Solder kit Rec?
 

I'm in the market for a soldering kit. I have a cheap ($12) pencil type iron but was wondering if a butane or other cordless type would be reccomended. The portability is attractive (on the road or on the boat for example).....

Does anyone have any reccomendations (pro & con) with regard to soldering equipment?

A lot of soldering irons are too low in wattage to be really good. Around electronics/electrics in our old mercedes about a 60 watts adjustable regulated iron should be about right with a pencil tip. This prevents too much heat migration as the area being soldered seems to heat up fast enough that you are not cooking components close by. You want to heat the imediate area and be done pretty quickly and that is almost impossible when wattage is too low. Also since prices have fallen a type where you set the heat range is probably available reasonably. Think ebay could be good source or electronic company going out of buisiness. Portable soldering units are nice as well but either the ni-cads weaken with age or heating effect might be too low. See them as rather short term devices. Only good really for emergency uses unless you go high end units. :) (My opinion only others will vary.)

solder irons
 

I have used the butane irons. I do alot of soldering in my work. For real fine work it is nice to have adjustable heat. But the butane is great for the freedom. Just be careful when you put it down lit...

For most circuit board work, ~30-40 watts is good. If you are looking to upgrade, try a Weller or Ungar pencil iron. The nice thing about these is that they have the capability for interchanging both the wattage of heating element and tips. www.specialized.net is a reliable internet source for Weller irons. Expect to pay about $40-50 for something of this quality.

They also carry the butane powered type but a decent one, of professional quality, will cost you closer to $60. Like any tool, you usually get what you pay for. Expect to spend about $50 for a quality iron.

If I were to persue a butane powered unit where do I get the butane?

Make sure you get the right solder for the job.

Never use anything but Rosin core solder for any electrical work

Only use acid core solder for sheet metal work.......

do not ever use acid core solder on electrical parts you do not plan on throwing into the trash very soon.

Choice of soldering iron involves, as with most tools, a compromise of characteristics (including price). If you're just soldering wires and connectors, then a plain old "constant power" pencil iron will serve just fine, and a butane iron can also serve well with the bonus of super portability.

If you're doing brain surgery on circuit boards, then a real "constant temperature" iron is pretty nice, but comes at a higher price. I've used one of Edsyn's lower-end stations (951SX), and was positively impressed (based only on my previous experience with pretty cheap, constant power units). It has temperature-controlled operation, quick heat-up, a very large variety of tips available, and enough power on tap to handle a fairly substantial tip when necessary. It's marketed as an entry-level production iron, so it actually has a reasonable warranty and availability of spare parts, too.

Horses for courses...

I'm leaning towards a butane kit....Of the 5 or so things I've soddered (or would have soldered) 2 have been on boats which had either no proximity to the grid or didn't have an inverter...

The butane is available from many retail outlets as lighter, as in cigarette, refills.

There are also rechargeable portable electric soldering irons made by Isotip. They are fine for small jobs and cost is about $70 and have a selection of tips for different solder jobs. Hint: pull out the worklight and it will last longer. Personally, I like them better than most of the butane type and much safer if working in an area with flammable fumes. Also, once you release the button they stop heating.

Another factor is the size of the materials you solder most.