Soldering Iron Suggestion

[alexis_droso]

Hi, I'm relatively new to pedal building and in need of a new soldering iron. I've been doing electronics work for the past year or two, using an antex hp40 soldering iron which has proved to be a very reliable piece of equipment. Although it is still a very decent soldering iron for its money, I think that the 40 watt version that I have is probably not the best for pcb soldering. I was thinking about buying the antex xs25, which is a 25watt soldering iron, as it is much more suitable for pcb work. Does anyone have any past experience with this soldering iron, or have any other suggestion? My budget is in the range of 40-50 dollars.

P.S. I'm living in Europe for what it's worth.

[WormBoy]

I would say that a higher wattage iron is always better as it will be able to maintain a more constant temperature (higher wattage does not mean higher temperature). If you are happy with the iron you have now (and the tip is fine enough for the PCB work), I suggest you stick to it  . Nicest would IMO be a temperature-controlled soldering station with ceramic heater. That does not have to be expensive; I use a Velleman VTSSC50N that now sells for 50-60 Euro, but I guess that there are cheaper options that are also fine.

[alexis_droso]

The thing is that my current soldering iron has a maximum temperature of 470oC, which is a rather high temperature.

[WormBoy]

The thing is that my current soldering iron has a maximum temperature of 470oC, which is a rather high temperature.

A 25 Watt iron would not necessarily be less hot ... it would cool down more on heavy soldering joints, which could leave you with cold joints. If you worry about cooking components it is best to go with a temperature-controlled iron/station; less wattage won't help. But I am sure there are many people here that can give you better advice on this than me  .

[alexis_droso]

As a matter of fact the antex xs25 has a maximum temperature of 390oC according to its datasheet. That's why I'm considering buying it. I know that a soldering station is my best bet, but it's more than I can afford right now. I want a soldering iron for the next couple of years just to save some money to buy a Hakko and be done with it forever 

[Aentons]

When I got started not too long ago I did some reasearch and landed on a Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station for $40 bucks. Having variable temperature is the trick. I ordered a few different tips from Mouser to experiment with as well

Looks like it's on sale for $34
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000AS28UC/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[WormBoy]

As a matter of fact the antex xs25 has a maximum temperature of 390oC according to its datasheet. That's why I'm considering buying it. I know that a soldering station is my best bet, but it's more than I can afford right now. I want a soldering iron for the next couple of years just to save some money to buy a Hakko and be done with it forever 

If I were you, I would continue to use the 40 Watt iron, don't solder ICs or transistors (use sockets), and save up even quicker for that nice soldering station  .

[alanp]

I use a 40 W pencil iron like that.

If your technique is good, then it will do anything you want.

[cooder]

I have a while back bought this one which is much raved about in the DIY Drone community also because it can be run quite well of an 18V cordless drill battery.

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=27907.msg270233#msg270233

I have done loads of soldering with it now on stompboxes and heavier stuff like amps, turrets etc and I think it's the amazing. I don't use my Chinese Weller knock off soldering station which was ok (and is there as a backup), but I love this tiny iron so much and it's great to get into small spaces too. It feels like a surgical instrument and is well built in my opinion.
Only drawback to consider is that you need  to get yourself a powersupply for it, I use a laptop PSU which I got for nothin' that puts out 19.8 VDC and has enough ouuumph easily. The temperature control is super accurate and you can adjust it anywhere from really low to 450 (with software free upgrade). I use it mostly on 370 to 390 degrees, heavier stuff on 420.
I think the option to use it off mains power with battery is also great, I have used it once so far when i did some work on the car.

[alexis_droso]

I'll check it out. Thank you very much. It's relatively cheap on banggood and ships from europe warehouse, so no duty taxes 

[thesmokingman]

I went with the digital temp controlled velleman station that Radio Shack rebranded ... downside is the Shack is gone, upside is I can still get tips from velleman ... honestly, so long as it maintains temp (or at least recovers quickly) and has interchangeable tips (should you ever ruin one or wear it out), they all pretty work the same whether its a fixed wattage pencil iron or a station. I think I put my first couple amps together with a gun from harbor freight ... got serious about it after burning through those cheap tips they come with.

[alexis_droso]

The thing is, that with guitar pedals there are plenty of components that are temperature fragile, such as diodes and transistors. Up until now the ts100 seems the best choice for me. By the little research that I made, it seems to be very accurate as temperature control is concerned and is highly regarded amongst electronic engineers and hobbyists. And last but not least, banggood can ship it to Greece from a UK warehouse so there will be no import taxes, which is a huge plus.

[TFZ]

The thing is, that with guitar pedals there are plenty of components that are temperature fragile, such as diodes and transistors.

That's a myth that just doesn't want to die. In almost 20 years of electronics I haven't managed to destroy a single part with hand soldering. Have you ever looked at reflow temperature profiles? Way more stress than even the worst soldering novice will cause the component.

[WormBoy]

A soldering iron with USB port ... I am getting old ...  . Looks like a nifty tool. If you think it fits your bill: go for it.

In almost 20 years of electronics I haven't managed to destroy a single part with hand soldering.

Me neither, I think, in 10+ years (might have destroyed some trying to desolder them). However, parts like transistors and ICs need more careful soldering than resistors and caps.