at least messed with. Also, I've been a bit of an idiot! As I said, it worked perfectly first time,then packed up. I got in touch with the seller, of course, but this started a series emails back and forth for the last couple of weeks.

Having been quite happy at first, I'd sent off good feedback and thrown out the packing. They said OK keep the item, and send us proof of it not working (short video). That was difficult enough, then they wanted PayPal transaction number, etc, etc,. on and on, finally wanted an extra £5 to facilitate sending me a new item. Now I have sent this and everything's gone silent, nothing for  3 days, despite all my threats; to put it bluntly, I can say goodbye to my money and any chance of a refund.

Finally I looked at the seller's feedback- - - not good, in fact bl00dy awful! Yeah I know I should have done this to begin with,now I feel silly as well as angry. 

Edited February 7, 2019 by CLARENCE
missing punctuation

[michaelp]

David,

Try opening up a dispute with Ebay

[Crosland]

PayPal dispute is biassed in favour of the buyer in my opinion. That's where I would start.

 

Remember the old adage. Buy cheap, buy twice.

[hayfield]

16 hours ago, CLARENCE said:

Looks like I've been conned, or at least messed with. Also, I've been a bit of an idiot! As I said, it worked perfectly first time,then packed up. I got in touch with the seller, of course, but this started a series emails back and forth for the last couple of weeks.

Having been quite happy at first, I'd sent off good feedback and thrown out the packing. They said OK keep the item, and send us proof of it not working (short video). That was difficult enough, then they wanted PayPal transaction number, etc, etc,. on and on, finally wanted an extra £5 to facilitate sending me a new item. Now I have sent this and everything's gone silent, nothing for  3 days, despite all my threats; to put it bluntly, I can say goodbye to my money and any chance of a refund.

Finally I looked at the seller's feedback- - - not good, in fact bl00dy awful! Yeah I know I should have done this to begin with,now I feel silly as well as angry. 

 

David

 

As you have bought the item from a retailer I expect that you are covered by distance selling rules, plus the item has now become faulty. I assume it was bought through eBay and you have proof of returning the item. You can open a dispute with eBay, They should return both your purchase costs plus the cost to return it.

 

Sometimes if something looks too good to be true, it normally is.  My rule of thumb is if you need a quality genuine item, buy a reputable item from a reputable dealer. If you want a cheap tool (non electrical) then a cheap item may be OK

 

Good luck  

[Guest]

On a recommendation on here I bought this. For the price I am seriously impressed. A great piece of kit and great service.

 

http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/soldering/soldering-stations/csi-premier75w-digital-temperature-controlled-solder-station-with-75w-soldering-iron/

[hayfield]

I am looking at buying a temperature controlled iron and I am certain this was the one I was advised to buy, also going to add 3 additional tips of different size and shape

 

 

[DavidLong]

7 minutes ago, hayfield said:

I am looking at buying a temperature controlled iron and I am certain this was the one I was advised to buy, also going to add 3 additional tips of different size and shape

 

 

 

John,

 

That's the same model that I bought from Circuit Specialists a few years ago. It's been ok but the up/down temperature controls can be irritating. It has been discontinued by CSI so this may be a re-badged product from a different supplier.

If I was buying one now I would buy the model suggested by Snapper, above. Three pounds more and has a knob control for the temperature which is much preferable to the push buttons on the old CSI product. CSI do have some excellent products with good back-up accessories.

 

David