Looking for a good soldering iron to replace led diodes with...

DavidinGA

DavidinGA

Active member
Need something to replace some led diodes on a cheap eBay led box I have. I wanted to swap out the cool whites for neutral whites and need a soldering iron. I've never needed to solder a thing in my life so I don't need anything high-end as I'll probably never use it again after doing these leds. Looking to spend less than $30 on the soldering iron/station.

This one was recommended to me:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__19240__Soldering_Station_with_Adjustable_Heat_Range_USA_Warehouse_.html?strSearch=soldering%20station

It comes in at around $27 shipped. Found the same one on eBay for $24 shipped. I've heard its a knockoff of one of the most well touted higher end soldering stations, true? Worth it?



What about this one:
http://www.amazon.com/AGPtek%C2%AE-Adjustable-Electric-Temperature-Soldering/dp/B00LVQGBG4/ref=pd_sbs_328_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=15ZY2XEW68591KXCHN46

$18 with 5 tips and has a built in temp dial on it. Think its any good?

Same one for $16 on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/110V-60W-Adjustable-Electric-Temperature-Gun-Welding-Soldering-Iron-Tool-5Tips-/360992748741?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item540cd834c5

I've heard I want something in the 40w range for diodes, right?

Other suggestions? Should I just scrape all that and get a $5 one from harbor freight? lol



Thanks
:bounce2:
 
I've been in the electronics business for over 27 years. A lot of my experience is with component level repairs and that includes a lot of soldering. I've used all kinds of soldering irons from very expensive Weller stations to handheld soldering irons. These days for small projects, my preferred irons of choice are small handheld butane soldering irons. They are cordless, get really hot fast and work like a charm. I keep a couple of those at home and despite having a few different plug in solder stations, I always find myself using the butane ones.

Pretty much any small tipped butane iron will work well. This happens to be one that I use. I have both flat tipped version and pointed tip versions in my soldering arsenal. In your case, you could probably get away with either a flat tip or a smaller pointed tip one but without seeing what the diodes look like, I can only guess.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WOHSHM/?tag=vglnkc5751-20

This is a cheap flat tip version.
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-P2C-Bu...&sr=1-1&keywords=weller+butane+soldering+iron

This is an even cheaper one that would work. I just don't like the bulky handle. I prefer the smaller style ones like those I mentioned above.
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-ML500M...&sr=1-7&keywords=weller+butane+soldering+iron
 
DavidinGA said:
What's the story on butane vs electric?
Click to expand...

butane can get very hot nearly instantly.. It actually does not have a flame at the tip. before the tip there is a honeycomb like insert made of ceremic that the flame will heat and Cause the tip to get hot. You control the temp by turning down the gas .
They work the same as electric but cordless and gets hot quicker . So if you use one of these practice before you use it on your LEDS Or any Circuit board. they are often hotter then they look...

i am sure someone could explain it better but that is how they work...
 
ericarenee said:
butane can get very hot nearly instantly.. It actually does not have a flame at the tip. before the tip there is a honeycomb like insert made of ceremic that the flame will heat and Cause the tip to get hot. You control the temp by turning down the gas .
They work the same as electric but cordless and gets hot quicker . So if you use one of these practice before you use it on your LEDS Or any Circuit board. they are often hotter then they look...

i am sure someone could explain it better but that is how they work...
Click to expand...

That pretty much sums them up. I like it because it's cordless, heats up in less than a minute and always gives you plenty of heat to melt solder almost instantly. They work and they work very well! I have very expensive solder stations at my office and I still prefer my little butane ones for most personal jobs.
 
If you are using it longterm, pick up a used Metcal on ebay. You will pay between 75 and 150 depending on condition, but they are beautiful.
 
Baldguy said:
So the butane ones are equivalent or better than a 60w iron? Can they be used on heatshrink?
Click to expand...

I prefer them over a plug solder iron for most jobs and find they work just as well if not better under most circumstances. While I wouldn't use one to solder a bunch of IC's onto a PCB, for soldering wires, a some board components like an LED/diode and most other small jobs they work every bit as good as any soldering iron and trust me, I've spent thousands on my professional solder and desolder stations for my business. Still, my butane solder irons are my go to tool for most solder jobs.

As for using them for heat shrink tubing.. Not sure why you would want to do that with any solder iron. A heat guy or even a cigarette lighter is far more effective. That said, the butane irons have a small vent on the side of the metal shaft that puts out plenty of heat shirnk your tubing and even melt it if you want. I prefer using a lighter or heat gun but you can certainly shrink tubing with it. I just would never condone using the iron itself to touch the shrink tube in an effort to shrink it. That's just silly. :thumbsup:
 
slief said:
I prefer them over a plug solder iron for most jobs and find they work just as well if not better under most circumstances. While I wouldn't use one to solder a bunch of IC's onto a PCB, for soldering wires, a some board components like an LED/diode and most other small jobs they work every bit as good as any soldering iron and trust me, I've spent thousands on my professional solder and desolder stations for my business. Still, my butane solder irons are my go to tool for most solder jobs.

As for using them for heat shrink tubing.. Not sure why you would want to do that with any solder iron. A heat guy or even a cigarette lighter is far more effective. That said, the butane irons have a small vent on the side of the metal shaft that puts out plenty of heat shirnk your tubing and even melt it if you want. I prefer using a lighter or heat gun but you can certainly shrink tubing with it. I just would never condone using the iron itself to touch the shrink tube in an effort to shrink it. That's just silly. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
I had run across this Weller iron and it is advertised as being good for heatshrink. http://www.amazon.com/Soldering-hea...8-2&keywords=butane+soldering+iron+heatshrink

Not sure how it would be used for that. Maybe the tip comes off and it becomes a heat gun. Or maybe as you said there is a vent. I don't know.
 
Baldguy said:
I had run across this Weller iron and it is advertised as being good for heatshrink. http://www.amazon.com/Soldering-hea...8-2&keywords=butane+soldering+iron+heatshrink

Not sure how it would be used for that. Maybe the tip comes off and it becomes a heat gun. Or maybe as you said there is a vent. I don't know.
Click to expand...

the one i have the tip does come off Between the Flame nozzle and the Ceramic plate . I have used it to repair copper pipe buried in a wall where a big torch will not fit.. It does TAKE A lot longer to get the copper hot enough to melt the solder . DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. AS THE IRON Gets way HOT.
I also use it for Electrical work. I solder everything before putting wire nuts on them.
Mine is weller brand from home depot... was less then 50.00 If i remember correctly
 
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