soldering iron/station recommendation pls

[tempus]

Hey all;

I'm currently using a Weller WP35 soldering iron, and am thinking about going to a soldering station or a different iron. The one I'm using now works really well, but it takes a while to heat up (does a soldering station take a while too?), and I'd like to have the option to work with/repair some surface mount stuff, so I need a much smaller tip for that, but can't find one smaller than I've got.

What are you guys using for soldering tasks? Can anyone make any recommendations based on my needs above?

Thanks

[amptramp]

I use a Weller WTCPL soldering station.  The thermostatic control allows the tip to warm up at continuous duty cycle which is maximum power then duty cycle the heating element when it reaches the optimum temperature (which is not adjustable on this one).  This makes it come up to temperature faster than a normal soldering iron, but still not as fast as a soldering gun (of which I have several).  Your question is interesting, so I did a test on it and found that switch on to melting my 0.029" diameter lead-tin eutectic solder took 34 seconds.  It would require a bit more time to be usable on an actual wire or board connection.  The point is fine enough to tackle surface-mount.

[davent]

Not sure of the tip size you presently have but a variety of replacement tips are available here.

http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/weller/tips/sttips.htm

I like my Weller WES51 station and it's wide variety of available tips for the iron. Use the iron for working on everything from surface mount projects to tube amps.

dave

[DavenPaget]

Think of soldering stations as a big step , they heat up many times faster .
( I use a hakko 936 clone , heats up in 20 sec , god that is fast . )

[tempus]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess this brings up another question - what size of a tip is small enough to use on SMD boards? I haven't actually measured mine, but it's easily 2 or 3 times the width of a connection on any SMD stuff I've tried to repair.

[DavenPaget]

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess this brings up another question - what size of a tip is small enough to use on SMD boards? I haven't actually measured mine, but it's easily 2 or 3 times the width of a connection on any SMD stuff I've tried to repair.

I don't know about the metric sizes but i just walk into a shop and ask for a very small-sized tip , they usually show you , it's those that feel like gun bullets , they are quite sharp .

[tempus]

I spent some time poking around on eBay and found this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150704569659&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

Could be just what I need. The truth is, my iron's fine, I just can't find a tip fine enough for SMD stuff. Any opinions on this iron/rework combo?

Thanks

[DavenPaget]

I spent some time poking around on eBay and found this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150704569659&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

Could be just what I need. The truth is, my iron's fine, I just can't find a tip fine enough for SMD stuff. Any opinions on this iron/rework combo?

Thanks

Buy it ! I smell either a SMPS or directly coupled power input which is absolutely fine . 700W of @#$%ing power ! It's a monster !

[a soBer Newt]

I picked up an OKI PS-900 off craigslist for $100 I love it best iron I have used