'Serious' soldering iron - recommendations please ?

HI Folks

My usual weapon of choice is a temperature-controlled Weller 100W iron - which works very well for tiffany-style suncatchers, tealights and so on.

Recently, I've been getting more commissions for copper-foil-based window / door panels - with correspondingly longer seams to be soldered.

The Weller iron doesn't seem to be quite 'meaty' enough for these larger panels - I'm not after 'turbo-soldering' performance - but it'd be nice to know that there was sufficient heat there to be able to run a seam without having to pause for the iron to catch up.

So - what's your favourite iron for those slightly bigger jobs ? I've no plans to diversify into leaded windows - but I guess it'd be good if the 'serious' iron was capable of doing that as well, if need be.

One recommendation was for the Esico 150w iron and a Glastar controller

- but I'm open to any other suggestions.

I'm in Ireland - but I do have 110v 'plumbed in' to the Studio

Thanks in advance Adrian

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Reply to
Adrian
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Hexacon 175

Reply to
Chemo the Clown

Thanks for that - you use it with a controller, I guess ?

Adrian

Reply to
Adrian

With copper foil work I run it full on. Don't let it sit around and just idle. Not using it...turn it off.

Reply to
Chemo the Clown

Sounds sensible. I'd got the impression (from reading the online shops) that you have to run a controller with these high-powered, non temp-controlled irons - but maybe they just want to sell me a controller as well as an iron !

As well as the Esico - there was another recommendation for a Hakko 60W 'Super Pro' iron. Apparently this iron uses a more efficient ceramic element - hence the lower wattage - but, since I'm using a 100W Weller at the moment and need 'more power'.. I'm sceptical...

Thanks for the comments

Adrian

Reply to
Adrian

Adrian wrote in news:6qsv9tFean3oU1 @mid.individual.net:

Just a thought - copper foil requires much more solder than lead came, so Kris the Health Noodge just wants to remind you: "Safety First" - be sure you have very good ventilation and/or some sort of fume trap, so that the lead vapor is pulled *away* from you.

Reply to
Kris Krieger

Solder doesn't vaporize till around 2000 degrees. The "vapor" you are talking about is the flux fumes. Still, good advice overall. Good ventilation is a must.

Reply to
neoglassic

Ah yes - but when you're turbo-soldering with a plasma torch...

Better ventilation is on the list for this year...

I tried fitting a couple of computer fans through the studio wall - but it wasn't 100% successful, and was fairly noisy.

As a (surprisingly effective) temporary measure I've been using one of the portable 'fume extract/filter' fans that are sold for electronics work - which allows you to put the extraction very close to the work - which seems good.

Plan 'C' is a couple of 'toilet' extract fans on timers mounted _outside_ the studio and sucking through flexible ducting... They will come on when the soldering iron is lifted off it's stand, and then run on for a minute or so after the iron's replaced - thus keeping the noise level down (I hope)

Complicated life, isn't it ??

Adrian

Reply to
Adrian

Ah ha...I forgot about the turbo-torch. :-)

Reply to
neoglassic

But on the up-side - you do end up with a great suntan

Adrian

Reply to
Adrian

The boiling point of Lead is 3180*F; I can't imagine vapor is a problem. The fumes from the flux are an entirely different matter. Yuck.

Reply to
Tom

" snipped-for-privacy@peak.org" wrote in news:4ee16e24-d6fc-4a6d- snipped-for-privacy@g39g2000pri.googlegroups.com:

Ah, OK... OTOH, I'm not sure I want to breathe flux, either =;-)

- Kris

Reply to
Kris Krieger

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