soldering tool

[Chris from Washington]

I seen replacement tips at radio shack once, I think it was 2 for $8
solder gun


solder pencil.

[MrSo0h0o]

so u dont think the coldheat is worth it to use?

[joeyc]

they have like 5 or so different tips for the cold heat at radio shack. i tell you when mine started working great is when i put some of the energizer rechargables that are 2500mah in it. with those in it, it got very hot and worked well, but like i said above the tip halfway came out of the end. I guess the extra heat from the batteries caused this, and it melted some of the plastic inside the end of the gun....its ruined as of now. am going to see if i can fix it.

edit: as long as you make sure the tip is seated, i believe that this will not happen

[Chris from Washington]

Not really, I prefer a pencil.
I couldn't get a coldheat to work with solder wick either.

I think it would work OK on really big items, but not electronics of any kind.

[joeyc]

actually it worked great for me on leds

[Ryan from Ohio]

Weller is decent.

My dad and I use one, its actually made for people doing stained glass. Its a 1000 degree 100 watt deal (I think its 100watt?). ANyhow it heats up vary fast between solders. As Im sure you know the heat drops when you go to solder. THis bad boy heats up like in 2 seconds after working...

Now the bad part is when the tip burns out you need to replace the whole heating element... WHich is like $4 less than a new iron...

Hacko makes some decent irons I hear. Check them out on E Pay :)

[GlassWolf]

a 30-watt pen is all you need.

I have that 100/150 watt gun as well, and rarely need it for work on lectronics or even in cars. It's more for household AC work with large cable. the 15/30 wat pen will give you selectable heat ranges for working on things like LEDs so you don't fry the components trying to solder the leads.

[Chris from Washington]

a 30-watt pen is all you need.

I have that 100/150 watt gun as well, and rarely need it for work on lectronics or even in cars. It's more for household AC work with large cable. the 15/30 wat pen will give you selectable heat ranges for working on things like LEDs so you don't fry the components trying to solder the leads.

ah good point Glass, I forgot to mention about how LEDs don't like heat. I know a couple of you have been asking about LEDs. When you go to solder them, don't touch the leg of the LED for too long with your soldering device. Otherwise you'll fry the LED before even turning it on.

[Darthness]

my led bar is looking pretty nice.. i lost an LED in testing, but i'm alright!

but i think an LED is much more entertaing to blow than a speaker..them suckers practically catch on fire!

[Darthness]

just orderd 35 more LEDs going to do some more lighting in the trunk, dome light, and also using some white lights to make a light for my shed yay