Recommend me a cheap but capable soldering iron please?

[Darren Frosty]

Amazon/Ebay/AliExpress, anywhere really.

 

Don't need anything fancy just one that will be more than capable of soldering XT90s on to fat 6S cables.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Steve-O2021]

Currently using one similar to this and no issues so far with it.

 

Done the XT90 connectors on my 4S packs with no issues 

 

https://amzn.eu/d/8ha8NWK

 

But the one I got was only £30 when it was on offer think it was blackfriday

[Grogg]

I recently caved in and bought myself a soldering station, it's really good, especially considering it was under £30, I bought it from eBay though I would not recommend it based off of the seller, scamming charlatan is far too polite a term to describe the seller - it took 4 attempts and eBay having to get involved before I received the soldering station that I ordered.  I would seriously consider a soldering station instead of a soldering iron, very little difference in price once you start looking at half decent soldering irons which cost about the same price as good quality hobby grade soldering stations.

 

So I would strongly advise anybody not to buy any tools from eBay, unless it's a tool you're buying for one task and are then going to bin once you have completed that task, basically a throw away tool.  You're much better off heading to your local Screwfix and speaking to them - they know their stuff, or even god forbid B&Q instead of buying tools off of eBay, yes it will cost a few quid more - not really if you take into account the benefits that physical shops provide you with that eBay sellers don't like safety certification, warranties and such, but it will save you a lot of time and hassle, and I value my time and convenience far far more than I do a couple of quid, and it really is only a couple of quids difference.

 

Bad quality tools, especially power tools, can be extremely dangerous, even soldering irons - I've seen many people either badly injured, receiving life changing injuries if not killed by bad quality/dangerous cheap rubbish tools, so if you do decide to buy one from Amazon or eBay, make sure it has the ''Kitemark certificate'', which most electronics bought from Amazon and eBay don't - see all the electric scooters and e-bikes that have been exploding and bursting into flames like what happened to Grenfell  Tower.

 

Edit to add:

 

This is the soldering station that I caved in and bought myself - I purposely did not link to the eBay listing that I bought mine from as I refuse to give that charlatan any publicity or hint of me approving or recommending them.  And the link I provided was just the first link that came up when I did a search for the soldering station I bought, so the link is not me recommending that seller either - I just watch his YouTube channel, just the soldering station that they sell is what I am recommending.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Grogg

[Alex97]

The reviews aren't great however I've had mine for 7-8 years and had zero issues plus Weller is a well known brand so you'll be fine...

 

Weller WLIR6023G 60W Soldering Iron, LED Halo Ring, with Ergonomic Molded Pencil Grip Handle https://amzn.eu/d/65Mxwfw

 

A think a few others on here also use it. Personally £30 for a soldering iron that will last you years is pretty good, I had a cheap one before and it was 💩

[Bajadre]

use this one from amazon 80watts does everything i need and more i like the temp led on it too very handy 👍

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soldering-Adjustable-Temperature-180-520°C-Desoldering/dp/B092VTGGDM/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=soldering%2Bkit&qid=1685554366&refinements=p_36%3A118662031%2Cp_72%3A419153031&rnid=419152031&s=diy&sr=1-5&th=1

 

Quote

 see all the electric scooters and e-bikes that have been exploding and bursting into flames like what happened to Grenfell  Tower.

 

more to do with numpties who leave them charging unattended over night  then quality tbh matey

[totlxtc]

4 hours ago, Grogg said:

I recently caved in and bought myself a soldering station, it's really good, especially considering it was under £30, I bought it from eBay though I would not recommend it based off of the seller, scamming charlatan is far too polite a term to describe the seller - it took 4 attempts and eBay having to get involved before I received the soldering station that I ordered.  I would seriously consider a soldering station instead of a soldering iron, very little difference in price once you start looking at half decent soldering irons which cost about the same price as good quality hobby grade soldering stations.

 

So I would strongly advise anybody not to buy any tools from eBay, unless it's a tool you're buying for one task and are then going to bin once you have completed that task, basically a throw away tool.  You're much better off heading to your local Screwfix and speaking to them - they know their stuff, or even god forbid B&Q instead of buying tools off of eBay, yes it will cost a few quid more - not really if you take into account the benefits that physical shops provide you with that eBay sellers don't like safety certification, warranties and such, but it will save you a lot of time and hassle, and I value my time and convenience far far more than I do a couple of quid, and it really is only a couple of quids difference.

 

Bad quality tools, especially power tools, can be extremely dangerous, even soldering irons - I've seen many people either badly injured, receiving life changing injuries if not killed by bad quality/dangerous cheap rubbish tools, so if you do decide to buy one from Amazon or eBay, make sure it has the ''Kitemark certificate'', which most electronics bought from Amazon and eBay don't - see all the electric scooters and e-bikes that have been exploding and bursting into flames like what happened to Grenfell  Tower.

 

Edit to add:

 

This is the soldering station that I caved in and bought myself - I purposely did not link to the eBay listing that I bought mine from as I refuse to give that charlatan any publicity or hint of me approving or recommending them.  And the link I provided was just the first link that came up when I did a search for the soldering station I bought, so the link is not me recommending that seller either - I just watch his YouTube channel, just the soldering station that they sell is what I am recommending.

Do your friends call you “Lucky”? 🍀

 

Seems like everyone is out to rip you off or rob you! 🤣🤣🤣

[Grogg]

1 hour ago, totlxtc said:

Do your friends call you “Lucky”? 🍀

 

Seems like everyone is out to rip you off or rob you! 🤣🤣🤣

 

It depends, if it's things that I buy on a regular basis from the same sellers all the time, I've never had any issues, it's always when I buy something from a seller I've never bought from before that I have issues, and without failure.

 

I'll also admit, I have compared to the average British person very high standards when it comes to customer service, so high that in my opinion Britain would not know what customer service is, yet alone good customer service if it was beaten to death by a customer service training manual.  Asia has far far higher standards when it comes to customer service compared to anywhere in Europe, and that's where I've spent most of my life, so I'm used to and expect Asian levels of customer service.  For example in Asia if you pay for next day delivery and it arrives 2 days later instead of the next day, the retailer will automatically refund you the shipping costs and apologise at a minimum without you having to even contact them.  Here if you fork out the extra for next day delivery and the retailer decides to sit on it a few days before sending it out and you don't receive it until a week later, you have to chase down the retailer to refund you the difference in cost between premium next day delivery and standard delivery, and yet by law the retailer should refund you the difference without you having to ask, yet alone raise a complaint.  It's the same when things have to be specially ordered in for you, in Asia you will be given an exact date, and the item will arrive on that date, in the UK it's extremely common to be told ''yes we can order it in if you pay a deposit, but we don't know when we'll get it in, so we'll contact you when it arrives''.

 

I only moved to the UK in 2017, having previously spent all my life barr uni and 6 months in Asia.  So I'm still adjusting to how things work and are done here, compared to the countries that I used to be based in.  And to be honest, I've found scammers to be far far more common in the UK than anywhere I've worked or been based in Asia, out there they don't play around with or mody coddle people who break laws, the punishments are extremely harsh, severe and swift - just look at the powder milk scandal in China CEO's of major companies where executed because of decisions people junior to them made that where illegal, or the Y2K bug fear from the turn of the century, China insisted that the most senior employee of every aircraft manufacturer that has planes operating in China get on one of their planes and take off at I think it was 11pm on December 31st 1999, and be in the air until at least 2am January 1st 2000 before landing to prove their safety, and that the Y2K bug wasn't an issue.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Grogg

[wolfie1]

I use a snap on has soldering iron and it is really good, i also have a parkside 1 from lidl and its ok, but  you can  definitely tell the difference between the 2 in their soldering ability, I also use them to heat metal parts to loosen loctite if thats of any help to you

[Darren Frosty]

I like the look at the Weller I reckon.

 

Is there any advantage in getting the 80w or is 60w more than enough?

[wolfie1]

The more powerful will put more direct heat on the bit you want to solder faster thus preventing heat soak to heat up other stuff

[Stormbringer]

The higher the wattage the less contact time to melt the solder

[Alex97]

16 minutes ago, Darren Frosty said:

I like the look at the Weller I reckon.

 

Is there any advantage in getting the 80w or is 60w more than enough?

The tip on the 80w Weller is a bit big, I've done XT30s with it however due to the size it makes it somewhat more difficult. 

[Stormbringer]

Cant you change the size of the bits ?

[Grogg]

37 minutes ago, Darren Frosty said:

I like the look at the Weller I reckon.

 

Is there any advantage in getting the 80w or is 60w more than enough?

 

The 80w will not just get hotter, but also reach it's maximum temp faster, and as a side note cost more in leccy to run. 

 

Nobody has mentioned it here, but hotter does not always mean better, as in it is possible and very easy to damage and destroy electronics if you use too much heat, or have heat applied for too long.  I've destroyed thousands of quids worth of potentiometers due to either using a soldering iron that's too hot for the job, or by holding the soldering iron against the potentiometer for too long - as in instead of 2 or 3 seconds I held it for 5 seconds, it's why I don't like soldering and will happily pay people to do it for me.

 

Edit to add:

 

And Wella are very well known for making good quality soldering irons.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Grogg

[Alex97]

1 hour ago, Stormbringer said:

Cant you change the size of the bits ?

Not sure

[Steve-O2021]

Invest in good solder as well.

 

I use Wella Lead based solder, doesn't need as much heat as the non lead based stuff that comes free with most amazon / ebay irons