Solder station recommendations.

[R6cowboy]

Recently getting back into RC it's time to search for a decent soldering station specifically for my RC stuff. I have some but minimal experience and knowledge with soldering. What watt iron is ideal for r/c, solder type, etc? What do you use or recommend? What's the price range I'll be looking at for a decent solder station? Please share any tips and advice. And I've always been a fan of the Weller brand for what its worth.
Thanks all & good day.

[coxbros1]

I have two of these....1 at the track, 1 at home. had them for yrs and they work perfectly....totally adjustable...degrees in celsius...for the price how could u go wrong?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/937D-Electric-Iron-Soldering-Station-SMD-Welder-Welding-w-Stand-Sponge-ESD-110V-/382415394964?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

[R6cowboy]

Do they have one in fahrenheit?

[juicedcoupe]

Kester still makes a real 60/40 lead solder. I'm still working from my stash of old Radio Shack solder.

For simplicity, I use a basic 40 watt Weller from Home Depot, with a generic holder and tip cleaner. I like the larger chisel tips.

[coxbros1]

Do they have one in fahrenheit?

Not that I know of but u get used to it fast....basically 480 degrees c is all the way up.... I use that on most everything, batteries, motors etc. then if i solder small wires I back out down to 350.

[Lastplace]

Hakko FX888

[RC10th]

I want a Hakko 937

[R6cowboy]

Thanks for the replies.
The local Home Depot has this gem in stock, Weller WLC200, 80 watt unit. As basic as it gets. From what I'm seeing Weller, at least the WE1010NA and this WLC200, doesn't have much better reviews (percentage wise) than a lot of the "cheaper" stuff. The Hakko FX888d seems to be a better quality unit overall, but (like the Weller WE1010NA) at around double the price of a lot of the "cheaper" soldering stations. Looks like no matter which unit ya go with, they all have a small percentage of "duds" from the factory.

[matt1ptkn]

I've got that Weller station and have no complaints about it. But the tips don't seem to last long enough...

[limestang]

Two great options. The Weller model is the Cadillac of solder stations. The Hakko is very popular and has great reviews (beware of fakes on eBay). I have just a Hakko solder iron 456-16 that works great on things like Deans connectors.

- limestang

[Coelacanth]

Guys, I wanted to share a solder station recommendation to the RC10Talk nation.

I have to say I never looked forward to the soldering part of our hobby. I hated it. I had a decent Weller standalone iron, I believe this one, for years:

https://www.amazon.ca/Weller-WP35-35-Watt-Professional-Soldering/dp/B000B5YIYS

It was better than cheaper ones I had in the past, but I still hated having to wait several minutes for the thing to heat up. Even when it was ready, it seemed it could never make a quick solder weld, especially with thicker gauge wires and some connectors like Deans Ultras. By the time the wire & contact surface was hot enough to melt the solder, it was starting to soften the plastic connector housing, causing nearby shrink wrap to shrink, and possibly also damaging nearby circuitry. I hated having to turn it off if I needed to do some wire & connector arrangement before re-soldering, and have to wait several minutes again for the thing to re-heat.

Ironically, this topic was first posted before Christmas and I decided I wanted a better solder station for Christmas. After some research and some hints to the wife, I ended up receiving this unit, an 80-watt station:

https://www.amazon.ca/FASTTOBUY-Soldering-Station-194%C2%B0F-896%C2%B0F-Temperature/dp/B082HP4513

I have to say I was mighty impressed! I know we all have to "buyer beware" when it comes to a lot of Made In China stuff, but this particular item far surpassed my expectations. I liked the collection of tips, the cleanup area and the temperature display, which can be switched from Fahrenheit to Celsius. (I found quite a few other brands that didn't.) I also liked the auto-sleep function for safety reasons. I turned on the switch with skepticism, waiting to see how long it would take to heat up to 350 or more degrees Celsius. Maybe I've just gotten used to the wait, but I couldn't believe it...within seconds, it was at 350*C. If I turn the dial to max, it hits 450*C or so in well under 10 seconds! I find the need for very hot heat is essential for making good solder welds as quickly as possible, so as not to overly heat up nearby components. I'm finding the cleaning pad very handy. I find the attached spool kind of awkward and unwieldy, though. The included solder wire is probably crap, so I unwound the whole thing and re-wound all of my existing rolls of 63/37 solder wire. I just use the spool for storage reasons. I don't think the spool works well while attached to the base unit, to be honest. I remove the spool and hold it when I'm soldering.

Anyway, I used to hate soldering...but now I can say, I ALMOST like it. I can only hope the unit lasts for many years. I've only had it since Christmas but I've done a ton of soldering jobs that I'd been putting off, because this thing makes the job so much easier.

[R6cowboy]

Coelacanth, thanks again for the recommendation. Just ordered the same unit, but in orange instead of the blue. Hope it works as well for me as it has for you. I've had this Weller 40 watt iron for years, but it just doesn't cut it. Takes forever to heat up.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

I have this one arriving this week. Hopefully it's decent. I've never had a good one so my nipples are wearing thru my t-shirts on a daily basis.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RVMZNYR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_BQleGbASTHNQD

[R6cowboy]

I have this one arriving this week. Hopefully it's decent. I've never had a good one so my nipples are wearing thru my t-shirts on a daily basis.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RVMZNYR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_BQleGbASTHNQD

A fella on RCTech recommended that Yihua 939D+. Around Christmas time I was contemplating between that unit or the Hakko FX888D, but held off and eventually my senile ass forgot my soldering needs until recently. Hopefully it works out good for ya, and I'm glad your t-shirts finally get a break.

[R6cowboy]

The unit shows up yesterday as I'm getting ready to take the misses out to her favorite sushi joint for her birthday. So earlier this morning I pour a cup of joe then brace myself to open up the box like a little kid on Christmas morning. I unbox the unit and to my surprise it's blue. My better half walks in the kitchen and I ask, "didn't I say I wanted the orange one?" She replies, "yeah, but the blue one was cuter", like nothing and walks off. We share an Amazon Prime account and I just showed her which one I wanted, she then decides the blue one is "cuter" before checking out. I could only shake my head in disbelief and chuckle, not because I really care and it really doesn't matter, but because the soldering station is going to a location in the house that she purposely makes an effort to avoid, my basement workshop. She'll likely never lay on eyes on it ever again, but she's worried how cute it is...?