Adjustable temperature soldering iron/station

[ultpanzi]

Anybody know where to get a cheap adjustable temperature soldering iron or station?? My old soldering iron had a meltdown on me. Thats what I get for using a Chinese power oriented iron with 240V for too long. I do a lot of electronics work, but Im a student and student pay over in sydney really sucks, so by cheap, ~$30 or less would be great. Any opinions would be great. THanks!!

[Fretworn]

You get what you pay for. If money is an issue I'd be looking for second hand ones on eBay, you never know.

[wokkaboy]

Eshays, I'd say a temperature controlled iron will cost much more than $30.
How many years did you get out of your old one ?
The way I look at it if you get 2 or 3 years out of a cheapish iron its still money well spent.
I scored 2 gas powered irons and they are the ducks nuts - no leads and they heat up quickly

[ultpanzi]

Fretworn, I paid $50 HK dollars for my last one, so about $7 AU and it did well till it died after a year and a half, so sometimes you score cos Im hesitant to buy electrical tools second hand, cos theres always a reason why its second hand you know.
Wokka, Ive been interested in a gas powered iron, but then Id have to factor in the cost of gas into my budget, whereas the benefits of living with the parents covers the cost of electricity. Is a gas powered one worth it??

[wokkaboy]

Hi Eshays,
I had a quick look on ebay and gas powered iron under $30 posted but no idea on the quality.
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_f...g+iron&_sop=15

Of course buying the gas can refills are an extra cost and would go further if you kept turning the iron on and off which is a pain.
I'd probably recommend a cheap kit from the big green shed and if last a year or 2 its money well spent.
I just like the gas ones heat up quickly and no power lead to trip over !

[ultpanzi]

Thanks for the recommendation, I checked it out and it seems pretty good but a thermostat is always nice and a thirty minute running time might be a little short cos Im a slow worker with electronics cos I check and double check everything as I work. Ill keep looking around but if nothing else comes up this is the best Ive seen so far.

[ultpanzi]

I took a good look on ebay and I found this: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Yihua-Sol...3D400623702170
Im not sure if I should be suspicious for the price though...

[lawry]

OK. Here's some info about soldering. 60/40 tin/lead solder has a melting point of 188 degrees Celsius and so, obviously, you need at least this temperature to melt the solder and have it flow into the joint (your joint needs to be at this temp too). However, if you have too much heat you will vapourise the solder and end up with nothing but crap. This is where a good soldering iron comes in. The two types of temperature controlled irons are either adjustable or set. Pick whichever you want. The problem with uncontrolled irons is that either they get too hot and vapourise the solder or don't get hot enough and the solder doesn't flow. This applies to electric and gas irons. So, whatever you buy, check it can do the job properly. I would suggest a variable control iron, but that's my preference.
End of rant. :-)

[ultpanzi]

Hi Lawry, I work on electronic circuits for a large variety of things and Im all too familiar with the crumbly vaporized solder crap due to my iron overheating towards the later end of its life. Thats the main reason why I prefer temperature controlled irons, as well as to prevent the horrid melted pcb board coating smell that comes with an iron thats too hot and touches the green pcb board coatings. Controlled irons are also great cos it allows me to use lead free solder as well which is a tad harder to melt. Gas powered irons seem pretty cool though, cos the wire free tool has great appeal to me.

[AJ]

save your money and get a good quality soldering station. it will last you that long you will be nearly old enough to get Alzheimer's..Or a good scope iron.