UK based soldering station (incl. retailer)

[Charles Jenkinson]

http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/csi-st ... on-station

[Harley]

Good price, but what's the quality like?

[Charles Jenkinson]

Very good at first impression, thru the eyes of a mechy - the PSU controller is nice and weighty. It arrived today. Solid feel, quality finish. Their main line seems to be soldering equipment.

[BassheadUK]

Do i need one of these in my collection of tools already...?

I have an Antex - I believe its 15 or 20w

Im picky about soldering irons. Wella or Antex are my favs.

[Chris_Allen]

I like >25w irons as it's easier to tin thicker wires - just depends how quickly you solder.

[BassheadUK]

Very tempted !

[Charles Jenkinson]

I’ve had some correspondence with a few folks, and they can do 95% of what they need to do with a 25w iron – as I previously have. It’s the 5% grey area remaining then. The interesting thing is that wattage and temperature are 2 different quantities, and the relationship between them in terms of performance of a soldering iron is complex. i.e. something small could get very hot with only a small power, but would quickly lose heat if touch (little thermal mass), etc. The performance of a soldering iron is possibly more about this balance of thermal mass and temperature gradient rather than the speedy flow of fresh heat, i.e. power. (NB: though lead free solder needs higher temperature/power - Higher temps means quicker oxidation of tips also).

The dial on the temperature controlled ones is in degrees, not watts. My new iron pulses the power on and off to control temperature, i.e. temperature at the element I’m assuming. The temperature at the tip is a function of the thermal mass (of the tip) heated by the element and heat loss at the tip. I’ve only been using it on 350degC at the moment. It will go up to 450degC. I’ve noticed it takes some time and difficulty to tin a 1.5mm-square speaker wire on the 350degC setting so maybe I need to turn it up, so that the initial hit of 450 gets soaking the job.

I don’t think it’s a must to use one of these. I bought mine because of simple doubt about my old 25w iron, and because I have installed slightly heavier wire (1.5mm sq. (somewhere between 14 and 16awg) than others seems to use (18awg)) and ideally need to solder it. The replaceable tips are nice. Filing back a sh1tty old copper tip (my old iron) to get the oxide off every ½ hr feels like making the best of a bad job. I got a brass turnings pad to de-oxide the tips on the new iron – better than a damp sponge by the account on the website where I bought it.

I’m starting to think these aspects are amounting to more than a 5% grey area, but I haven’t done loads of soldering. I’m still getting used to the iron – if I turn it up to a higher temp and it eats 1.5mm sq. for breakfast I’ll report back.

[Chris_Allen]

I would have thought that the most experienced solderers work on PCBs and the like and don't often work with heavy gauge cable, so the opinions you get will be weighted towards those areas.

I don't have the steadiest of hands, or the best eyesight, so having to hold the iron in place for a long time with the lower wattage (and as you say, lower thermal mass) is a huge area of frustration for me.

[byacey]

I do a lot of PC work, and make all my own cabling as well. Having a reasonably high power iron (45W)works well for almost all situations, provided the tips can be changed and the temperature adjusted.

For soldering larger connectors and tinning wire, a larger tip works better because of the large thermal mass, and it transfers heat better due to the larger surface area in contact with the work piece. 750 to 800F seems to work well for this.

For fine PC board work, a small conical tip and a temp. setting of around 650 to 700F is more than sufficient.