GENERAL Soldering Iron purchase?

[otis420]

ive had one cheap 30/35 like the Maplin from mod chips dot ca
did good for over 2 years now its all black now and done alot of work

just getting one of these time for an upgrade
ebay item number 180701054905

 

[MahesaWR]

Hi,
Just wanna share my soldering experience from where I work.
Xbox uses lead free solder so they require higher heat to melt compare to normal solder.

Machines to mount the components require 200-250 deg C
Then, for manual (hand) soldering require 380-420 dec C.
For each point dont touch over 5 ceconds or it will damage your pcb points

The solder wattage (Watt) doesn't mean crap, you need the ones that can make the temperature.

 

[Drewssap]

The watts mean alot imo, just buy a 15 to 20 watt iron. It can save you alot of money, it also becomes less more warm then my 30 watt. A head magnafier is also great, this will make your solder skills greater because of the detaled sight, you know what your doin, so you don't need to worry a out overheating the pcb. I also have solder with lead to get the solder melted a bit more easy.

 

[JSUJSU]

i used temp adjustable Hakko. it works great!

 

[Dark_Riku]

Thanks for the heads up guys, i bit the bullet and went and purchased a 20w one from Maplin along with unleaded solder wire and a no-clean flux dispenser pen. Now to bully my old Falcon