Soldering iron advice

TS-b2 general use, Ts-I for very fine work, TS-K (chisel tip) for heavy duty stuff.

I was thinkin C4 for heavy duty. BC2 for normal use

Yeah the C4 does look good for heavy duty, nice big surface area to transfer heat, must have a look up on AliExpress later :slight_smile: I also use my iron for mini drones, so tools for the job and all that. I think its only 60 dollars or so for a set of 7 varieties that should cover most jobs.

For almost half the money you can order this

combined with this

and you are good to go :ok_hand:

I really love this station and the tips. Iā€™ve spent so much money for shitty soldering irons before I finally found this. I solder everything with this station and the tips a durable (not like shitty iron tips). For soldering big things like thick copper bars or cells (in the past only :shushing_face:) I have a massive 80W iron.

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TS D25 and have the TS B02 on the way @moon . I love having the headphone jack type of tips. So fucking legit!

seems like those work on the TS80 not the TS100?

ya the 100 is the older style normal solder tips you have to unscrew and shit, the 80 has the new style where the non-tip end is just a head phone jack that you plug in quick and easy. #Science

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oh that doesnt bother me much :slight_smile:

just throw out the setscrew, to me the tip sits in there securely enough. and as a bonus you can just rotate the tip to your liking and for angle you are soldering at.

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The first soldering iron I purchased was this one for ~5 EUR from HobbyKing. I managed to do pretty much any soldering job with itā€¦ once I learned how to do it. IMO soldering is much more about technique than about the iron you use. The way you apply the solder is everything. If you do it right such that you have thermal bridges and good heat transfer, it will work even with a cheap iron. If you do it wrong, an expensive iron wonā€™t help.

I upgraded my cheapo iron to TS100. I like it a lot but itā€™s mainly because it heats up really quickly (in less than 10s whereas with the HobbyKing one I had to wait over a minute) and because I can power it from a LiPo battery. However, though itā€™s certainly noticeably easier to work with, I wouldnā€™t say itā€™s actually THAT MUCH of a difference.

That said, donā€™t worry too much about which iron to get, but be sure to learn how to use it correctly because thatā€™s what makes the real difference.

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I can understand. I will take that into consideration. I thought i had extra money but turns out i had more bills to pay so it all went to bills

I wrote a bunch about irons before, but the short version is, cartridge tip systems like hakko t12, the weller @b264 has, ts100/ts80, pace, metcal, jbc perform a lot better than the older tech stuff. Absolutly cheapest nice iron will be the nonam arduino controlled t12 irons. Ts80/100 are nice but you have to add a nice silicone wire, psu and stand to make it nice to use. My money would go to a used pace station, around 50w. Used industrial/commercial over chinzy new hobby stuff every single time.

The thing that makes the biggest difference for soldering big things is a big tip. Whatever you get, get a small and medium chisel tip, and the biggest tip the system has.

@b264 stop abusing your nice station! :wink: Get the biggest tip in the system and lower the temps!

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https://www.ebay.com/itm/362616767240

I would get this. I have a couple. Itā€™s a bit of a weird system for assembly line use. Temperature is controlled by a plug-in thing with a resistor in it, so workers canā€™t change temperature willy nilly. This one comes with ā€œ8ā€ which is 800F, a bit too hot, but itā€™s easy to make one for 650F or 700F. Heats up in about 10 sec. Tip looks like the biggest tip already. The pace system has really cheap and durable tips. Really nice station to use. Missing the iron holder though!

The Heatwise are a bit older and more rare. Thereā€™s an adjustable temp version. The used ones often are missing the handle, which can be a pain to get ahold of.

Hm $13 shipping, and missing the holder. Maybe offer $50 and see what happens.

I have a hakko that everyone raves about, but I also have an Amazon One that was brilliant.

Unfortunately, itā€™s sold out. Iā€™d by two more in a heartbeat. It tackled stupid big 6-7mm bullets and double 8ga wire like a champ. Itā€™s the blue and black one. After 8 months of hard service, I think itā€™s going bad. RIP.

I got another amazon one and it works but struggles with xt90 loop keys. Itā€™s the grey, non-hakko one. Only buy for small jobs if at all.

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^ donā€™t get this one :slight_smile: FX888D, was good at the time, still works, but things have gotten a LOT better.

The T12 tips weā€™ve talked about are the ones that go with Hakko FX-951 which are around $250.

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Anyone use this Milwaukee one? It seems like such a convenient gadget. I suspect is disappoints like every other cordless iron.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Soldering-Iron-Tool-Only-2488-20/302022408?cm_mmc=Shopping|G|Base|D25T|25-9_PORTABLE+POWER|NA|LIA|71700000044155732|58700004615424082|92700040564149235&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzLqQnPHG4QIVhB-tBh0z_wlcEAQYASABEgI_J_D_BwE

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Oh snap, this is all the answers right chair. :+1:

The TS100 running off lipo just absolutely kills this. Or the TS80 running off a powerbank with usb-c.

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For $60 you can get this one. I use it and so do a few other family members, the oldest one is atleast 5 years old and still doing great. I love have the hot air gun.

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Deal-Soldering-Station-862D/dp/B01CJM5E5C/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=Soldering+station&qid=1554953835&s=gateway&sr=8-8