Solder Iron,or Station recommendation

[ProfitOfDoom]

Im pretty much just into RC and 98% of my soldering will be deans plugs,esc's ,motors. For all this time I been using a 30w iron and did pretty decent with it usually "struggled with thicker motor wires" But it got the job done. I just bought a used wraith and plan on doing some motor swaps and add some becs into my truck as well as my sons. Long story short im dreading to start all this work with my current iron. I been watching/reading some reviews and I narrowed it down between the hakko and trak power station,Both seem to be pretty popular,work well and similar in price. I was all set to order "most likely the trak power" but I noticed in all the videos rc related they just crank them up to full power,which I believe is 60W.

My question is,If everyone just cranks them up why not just get a 60w iron and save about $50.00? Im guessing you could really fine tune the heat for smaller things,,but I rarely do smaller things and when I did it was more a issue with tip size than heat.

Let me know your thoughts and if you have been through this,what did you do?

[mrG]

I've got a Hakko 888 and its the best $80 I spent in a while. I use it for more than just rc. The kids school projects, little fixes at work and home. Being able to adjust temps will save time, hassle and material. It makes solder so much easier. Buy a station, you'll love it. Btw don't forget to order different tip.

[Super Woody]

Team checkpoint TC.950 here and it was definitely the best money i ever spent on rc anything.

[old man 52]

I got a great deal on a Hakko 936 for a good friend of mine and it has to be one of the best investments i've made.

[stelerzman]

I suggest investing in an adjustable soldering iron, whether it's a station or not. This way you have the ability to control the power output for different size wires and projects. I personally own a Weller and love it. Imho it's a fantastic setup.

Hope all goes well for you. Good luck.

[ProfitOfDoom]

Originally Posted by stelerzman

I suggest investing in an adjustable soldering iron, whether it's a station or not. This way you have the ability to control the power output for different size wires and projects. I personally own a Weller and love it. Imho it's a fantastic setup.

Hope all goes well for you. Good luck.

I went to my local hobby shop the other day to see what they had,they had a Hakko,but it would have been like $30 some more than what you can them online for. I seen a hobbico 60w for $10 so I picked it up just to try and see the difference between that and my 30W. Got home and plugged it in and just seasoned the tip then tinned some junk wire just to test,,Not bad and much faster than my 30w. Today I actually had a project,had to solder up a esc,bec to a Deans plug,I had a Hell of a time!

There is no adjuster on it,so you plug it in and thats all you got....Im not sure if it was getting to hot or what but the solder was getting this dirty look to it,,it was hard to keep it shiny? I tried the sponge to keep it clean and put some tin the tip of the iron while it sits but it was just turning it that dull dirty color. Is this just caused by the extreme heat or doing something wrong?

Well I tried the cheapo route,,I think its time to put the order in

[stelerzman]

Are you using flux????

[ProfitOfDoom]

Not using Flux. Im using the 60/40 rosin core electrical solder. As it sits in the holder the solder just turns grey like a darker lead color and doesnt have that shine.

[stelerzman]

Try using flux, it keeps contamination down and will give you better solder joints.
I use flux on every job.

[stelerzman]

This is the Weller I have, works really well. I've had it for 3 years or so and still going strong.

Weller WLC100 40 Watt Soldering Station Brand New | eBay

[Szczerba]

My hakko 936 quit working after 4 years last week.

I just picked up the Radio Shack Digital 60w model. We'll see how long it lasts.
Needed something quick without having to wait on shipping.
http://m.radioshack.com/radioshack/p...egoryId=&path=


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