New Soldering Station questions

[MoparGreg]

[dr fabio]

Ive used a fixed temp 50W Weller for 30 years with no problem. Unless youre a plumber that's more than enough soldering power. I have a 2mm tip and it has enough heat to solder stainless steel plate, brass plate, piano wire, etc. People that say you need more than 50W heat don't know how to solder. The secret to good soldering is to make sure the parts to be soldered are super clean. The solder should flow over the parts like melted butter. If it doesn't then the parts you are trying to solder have an oxide layer on them. No amount of heat will remove this oxide layer and the solder will ball up and not stick.

The best solder flux I have come across bar none is phosphoric acid. It will not attack metallic parts. Clean parts well, apply phosphoric acid, if it starts to bubble there is still a layer of oxide on the surface you are wanting to solder. Once the bubbling stops, surface is only metallic. Wet the soldering iron tip with the solder. Apply iron to surface and simultaneously apply solder to the bridge that has formed between the soldering iron and the initial solder that was on the tip. Solder should wet the surface immediately and flow like melted butter. Move iron along the part and feed in solder.

[RichD]

I use a 45 watt Ungar iron for everything except very fine electrical connections. I mounted a dimmer switch and an electrical outlet in a plastic project box and use that to reduce the voltage to the iron. When you are soldering heat transfer is important. Besides having clean parts and using flux the tip of the iron must be clean and shiney. If the iron gets too hot the tip will get an oxidized coating and will no longer conduct heat well. I like the Ungar iron because it has a chisel tip that includes the heating element. Irons that have a screw in tip do not conduct heat as well. The Ungar actually works better than the 100 watt Weller iron that I have.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I had to upgrade my soldering station recently, to help my son with his invention for electric guitars. Its like an insert, replacing the pick guard with a pick guard with fancy pickups and switches installed. There's a lot of micro soldering to do, and obviously, the bonds have to be very solid. I found that the Hakko soldering stations were by far the best for accuracy, speed, and control. This one has a digital temp setting, and reaches 850F in about 30 seconds, plus, it remembers where I had it set last even after being unplugged. There are many shapes for the tips, and the stand has two methods of tip cleaning built in. Over the years, I have had three big Weller guns, two Radio Shack units- one of them an expensive station type, and one ancient pre-Weller Wen gun. Nothing ever came close to this Hakko, and the price wasn't bad at all. Overnight, I became much better at soldering, and recently started with silver solder, which I always had to use a torch to use in the past.

[MoparGreg]

Thanks for the replies. There's some good feedback there. I'm in no rush to get a new one so I hope to find one on special somewhere

[chappy]

Adding on to Gregs search, I am also looking for a good one for brass chassis's.
Doing plate and music wire etc.
I noticed on the one Greg was showing that it had a fairly small tip.
Does this make a difference in chassis building ?
Id like to get the right equipment the first time out.
Thanks
Bob

[bill from nh]

Bob, the small tip might be ideal for soldering leadwire, but for soldering brass plate & piano wire, you'll want something bigger. A bigger tip will transfer heat quicker. I read that Weller has other tips that fit this soldering station, but I don't know what they are or if they'll work for chassis building. Perhaps one of the guys above who said they own one of these stations can be of help. :)

[waaytoomuchintothis]

[miveson]

+1 for the Hakko - lovely piece of kit and I've been using for a while and very, very impressed. Love the digital temperature which fires to the required temperature in no time.

The holder is superb (can't tell you how many times I burnt myself or burnt something else with those el-cheapo stands).

Interested to know where you got the additional tips from as I'm looking for a source of tips at a reasonable price.

[MoparGreg]

Hey Rob, I've done some research on the Hakko soldering stations. Interesting they are cheaper and have more watts. I am looking at the FX888D. It's 65w and up to a temp range of 480C. And it's digital compared to the Weller. Out of interest can the digital display tell both temp ant watts? What model do you have Rob? Decisions decisions!

[ccobra]

I've got one of those Hakkos also and I really like it over the others that I've had. i got mine and the extra tips through Amazon.

[chappy]

http://www.a1parts.ca/solomon/index.html

I just purchased this one today online from a dealer I get my power supply units from.
price was good , and it is local to me. I also got some additional tips in larger chisel head style
and a couple of spares 8th one down SL 30

I should have it buy Tuesday.
Thanks for all the help H, and Dave I blame you for getting me into this brass conundrum
Cheers
Bob

[Junior]

Rob,
Which model Hakko do you have?
Thanks
Tom

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Greg you are looking at the very one. The sticker underneath says "Hakko FX888D, 120v-70W, 60hz".

It was ordered from Hakko direct, along with a bunch of tips. There was even a freebie gift.