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Can anyone recommend me a good soldering iron. Just tinkering with the odd circuit board and doing some speaker crossovers for some Xmas holiday projects.
Impossible to tell from the fake looking reviews on Amazon what is junk Vs ok.
Is the Tilswall https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soldering-Tilswall-Temperature-Transformer-Electronics/dp/B08LNHVYTD/
Better than draper?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-61478-40W-Soldering-Station/dp/B010823P38/
Loads of fancy, high power LCD temp control models but they all look like they will last about a week.
I was in the same boat and ended up buying this one. Very pleased with it. Seems very well made and is very very comfortable to hold
Soldering Station, 65W Tilswall Solder Station Welding Iron with ℉/℃ Smart Temperature Control (200℃-480℃), Extra 5pcs Sol https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LNHVYTD/ref=cm_sw_r_apanp_7vcbp8bQR4gCe
Loads of fancy, high power LCD temp control models but they all look like they will last about a week.
I've got a cheap digital temp-controlled one "HOLIFE" off ebay, it's lasted a good while at home.
Also got a JBC one at work, more power, probably more accurate temp, and gets used every day, but also £400 (individual tips cost about double the whole other one)
As a general rule draper are the bench mark in tools. If it's as good as a draper put it directly in the bin and buy something from a dodgy Chinese sounding Amazon company.
There are exceptions. My draper impact wrench is decent.
I got a combined hot air/soldering station, it cost a bit more but it's so useful to have a convenient and quick hot air supply. Or cold air supply- I use it quite often for cooling parts. Also has the advantage that there doesn't seem to be any really rubbish ones.
That said, I've also got a cheap digital iron- literally the cheapest one that existed- which I got for the garage and it's been very good.
Antex irons used to be ok, not sure what they are like now or Wella.
Not sure you need temperature controlled, for the price of those you could get two different wattage irons say a 15w for finer stuff and a 25w depending on what your doing.
Used to do a lot of soldering in a previous life and always used antex irons.
I got a TS100 soldering iron and power supply a couple of years back. It's very good. The only downside is that the PSU cable drags on the soldering iron a bit as it's so lightweight.
My Wife works for a large electronics supplier in a test/repair role so uses expensive soldering stations daily and was impressed with it when she helped me out with some detailed soldering work.
This is post is not going to help the hobbiest user, but as an electonics engineer I have used many irons over the years. 20 years ago would swear by Weller TCP irons.
These days, that JBC station posted above is what we use now. Utterly fantastic. The tip change is like 2 seconds, up to temperature in 10 seconds. Professional tool at professional price though.