Soldering Station

PolkMaster1
PolkMaster1 Posts: 847
edited October 2012 in DIY, Mods & Tweaks
Does anyone have any recommendations regarding Soldering Stations? I am looking for something that is 5-80 watts and has a good assortment of interchangable tips featuring chisel, fine tips and standard tips, etc.

Can I use tips made from other manufaucturers for a soldering station, or does the tip have to be made specific for that soldering station?

And can a stained glass soldering station be used for regular soldering that we would do here?

The purpose of it is to use the soldering station for soldering electronics with lead free solder. I am not into soldering stained glass.

Would anyone use anything from Parts Express or would anyone recommend something more, say from Jameco?
Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.

The other 2% will work for WalMart.
Post edited by PolkMaster1 on
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Comments

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,447
    edited February 2011
    Weller WES-51.

    I could not do my monoblock project without it.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited February 2011
    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109942&highlight=solder+station
    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115681&highlight=solder+station
    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81154&highlight=solder+station
    Testing
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited February 2011
    How much do you want to spend? Circuit Specialists has a ceramic one that is nice & dirt cheap-- http://www.web-tronics.com/solstatwitce.html

    Solomon unit; worked great when I changed out the crossovers in my AL-IIIs and I also used it to fix some bad solder joints on the optical output for my SD/A-360 CDP. You can't beat the price!

    Spare tips are reasonable, too; I ordered 3 different sizes.

    Ordering details FYI for anyone looking to get one:

    Name Code Qty Each
    Soldering Station with SR-976N 1 41.95
    Ceramic Heater (SR-976N)
    Extra Tip - 0.3mm 976T-SB 1 4.95
    Extra Tip - 1.0mm 976T-BC 1 4.95
    Extra Tip - 4.0mm 976T-4C 1 4.95

    Subtotal 56.80
    Shipping 9.40
    Tax 0.00
    Total 66.20
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • PolkMaster1
    PolkMaster1 Posts: 847
    edited February 2011
    Thanks for the suggestions. I am looking to spend $100 or less for a good soldering station. I hear only good things with Weller.

    What is the difference between an iron heated element vs. a ceramic element?
    Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.

    The other 2% will work for WalMart.
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited February 2011
    http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=374-100
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited February 2011
    PolkMaster1 wrote: »
    Thanks for the suggestions. I am looking to spend $100 or less for a good soldering station. I hear only good things with Weller.

    What is the difference between an iron heated element vs. a ceramic element?

    The advantages of a ceramic heating element include a fast initial heat-up and heat recovery, steady temperature, and up to 60% more energy efficiency than conventional irons.
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • PolkMaster1
    PolkMaster1 Posts: 847
    edited February 2011
    Questions keep popping up as I am learning about soldering stations. If a soldering station is rated for lead free solder, can it also be used for leaded solder?

    Is the only difference between a lead free soldering station vs. a non-lead-free soldering station is the temperature?

    Thanks for all your help!!!
    Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.

    The other 2% will work for WalMart.
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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited February 2011
    I would try the one Ben recommended (when you go to checkout it may be cheaper than listed price) along with the extra tips and see how you like it first.
    If not, then you should look at others, but for $15 (with extra tips) + shipping, you really don't have much to loose, and your search may be over.
    Just a thought.
    374-100_s.jpg
    Testing
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited February 2011
    You can google all these questions~
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • On3s&Z3r0s
    On3s&Z3r0s Posts: 1,013
    edited February 2011
    This may seem pretty junior high school, but I picked up this kit since my soldering skills are limited:

    http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-AmeriKit-Learn-Solder-Kit/dp/B0009Z3JJA/ref=pd_sim_hi_1

    I have to say I found it amazingly worthwhile. The printed material has a lot of good tips about how to care for soldering irons and the different sorts of soldering tools available besides the station / iron. For instance, it comes with lead free solder and covers that the melting point is about 40 degrees hotter than lead bearing solder and that lead free is harder on the tips so it gives suggestions for accounting for that.

    I plan on picking up the Stahl iron that Ben recommends when they're back in stock at PE and the set of tips they sell for it. But this Elenco kit also comes with an iron that is surprisingly not complete crap. I'm not sure how long it would last or if I'd want to do serious work with it, but it definitely worked nicely for the soldering in the kit project.

    On thing I would say though is that the lead free solder it comes with is definitely not as nice to work with as even a decent Kester solder, so if you're doing this for practice as I was you might want to get yourself the solder you'll be using for whatever electronics project you've got teed up and get familiar with working with it instead. I'm sure you could say the same for the pencil, but again the timing on that didn't work out for me.
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  • PolkMaster1
    PolkMaster1 Posts: 847
    edited March 2011
    Based on NooshinJohn and I believe ToolForLife has one, I went with the Weller WES-51 Soldering Station. Yeah, I had to shell out $150 (got an assortment of tips), but I plan for this to be my first and last soldering station, and hopefully, it will replace all those pen solder guns that I have which have served me well.

    Besides, how can you turn down NooshinJohns recommendation when he purchased some tweeters from me last year??? :biggrin:
    Statistics show that 98% of us will die at some point in our lifetime.

    The other 2% will work for WalMart.
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited March 2011
    For $150 you could have bought 10 of the soldering stations that partsexpress has.
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited March 2011
    Could have gotten the LRP solder station for $240
    http://www.lrp.cc/en/products/blue-factor/tools/produkt/lrp-highpower-loetstation/details/
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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  • Hobbyguy
    Hobbyguy Posts: 317
    edited September 2012
    My last soldering station
    JBC1.jpg
    JBC2.jpg
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  • Scottinwa
    Scottinwa Posts: 48
    edited September 2012
    I have a hakko and it's everything I need.

    Hakko_936_soldering_station_standalone.jpeg
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  • dracoskeeper
    dracoskeeper Posts: 142
    edited September 2012
    +10 on the Hakko's... been using them for years, the ceramic tip pre heats in 12 seconds! Picked up a back up FP-102 off of the bay for 70$...
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited September 2012
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ARU9PO/?tag=hyprod-20&hvadid=15470184459&hvpos=1o1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9919289022098477769&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&ref=asc_df_B000ARU9PO

    I'm a Weller fan and have never been disappointed. Yes, they usually cost a bit more but that's my choice over the others. As far as efficiency, not worried as its only a soldering iron not a solar panel. The ceramic elements do have a faster heat-up but I've never been in a hurry to solder something important and the rest is just stuff that an enthusiast doesn't need to worry about . If you start an assembly line, you should dive deeper into the spec's of a soldering iron.

    It's just about price, reliability and temperature, period.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • slider2828
    slider2828 Posts: 118
    edited October 2012
    +1 for Hakko too! I have been using them for the last 15 years.... Every since Playstation 1 and my modding days.....
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