soldering irons again.

[patchell]

    Depends on the size of the tip.  Assuming that the tip on all of the irons
is the same size (big assumption here), I would go for the 40 watt iron.  You
want to deliver as much heat into what you are soldering as quickly as posible.
If you are using a small iron, you may have to wait a while for it to heat up
the connection, and while you are waiting, your components are also heating up.

    Now, the question I would ask, are these irons temperature controlled?  If
they aren't, the problem the 40 watt iron might give you is that it will
constantly be burning the tinning off the tip, which can be another big pain in
the neck.  If the tinning burns off, you will find it difficult to get the heat
to flow from the tip to what you are trying to solder.  Temperature controlled
irons do not have this problem.

    If cash flow is a problem (yep, them temperature controlled irons are a lot
more expensive), well, you will have to do what you can.  But a good temp
controlled iron will make a REAL big difference in the quality of your
soldering.

    Of course, these are just my opinions.

ElmacacoX at aol.com wrote:

> I'm looking at radio shack stuff right now,  and I see they have 25, 30, and
> 40 watt irons,  which is the ideal value?
>
> thanks

--
 -Jim
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