Soldering Iron Tips.. please help me!

[Electric Rain]

The time has come for me to move on past the days of my cheap RatShack soldering iron. I am now looking into the decently-priced yet still (supposedly) high-quality iron known as the 200GX by Xytronic Industries. It took me a while to find an iron that actually had a decent selection of tips that I KNEW would be compatible with it. Problem is, I don't know what ones to choose. The tips on this page are all compatible with the iron I have chosen.

I know I want that "Flat Pack" one for SMD soldering, and I also want a very small-tipped one for SMDs as well, but is the 1/64" one overkill? Is a 1/32" one small enough? If so, which of the two that are on there should I get? The 3/16" ones are cheaper, and thus I also think they're of a lower quality. I want to stay away from them... I think. So, what should I get for a "GP" tip? (Something that's not microscopic and only useful for SMDs?) Is the 1/16" one big enough? I know that 1/8" tends to be overkill, but do I still need one for soldering larger joints (RF, Power, large wires, ect.)? I'm confused about the difference in their shapes. Conical, chisel, bevel, wedge... what's the difference and why is it important to me? They're all kind of expensive, actually, so I don't want to get more than probably 3 if you guys don't think I need to.

I can't find really any information on the internet answering these questions... can you guys shed some light on the subject?

P.S. I'm also building a DIY hot-air iron like this for SMDs and such. This will also serve as my de-soldering iron for now... though I might want to pick up some wick or something as well...

[Dr. KillGood]

That air iron is pretty sweet I might try to make one myself. =P

I don't know a lot about tips though.

[marshallh]

Okay. Let's make sure you don't waste your money here...

Buy a Hakko soldering station. The 936 is a popular model - if you get it off ebay expect to pay around $90. It will last you the rest of your life for just about anything you're ever going to need a soldering iron for. I had the opportunity to take at look at one - it is well worth the money.

No one in their right mind uses chisel tips for anything. The only tip you're going to need is a 1/32" conical. (Though I use my 1/16" butane iron tip for soldering TQFP surface mount, not hard)

If you REALLY can't afford to buy a decent iron, then a 35-40W Weller iron will work. You can get fine tips for those as well, but they degrade over use. Don't get anything under 35 watts. You actually need the extra heat for SMT work - it actually puts LESS stress on the components, because you have to hold the iron on them a much shorter time.

Manufacturer:
http://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_936.html

Ebay link
Long-ass ebay item link

[Electric Rain]

Hmm... As usual, Marshal, you've made me take a step back and think for a minute... That's an expensive station (actually, it's really cheap for a station), but I might have to look into it... Thanks a lot for your input.

[Turbo Tax 1.0]

check out circuit specialists
I got my station from there, pretty inexpensive, and works great

here is the one I got http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7508
looks like they only have the analog version though
also got a new multimeter for free

[Neildo_64]

I have one of these and it is the coolest soldering iron in the world, in my opinion. I have 9 soldering irons, 2 desoldering irons, and a soldering gun, and this one is by far my favorite. It has a flame adjustment, a built in stand that just flips out, you can unscrew the end and use it as a torch (I never do, but it's a pretty nice torch too). It comes with 5 tips: the one in the pic, a hot knife, and 3 other ones (can't remember now), a dish with sponge, some solder, and a really cool lid/case thing to put on it to carry it around. On top of all that, it has a pretty nice case that it all comes in.

It has been USED a lot and still works great, except the ignition which takes a few tries sometimes. I would definitely recommend one of these as an affordable step up from radioshack irons.

[Electric Rain]

I think I want to stay away from butane irons... or any other iron that uses combustible gas. They're just not as controlled, you know?

Turbo Tax (why the name, anyway?), that station seems to have the same specs as the one Marshall pointed out, but it has a display. Good find! It looks like my options have opened back up. Marshall, any thoughts on this particular station?

Edit: Okay, so I'm looking into some other stations on eBay... Marshall, what makes the one you mentioned stand out amongst the crowd? For example, what makes it better than this one? This is an honest question. I'm not trying to challenge you, as I am aware of the fact that you know far more than me about most things.

Edit 2: You know... I'm looking further into the 936. It seems to be extremely popular, with many people deeming it an "Industry Standard." There must be a reason for this. Continuing the research...

[marshallh]

That ebay model seems to be hit or miss judging by the reviews, and then there's the fact that its model number seems to capitalize of the popularity of the Hakko...

Remember, you get what you pay for. I got a Weller Pyropen Jr (butane soldering iron) and I've not touched my plug-in Weller since. I've used this butane iron for the past couple years now without a problem, from soldering speaker wire to soldering fine-pitch SMD like that N64 flash board I showed you.



It heats up in about 15 seconds, and adjustable from about 15 watts to 40 (approximate because it's not electrical, doh )

It's also about as expensive as the Hakko soldering station.

But it's great for moving around, and Gannon bought one after hearing about mine. Plus, we used it at MGC to build the toilet-bowl portable

[Electric Rain]

Huh... I didn't know they were so suitable for SMDs and sensitive electronics. I thought they were more for climbing up on roofs and soldering antenna connections 'n such.

I'm starting to like this 936, though. Cheapest I've found it is $78.80 so far. (Yes, I'm a huge bargain shopper. ) Hey, what are your thoughts on those 936 "knock-offs?" Those are probably a hit/miss as well, I guess? I like this review, but even still, imitations are imitations. They're imitating a product that is better than what they can create; that's why they don't just create their own product that's capable of blowing them out of the water.

[vskid]

How fast do butane irons use butane? And how much is it? Anyone know if the ratshack butane iron is any good?

[marshallh]

Butane is butane is butane. At work I buy a $8 can of Zippo butane with my employee discount, and it'd probably work for a several months, depending on how much I use the iron. Each time you refill the iron, (probably refill 10-20 times off a single can) it will work for 45 straight minutes or so on the highest setting.

[Gordon1]

Well, from my experiences with the 936, it is the most beautiful thing ever. It gets up to operating temp in under a minute. The stock tip is the one I use most. It has now lost its tin though; due to my dad contracting me to fix some plastic on his motorcycle.

On the topic of tips: they are not cheap, one here in Canada cost me $12. So you might want to go onto ebay to buy those.
All in all it is a beautiful iron. I highly recommend it.

[superdeformed]

Hakko irons are very well built and you'd probably be much better off going for the real deal over an imitation, although I have heard good things about the Circuit Specialists irons (not sure whether these really qualify as knock offs but they do look pretty similar, and beware, last time I ordered from them I got gouged on shipping). I've never used one of the soldering stations but I do have a heat gun made by the same OEM company that works just fine (all of the "CIS" stations are rebranded Aoyue irons/stations). If you're just looking at analog stations, the Weller WES51 can be found for about the same price as the Hakko 936 and is another industry workhorse, and although it's not nearly as versatile in terms of different attachments (ie different sized pencils or the desoldering tweezers, which usually cost just as much as the station), it probably won't make a difference for hobby use, so the main competition between the two would be price and availability of both the stations and tips for you.

No one in their right mind uses chisel tips for anything.

1/8" chisel tips are very useful for soldering or desoldering large power IC's (TO style packages or anything else with a tab), especially if they're on a plane on the board and you don't have a board heater handy. They provide much better heat transfer than smaller tips, so you can use a lower temperature and solder large components quicker than you would be able to otherwise, which means you're less likely to damage anything. They're also useful for soldering large chunks of brass, if you happen to use the iron for more than just electronics .

As for other tips I'd agree with what marshallh said, 1/32" and 1/16" conical tips are pretty much all I use otherwise. Also, price for tips isn't really an indication of quality assuming they're all the same brand. Smaller, oversized, or odd-shaped tips (like the "flat pack" on that jameco page) tend to be more expensive than mid-sized tips.

[marshallh]

I'm glad you brought that up. When you're working with a board that has no thermal relief on the ground/power plane connections, an iron with a chisel tip really help out. The first time I desoldered a tsop44 flash ROM, I used an ancient wide chisel-tipped iron that made it easy (though now I'd just use some chipquik to get it off.)

Basically, it all boils down to: you get what you pay for.