http://www.nonelectronics.com/catalog/i … cts_id=164
Is it any good? I'm looking to backlight my DMG and I probably won't use a soldering iron apart from one or two more modding ventures. But I also don't want to ruin my stuff.
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Michigan
Its probably just fine, but 50Watts is a hot iron!
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Minneapolis
Hot, yes. I still like bigger than 50W, my 70W is what I would call almost adequate for normal use. Of course, I do a lot of de-soldering, and a 50W loses heat too fast and heats up too slowly for my taste.
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Michigan
I meant that 50 Watts would be too hot for ordinary use! Until recently I was using a 40 Watt for years.
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Russia
I used it for modding and screen repair. It works fine and if used properly it will not ruin your hardware.
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matt's mind
30W is typically what i use with this style iron
radioshack sells 15W ones for doing basic soldering too, just to note. 50W is a bit much, imo
a hot iron does a nice job, but you risk burning out the component. especially if you're learning to solder perhaps.
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I use the really fine tip radioshack one. it's super small and light, has short distance from hand to tip and tips are pretty cheap. comes with a bunch of junk and is like 20$ generally
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Jelly Stone park, MD USA
Yea 50W is way to high for ICs, really 25W is tops. Of course lead free solder is a real pain with a cooler iron. This iron is good for heavy wire and cable.
The other thing that caught my eye is "50W, 220-240V. Note: This is made for American outlets, if you are in a different country you may need an adaptor." WTF??? Do I have to plug it into the socket for my electric range? or the dryer outlet? Those are the only two 220V outlets in my house. 
Yogi
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Milwaukee, WI
On a related note, I got one of these recently and couldn't be happier with it!
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IL, US
yeah, i rock a 25 watt, no complaints about warm up times
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Milwaukee, WI
I actually just light my table on fire and hope for the best. Works every time.
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Jelly Stone park, MD USA
TSC wrote:
I actually just light my table on fire and hope for the best. Works every time.
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Jelly Stone park, MD USA
Theta_Frost wrote:
On a related note, I got one of these recently and couldn't be happier with it!
That's sweet! I'd never have thought one would need a password protected solder station but what the heck, why not. Wish I had the cash for one; can't beat a temp controlled iron.
I have to replace my no-name adjustable solder station. it works OK but it's got a very odd size tip that is impossible to find a replacement for it.
Yogi
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Austin, Texas
I used one of these for a very long time until I got a Weller: Velleman Low-Cost Soldering Station
It was pretty decent and was also about $20 USD. I only ever really turned it up for working with Lead-Free, which I tried to use on anything I was building new as a best practice. It only really has the pencil tip available, but that was still better than some of the other irons I had used before.
I'm going to echo what some of the more experienced modders and fabricators in this thread have said: Start with a 15W or so iron. You want to develop good habits when you are learning to solder. You don't want to destroy vintage equipment. Since we've all done this a fair amount, we definitely have grown to like repairing and making electronics, so once you get "the itch" and you have a good technical understanding of the difference between crappy soldering (cold/dry joints, loose tin, etc) and quality work that's going to last and keep your toys ticking, then it's time to move up to a 50 or more variable/temp controlled iron.
Welcome to the club! 
P.S. Any other quick tips I had to pass on are summed up like this: The soldering iron is just one tool in a workstation that enables your to make what you want to make. Even with a decent (or a great) iron, if you can't keep all of your stuff in place while you try to apply heat and tin, you're going to end up frustrated and with a sub-par end product. I think having a good mini vise / third hard is at least as important as the quality and wattage of whatever you're using to tin and solder things together.
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Hartlepool, UK
15W will be enough for small spots, the wattage has nothing to do with the operating temperature or burning components out, its the rate of energy passed through the tip of the iron, most electronic soldering irons have the same operating temperature straight out of the packet the larger the wattage the quicker it will heat up and the easier larger spots of solder are to make molten. Imagine temperature as Voltage and Wattage as Current and you'll get a similar analogy.
The main difference is what you're going to do with it. You could use a 50/70W soldering iron and it would do the same job as a 15W iron but a 15W iron won't do what a 50/70W iron will do.
As another example, my wife makes stained glass panels and she uses a soldering iron which is 150W but it has a tip the size of a large screwdriver. The solder she uses I would say is about 5-6 times thicker too.
Last edited by fretwanger (Feb 26, 2014 1:20 am)
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Dallas, Texas
I actually didn't get a good performance out of that iron at all. wasn't hot enough. I got a hakko one I like alot better. It has a button on it for boosting the heat for a short period of time when you need that extra boost for a tough joint. Plus it can be pressed for quicker heat up time. I think it's called the Hakko Presto
Last edited by TylerBarnes (Feb 26, 2014 2:30 am)