Originally Posted by dentalpain

Can someone please recommend me a good weller soldering station (and solder and flux). Amazon is having a "sale" on soldering equipment for anyone interested. Thanks.

Weller WES-51 or the digital version WESD-51 are about as good as you can get. Kester 44 solder 63/37 (lead/tin ratio.) Any liquid flux.

Originally Posted by Eagle34

Weller WES-51 or the digital version WESD-51 are about as good as you can get. Kester 44 solder 63/37 (lead/tin ratio.) Any liquid flux.

thank you sir.

thanks for the heads up. time to upgrade my soldering tools.

Originally Posted by dentalpain

Can someone please recommend me a good weller soldering station (and solder and flux). Amazon is having a "sale" on soldering equipment for anyone interested. Thanks.

Thanks for the head's up!

Agreed on the WES-51. A friend has one and I used it to do some Deans onto 10 AWG wire and it was cake. I had been struggling with a non-controlled 40 watt iron before that and the WES-51 made it insanely easy. Highly recommended.

I don't get the sale... Amazon has that WES-51 for 87 bucks. Doing a search on google shopping and comparing prices it's pretty easy to find at that price from lots of places. Is there a coupon code or something that makes it cheaper?

Originally Posted by ryan_m

I don't get the sale... Amazon has that WES-51 for 87 bucks. Doing a search on google shopping and comparing prices it's pretty easy to find at that price from lots of places. Is there a coupon code or something that makes it cheaper?

I was wondering about that too...seems to me I've seen it at a lower price, like in the $50-$60 range, based on previous conversations on this(?) thread.

Ryan you are right, not a real sale. I get these daily email based on stuff I've browsed. Amazon says there is a sale in that department; its just their everyday discount off msrp.

I do get 3% back using the amazon visa card. Its a good card, in addition to the 3% they just had 20% off lawn and garden (rotating departments every month). Also make sure you have prime (you can get a free subscription worth $70 with a .edu account). Free shipping plus free movies. Also select no rush delivery (when given the option) to get a free mp3 download.

Check out camelcamelcamel, it tracks amazon prices. LINK This is only $5 over their lowest price.

Edit: looks like the digital has dropped to $99 once or twice, now that would be a slickdeal.

Originally Posted by ryan_m

I don't get the sale... Amazon has that WES-51 for 87 bucks. Doing a search on google shopping and comparing prices it's pretty easy to find at that price from lots of places. Is there a coupon code or something that makes it cheaper?

Yes $85 to $90 is about the going price. The digital goes for around $125. The ones we have at work are the digital version. Only difference is the digital has a display that gives you the temp reading of what the iron is set to (useful in some precise soldering situations.)

i mainly use powerpoles. But when i do have to solder bullets, i use a hobbico 60W iron. They are cheap. You can get replacement tips for 4 dollars on amazon. And it cranks out a crap load of heat. You can easily melt the plastic housing on a deans if you're not careful.

Originally Posted by DenverJayhawk

i mainly use powerpoles. But when i do have to solder bullets, i use a hobbico 60W iron. They are cheap. You can get replacement tips for 4 dollars on amazon. And it cranks out a crap load of heat. You can easily melt the plastic housing on a deans if you're not careful.

This is what I currently use as well. They are okay but it feels disposable. I am looking for something a little nicer and I hear these wellers will last many many years with proper care.

yes, it definitely feels like a 15 dollar iron. Before i moved to PPs, I was thinking of getting an 80-100 dollar iron to replace the hobbico. But since I only solder bullets any more and only use the iron for covering trimming, i decided to just stick with the cheap one until it craps out

I use a cheap $30 240watt radio shack soldering Gun. It has no issues solding 8awg wire I have had mine for about 5 years now and its still gettin it! I also have a 40watt radio shack iorn for the smaller soldering needs (can you tell that I lived next to a radio shack )

i just hold it over my head and use a bic lighter

Originally Posted by aronph

i just hold it over my head and use a bic lighter

Brilliant!

Originally Posted by aronph

i just hold it over my head and use a bic lighter

I thought you just twisted them together and taped them up and your ready to go