Soldering Irons

Hi, Bondy111,

Are you talking about a temperature-controlled system (i.e. with a settable temperature & feedback), or what?

No, One temperature. If you plugged in a 300w PSU, would the iron make the heat or would you need a circuit?

Are you talking low-voltage irons?

These mains irons from Maplin come from 12 - 25W, and are pretty cheap (starting at about £6).

They also do this 12V 25W job at about £21, which can be clipped to a car battery - any 12Vdc supply will do, provided it will give a couple of amps. You'd be better using a variable supply for electronics assembly, as the rated 420°C at 12V is a bit on the hot side.

Then again, you can get a temperature controlled iron/soldering station for under £30.

Here's the data on the Antex irons, FYI.

_{^{Picked Maplin "because it's there". Usual disclaimers...}}

Is the 420°C one the car one? I have a 25W mains one, but it always seem to be a bit on the cool side.

Yes.

I've used Antex soldering irons and they are very well designed. Combined with the low cost of AC - DC switchmode PSUs the Antex irons may work well. Take a look at the Temperature controlled soldering iron tips made by Weller.

Depesto again:

On an early response I suggested looking at the temperature controlled TIP used in Wellel brand soldering irons. It uses a very simple and thereby reliable Thermal Magnetic control. These tips will compensate for the thermal mass contraints going from from either a larger or smaller mass to be heated.

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The simple solution is also the elegant solution.

Does PSU= power supply?

Yes.

Yes.

Damn those acronyms! I hate them! We should quit using them ASAP.

GA - I'm with ya there, bro!

Me too.

Hi Tobugrynbak,

I've found that using a higher wattage pencil iron will get the job done in proportion to the mass of what's being heated. However, I've recently purchased a controllable station and I like it.

Oh, and by the way, you're not a redneck - at least by my definition.

Mike

At Intel I used Metcal soldering irons. They worked so good Intel bought them out. (may have sold them since) I would like one of their soldering stations but a couple grand for a soldering station and tips used once in a while is a bit over kill.

I have three irons that I use, firstly my electronic temperature controlled iron for most of the soldering on pcb's that I do, then there's my 100watt "Blunderbus " iron for the bigger cabling jobs. When all else fails there's my "Flame Thrower" butane gas fired iron for when you just can't get enough heat into it ( neg battery terminals on Motorola GP300 hand held radios) with an electric iron.

Like most tradies I like to have the right tool for the job. You can never have enough of the right tools. :-)

With the change to no-lead solders your 25 watt irons are going to be obsolete. No-lead solder requires a "hotter" iron. In the soldering class I teach occasionally the minimum size soldering iron is 60w. That is just what it takes for the no-lead solder and larger heat sinking pieces.

I, being a former Intel employee, also prefer metcal soldering irons. Your hand was much closer to the work giving you better control. They also had the sharpest pointed tips available for ease in working smaller parts.

If you're talking about PCB components & small panel switches & indicators, I beg to differ.

I've been using lead-free for the last two or three years, with 18W & 25W irons, and (heatsinks aside) with no problem.

Granted the melting point for lead-free is generally higher (typically about 180-190°C for tin/lead and 215-225°C for lead-free (Sn/Ag/Cu)), but the lowest of the fixed-temperature irons in the Antex link in #3 (including the 12W models) is 370°C.

I should have written variable up to 60 watt irons. We don't actually have them set at 60 watts for most work.

I have not actually seen any of the brands you listed in #3

All I can say is that in class the 25w models I have don't melt the no-lead solder we have. It is 0.015 inch diameter rosin core, kester brand,96.5% tin 3% silver .5% copper. It was what was recommended by a local board manufacturer.

Right off hand I don't remember what brand/model the old 25watt tools are. I stopped using them and have not looked at them since. We use several types of 60 watt and up variables now.

My hot air chip re-soldering tools for the class are set at 450C which is the lowest temp they work well at. They can melt at lower setting but heat up the chip too much while they do melt the solder. Hotter is faster in their case. I teach to IPC-A-610 Rev D standards, which is what all the local board manufacturers expect from incoming new hires.

One other point. With no-lead solder, solder iron tips are now a consumable. Tips wear out much faster with no-lead versus leaded solder. At least that has been my experience since we changed from lead to no-lead solder in the classes taught by me.

On my work bench I have a xylink 379 station, with a custom filed tip, which I use set from 38 to 42 watts for almost all of the repairs I do. I change out surface mounts down to size 402. It is fun to watch right handers try to use it.

Regards.

YES!

You can by assembling your own PSU [It is a valid acronym for Power Supply Unit ] from kits or selecting components from market it the soldering iron is a simple self-Temperature-controlled one. In this case you only need a 24VDC [normally fixed voltage W depending on irons' power] supply.

But in case of Electronically Temerature-controlled it is a big job of indigenous design or Reverse-engineering of controll Cct [a valid acronym for circuit ].

Have a fine day !!!!!