Best soldering iron for wiring harness work

[Kyle]

Looking for help from pro technicians and car audio guys.

Looking for a corded soldering iron for wiring harness work. Initial project will be two complete wiring harnesses. One is an American Autowire Classic Update harness in a 69 Camaro. The other will be a haywire universal harness in a 30 Ford Roadster Pickup. What wattage should I be looking at, lets just assume 10-24 gauge wiring for general purposes. What brand should I consider? i know at one time Weller was king but I’m not sure based on more recent experiences that I have heard stories of. Anyone have any experience with Hexacon or American Beauty? What would you consider the Snap-On of soldering irons? I am not looking for a soldering gun or a cordless butane unit. Iv’e done some research and I am strongly considering American Beauty.

As far as wattage is concerned I’m considering between 60 and 100.

Topic

[gaseousmercury]

I would go with weller. I have been using them for years and never had a problem. Do not cheap out, get a station model not just a straight plugin model. For example: tis one on amazon is a good buy

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51-Analog-Soldering-Station/dp/B000BRC2XU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362630690&sr=8-2&keywords=weller+soldering+iron

remember that the solder and flux are just as important and should vary according to what you are soldering. If you have any questions about this let me know; i would be glad to assist you. Dont skimp on wattage; its nice to have a high wattage capability, this way you can silver solder if appropriate for your project.

[twiggy]

[quote=”gaseousmercury” post=52371]I would go with weller. I have been using them for years and never had a problem. Do not cheap out, get a station model not just a straight plugin model. For example: tis one on amazon is a good buy

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51-Analog-Soldering-Station/dp/B000BRC2XU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362630690&sr=8-2&keywords=weller+soldering+iron

remember that the solder and flux are just as important and should vary according to what you are soldering. If you have any questions about this let me know; i would be glad to assist you. Dont skimp on wattage; its nice to have a high wattage capability, this way you can silver solder if appropriate for your project.[/quote]

Good choice. Our lab has been using two of those and they have been in service for over 20 years shared by a large group of engineers. They are indestructible. 600-650 degrees is the optimal temp setting. Don’t go higher. Match the size of the tip to the size of the wires. I also suggest avoiding lead free solder. It isn’t so forgiving and doesn’t hold up as well.

[Kyle]

I am not enthused about Weller these days, after they sent manufacturing to China I have not heard much good about them as far as quality control/manufacturing. Since this will be used in automotive applications, under dashes, under the car, under the hood, I would like a direct plug in unit as opposed to a bench top soldering station.

[Pat Calhoun]

I am a broadcast engineer by day and have been soldering daily for many years. I have soldered atleast 10,000 microphone cables and a/v harnesses and done countless repairs with my current Weller WESD51 iron station and have had no issues with it. It is the standard in the industry. You cannot buy a better soldering iron in my opinion.

[Tyler Killgore]

I’ve got an old Weller soldering gun (260 watts) and it works amazing. I sat around for one day fixing all the wiring the previous owner F’ed up with it. I also soldered a wiring harness together. It works awesome, and was real easy to use (even for me on the first time). Hope this helps banana:
[URL=http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/73fordf250/media/WP_20130618_001_zps51caccd6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1349.photobucket.com/albums/p756/73fordf250/WP_20130618_001_zps51caccd6.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[Jack Patteeuw]

For 14 gauge and larger wire, use non-insulated butt splices (I prefer TE Solistrand) and marine heat shrink.

For 16-20, just strip 1″ of insulation from each wire and twist together at least 2 full turns. Marine heat shrink at least 3″ long.

For 22 gauge and smaller you might make a case for soldering, but you don’t want a gun ! Weller makes a nice temperature controlled 12V iron, but you can’t beat a good battery operated soldering iron for light duty and portability like the ISO-TIP 7700

If you really want something with some power get a Portosol 125W butane iron. Not for bench work, but great in the field. With the proper tip, will solder heavy wires faster than a 120V gun.

[Author]

Replies