Soldering gun

[Bootlegger]

 It seems that my soldering gun has "expired" and I am looking for another one, I am thinking about a Weller 14o-100 type gun as I have had good success with them, however I am gonna ask what gun do you use and why??

     Thanks a lot

[Wayne J. Buran]

I personally don't use a gun type soldering iron any more. They are to heavy and unweildy. The heating elements are to fragile and inconsistant. If I were you I would invest in a good comercial iron like a Weller WP 35 or a Hako 936 soldering station. Best reason for tools like the two I mentioned is the number of differant style of tips that would best suit your application. The WP 35 is a 35 watt tool and the soldering station has an adjustable heat range. Hope this helps.
Wayne

[Duke.Johnson]

I'm getting ready to buy this one. Mine is just about to let out it's smoke.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXATBK&P=ML

[Andrew Saunders]

I use The butane powered torch soldering iron with soldering tips. Its the Bernzomatic.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_246063-13877-ST2200T_0__

I also use this one
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=246066-13877-ST250K&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=50126415&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

I use these cause there are no chords to mess with, Heats up quickly, and can be used to do other projects besides just soldering.

[Bob Reeves]

This subject has been beat too death several times. Depends on what you are soldering, for fuel tanks and such, really hard to beat the old Weller gun. Get the big one (D550) off eBay, tips can be had at Radio Shack.

For electronics get a soldering station, again Weller WTCP is hard to beat, heat regulation and readily available tips.

Can't agree on using any kind of torch for soldering anything but your plumbing, Too easy to overheat the work and burn the coating off.

[RandySmith]

It seems that my soldering gun has "expired" and I am looking for another one, I am thinking about a Weller 14o-100 type gun as I have had good success with them, however I am gonna ask what gun do you use and why??

     Thanks a lot

Hi Gil

I use  and  sell  the Weller  solder station, it is an excellent  little unit, very convenient, selectable heat ramge, and works well for our needs, not too expensive either !

Randy

[Andrew Saunders]

Bob i have had no problems with Burning any coatings off. The torches do have tips for soldering. The same shape tips that electric soldering irons use. I have had no issues or problems with them. I also design and install sound and lighting systems in churches and Music venues and use those two bernzomatics for that job also.

[dave siegler]

You owe yourself to use one of the new temperature controlled solder stations.  I have weller wes 51.  Use a Hakko at work solders little and tanks as well. 

[Andrew Saunders]

I had one and yes it works but i wasnt happy with it. I also like the butane soldering irons cause of their portability. I guess it has to do with what each person prefers.

[Bob Reeves]

Bob i have had no problems with Burning any coatings off. The torches do have tips for soldering. The same shape tips that electric soldering irons use. I have had no issues or problems with them. I also design and install sound and lighting systems in churches and Music venues and use those two bernzomatics for that job also.

Understand, but still can't recommend it to someone that doesn't have allot of experience using a torch. A novice can get acceptable results the first time out with a gun, using a torch successfully is almost a developed art.

[Andrew Saunders]

Bob its not about using the flame. I use the soldering tips that give the same soldering ability as the electric soldering irons .

[Paul Smith]

My father gave me one of those Weller guns as a birthday present in the late 1950's.  I used it to solder a tank last night.  The Weller gun is one product that's still on the market with minimal changes in over 50 years.

I can't comment on other soldering tools because I've never needed one.

[Bob Reeves]

My father gave me one of those Weller guns as a birthday present in the late 1950's.  I used it to solder a tank last night.  The Weller gun is one product that's still on the market with minimal changes in over 50 years.

I can't comment on other soldering tools because I've never needed one.

Yep, my first one was a birthday present on my 15th birthday 54 years ago. I have moved around too much to have retained anything from that long ago but have always owned at least one, now I have 3, two D550's and an 8200. I also have a Pace soldering/desoldering station plus hot air for SMD work. Soldering is something I have done my entire life.

[Brett Buck]

You owe yourself to use one of the new temperature controlled solder stations.  I have weller wes 51.  Use a Hakko at work solders little and tanks as well. 

   Which type you need depends on what you are doing. I have three separate systems, a temp-controlled station for PC board thorugh-hole parts and light point-to-point wiring, a big old industrial iron for really heavy chassis soldering, and the Weller gun for tanks. I use the first a tremendous amount for radio and amplifier work, the second on very rare occasions where I need to solder something to a radio chassis, and the Weller gun for all tank work.

      I think the Weller gun is by far the easiest to deal with for tanks. You can do them with just about anything - one of the best tank craftsman I ever knew was Ed Robbert and he use a pretty small pencil iron (uncontrolled, as I recall), but I find it much easier to use the gun. You want a lot of temperature but not tremendous heat, so it will heat in a spot fast, without having to wait and let the heat soak everywhere else.

   Torches (with direct flame) are just not a good idea. The torch with the solder head works OK but if you have the big industrial iron and a place to plug it in, it's easier to deal with and much more predictable.

  Brett

[Andrew Saunders]

The dutan torch with the soldering tips work great for me on many applications. I've built two tanks wirh tanks with one.

[Jim Kraft]

One thing I have found after soldering with a Weller gun for years is that every so often you need to loosen and retighten the nuts that hold the tip. For some reason they kind of loose their connection after a while and work much better after loosening and retightening. Since I do not have one of the little Princess irons for soldering small work like on circuit boards, I wrap a piece of copper wire around the tip, feed some solder to it to make a good connection, and use the end of the copper wire to solder small stuff. Works just fine.

[55chevr]

Electrical connections require re-torque occasionally.