Soldering Stations

Thinking its time to step up and start doing some building/modding. Will need to solder wires, drivers, spring braids etc. (no emitter reflows) so I’m looking at buying a soldering station, been researching the subject on BLF and I see this one is popular:

YiHUA 936B

Could go as high as $30 for the YiHUA but wondering if it’s really any better than this one for $22.45 shipped:

Stahl Tools SSVT

Also it appears both of these only include one tip. Is the included tip good enough or would I need a different tip?

Thanks in advance for any input.

For the solder you should have good results with Multicore 63/37 with this diameter: 0.022" (0.56mm). Perhaps the working scientists here would like to verify or suggest a better one to use.

Perhaps a different solder gauge might be recommended but otherwise the Multicore eutactic solder here will be a great choice.

Make positively sure you are using a good fan to blow away the fumes.

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/386851/82-129-ND/2498927

The Digi-Key company probably has the largest selection of solder available anywhere (about 272 items!).

Best wishes!

A lot of the guys here are buying the YiHUA from Hobby King.

It’s $17.03 if you leave the add open until the pop up appears. I’ve not bought one yet but I have heard that they charge shipping but I don’t see any way to calculate for it.

The add says it ships from a US warehouse so that should be a big plus. The YiHUA also uses Hakko tips which are easy to find, I’m not sure what the other unit uses.

Personally I like the look of the SSVT more because I’m very limited on space in my tiny apartment, use a old folding B&D Workmate for a bench and the SSVT just looks more compact a unit.

Thanks for the info Photons. I needed some recommendations on solder type.

And thanks Martini. The Hobby King sounded like a great deal however their shipping cost was showing about as much as the item itself! (around $17 from US West Coast warehouse) so the total would be almost $35 to get it from them.

Found them for around $30 on fleabay. I emailed Hobby King about the shipping because it sounds awful high. (They show it out of stock at their East Coast warehouse) Fleabay ones suppose to be coming from New Jersey… New Brunswick, maybe they are TMART?

Still wondering if I should get the Stahl one instead. They also have an extra tip set of 5 for around another $5.00

I’ve been using the Stahl with Kester 60/40.

It takes a while for the tip to warm up but I’m still able to use the stock tip to solder driver components and stack 7135s. It doesn’t have enough heat capacity for bigger parts such as pills so it can get pretty annoying trying to remove grounded drivers. Now that I have a rework station and Wight’s drivers the Stahl is only used for wires.

What about those 2-in-1 soldering iron and hot-air reflow stations? Like this guy.

Complete crap or passable enough to use? Thanks!

ECHO

i’d rather get a “brand” 2-in-1, such as yihua, atten seems to be OK too. Of course it’s not western quality but quite bang for the bucks.

and I’d definitely go with 2-in-1… can’t imagine not having the hot air soldering anymore, after just 1 month of using it. SMD operations are a breeze now.

that looks pretty nice.

Been thinking of getting a hot air station for awhile now. I want to transfer microprocessors between drivers, but can’t remove them with just a soldering iron.

I noticed those dual stations, that one seems like a great deal, but I’m trying to stay under $30 for now.

I have the Stahl and extra tips. I am very happy with it overall. It works for my soldering needs. For reflow I have a dual reflow/solder station, but the solder side is weaker than the Stahl. At least mine was. Mostly because it's a very thin pencil tip and those loose heat fast, for anything but the smallest components.

Hi.

I use this one:

XYTRONIC LF-1600”:http://www.reichelt.de/XYTRONIC-Loetstationen/STATION-LF-1600/3/index.html?&ACTION=3&LA=2&ARTICLE=88890&GROUPID=4543&artnr=STATION+LF-1600

A nice budget soldering station!

Thanks Old for the reply and feedback on the Stahl. I was hoping to hear the good word on it.

Thanks, This converts to $95 dollars US?

I’m thinking non digital would be better for quick temp adjustment using the knob instead of pushbutton / scrolling.

[quote=beam0]

This converts to $79 @ http://www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/lf1600.html

By the way - will a few craftspeople who are used to soldering flashlight drivers and related things please comment on the solder size that was mentioned? How does 0.022" (0.56mm) sound?

I personally use 0.031”. Nothing wrong with going thinner.

I use .032" and .062" 60/40 rosin core solder. Now, that has lead in it, just in case you want to look for other solder that is lead free.

The one I mentioned is not lead-free. Soldering with lead-free solder does not work to too many people's desire.

I use this one 3-in-1, power supply, hot air and soldering station, Yihua 953D with 30V 5A power supply, with current control/limiting (very useful for testing current controlled devices such as LED emitters)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YIHUA-853D-5A-Soldering-rework-station-hot-air-gun-30V-5A-DC-power-supply-/321641021671?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item4ae34c80e7

it’s not perfect accuracy and PSU but you get lot for that cca $150