Need suggestions for a good soldering iron

I am not an expert in soldering irons but what I have noticed over the years is that the tips are very damaged if you do not have temperature regulation and some function for the soldering iron to detect that it is not in use and lower the temperature automatically to healthy levels for the tip until you turn it back on.

Hi Rushiraj,

I think both could be ok for general through-hole work if nothing else is available, but both look pretty bad for surface-mount. This is just from general experience from similar-looking tools, not those particular tools.

Are there any other potential candidates/brands that you're considering that are easily available to purchase at a reasonable price?

As Enrique says, you'll probably want some regulation, if you're using it for electronics design/prototyping purposes, and for helping to prevent the soldering bit from getting damaged.

With all things aligned (temperature regulation, good practices etc) soldering bits stop being consumables, and can then last 5-10 years or more, for normal prototype work. However at a lower price with no regulation, then as you mention, the bits may need replacing more often, so it's a balance.

Hi Shabaz,

Thanks for the reply. I'm planning to invest in a good soldering iron/station which can be used for normal as well as surface-mount work.

Could you suggest some brands. My budget is under 70 USD.

I looked for Weller and Hakko but both of them are expensive. Hakko FX888D which is the basic one, costs about 16k INR approx. 220 USD from E14 website.

Hi Rushiraj,

There's a Multicomp soldering station but is just slightly higher than your budget (it is ~ 100 USD).

Personally with $70 budget, I think I would try to buy a used soldering station, but that's just luck, if something is available at the right price or not, or wait and purchase the $100 one.. it looks fairly reasonable, and ok choice of bits according to the datasheet. I don't know if it is available in India. In the UK it is out of stock.

I have a low-end Hakko that I like but I also have this low-cost TenmaTenma which works well.

Thanks! The Multicomp one looks good. It's out of stock in India as well.

Thank you everyone for the inputs!

I finally decided to buy this one https://in.element14.com/tenma/21-10115-eu/soldering-station-60w-220v-eu/dp/2062627

If you haven't made it to the store yet, checkout the RoadTest Review for the welder soldering iron. Weller Soldering Station WT Series

In the past I would have considered purchasing such a unit price prohibitive. Since the review I have come to realize the tool actually makes me more efficient.

I have a 30 dollar Atten iron from adafruit, it has temp control and uses standard 900-M-T tips. I used to have a weller SP25 which had (more) expensive tips and was prone to oxidation(it literally wouldn't tin, not with lead or lead free) but my atten is really nice, i bought 12 tips for 5 dollars and only 2 have oxidized and that's because I didn't tin them properly.

hugohu  wrote:

I used to have a weller SP25 which had (more) expensive tips and was prone to oxidation(it literally wouldn't tin, not with lead or lead free) ...

The tips for the SP25 are plated and shouldn't oxidise fast. They aren't special, but they are decent.