Golden Rule for soldering irons

[Tchay]

Experience has taught me a valuable lesson....

DO NOT BUY SOLDERING IRONS ON EBAY
EDIT - Unless it is more expensive (over 15 dollars)

RADIO SHACK IS BETTER EDIT - in my opinion....which is not law....which means it may be a bunch of crap.....which means take it with a grain of salt......which means I'm just an 18 year old that thinks he knows everything but probably does not....

Now, I cannot speak for other online websites, but I can tell you that a 15 dollar soldering iron from Radioshack will usually last you a good 6 months. The same cannot be said of an ebay soldering iron...

Btw, the tips of my soldering irons keep eroding away. Is this normal? Or am I misusing them some how.

I figure this would be a good topic to mention some guidelines to expand the life of your soldering iron. I will edit this when necessary.

 

[bentomo]

You never actually said what was wrong with your ebay one. You just said don't buy one.

 

[Mako321]

my radioshack one that I got for 30 bucks has a worn out tip and the base burns my hand after finishing heating up(takes 3-5 mins). I know the tip is replaceable, but I mean the tip after not many solder joints has a big big dent in it.

 

[Ishwhale]

my $15 soldering iron from radioshack last two uses... It was impossible to keep the tip tinned, then after it cooled off and i tried to replace the tip, i found that the screw had melted on the inside and the head of the screw broke off when i went to unscrew it. Piece of crap. I'm gonna get the one off dealxtreme, it has good reviews. for now i have to use a fat tipped one.

 

[robm]

I stil have my Radioshack iron from 15 years ago

Still works fine. Worn... but fine. I hardly use it anymore now that I have an adjustable digital unit that works a whole lot better.

Cleaning your tip regularly WHILE soldering using a wet sponge is a must, and ALWAYS tinning it after you're done is a must. Other than that, I can't think of anything that you'd be doing that would cause problems - don't sand or grind the tip to make it work better.

 

[snowpenguin]

HOLY GOLDEN RULE OF SOLDERING:

Don't waste your money on cheap irons, buy a good one that will last, such as the Weller WES51 ajustable soldering station found on ebay for $60 shipped.

 

[Mario]

I stil have my Radioshack iron from 15 years ago

Still works fine. Worn... but fine. I hardly use it anymore now that I have an adjustable digital unit that works a whole lot better.

Cleaning your tip regularly WHILE soldering using a wet sponge is a must, and ALWAYS tinning it after you're done is a must. Other than that, I can't think of anything that you'd be doing that would cause problems - don't sand or grind the tip to make it work better.

This. I have my dad's RadioShack soldering iron that he's had since a kid, at it's just fine. I think some of you guys aren't cleaning your tips properly.

Also, when the tip finally does wear down, I take a file and some sandpaper and file it to a nice point again. Haven't bought a replacement tip in half a year.

 

[pkmnjunky7]

Tchay you can't really say this at all. You are not the authority on soldering irons. Perhaps in your personal experience you had better luck at radio shack, but I went through 3 POS soldering irons from radio shack before getting a good weller soldering iron. The point I'm trying to make is that ebay isn't like any other store. You can't say ebay soldering irons are bad when it was just the one you bought. You can get much better soldering irons from ebay than you can from Ripoff Shack.

HOLY GOLDEN RULE OF SOLDERING:

Don't waste your money on cheap irons, buy a good one that will last, such as the Weller WES51 ajustable soldering station found on ebay for $60 shipped.

Quoted for truth.

 

[snowpenguin]

I think what tchay meant without saying it was the ebay $5 irons, the cheap flax you can't find anywhere else because stores don't enjoy selling generic crap.

 

[pkmnjunky7]

I think what tchay meant without saying it was the ebay $5 irons, the cheap flax you can't find anywhere else because stores don't enjoy selling generic crap.

Maybe that's what he meant, but its not what he said.

Experience has taught me a valuable lesson....

DO NOT BUY SOLDERING IRONS ON EBAY

RADIO SHACK IS BETTER]

This is untrue and shouldn't be posted for noobs to see when they come here looking for information on how to solder. This is misleading and could cause someone to buy multiple crappy irons from radioshack.

 

[samjc3]

I stil have my Radioshack iron from 15 years ago

Still works fine. Worn... but fine. I hardly use it anymore now that I have an adjustable digital unit that works a whole lot better.

Cleaning your tip regularly WHILE soldering using a wet sponge is a must, and ALWAYS tinning it after you're done is a must. Other than that, I can't think of anything that you'd be doing that would cause problems - don't sand or grind the tip to make it work better.

This. I have my dad's RadioShack soldering iron that he's had since a kid, at it's just fine. I think some of you guys aren't cleaning your tips properly.

Also, when the tip finally does wear down, I take a file and some sandpaper and file it to a nice point again. Haven't bought a replacement tip in half a year.

this as well. i have my dads older brothers (uncle, but, he is significantly older than my dad, so he handed it down to my dad who handed it down to me) soldering iron. it has had the same tip on it for roughly 40 years, and i just keep filing it down and keeping it clean. still works like a charm!

 

[Tchay]

Thanks for the insight guys! I have heard one person in this topic say to NOT file down your tip and another person say filing the tip is okay.

Oh and if I came across as dictatorial I apologize. Its my opinion against yours really. Every soldering iron I have bought on ebay (usually around 15 dollars) has lasted maybe 2 weeks.

While the one I bought from radio shack lasted for months and months. Many of you may have had opposite experiences, but this is the best of my knowledge

When I have the money, I am going to buy a 30 dollar soldering iron kit at Radio Shack. I will let you guys know how long it lasts.

 

[samjc3]

for sanding tips to a new point, if you dont get it nice and smooth. (i use steel wool after i sand it on the belt sander) if it has scratches from sanding it it will oxidize very quickly.

 

[XCVG]

The older RadioShack irons are probably better. Those that have them so long probably very rarely used them. And finally; UNLESS YOU HAVE TRIED A GOOD IRON, YOU WILL NOT KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE!

I say unless you are not sure about doing anything electronic, get a good iron. If you aren't sure, a cheapy from eBay or RadioShack is fine. I used my dad's iron for a while. Old RadioShack one, worked but the tip was kinda dirty, and the tip was loose. Bought my own, a dual wattage piece of crap. The tip was prone to bending, and loose, and when I tried to tighten it the head of the screw snapped off. Admittedly, I didn't keep my tip in good condition, but it had other problems too. Also, I rarely used my iron, just for reference. It lasted for a year, maybe more, of almost never use, with a regular user it wouldn't last two months. My point: A cheap iron is a cheap piece of flax no matter where it's from.

Sometime between when I got my new (well, it was new) iron and when it broke, I moved on to high school. One of the classes was electronics/robotics, and I of course got to use the soldering stations. The difference was night and day. The things heat up SUPER QUICK. The tip doesn't bend or get loose. They were pretty dirty, but that's mostly from bored students stabbing holes in plastic and such. Wiping it on some wet paper towel (we didn't have sponges) cleaned the tip up nicely. A while (not that long a while, mind you) later I bought my first good iron, a Weller WP25. I also got a really pointy tip for it. This thing performs much like the ones at school. It doesn't get hot as quickly as the school stations but it heats up faster than my old piece of crap, despite being 5 watts less powerful. The tip comes pre-tinned, although I had to re-tin it after leaving it on overnight, something that usually kills lesser irons. The tip doesn't get loose or bend and the whole thing is just better quality. The most important part is how the tip is held on. Cheap irons use a threaded tip and a setscrew. This iron uses a tip that drops in the top, and is secured with a tip nut. It works way better. It's also temperature controlled, though I don't know if that makes any difference. It cost me $50 because our dollar was really sucktastic at the time. You Yanks could get one for $30 or so. There's a review of it on the never-used review site.

 

[themadhacker]

I have a radioshack cheapie that gets tons of use, and it has lasted well over a year.

 

[Mario]

90's junk is QUALITY!

My RadioShack iron gets quite regular use (at least a few times a week, 30-60 minutes at a time) and it is 20 years old!

Seriously, guys. I'mma not joking around. It works great, the handle doesn't heat up much (even after 45 minutes) the tip is great. BUT, I'm testifying for the 90's RadioShack iron. Who knows how crappy they are now? Almost everything you buy these days is so cheaply made you have to buy a new one often.

Everything was made better back when RadioShack was still Tandy.

 

[ShockSlayer]

Anything will last if you take proper care of it.

SS

 

[themadhacker]

Anything will last if you take proper care of it.

SS

 

[zeturi]

Well, I don't know about that. I bought one of those switchable 15 watt 30 watt irons at radioshack. The first thing I do is change the tip for a smaller one. I did, then when I turned it on, the iron exploded, Not a a giant explosion or anything, but a huge spark and puff of smoke. I yanked the power immediately. The last iron I bought from radioshack also died within two days of use. (Light soldering on my 360.)

I'm going to exchange this one, and if it that one edxplodes or stops working, then I'll be back to my Weller arts and crafts iron...

 

[XCVG]

A cheap iron may last you quite a while. It may not last you at all. But unless you've tried a good one, you won't know how much better it is. Sure, you CAN solder with a cheap iron, some can even solder SMD with $10 irons. But it is a much nicer experience using a nice iron, instead of fighting with a cheap piece of crap.

That said, not everyone has the luxury of shelling out $50 for a soldering iron, much less $150 for a station.