Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

GuitarStv said:
There's no real need for anything higher than a 30 watts for guitar/pedal soldering.
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LOL!!!

Yeah there is. Good luck soldering a ground wire to the bottom of ur bridge with a 30 watt iron. Or getting the solder to stick easily to hb covers. A high powered iron also makes desoldering pot backs effortless. You use the low powered one for the little lugs.
 
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Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

Clint 55 said:
LOL!!!

Yeah there is. Good luck soldering a ground wire to the bottom of ur bridge with a 30 watt iron. Or getting the solder to stick easily to hb covers. A high powered iron also makes desoldering pot backs effortless. You use the low powered one for the little lugs.
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I've been using a 30 watt soldering iron for nearly 20 years on guitars now. No problems at all soldering/desoldering pots, pickups, wires. No problems building several guitar pedals from scratch. No problems soldering components in guitar amps. I haven't had to solder a ground to bridge or humbucker covers on though, they may well require more power.
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

Ya, it's been a real cheap and easy solution for me. I don't solder hb covers or ground wires to a bridge every day but I def need the 100 watt for that. The 100 watt really works great for pot backs tho. It desolders quickly and also when soldering on it makes an unstoppable connection without flux or scratching or faffing. It's a friggin $15 investment. I don't see what all the fuss is about.
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

After 15 years fussing with a pair of 30W irons, I'm gonna have to agree with the other Clint on this one...

40W minimum for standard wiring stuff, more if you want to solder larger pieces regularly

You'll thank us later
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

Well, physics can't be altered by opinions... 150 Celsius is 150 Celsius, independent of wattage. Undeniable that more watts will give you the set temperature faster, but once the set value is reached, there is no difference. At my workplace there is a griup dealing with industrial PQ measurements and I asked them to take a peek at my cheap (like 20 dollar cheap) 40 W soldering station. It took the thing a good 15-20 minutes to go above 150 Celsius at the tip. So definitely take your time with lower wattage stuff. That being said, I don't think you need an iron that heats up in seconds, unless you make a living with it and need to wire 50 Guitars a day... Also, opinions - unlike physics - are completely subjective and thats the way it should be.;)
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

^ Ya, my 100 watt glows orange while my 45 watt turns light brown which means the 100 watt is several hundred degrees hotter... because physics.
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

Clint 55 said:
^ Ya, my 100 watt glows orange while my 45 watt turns light brown which means the 100 watt is several hundred degrees hotter... because physics.
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Yep. Please try to set them to the same temperature and observe the color. Or better yet: measure the temperature of the tip. If you set both to, say, 150 Celsius and the 100 W will still glow orange hot, then please take that iron to a repair shop. I never said that its not easier with 100 watts, I just said that it might be unecessary for occasional soldering. And I still stand by what I said: 150 Celius is 150 Celsius, no matter how big of a number you have before the "W".
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

nexion218 said:
Yep. Please try to set them to the same temperature and observe the color. Or better yet: measure the temperature of the tip. If you set both to, say, 150 Celsius and the 100 W will still glow orange hot, then please take that iron to a repair shop. I never said that its not easier with 100 watts, I just said that it might be unecessary for occasional soldering. And I still stand by what I said: 150 Celius is 150 Celsius, no matter how big of a number you have before the "W".
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My 2 irons aren't adjustable and stabilize at different temperatures. I plug them both in and use them at the same time for different tasks instead of changing the temperature and waiting. They cost about $15 each. It's going to be ok.
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

ErikH said:
Get one of these and be done.

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC10...ocphy=1026411&hvtargid=pla-448477212877&psc=1

I've used this for quite a long time on practically everything that needs soldering. Basic care and maintenance of the tips and it still works perfectly fine.
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I used a Weller 25 for decades and thought it was all I needed, just last week I picked up one of these, high temp lets me tin the pot chassis quickly and spend a lot less time heating the pot, then turn it down to solder the wires to lugs and chassis. I bought the 25 years ago when I was repairing TV's, the low wattage is to assure not damaging the circuit board.
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

GuitarStv said:
I've been using a 30 watt soldering iron for nearly 20 years on guitars now. No problems at all soldering/desoldering pots, pickups, wires. No problems building several guitar pedals from scratch. No problems soldering components in guitar amps. I haven't had to solder a ground to bridge or humbucker covers on though, they may well require more power.
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When you say..."no problems", what you really mean is that you are willing to deal with the problems and you are not personally bothered by them.

But with a decent higher powered iron you don't have to wait 15 minutes for it to heat up (mine takes about 10 seconds). And you don't have to leave your iron on the back of a pot a long time to heat it up enough to melt the solder (risking frying the pot). And you don't have to wait for the tip to reheat after each soldering (mine maintains its heat throughout the job and reheats in a second or two). Mine is only 50 watts, but it is a really good quality iron/soldering station.
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

nexion218 said:
Well, physics can't be altered by opinions... 150 Celsius is 150 Celsius, independent of wattage. Undeniable that more watts will give you the set temperature faster, but once the set value is reached, there is no difference. At my workplace there is a griup dealing with industrial PQ measurements and I asked them to take a peek at my cheap (like 20 dollar cheap) 40 W soldering station. It took the thing a good 15-20 minutes to go above 150 Celsius at the tip. So definitely take your time with lower wattage stuff. That being said, I don't think you need an iron that heats up in seconds, unless you make a living with it and need to wire 50 Guitars a day... Also, opinions - unlike physics - are completely subjective and thats the way it should be.;)
Click to expand...

Physics not only dictates how quickly it heats up, but also how well it maintains its heat while in use and how quickly it reheats.
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

I used that station for years. It worked fine until the tip (inside the handle) burned up and corroded away. then I got one of these...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JJWRRN...r Heat Gun Rework Station with 4 Nozzles 110V

Yes it's a bit expensive, but believe me, there is absolutely NO COMPARISON in the performance of this relative to the Weller. I also wanted the hot air feature because I use a lot of shrink tube to insulate all my joints.

Again I say, that if you think you don't have any problems with the iron you're using, it's because you don't even know what problems you have! If you are used to a bicycle, you'd think a moped has tremendous acceleration. But if you haven't driven a Corvette, you don't even have a clue as to what you are missing.
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

GuitarDoc said:
Physics not only dictates how quickly it heats up, but also how well it maintains its heat while in use and how quickly it reheats.
Click to expand...

Can't argue with that. I always hated physics for its lack if flexibility.:-D
 
Re: Is a 30w soldering iron enough?

GuitarDoc said:
When you say..."no problems", what you really mean is that you are willing to deal with the problems and you are not personally bothered by them.

But with a decent higher powered iron you don't have to wait 15 minutes for it to heat up (mine takes about 10 seconds). And you don't have to leave your iron on the back of a pot a long time to heat it up enough to melt the solder (risking frying the pot). And you don't have to wait for the tip to reheat after each soldering (mine maintains its heat throughout the job and reheats in a second or two). Mine is only 50 watts, but it is a really good quality iron/soldering station.
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Sir, are you suggesting that the good folks at Radio Shack did not provide me with a professional quality 15$ soldering iron two decades ago? :P



I agree, there are like better options available for more money. If electronics is your livelihood, or a huge part of your life - get one! But if you're doing occasional electronics work (building pedals, wiring guitars, fixing stuff in your amp) you'll be fine with a 30 watt iron.
 
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