soldering irons...Advice what would buy

[GlowThunder]

i had a weller and it died tonight.


has any one used this one?
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXATBK&P=EP

TrakPower TK-950 Soldering Station it looks pretty good. or what do recommend>? for a new soldering iron. i need a good one to solder traxxas connectors and motor leads. nothing cheap like radio shack or wallmart 9.99 special....

Advice.

[ReaperGN]

I have not had the pleasure of using one yet but I hear nothing but good things about Hakko irons. I am considering picking one of these up soon.

http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CMABEPMCMAI

[Little Smokey]

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXATBK&P=EP

now, that's a nice unit! I have the same one, my wife enjoys turning it on every morning. Just kidding, I'm not married...

[Kansei]

I have a weller professional solder gun @ home . Its good for hobby - but I hardly use it and only for emergency . I bring my soldering gun home from work when I need to do anything , a Wall Lenk LG400C . Easily solders battery and motor wires , heats very fast and if you used one you would put most "hobby" guns in the bottom drawer lol .
http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Lenk-LG40.../dp/B000VM3PTU
the same gun costs 2x that from Mactools as Wall Lenk makes Mac's solder guns as well .

[DiggerPede]

i had a weller and it died tonight.


has any one used this one?
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXATBK&P=EP

TrakPower TK-950 Soldering Station it looks pretty good. or what do recommend>? for a new soldering iron. i need a good one to solder traxxas connectors and motor leads. nothing cheap like radio shack or wallmart 9.99 special....

Advice.

I have that very same unit ( TrakPower TK-950 ). I purchased it last summer and its worth every penny. I started fresh from it. Very very good unit.

[NewbieToTraxxas]

I use this, it melts stuff like butter and comes with a great grip.

[pavmentsurfer]

The Traxpower 950 is the same as the Team Checkpoint... just different stickers. Thats what I have and I LOVE it. I never move the dial off 900 degrees but its the only one I've used that can melt the solder on a castle 5.5mm bullet from the factory. I have only ever used the chisel tip but it comes with a pointed tip as well.

Overall, for the money, its hard to do better.

[harry697]

The Traxpower 950 is the same as the Team Checkpoint... just different stickers. Thats what I have and I LOVE it. I never move the dial off 900 degrees but its the only one I've used that can melt the solder on a castle 5.5mm bullet from the factory. I have only ever used the chisel tip but it comes with a pointed tip as well.

Overall, for the money, its hard to do better.

The Trak Power and Checkpoint are the same, but aren't they both re-badged Hakko 936 stations?

I picked up the Hakko FX-888 a while back and love it! It's the replacement for the 936, which was pretty much the station on every pit table across the country for years and years.

[ReaperGN]

Other than size what advantage does the FX-888 offer over the 936?

Also they look the same to me.

Hakko 936



TrakPower TK-950

[harry697]

I think the FX-888 and the 936 are fairly similar performance-wise. The main hype about the 888 seems to be the smaller footprint. It's also claimed to be more efficient, which results in heating faster and holding temps better than the 936. There's a good amount of info here:

http://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_fx888.html

[DiggerPede]

Here is the graph between the 2 units. Footprint was reduced by approx. 50% compared to that of conventional HAKKO 936. The HAKKO -888 Soldering iron provides 30% increase in workability compared to that of conventional HAKKO-936. Improved thermal conductivity enables the same work to be performed in a shorter time. The rise time is 20 seconds faster and drop in tip temperature during work is reduced.

[pavmentsurfer]

Your right harry... thats exactly the same thing as what I have. Honestly, It does everything I need it to do and more for like $79... I was using a regular iron and a soldering gun before this one... just awful. Then my lovely wife bought this one for me for christmas and I love how you can just turn it on, do your work, turn it off and thats it... it just sits on the bench ready for action.

I think, if someone plans to stay in this hobby for a while, a good soldering iron is a must have piece of equipment. I was awful at soldering at first so I just had other people do it. Then i found out it was the equipment, not me. Once I got a good iron, I could solder anything.

[GlowThunder]

i might end up going with a weller to save the space!!

[harry697]

Then i found out it was the equipment, not me. Once I got a good iron, I could solder anything.

I hear ya! I used a Weller gun for years and it did the job.................most of the time. But after getting the Hakko, I feel like a real professional! You can't go wrong with either the 888 or 936. Most people at the track still seem to be using the 936. Probably because it's still one of the best and they last forever, so no need to buy anything else.

[davejf51]

This might be a bit of a stupid question. I have done a lot of 12v electrical and always used a butane iron. Will this get "hot" enough to solder brass????

[ReaperGN]

Butane irons can get much hotter in very little time. But they can be awkward and lack the precision needed in some area's. Now soldering brass is a different technique. I believe its called brazing. Instead of a hot tip you just use an open flame.

[davejf51]

OK thanks a lot for the info... I will look into that.

[NewbieToTraxxas]

i might end up going with a weller to save the space!!

Yay Weller! the one i posted is the one me and my boss use at work as electricians.

[Emaxx2.0]

I been using a Craftmans soldering gun for about 8years now. Just get a drywall sponge wet to clean the tip.

[DustinBajaSS]

I have the Team Cheakpoint solder station. Bought it a few years ago so can't remember the price, think it was pretty reasonable though. Works great


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