What soldering station/ solder gun do you use?

Here is what I switched to a few years back and it has been one of the best that I have used to date. It can be used open or with one of the many tips it has. New Soldering Iron Kit Butane Gas Portable Auto Diagnostic Car Test Tool | eBay

That looks nice I have the power probe 1 it works nice also have a gun it's too big in the car works awesome on bench

Hi William, I do one or two custom Painless (Painful) harnesses in hot rod projects every year and work on a lot of equipment wiring repairs, so this kit sees a lot of use and it has held up compared to others I have tried. Electric irons are a nice option if in a shop but is of little use in the middle of a ranch field. The best thing about this is that it has very good heat control and not…

Awesome thanks I'll get 1 try it out

Hello Glenn, Thank you for the tool advice.

Thank you Glenn, for the tool advice.

140W should be plenty it's actually overkill! Did you try a new tip already? I prefer something in the lower range with a good recovery time. For any wires less than #12, 35-50 watt and use a good electronics solder like a 2.5mm. I love my Hakko and Ersa station. Dan, the German Man

Hello Dan, I replaced the tip already thanks. Perhaps the solder the shop provides is not that great. I am soldering copper wires about 14-16 gauge. I will look into the brands you mentioned.

What you have is more than enough just use flux paste and low melting temp soldering wire

Hello Nasser, Yes I will look into better solder and flux paste. What do you use?

What gauge wire? Solid or stranded? I am using these with great success TICONN 150 PCS Solder Seal Wire Connectors, Heat Shrink Butt Connectors, Waterproof and Insulated Electrical Wire Terminals, Butt Splice (150PCS) a​.​co/d/6Xs6TgH

Yes these are awesome I bought couple boxes

Hello Dave, I am soldering 14 and 16 gauge stranded wire pigtails to new copper stranded wires. The boss wants us to solder wires and not use that style crimp and seal connectors.

Anyone try the Milwaukee M12 cordless soldering tool? There are reviews it has tip issues but I sure do like the Milwaukee M12/M18 lineup. milwaukeetool​.​com/Products/Power…

The Milwaukee works great. If you use the small battery it doesnt last long.

I have the Milwaukee M12 iron you have listed and it works great. It folds in half and stands on a flat surface so you don't need to hold it to work with it. I really like it.

Hi Mike. As Jon Riggle would say, “It Depends®” Some of mine are shown here. I bought the Milwaukee M12 gun to check out all the “hoopla” and the positive comments are bang on the mark. It heats up rapidly in about 18 seconds and gets the job done very nicely, but also in agreeance with others, the M12 iron consumes power. I usually use it with the 6AH battery shown in the photo. A nice…

Hello Martin Smith, I too have the ultratorch and old blue point butane torch. What flux and solder do you use on copper wiring to things like plow lights and dump truck bed lights?

Crimp connections handle more load better than solder. They are also much faster to use. Crimp connectors that seal with a heat gun are available. Also regular crimps can be used with shrink tube.

Hello Obie, I used a lot of crimp connectors also, but they are easy too over or under crimp if performed by less experienced people. Many of the repairs I end up doing involve poorly crimped connections.

I agree about poor crimps. There are also poor solder joints. Proper tools and technique are always required. Manufacturers do not solder wiring!

Hello Obie, Yes I like to use 3M crimp and seal connectors when I worked at the GM dealer. The boss wants us to solder and shrink tube.

Agreed Obie. A strong mechanical crimp is necessary for any good connection. Stuffing wires together into connectors with low melting point solder and combination heat shrinks don't make for strong mechanical joints. I've seen some pretty awful examples of mechanical splicing with solder globbed on so much that it wicked 3" up the wires, in areas where the harness must remain flexible. While…

Thanks Martin, for the advice. I like the crimpnseal/ duraseal butt connectors but they are not provided by the boss.

Hello Obie, Thank you for the great advice.

U mention Work Station….not sure ive heard of a Cordless work station. Altho i use the Cordless Lexivon in the field, on the bench, i use this Xtronic 6040 Pro X….and Love it! amazon​.​com/X-Tronic-6040… Has a 3 year Parts AND Labor warranty!

Hello Marti, Thank you for the tool recommendation.

You can go up to a 200W/260W gun. weller-tools​.​com/professional/u… I have a 30 year old 250W model and I'm never lacking for heat, even on 10 gauge wires.

Hello Andrew, Thank you for tool advice.

I use snapons soldering iron, when it quits working I can get replacement tips easy, other ones not so easy, it is butane does heat up quickly, make sure you use 60% tin 40% solder gives quickest and best solder joints. Also use shrink tube with adhesive will seal the repair the best yaks32a

Hello Duane, Thank you very much for the tool and solder advice. Do you use flux paste as well for your solder joints?

Michael, Flux paste should not be required with electrical solder. Any chance your shop is sourcing the newer low lead solder ? That stuff is useless in my opinion. Takes a lot more heat and just does not like to flow nicely. Your 140W Weller should easily heat up a 12G wire. See if you can find some 60/40 rosin core solder. Something like this but probably thicker for your…

Hello Bill, I agree with not using flux (rosin) if they are new wires being soldered together. If the wires have been tempered from years of electrical current flow they tend to oxidize and that would require the use of flux (rosin) to clean the wire so solder with will have full adhesion. On a special note, acid flux or acid core solder is not meant for electrical/ electronic repairs. Acid…

“Flux paste should not be required with electrical solder.” Even with rosin core solder additional flux makes soldering much easier. The BIGGEST problem I see when people are learning and have trouble soldering is that they do not use flux. The second is too low heat.

Hello Bill, I looked at the label on the solder spool it is lead free.

I use the old tried and true Weller HD 550 soldering guns for most jobs. I have a fine pencil instant heat for delicate work, an AOYUE soldering station for most circuit board repairs and for heavy duty work I have a 1" diameter 6" long bolt with a ground chisel tip and 9 gauge fencing wire handle w/wood dowel grip that I heat with the oxy/gas torch (known as a hot iron)

Your current Weller gun should work fine, unless you are trying to solder 8 gauge or bigger wire. Have you tried a new tip lately? I've found that the lock nuts/allen screws need to be snugged up every once in a while. The heating and cooling softens the metal the the retaining fasteners get loose.

Hello Eric, I am soldering 14 and 16 gauge wire typically. I will check the screws on the weller gun. Perhaps I am using incorrect solder and no flux while soldering. What solder and flux paste do you use?

I won't be at the shop for a week or so so I can't tell you the exact brands but I use a small diameter rosin core solder, 0.060" diameter I believe, and a standard paste flux when I need it. I do not use lead free solder.

Hello Eric, Thanks for the solder advice.

“What solder and flux paste do you use?” Flux - AMtech 223 is great. Its low rosin so not so sticky and a bit easier to clean. ebay​.​us/PhLBaf Solders - KESTER 63/37 is nice for lead solder and I like AIM REL22 for lead-free. Loctite also makes a nice lead-free.

Hello Jason, Thanks for the solder and flux advice.

Kester solder is what I use. It is more expensive but worth it.

Hello Gavin, Thank you for the solder advice.