Need a new Soldering Gun

[Wayne Collier]

I've been using the same soldering gun for a couple of decades.  I got it used and it appeared several years old then.

Last week it gave out and I sent it the way of all trash. (dumpster)

I need to replace it.  I tried one from Harbor Freight, but am not happy with it.  Takes to long to heat up and then barely melts the solder.  I looked at home centers in the area but did not seem to find what I am looking for.

Because of the way I use it, I need something that will heat the target area fast so I can get done and get out before heating up a lot of nearby stuff.  I like the material to get hot enough to melt the solder so that the gun tip doesn't touch the solder too much, and I like it to get hot enough for the solder to wick into multi-strand wire? 

Any recommendations on a good dependable soldering gun that will last a long time? 

[George Truett]

I bought one of these Weller guns after I thought my ancient Craftsman had died.  Weller used to be a good brand, no longer made here and I don't have enough time on it to guess its longevity.  https://www.zoro.com/weller-300200-watts-120v-solder-gun-kit-d650pk/i/G1184158/feature-product?kw4&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4dr0BRCxARIsAKUNjWSv-7inJlPBl0C-Wb6Syv2ZH-L1SoCfo-MhVxFJiBdRH9mfiE1X6OkaAiuIEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Tom Luciano]

best investment I made

https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D29BY-ESD-Safe-Digital-Soldering/dp/B00OSM27T8/ref=sr_1_3?crid=13J7USRZVBH67&dchild=1&keywords=hakko+soldering+station&qid=1586978453&sprefix=hakko%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-3

[John Leidle]

  I never liked guns , I found on Ebay several old irons that get hot as hell & hold the heat, I keyed in   " Vintage Electric Soldering Irons"  got a 60 watt , 100 , 150  & a 350 Watt the 350 is more like a joke.  Prices are from $10.00 - $45.00 some are NIB from the 50s    John L.

[Dick Carville]

Hi Wayne 

  I have one of these it has worked well for me on everything including making tanks


https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/318YNG1Y23L._AC_.jpg

Dick

[Dick Carville]

I'll try again to send a better link

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-SPG80L-Marksman-Stained-Soldering/dp/B000GR3NMY/ref=sr_1_33?crid=3D4QYZSG5LQTB&dchild=1&keywords=heavy+duty+soldering+iron+150+watt&qid=1586982203&sprefix=heavy+duty+soldering%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-33

[Tim Wescott]

I have one around here somewhere that I call "Big Bertha".  She's from the 1940's, probably 80 watts or more.  The important thing is that the tip is massive, so once she's hot, she stays hot.  It's more like soldering with a non-electric iron and a propane torch than it is using an electric.

[Randy Powell]

I use a fairly standard Weller 200W gun. It's pretty old at this point but still works petty well and when it dies, I'll get another.

[Will Davis]

I bought one of these a couple years ago, works great.  I use the heat shrink gun more than I thought I would

[Dave Hull]

Hmmm. I'm curious about Dick's use and success with his Weller 80W "stained glass" iron. I have the same one, and have been using it for ten years, but it is not ideal for making tanks or extended soldering. That is because it gets too hot with no load on it. I like the large shank (lots of reserve heat) and it has been reliable. But I find as I assemble a tank I have to keep unplugging it to keep it from getting too hot and just oxidizing everything. Of course, I can do that, but it is inconvenient.

My next thought would be to find an 80W+ light dimmer and see if I would be happy adding a power control. Or, make a metal cradle so that when I set the iron down, it has much more dissipating surface area. And while these might be inexpensive fixes, I think I would rather have an iron that came with adjustable, regulated temperature just as you would get with a precision electronics iron. And no, I'm not a great fan of soldering guns. They are heavy, and seem awkward if you are trying to make precision parts. Yes, I have a Weller gun, and it pretty much stays in the nice plastic storage case.

How about it, Dick? Any story to go with your success with the Weller 80W iron?

Divot McSlow

[John Leidle]

  I'm using irons that work like what Tim talked about.  That is what we had growing up   great for tanks.
  John L.

[John Park]

  I never liked guns , I found on Ebay several old irons that get hot as hell & hold the heat

Me neither.  I'm still using the 60 Watt iron I inherited from my father - he must have bought it in about 1936.  There's nothing like it for soldering up a tinplate fuel tank. I never could get on with solder guns.

[Tim Wescott]

Hmmm. I'm curious about Dick's use and success with his Weller 80W "stained glass" iron. I have the same one, and have been using it for ten years, but it is not ideal for making tanks or extended soldering. That is because it gets too hot with no load on it. I like the large shank (lots of reserve heat) and it has been reliable. But I find as I assemble a tank I have to keep unplugging it to keep it from getting too hot and just oxidizing everything. Of course, I can do that, but it is inconvenient.

My next thought would be to find an 80W+ light dimmer and see if I would be happy adding a power control. Or, make a metal cradle so that when I set the iron down, it has much more dissipating surface area. And while these might be inexpensive fixes, I think I would rather have an iron that came with adjustable, regulated temperature just as you would get with a precision electronics iron. And no, I'm not a great fan of soldering guns. They are heavy, and seem awkward if you are trying to make precision parts. Yes, I have a Weller gun, and it pretty much stays in the nice plastic storage case.

How about it, Dick? Any story to go with your success with the Weller 80W iron?

Divot McSlow

I made a dimmer box for my wife when she was active in stained glass.  It was just a double junction box with a dimmer and a plug in it, and an electrical cord coming out.  It worked a treat.

Yes, a controlled iron would be nice, and would maybe work for tanks (I should try mine).  But for soldering music wire you need something with thermal mass, otherwise it hits the music wire and loses all it's heat.

[Dick Carville]

Hi Dave

I've been using the Weller  for a long ,time 20 years or close to it. I've made hundreds of tanks of all sizes with no problems, made them for me and other folks.

Because of your comment I went to the shop to check and make sure I have what I think  have. It is a Weller 80 watt .  Never got too hot on tanks. It is a bit hot for my Deans connectors but I still use it because it gives me a better joint than the  standard Weller soldering station does but the heat  sometimes nicks the bakelite a little but no function issues.

Dick

[Wayne Collier]

I bought one of these Weller guns after I thought my ancient Craftsman had died.  Weller used to be a good brand, no longer made here and I don't have enough time on it to guess its longevity.  https://www.zoro.com/weller-300200-watts-120v-solder-gun-kit-d650pk/i/G1184158/feature-product?kw4&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4dr0BRCxARIsAKUNjWSv-7inJlPBl0C-Wb6Syv2ZH-L1SoCfo-MhVxFJiBdRH9mfiE1X6OkaAiuIEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

This got my attention but I have a question.  I don't do much electronics these days.  Most of my wire connections are 16 guage or larger.  I occasionally need to solder music wire or thin flat metals. I need something that will tie down the stray hairs of multi-strand to avoid prickly pokey in favor of smooth. Will the Hakko do that.  I'm worried more about the "capacity" than just the temperature.

I have zero experiece with soldering stations like the Hakko.

Years ago I had a radio shack iron.  It was great for the little bit of electronics I used to do and for putting ends on speaker and guitar cords.

I then got the used Weller gun (don't know the wattage but it had a two stage trigger).  I was well pleased with it for two decades then until it recently developed problems.

I'm kinda leaning toward another Weller in the 200/260 range, but willing to consider other options because I realize that a lot may have changed in the two decades that I wasn't keeping up with the technology.

[Brett Buck]

This got my attention but I have a question.  I don't do much electronics these days.  Most of my wire connections are 16 guage or larger.  I occasionally need to solder music wire or thin flat metals. I need something that will tie down the stray hairs of multi-strand to avoid prickly pokey in favor of smooth. Will the Hakko do that.  I'm worried more about the "capacity" than just the temperature.

I have zero experiece with soldering stations like the Hakko.

Years ago I had a radio shack iron.  It was great for the little bit of electronics I used to do and for putting ends on speaker and guitar cords.

I then got the used Weller gun (don't know the wattage but it had a two stage trigger).  I was well pleased with it for two decades then until it recently developed problems.

I'm kinda leaning toward another Weller in the 200/260 range, but willing to consider other options because I realize that a lot may have changed in the two decades that I wasn't keeping up with the technology.

     The gun is probably best for you. For PC board electronics, the smaller soldering stations are very good. For point-to-point wiring like in a tube radio, the smaller stations are too small to be effective. I have a whole bunch of different soldering devices, I think the Weller gun is about as good as anything, you can get it in any small space if required, and it's not a continuous fire hazard like the giant American Beauty and other high-mass on-all-the-time irons. I have a big iron and it is good for super-high-mass soldering like soldering stuff to radio chassis, but otherwise useless.

    I use the Weller 260/200 watt dual-range gun.
    Brett

[Dennis Toth]

I like the Weller guns also. I have one similar to Brett 260/200. One thing with these they have a two level trigger. The high position is the first click in. If you squeeze it all the way you get the lower wattage (less heat). I found this out after thinking I need a new higher wattage gun to build tanks. Did some googling and came across a post that was using my same gun an in it he talked about the two level trigger. Now I have all the heat I need, just takes a little getting use to.

Best,    DennisT

[Wayne Collier]

Thanks for all the input. I found a 260/200 at a local mom&pop hardware store. Could have beat the price slightly on line but would have had to wait on shipping. Also I like to buy local when it makes sense.

[Dave Hull]

Dick,

Thanks for the additional information on your 80W Weller iron. Especially glad to hear it is working well for you. I wonder if my iron runs hotter than normal? Guess I'll start looking for a dimmer switch for mine and see if that helps....

Divot

[Crist Rigotti]

Thanks for all the input. I found a 260/200 at a local mom&pop hardware store. Could have beat the price slightly on line but would have had to wait on shipping. Also I like to buy local when it makes sense.

Thumbs up on both counts!

[FLOYD CARTER]

I bought one of those Weller guns with a 2-position trigger.  I hated it.  Only wanted HIGH, but it is hard to keep from pressing the LOW position.  I opened it up, but couldn't figure how to modify it electrically.  So I fashioned a mechanical stop for the switch.  Now. it's ON or HIGH.

[FLOYD CARTER]

Might also add... about this or any soldering gun-type.

You should routinely take out the copper "tip"  (2 screws) and sand the ends clean (part that gets clamped by the screws)

The copper oxidizes easily and makes a poor connection =  it doesn't take much tiny resistance to really affect the gun's performance.

[FLOYD CARTER]

I'll tell you how to easily modify the Weller gun, so that you have only HIGH.  Epoxy a piece of hardwood to the outside case, next to the trigger, so that the flat front of the trigger hits your wood piece.  That prevents the trigger from being pushed in all the way.  Simple.

But if you like trying to jockey the trigger to get HIGH in order to get enough heat for that fuel tank, or other serious project , then keep it the way it is.

[Phil Krankowski]

I found a clone of a digital Hakko controller that can run on flight packs or a wall wart.  No worries about finding new or odd tips, the stick is a genuine Hakko, but was a separate purchase.

Phil

[Wayne Collier]

Thanks Floyd for the suggestion about making a bump stop for the trigger. I can see how that could be really helpful.  Thanks to everyone for advice and suggestions. The weller I picked up at a local hardware store seems to be meeting the need at the moment. It’s good to know other options if my needs change.

To test, I layed one piece #14 wire on top of another and stuck them together without twisting them first. The joint was quick and seems strong.

[Crist Rigotti]

Somewhere on the Internet I seem to recall that somebody reversed the switch so that when you press it all the way in, it applies maximum heat.  You try and do a search.

[John Rist]

Not totally sure but looking at Weller soldering gun switch on line it appears to be 3 terminal switch.  It is highly likely that it is a single pole double throw (SPDT) switch.   One of the terminals is the common.  The other two are high and low.  If this is true swapping the high and low wires will make the first push in setting low and all the way in high.   IF the switch is as shown in the drawing swapping the high and low wires will work.   Check it out with an ohm meter.  The other problem could be the wires are too short to reach. Not having a Weller soldering gun this is my best guess.  Your results may very.  Be safe and don't blow up a  good soldering gun.   Personally I prefer a soldering iron with temperature control.  But then I don't fly glow so I don't have any tanks to solder.

[Brett Buck]

But if you like trying to jockey the trigger to get HIGH in order to get enough heat for that fuel tank, or other serious project , then keep it the way it is.

      200W is far more than necessary for tanks. I only use the half-pull system when I want it to warm up faster, or much heavier work.

     The best tank craftsman I ever saw was my very first reliable flying buddy, Ed Robbert, he used a 25 watt unregulated pencil iron. It was so good you couldn't tell where the joints were, it was almost like it was a solid block of metal that was magically hollowed out.

    Technique is far more important than power.

     Brett

[Dan McEntee]

      200W is far more than necessary for tanks. I only use the half-pull system when I want it to warm up faster, or much heavier work.

     The best tank craftsman I ever saw was my very first reliable flying buddy, Ed Robbert, he used a 25 watt unregulated pencil iron. It was so good you couldn't tell where the joints were, it was almost like it was a solid block of metal that was magically hollowed out.

    Technique is far more important than power.

     Brett

    That is exactly what I try to explain in these threads. Fit up of the parts is as or more important than anything. Tight fitting joints with NO gaps. Assemble the parts, apply just a thin coat of flux, your preheated soldering iron with a nice, clean broad tip that is tinned properly, and it is almost automatic. Touch the tip to the joint  and about 3 seconds later the flux is melted and running, the solder that is tinned to the tip starts flowing off and that is your signal to start adding from your spool of .030 rosin core solder. If done correctly, it looks just like you described, and if you measure your solder before hand you might be surprised how little it actually takes to make a typical 4 ounce tank. Practice is a big help to get to any kind of proficiency.

  Back to cutting the grass before it rains,
  Dan McEntee

[Howard Rush]

I've been using Weller soldering guns for 60 years or more, 2-speed ones for as long as I remember.  I always thought the hotter setting was with the trigger pulled all the way.  I just checked, and yep, it's the other way around.  I feel like the Lone Ranger:

[Matt Brown]

I’m a bit late to the party but I’ll throw in my two cents. I used the basic Weller gun for years but it was lacking at times. The small tip didn’t hold heat well so it would cool off easily. I also had a Hextronic station that I used for electronics work. It died a few years ago working on my racing quadcopters. I checked around and overwhelming opinion was the Hakko mentioned earlier in the thread. I bought one with a couple extra tips. One was a huge chisel tip. That iron and tip combo has made soldering the big 8 and 10 gauge wire on my big RC heli battery packs an easy job. With the Weller gun, I was never really happy with my joints on that heavy wire. With the right tips, I don’t think you can beat the performance of the Hakko anywhere near its price point.
Everything I have ever soldered with my Hakko has been much better than any iron or gun I have ever tried.

Matt

[Brett Buck]

One was a huge chisel tip. That iron and tip combo has made soldering the big 8 and 10 gauge wire on my big RC heli battery packs an easy job. With the Weller gun, I was never really happy with my joints on that heavy wire. With the right tips, I don’t think you can beat the performance of the Hakko anywhere near its price point.

  I like the Hakko for appropriate applications, but the low tip mass of the Weller is an advantage for soldering tanks. You don't need lots of heat, you need high temperatures on a very small area. I have a 250 watt American Beauty industrial iron and it would melt down an entire Hakko outfit, after it had been unplugged. But it's very difficult to build tanks with it, because it heats up every joint on the tank in seconds.

     Brett