Soldering iron recommendations

Kayos · 2026-02-21T16:49:50+0000

I give in, I need a new soldering iron

I'm not looking for high end, top spec. I am looking for reliable, stable and can get spare tips

Adjustable temp would be nice, but not a deal breaker

240v is a must however

I used to have a selection of Antex irons, but no idea where they went, Ive been using a Work Zone one, but cannot get new tips and they are all dead

Mostly used for joining wires and soldering plugs on, usually phono but the odd UHF with mini8 cable

I've just resisted buying a £16 from Amazon, happy to spend more, but like I said, not doing smd or production work

JOEPRO · 2026-02-21T16:57:52+0000

For a reliable no frills mains soldering iron Weller brand is what you want

Mark 2 · 2026-02-21T17:29:36+0000

Lidl, I thought I saw one last week.

Wozzaaah · 2026-02-21T17:35:51+0000

Kayos said:
I give in, I need a new soldering iron

I'm not looking for high end, top spec. I am looking for reliable, stable and can get spare tips

Adjustable temp would be nice, but not a deal breaker

240v is a must however

I used to have a selection of Antex irons, but no idea where they went, Ive been using a Work Zone one, but cannot get new tips and they are all dead

Mostly used for joining wires and soldering plugs on, usually phono but the odd UHF with mini8 cable

I've just resisted buying a £16 from Amazon, happy to spend more, but like I said, not doing smd or production work

I do remember it being a bit of a faff to find the right ones but I did manage to get a decent selection of tips for my Workzone one on ebay.

Kayos · 2026-02-21T17:39:25+0000

Wozzaaah said:
I do remember it being a bit of a faff to find the right ones but I did manage to get a decent selection of tips for my Workzone one on ebay.

Any chance of a link?

EBME2 · 2026-02-21T17:40:44+0000

The T12 ones you can get on Ali/Amazon are OK, loads of cheap tips easily available. Heat up super quick and adjustable temperature. You can get mains and DC powered ones, the DC ones will run off an 18v power tool battery.

MattF · 2026-02-21T17:42:33+0000

YIHUA: SOLDERING

This is where you can find the latest UK offerings from YIHUA for soldering stations across all categories.

www.amazon.co.uk

Seadog · 2026-02-21T17:43:24+0000

JOEPRO said:
For a reliable no frills mains soldering iron Weller brand is what you want

If you can afford them.

Seadog · 2026-02-21T17:46:11+0000

Kayos said:
I give in, I need a new soldering iron

I'm not looking for high end, top spec. I am looking for reliable, stable and can get spare tips

Adjustable temp would be nice, but not a deal breaker

240v is a must however

I used to have a selection of Antex irons, but no idea where they went, Ive been using a Work Zone one, but cannot get new tips and they are all dead

Mostly used for joining wires and soldering plugs on, usually phono but the odd UHF with mini8 cable

I've just resisted buying a £16 from Amazon, happy to spend more, but like I said, not doing smd or production work

Let me have a look in the ~~scrap heap~~ workshop. I've a barely used Parkside, if that'll fit the bill.

Wozzaaah · 2026-02-21T17:53:23+0000

Kayos said:
Any chance of a link?

It was ages ago but I'll try to find it.
Edit: Incorrect info, they are screw in tips.

Kayos · 2026-02-21T17:55:56+0000

Wozzaaah said:
It was ages ago but I'll try to find it. My one has the basic tips held in with a grubscrew, yours may be the later one with the screw-in tips?

Yes it is the screw in one

Quick search showed me loads that look nothing like the ones I need

The_Yellow_Ardvark · 2026-02-21T17:58:17+0000

@Kayos
PM inbound.

Wozzaaah · 2026-02-21T18:05:28+0000

Kayos said:
Yes it is the screw in one

Quick search showed me loads that look nothing like the ones I need

I can't find the link to the ones I bought as it was such a long time ago, but I seem to recall they were "home made" ones and fitted perfectly.
They're M4 thread if that helps.

Wozzaaah · 2026-02-21T18:10:34+0000

Not sure you'd want to pay nearly £6 for one tip but https://www.ebay.com/itm/282756679489

Migmac · 2026-02-21T18:12:58+0000

I know you want a mains powered one but I just recently bought a soldering iron that uses a tool battery. It’s very controllable and heats up in seconds. Mine works on the Milwaukee platform but others are available

sako243 · 2026-02-21T18:41:27+0000

Personally I'd just lump up and buy a Weller as the cheaper end of decent. A quick search shows some temp controlled ones on Amazon for £150 but you've not specified a budget :dontknow:

.

My old Weller I was given by my Dad when I was about 8 so that's been used, abused, thrown about, dropped, stored in a damp shed and it's still going strong some 30 years later. Still in use every other day and tips are readily available from the likes of RS, Farnell, CPC, ebay, Aliexpress and pretty much every other shopping platform.

I've no personal experience with the bigger tips/handles but I really like the hot swap nature of the JBC T115 (takes C115 cartridges) as I can flick between tips in seconds for PCB work. The T210 and T245 are also hot swappable I think so I'd be tempted by a base station that supports those (handles are available from Aliexpress etc., for next to nothing). I've got the JBC Nase station which is not what you want but you can get cheaper base stations. I built an AxxSolder pcb so I could run it off an M18 battery.

I did build an AxxSolder so I could use my JBC

Rob-J · 2026-02-21T18:42:03+0000

I bought this one a couple of years back.

https://amzn.eu/d/03Y9u3kU

As you can see, I got this image and link from Amazon, but I got mine off of eBay. I've checked and it's NLA, so far as I can tell, but if you can find one, I would recommend it, having bought and used cheaper ones in the past.

I paid £35 for it and it's very nice to use. Heats up real quick, and has a good temperature range. I would recommend that you invest in one on which the temperature can be controlled, because with lead-free solder becoming 'the norm', it needs a higher temp than, say 60/40 Tin Lead (my preferred solder), which is becoming harder to find.

Ross365 · 2026-02-21T18:57:27+0000

I also have a Yihua 937D and also paid about £35 which was a very fair price. I suspect that the prices have gone up a bit since then.
The Yihua will take bits made by Aoyue (Allendale on ebay), and I think they are better. Aoyue used to make good irons, but have become a bit expensive.

Once you get used a to a temperature-controlled iron, you never want to go back to a basic iron.

seriesonewelder · 2026-02-21T19:08:29+0000

Parkside Soldering Station

Parkside Soldering Station - Multipurpose soldering station for electronics, model making and most soldering tasks Ergonomic soldering iron with soft grip

www.lidl.co.uk

Craig-S · 2026-02-21T19:09:09+0000

dont sleep on these, they are fantastic. heat up within a couple of seconds and turn off heat when in the holder., they are much better than traditional soldering irons, i have this one. tips are cheap and plentiful