Looking at getting a new soldering iron and I'm overwhelmed

[Ohioskills]

hobby king has a good one very cheep

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dproduct=19240

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by Ohioskills

hobby king has a good one very cheep

You didn't read the thread did you.

[z50king]

Originally Posted by nigels_world

Sign in and the price is $15.62 and it ships from the US warehouse.

Soldering Station with Adjustable Heat Range (USA Warehouse)

I have a assortment pack of tips from eBay to go with it.

those knock off 936s have a garbage transformer and a junk sin wave generator. They will work fine if you turn them on, use them, then turn it right off and let it cool down. If you forget to turn it off, it will overheat and die on you.

The 888 won't do that. I have been using my hakko gen1 888, with the dial, and still have the same tip. Keep the tip covered in solder when not in use and the metal will not corrode on you.

oops forgot to say I have owned the 888 for about 2 years

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by z50king

those knock off 936s have a garbage transformer and a junk sin wave generator. They will work fine if you turn them on, use them, then turn it right off and let it cool down. If you forget to turn it off, it will overheat and die on you.

The 888 won't do that. I have been using my hakko gen1 888, with the dial, and still have the same tip. Keep the tip covered in solder when not in use and the metal will not corrode on you.

oops forgot to say I have owned the 888 for about 2 years

I haven't had that problem but I will keep it in mind. Mine has been left on for hours when I was building my cnc. How long do you think it would take to over heat?

[z50king]

Originally Posted by nigels_world

I haven't had that problem but I will keep it in mind. Mine has been left on for hours when I was building my cnc. How long do you think it would take to over heat?

It really depends on the unit. Several Chinese companies have made these and tolerances and materials are all different. Just put you hand over it to feel what kind of heat is coming off the top of the case. You'll know when it starts getting too hot.

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by z50king

It really depends on the unit. Several Chinese companies have made these and tolerances and materials are all different. Just put you hand over it to feel what kind of heat is coming off the top of the case. You'll know when it starts getting too hot.

I actually have done that. I had a strip of resistors laying on top of it and didn't remove them when I turned it on. I struck me after a while that they might not like sitting on something so hot but when I took them off I realized the unit wasn't more than warm. I'm going to keep an eye on it though.

[toyota2]

About 6 months ago I finally broke down and bought a Hakko fx888d. It is one of the best investments I have made for this hobby. I had a 40w Radio Shack special that was a real pain to use. I know there are cheaper soldering stations out there but wanted something that will hopefully last and that I can get tips for easily.

[1tonscout]

I appreciate all the input! I got the Trakpower and It works great!

[anuthabubba]

After about 20 years of all sorts (from tube amp repair to RC plane landing gear and pushrod builds) of use, my cheap 35 watt pencil iron crapped out. Went to WM and bought the $4.95 30 watter in the auto lighting department and so far it has done everything I have required on crawlers.

I reshaped the tip and triple tinned it with cool downs between as suggested by an old TV/CB repairman.

[badhoopty]

Originally Posted by fly

I too am a huge fan of the Weller WES51, I have been using one for some time and its ESD safe, it has never let me down!

ditto. i picked one up off ebay awhile back and its nice.

i wouldnt hesitate to get that hakko if i didnt already have the weller.

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by z50king

those knock off 936s have a garbage transformer and a junk sin wave generator. They will work fine if you turn them on, use them, then turn it right off and let it cool down. If you forget to turn it off, it will overheat and die on you.

The 888 won't do that. I have been using my hakko gen1 888, with the dial, and still have the same tip. Keep the tip covered in solder when not in use and the metal will not corrode on you.

oops forgot to say I have owned the 888 for about 2 years

I have been looking for more information about this on the net without any luck. Would you point me in the right direction? I can't even find a mention of it.

[winnerone23]

So far so good.. it showed up earlier today. Just got some time an threw two pieces of wore together and decided to fix the rx wires on a bec I had sitting here.. need practice with the new gun, I mean iron.. lol..



I have a few bad ones laying here, so I'll do some reworking an wire em up an pull em apart an wire em up..
getting use to how it heats will be the trick I have to get use too. That an the whole end gets hot, not just the tip! (Ouch! My knuckle...).

[z50king]

Do you have anything to hold the board with while you work? I use the heart thing with the movable alligator clips.

I forget what model you bought, but the good models direct most of the energy to the tip. The shaft gets hot because it's connected to the tip

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

[z50king]

Originally Posted by nigels_world

I have been looking for more information about this on the net without any luck. Would you point me in the right direction? I can't even find a mention of it.

I read it on the ev boards. I don't know if I could find it again

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

[mammoth]

I have the Trak Power 950 and love it!!! It heats up fast and cools fast and has done any job I need it too.

[cormier33]

Have you looked into the LRP soldering station? It's rated quite high and is likely overkill for most applications...pretty expensive too!

But!!!! Due to some help (I believe from this website), I found this exact same (but different color) version of it. It's only $145 and man does it work great! It's from SMTmax but I bought it from their Amazon store.

Here's the link:

QK202D Intelligent LeadFree Soldering Station - Amazon.com

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by z50king

I read it on the ev boards. I don't know if I could find it again

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

Just an update on this.

I have since had my hakko knock-off on for multiple hours straight while working on my cnc. The control box is never hot and is often hard to tell if its even warmer than ambient temperature.

[fj40jay]

I have the hakko knock off from HK. I have had no luck with this iron. At first I thought it was just me, but come to find out it does not get hot enough to do the job properly. I am now using a cheap old radio shack one now, works great.

[winnerone23]

Lol.. too funny.. I was just goin to post last night at how Great mine was working for me!
I got the hakko tips pack mentioned in a earlier post and have been doin lots of good soldering since.
I wasn't a huge fan of the stock tip that came with it. Tho it worked good enough to solder the rx wires back to a bec cause of its small size.

Overall, a awesome buy, I feel..

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by fj40jay

I have the hakko knock off from HK. I have had no luck with this iron. At first I thought it was just me, but come to find out it does not get hot enough to do the job properly. I am now using a cheap old radio shack one now, works great.

I can't even imagine a need in the rc hobby to turn mine up all the way. What tip are you using? No contaminants or oxidation right? Flux?