Choosing a Soldering Iron

For those who need a soldering iron, I would like to address one piece of advice that was written in many places on the web. I recently had to get a new iron when after many years of venerable service my 60w adjustable iron bit the dust. This iron was my first soldering iron, and like most people buy, it was what is known as a soldering pen. These devices often serve faithfully until mechanical failure, however, since that is wonderfully irrelevant, what it boils down to is this: there is absolutely no active temperature control for these irons. A 45 watt iron puts 45 watts into the tip until the thermal difference between the tip and the air causes 45 joules of energy to leave the tip per second. As would be expected, this pushes the temperature of the tip into the 700-850+ degree Fahrenheit range. I have a very technical term for how hot my new 45 watt iron gets. Freakin Hot. Hot enough that I unplug it after 5 minutes to try and tame the temp. That was one thing my old adjustable heat iron didn't suffer, because for different jobs, different wattages. Now for why I take issue with one of the most commonly spouted pieces of advice, which is to get a temperature controlled iron. These irons have many forms of controls, from thermocouples to special tips that become non magnetic at a certain temperature. When the temperature that the user desires is reached, the irons heater turns off and when they cool down it turns back on again. Like your home furnace. These devices represent the gold standard in hand held soldering tools, but I take issue with them. They sound so awesome, how could I? I would love to have one, but reputable brands usually charge upwards of $100 for one. My soldering pen cost a whopping $10. For many, the idea of a hundred dollar investment is hard to swallow for a tool that "just gets hot". These solder stations do more than that, but are they necessary? I would say no. It is perfectly possible to solder with a plug in soldering pen. There are some things to remember, for example it isn't good to leave it plugged in and untouched for even a minute once it gets hot if you're working with any iron over 30w. Higher wattage irons are great for soldering the occasional big wire, but they really work best when throttled. This is pretty simple to do, as all that's needed is a light dimmer. Some irons even come with simple dimmer circuits built in. My last iron did, and that will be the basis for temperature controlling my new iron. Of course, never use a dimmer that cannot handle your iron.