What Watt?

[dibble34]

Going to get a new soldering iron, mine is pants and takes ages to melt anything. Normally by the time the solder has melted the wires are practically on fire! So thinking big tip and 80w?

[AmiSMB]

I carry a Antex HP100 100W from Squires Hobbies and Crafts in Bognor Regis for £14 and have a smaller Antex XS25 25W for smaller jobs. I use the 100W for batteries, 4mm Corally connectors and motor wires as 12awg wire really needs some heat behind it to let the solder flow nicely. Be warned with a high power soldering iron comes great responsibility! As there is a great chance of heat damage if you are not careful!

[sosidge]

I have a good-quality blue-handle Weller 60W, and the 1/4 inch-ish tip is the one that gets most use.

The good news is that in this post-cells era you don't need a monster iron for building batteries like you used to, I reckon a quality 40W iron with a similar sized tip would do most jobs.

[dibble34]

Cheers everyone, I'll have look online. I am sure my rubbish one is 60w and doesn't seem up to the job anymore.

[imull]

Make sure you use leaded solder too, it flows much better than leadfree and will make the job much easier. You'll probably need to look on ebay for it.

[pugs]

Originally Posted by imull

Make sure you use leaded solder too, it flows much better than leadfree and will make the job much easier. You'll probably need to look on ebay for it.

spot on, because lead free has a much higher melting point if price ain't much of an issue try to find a weller iron there about the best there is...

[Razzellrc]

Hm i can still get leaded self fluxing solder in my local handy man store

[SlowOne]

Tip size is what to look for. As Sosidge says the 1/4" tip is the key, as it will hold the heat better and give a good job. A 1,000,000 W iron with a tip the size of a sewing needle is useless for our jobs as the heat will disappear from the tip in a fraction of a second as soon as it is applied to the job.

I have a 20W 7.2v iron I run on 12v and it's perfect because it has a 6mm tip that loses virtually no heat when doing motors or battery connectors. It also has a conical tip that goes to a point, and that is perfect for servo wires, etc because as soon as you put it on anything, the heat flows straight into the job and away from the iron, preventing you overheating the job.

Weller are a fabulous brand, and it is no co-incidence that they are the iron of choice for hobbyists that do stained glass - using something approaching a 15mm tip so they don't lose heat when they put it on large lumps of lead to make the joints in a stained glass assembly! It's still only 60W bit it can cope with a huge joint when the right tip is fitted. HTH