Soldering Iron

[pickle]

Hey guys, i have a few loose wires in the back of my bass and i was about to purchase a soldering iron but i have read somewhare that since the lead has been made lead free you need a hotter iron, so what wattage of iron would you recommend?

[Ou7shined]

Anything up to 25w will see you ok.

[bremen]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1317253' date='Jul 26 2011, 04:17 PM']Anything up to 25w will see you ok.[/quote]

Sorry, Ou7, I'm not following you around just so I can disagree with you, but as Pickle says you need a fair bit of heat for lead-free solder and 25W is the bare minimum.

I use one of these for general repairs: [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/50w-solder-station-35016"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/50w-solder-station-35016[/url]

word of warning though - it puts a horrible amount of noise onto the mains so switch it off while you're recording. Took me hours to track down the buzz til I found this out.

[Mr. Foxen]

Find some lead solder. Not lead solder is all round rubbish.

[icastle]

[quote name='bremen' post='1317262' date='Jul 26 2011, 04:23 PM']Sorry, Ou7, I'm not following you around just so I can disagree with you, but as Pickle says you need a fair bit of heat for lead-free solder and 25W is the bare minimum.[/quote]

Nope.
Antex for example, state that all of their irons will work perfectly well with lead free solder.
I have a 17W Antex iron that I've had for donkeys years and it works just fine.

Provided you are using electronics grade lead free solder then there's only between 5° and 20°C difference in the melting point.

[STU-SBL]

[quote name='icastle' post='1317314' date='Jul 26 2011, 04:59 PM']I have a 17W Antex iron that I've had for donkeys years and it works just fine.[/quote]

Agreed

I have a 25w Antex iron which I use for all my guitar / bass related soldering jobs and it's fine. End of the day even for a simple job like this take your time, keep your tip clean, protect your instrument and let the soldering iron get up to temperature!

You can get temperature controlled irons but they are more expensive (especially the good ones )

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='bremen' post='1317262' date='Jul 26 2011, 04:23 PM']Sorry, Ou7, I'm not following you around just so I can disagree with you, but as Pickle says you need a fair bit of heat for lead-free solder and 25W is the bare minimum.

I use one of these for general repairs: [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/50w-solder-station-35016"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/50w-solder-station-35016[/url]

word of warning though - it puts a horrible amount of noise onto the mains so switch it off while you're recording. Took me hours to track down the buzz til I found this out.[/quote]
Thanks, I wonder how it is then that I can (on an almost daily basis) solder lead free with my tiddely 25w iron?

[nick]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1317293' date='Jul 26 2011, 04:43 PM']Find some lead solder. Not lead solder is all round rubbish.[/quote]

Was going to say the same.... with a 25w iron is more than adequate.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='bleedproof' post='1317333' date='Jul 26 2011, 05:11 PM']You can get temperature controlled irons but they are more expensive (especially the good ones )[/quote]

Worth every penny though if you do a fair amount of soldering.

Part of the problem is that smallish irons, ideal for some joints, have a small heat 'capacity' so when applied to a biggish component or solder tag the iron will initially cool down faster than it can heat up the component, so it has to be kept applied while things heat up again with the risk of overheating the component.

Somewhat perversely, a high-power iron may do [u]less[/u] heat damage to components because the iron won't cool down (as much) when applied to the joint and will heat the soldered part (and the solder) so quickly that the joint can be made, and the iron removed, before much heat is conducted to the actual component innards.

If I could only choose a 'normal' soldering iron, I'd go for something a bit on the 'heavy' side and be sure to make fast joints to avoid the risk of cooking the components with a low-powered iron that has to be kept on the joint for too long.

[Ou7shined]

Mine has a smart wee button that shoots it up to 130w in the blink of an eye. Handy for casings.

[icastle]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1317556' date='Jul 26 2011, 07:56 PM']Mine has a smart wee button that shoots it up to 130w in the blink of an eye. Handy for casings.[/quote]

...or bringing down low flying aircraft...

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1317556' date='Jul 26 2011, 07:56 PM']Mine has a smart wee button that shoots it up to 130w in the blink of an eye. Handy for casings.[/quote]

I've not seen one like that before but it seems like a very good feature. What make is it?

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='icastle' post='1317571' date='Jul 26 2011, 08:07 PM']...or bringing down low flying aircraft... [/quote]
It has other uses too.....



[quote name='flyfisher' post='1317578' date='Jul 26 2011, 08:12 PM']I've not seen one like that before but it seems like a very good feature. What make is it?[/quote]
It's all locked away in the workshop for now but I'll check that for ya tomorrow.

It [b]is[/b] a good feature but where they've put the button you sometimes hit it by mistake... I've not killed anything yet though.

[pickle]

Thanks for all the info guys.

I got a 30W iron off ebay for £5 inc P&P and some 40/60 solder and treated myself to a 18inch X 12inch sticky back copper foil to shield while i am there, that was £3.75.

I guess i should start making some pedels now lol

[icastle]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1317614' date='Jul 26 2011, 08:44 PM']It has other uses too.....
[/quote]

"You expect me to talk Goldfinger?"
"No, I expect you to make me a patch lead Mister Bond of Her Majesty's Soldering Service..."

Edited July 26, 2011 by icastle

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='icastle' post='1317626' date='Jul 26 2011, 08:54 PM']"You expect me to talk Goldfinger?"
"No, I expect you to make me a patch lead Mister Bond of Her Majesty's Soldering Service..."[/quote]
Remember to switch it off at the plug or the results may be.....

... Shocking.

[icastle]