I am looking for suggestions for a soldering iron set up that can do a tidy job on everything from attaching wire to motor tabs, to joining HO brass track.
I have read about resistive sets, variable wattage sets, & some that give a ‘burst’ of power if needed, & am not quite sure which way to go.
There are budgetary restrictions, [say under $100 initially], which I think throws out the resistives.
I would also be interested about the appropriate wattage or different power settings for doing say, motor tabs & joining track, as from what I have read so far you can be set too hot or too cold for a good outcome. Also, some of the variable wattage set ups peak out at about 40 watts & I don’t know if that is enough power for track joins, so if someone has been down that route I would appreciate their thoughts on what is needed, including ancilary matters such as prep. & flux etc.
Thanks
Tanked
Hi!
A very timely question for me… I am building a replacement layout for one recently demo’d and just started to lay track/wiring for the lower level. I bought a new iron, and found it is exactly the same one I used for years and years for MR stuff. It is the Craftsman mod 540420, and it comes with 3 tips. I believe it was about $15, is 45 watt, and works great for track and wiring. Of course you need to be careful so as not to melt ties, but with a bit of practice you will do fine.
For loco work like installing decoders, I would get a Craftsman 25 watt iron - also about $15.
The resistance irons and adjustable heat irons work just fine, but good ones are a tad expensive and of course there is also a learning curve. If money is no problem, and you are going to do a lot of table top soldering, I would get one. Otherwise, I would stick with the Sears irons.
Hey, my opinion - and I am sure others will have theirs.
Mobilman44
yeap!
40 watt for rails and 25 watts for any electric or electronic use
at sears you can find a variable watt soldering kit for 40 bucks I think
check it out:
http://www.instructables.com/id/10ish_DIY_Variable_Temp_Soldering_Iron_Controller/
Andre.
I use a Weller 140/100 watt soldering gun. I have no problems with melting ties or overheating connections. Being that it’s trigger activated it’s only on when I’m holding it so I don’t need a holder to keep it up off anything that get burned or melted. It cost me about $30 at Lowe’s.
Soldering rails into frogs and other specialwork components - and soldering wire to rails - requires more power and heat transfer capability than soldering mini-connections when installing DCC decoders.
My answer is two separate tools. For fine wire electrical soldering I go with a 20 watt pencil iron. Rail is treated to the gentle attention of a 325 watt Weller hand cannon that’s as old as Michelle Obama. Can’t say how much two equivalent items would cost today, but I’m willing to wager it would be well under $100.
Considering the range of possible uses, from PC boards to brass boiler assembly. one size does not fit all.
Chuck (Modleing Central Japan in September, 1964)
I agree with Chuck about the need for something heavy-duty when soldering trackwork. Your best chance not to melt plastic ties is to use enough heat to get in and out fast. I use the heavier Weller dual-heat gun – I forget exactly what the wattage is, but more than 100/140 – and I use a pencil iron for decoder installations and other circuit-board work. The big gun also does a good job melting solder into frogs on handlaid turnouts.
So long,
Andy