Good professional butane soldering iron?

[Ed G.]

Hey guys,
I know this isn't necessarily stompbox-related, but then again, it could be.

I'm looking for a good butane-powered soldering iron. My day gig is marine electronics technician and I do a lot of field soldering. Sometimes an electrical outlet just isn't available, or if the vessel is under construction, it isn't even powered up yet. Sometimes I have to solder 50 or 60 feet up on top of a mast!

I had used a weller butane soldering iron I bought at Home Depot, but after continued use, it stopped working so well.

A co-worker had a Weller Portasol iron that looked really nice. Not sure what model. There's the professional, then there's the super-professional model that puts out the equivalent of 125 watt iron.
I just want a soldering iron that will last, be dependable, and occasionally put out a lot of heat. I'm wondering if the 125w-equivalent will have good control over lower temperatures, such as when I solder wires into the cups of little db-9 connectors.
I thought this would be as good a place as any to find someone who uses a butane soldering iron.
Anyone?

[Dai H.]

kind of think it'd be easier and that you'd have to worry more about overheating a connection inadvertently more than not having enough control with the big portasol (i.e. you have to be more careful with 'overwattage' but if you have the skills it can be quicker). I have the big one, and as far as max. wattage (just from the way it 'feels' versus other irons in the way it radiates heat) it does seem capable of the hundred-whatever watts equivalent it's advertised as being capable of(IOW pretty muthablankin' HOT). Points you might to consider are that it's physically thicker, so may feel unwieldly (or perhaps not if you've got big paws). Also, if you're going to use it to solder small connections, is there an appropriate sized tip avail.(sorry don't quite remember how small the lesser sizes get)? Also, might want to know/consider how long it can stay lit (need to bring extra butane?) depending on how long the work takes, how inaccessible your work location, etc. As far as brands go, (not totally certain about this, but) Weller seems to be the main one (looking at catalogs, stores). Seem to be readily avail., wide variety of tips, not too expensive. I do know there is at least one Japanese brand that makes butane-powered irons, but they seem more obscure(might be good though) so could be harder to obtain tips, etc. even if they are good and you could buy them (assuming there exists an appropriately powered model, etc.).

[petemoore]

  I've consistantly found it hard or unpredictable to store and meter pressurized butane, to the point where I wonder if it can actually be done in a consistant, mass production sense.
  Since they're fairly small, light, and easy to work with when working...try 2, look at the warranty info...perhaps there's something ~competitive for field soldering with an ion battery in it.

[tranceracer]

I have the Weller Pyropen for at least 15 years.  Used it a lot in my car stereo installation days still works great to this day I use it mostly for de-soldering and soldering large lugs and things that my regular 40W iron cant handle.  I just changed out the tip for a finer point.

Also you can have an open blue flame which easily solders car battery cable terminal ends to the wire.



I liked this thing so much I bought the Master version of this iron when it went on sale as a backup.  It's almost identical to the Weller but Black and Red.



They get very very HOT and easily separates traces from boards.  It's very handy because no need for electrical cord and can solder anything (almost) anywhere you could have an open flame.  The heat control settings is pretty much HOT, HOTTER, Very HOT, Very Very HOT.

They are not cheap but definitely one of my best investments.

One piece of advice, use quality butane. 

[Ed G.]

Some guys at work use the red pen. Like you said, HOT and HOTTER. No control. I find it messy and your solder starts to get bad on the tip. Sometimes when I'm solder splicing wires in the field where I have no clamps, I'll tin both ends and then put a little blob on the end of the tip, then use that little blob to solder both wires together. But that red pen will ruin the solder to where it gets gray and clumpy. There is a point in where solder gets bad after it's had too much heat.
That's why I'm wondering if the smaller portasol isn't better, I think it's the equivalent of 75w, which is hot enough, and it might have better control.

[Dai H.]

There is a point in where solder gets bad after it's had too much heat.
That's why I'm wondering if the smaller portasol isn't better, I think it's the equivalent of 75w, which is hot enough, and it might have better control.

I think that's basically due to the rosin being evaporated off, which can happen too quickly if using high heat so possibly the 75 is more suitable. There is a knob on the weller though (I think) which controls the flame ( = heat).