what to look for in a soldering iron?

[evan 10+ year member]

I'm going to buy a soldering iron to do my install, and I'm wondering if I can get away with a $10 one, or if I should be looking for a certain strength or certain features or something. (I've never used one before)

Thanks

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Buy a decent one; you don't want to have to mess with a cheap one if you need something fixed. Weller makes a good one.

A 35-watt iron should be good for PCB work and most general-purpose stuff...if you do bigger stuff, a 100W soldering gun should tackle the big jobs.

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

I've never had problems with the cheap $8 ones, but I go few maybe 2 a year. They are practically disposable.

 

[60ndown 10+ year member]

use 'rosin core' solder for electrical

 

[boister77 10+ year member]

i would get a variable wattage soldering iron. for a few bucks more, you'll be able to control the temp based on what you want to solder.

 

[THUNDERBIRD 10+ year member]

generally u want heat. i bought one for i forget how much or little. it is a butane one from radio shack i like it kuz i dont have to have a cord, it works good

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

butane is awesome for in car, because its basically a torch, shooting a piece of metal. you can adjust the heat, and its 100% portable.

the 12v one is another great idea... get it so it can plug into a ciggarette lighter... that would work great. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

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[XtrmAudioCncpts 10+ year member]

butane is awesome for in car, because its basically a torch, shooting a piece of metal. you can adjust the heat, and its 100% portable.
the 12v one is another great idea... get it so it can plug into a ciggarette lighter... that would work great. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

i agree 100% i got one a few weeks ago for like 20 bucks and its the best car audio tool that i have ever gotten