Soldering Iron

With all the posts that I have read on here, I now want to get a soldering Iron. Can anyone recommend a good one? I have no soldering experience at all and will be teaching myself how to do it.

I'm curious as to what you'll be soldering? I don't recall seeing many posts with projects that require soldering.

Radio Shack carries some good soldering irons. I have the one with 2 settings, 20 watt and 40 watts and it has served me well for many years.

Linc

I want to make something similar to the brewtroller. I want an Arduino, the post that got me going was the mash monitor post. I need a soldering iron to make the temp probe and i will need to solder other things as well.

I just don't want to buy a POS and I also don't want to buy something that is way out of my league.

For what you need just do as missing link suggested go to radio shack or some other hobbiest store and pick you up an ok iron... either something in the 40-45 range or a multi ranged one say like he has thatsd 20-40 watts..... you DONT need anything fancy....... something with a few different tips may be nice it gives you ALOT of flexibility on what you can solder ....


That being said I LOVE my pace digital sensa temp iron then again I got it for free lol

Once you get your iron, practice soldering wire to different things and learn how to tin wire. Always make sure you touch the solder to the wire, not to iron tip. When you have the wire hot enough, it will actually suck the solder up and leave a shiny finish. It takes very little solder to make a good joint.

Good luck and have fun.

Linc

Weller® Marksman® 25W Soldering Iron Kit - RadioShack.com

Weller® WP35 35-Watt Professional Soldering Iron - RadioShack.com

Which one do you think? A guy at work told me weller is a good company. Also I could just get one on ebay right?

Get the 35W. It will heat up faster, it is a little better built. I still have my Weller 40W iron that I must have bought.....oh....30 years ago! Still works great.

What about this one?

Weller SP40L Marksman 40 Watt Soldering Iron NEW NIB - eBay (item 270363656321 end time Mar-31-09 11:35:41 PDT)

Amazon.com: Weller WLC100 Soldering Station For Hobbyist And Do-It-Yourselfer: Home Improvement

Soldering Iron Reviews - Best Soldering Iron - Solder Gun - Weller Soldering Station

That's what I would go with.

Stop, if you are soldering on a PCB board like the Arduino , you don't want a solder iron over 20 watts, ideally look for a variable one. I build loads of electronics and have 5 different ones, you will damage IC components quickly, and always use a heatsink . Weller is a great one, but there are others.

When my solder station broke I soldered the BrewTroller boards with this soldering iron.

15-Watt Soldering Iron with Grounded Tip - RadioShack.com

Works great and won't lift the pads off your boards.

I finally received my new solder station in the mail the other day and I love it. If your going to be soldering a lot I can't say enough about having a solder station.

Amazon.com: Weller WESD51 Digital Soldering Station with Power Unit, Soldering Pencil, Stand, Sponge: Home Improvement

You can't go wrong with Weller. Like what has been pointed out, if you want to do PC board work and wiring, you need more than one or an adjustable soldering iron. For only $20, this one from Fry's is ok: FRYS.com | Velleman

It's adjustable and it's a station style. I've been using it for a while now. If you use it a lot, the barrel will begin to loosen because of the way it is attached. I just pull it apart and bend the metal retainer back and it's good for a couple more months of use. That's pretty much crap to have to do that, but remember it's only $20, has replaceable tips and maintains a consistent temp.

The Weller Jcdillin pointed out is a much better choice if you want to spend the money.

I just bought one of these a couple of months back for building audio recording gear.
Works great!
Amazon.com: SL540 Assembled Soldering Station: Your Store