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Which Soldering Iron to Buy?

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rmikes213:
I need to get a soldering iron (preferably a station) but I'm having a hard time figuring out which brand to buy. My father has an old Weller Soldering Iron, and it STILL works great years and years after it was first bought. But looking at new Weller models and reading reviews, it looks like this isn't the case anymore. I want something that will last, considering I'm starting to build my own collection of tools...

So the question is, should I browse ebay and look to buy an older Weller model even if it's used? Is there another brand of soldering iron that is currently the best to buy and will offer me the best quality? I don't mind spending $50-$100 on a high quality soldering station that will last.

I want something in the 60W range that performs well. Variable temperature doesn't really matter to me. The main use of this will be for small projects like wiring arcades, fixing old video game consoles, small electronic projects (nothing too heavy duty).

Thanks for your help!

Nephasth:
I have an Aoyue 968A+ and love it.

degenatrons:
I have 60W soldering station from circuit specialists and can't fault it at all.  Has been very reliable and used for all kinds of soldering tasks - including soldering up hundreds of KADE devices.
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-station-60w.html



My model seems to be discontinued now but there are various alternative models including similar one with digital temperature control.
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/soldering-station-60-watt-3dlf.html

I purchased with various tips but have mostly used the conical/fine point tip for precision soldering - with 0.5mm 60/40 solder.
Also recommend these for cleaning the tip: http://www.circuitspecialists.com/ty-98.html as they keep the temperature stable compared to the wet sponges.

rmikes213:
Holy moly, Nephasth, now that's a beast! I think that's a little bit more than what I'm looking for. I actually found two stations which I'm mulling over right now:

degenatrons, this station looks looks similar to the one you posted and looks like it has everything I need. It looks stable and the reviews looks good.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10707

Now this Hakko is a good step up, and would only spend the extra $50 if the quality is really that much better than the one above.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11704

Vigo:
I'm interesting in this topic as well, been thinking to upgrade from my $35 ones. Just a general question, what are we looking at for heatup times on nicer stations?


--- Quote from: Nephasth on September 03, 2013, 09:37:25 am ---I have an Aoyue 968A+ and love it.

--- End quote ---

Wow, that is quite a soldering station. How well does that smoke absorber work?

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