i broke 3 solder guns in past 6 months. i always trip over the cord and drop the gun 4 feet below to concrete floor. all of them had been weller brand. couple of them fairly cheap but one i paid $100. :tears:

after a few drops they seem to still work, but takes a lot longer to heat and work only intermittently - usually only one setting (high/low) would work, too if at all.

anyone had same experience? is this something i can fix if i open it up? would appreciate any input. thanks!

ya quit trippin over the damn things. get one thats attached to a base station. I use a cheap esd station works for me if I need more heat I use my radio shack butane torch I use on me BONG :banana:

ya quit trippin over the damn things. get one thats attached to a base station. I use a cheap esd station works for me if I need more heat I use my radio shack butane torch I use on me BONG :banana:

:yikes::nono:

Are you sure the tip making good contact to the gun? I had a similar problem with my 1970's weller, turned out the nuts were not tight enough or the tip had a hairline crack. Then again could be something loose or broken inside. Just a thought.

I've found that a drop or maltreatment usually causes the tip to lose contact. The tips get oxidised with use and if they become dislodged they reorient themselves in an area where they don't make good contact. Remove the tip and clean it. Reinsert it into the gun.

Re-route the cord so it's not where you can trip over it.

Or else get a solder station, or better yet, do both.

That way you won't trip over the cord to your new solder station!:D

Those solder guns work by magnetic transformer inductance. A thick piece of copper wire can be bent to fit into both connecting points. My dad had an automotive shop and I used to use some of his welding rods to make a new solder gun soldering points.

Someone on one of the ham reflectors said that the first thing you have to do to a Weller gun is to drop it. Just like I used to think that the first thing that had to happen to a new car was for a shopping cart to hit it.

I dropped my first Weller in about 1960 and used it for 45 years 'til I bought a new one.

Even if it hasn't been dropped, you'll have to loosen and re-tighten the tip nuts or set screws (whichever) occasionally as they do apparently oxidize or loosen with heating/cooling cycles and need the connection refreshed from time to time. You don't need to remove the tip. You'll know when it's time because it doesn't get hot any more.

Of course, you may have done some other damage to your gun when you dropped it.

Harry
Maryville, Tennessee

I have a Weller and I haven't dropped it...? ::scratch2::smoke:

...yet? :banana:

I've had lots of Wellar irons. All WTCP's ....with the temperature controlled magnetically by the tips. The thermo switches would get flaky, causing intermittent problems. The heaters would open, causing permenant problems. I used to fix them. IMO, Wellar was much better before they moved their factory (to North Carolina I think). We bought one of their newer temperature adjustable irons. It was sent to the factory for warranty repair on three occasions.

I asked the factory WTF? they said "Your sponge is too wet". I fixed my Wellar by buying a Hakko 926. I'm on my third Hakko. The first two didn't die, just got so worn and ugly. I've got nothing but praise for Hakko. ....and old Wellars.

Do what I did when I got fed up with soldering guns. I got a nice butane soldering kit. Heats up much faster than an electric one, and has different tips for cutting and such. Can also be used as a mini-torch, and is easier to use in tight places.

thank you everyone so much for advices! :thmbsp:

i think one of them might have a hairline crack at the tip... i haven't done any of what you have suggested yet, so i'm sure i can probably save one or two... hopefully.

chillwolf - the butane solder gun sounds good.....can you re-fill the butane with regular lighter butane can? can you control the temp?

I had an older Weller that had the transformer burn out. Called them and asked for a new transformer. Jolene, the young woman with the delightful accent, said "We don't have that part any more but it used to sell for $40. Send us the old iron and $40 and we will send you a new station." I did and she did, at that time it sold for $140, a WTCPT, that was 10 years ago at least and I finally had to get a new heater just this year.

BTW if you are using one of those high wattage solder guns expect to see the copper traces come off the circuit boards.

BTW if you are using one of those high wattage solder guns expect to see the copper traces come off the circuit boards.


YEA, cookie cookie right off the traces.

I don't know why anyone still uses these guns anymore, isn't there an newer way to join railroad tracks these days?

I have a Hakko and two weller stations, my favorite currently being the weller WD1.
If I had to do soldering with a 80watt gun, I'd just not solder anymore.
Tal

I've been eyeing one of those WES51 Wellers for a while. Is it pointless to upgrade to the "D" version with the temp readout or is that ill spent money? I realize some folks don't care for Weller, but that's the brand I've seen most often in my search for a soldering station.

I don't know why anyone still uses these guns anymore, isn't there an newer way to join railroad tracks these days?



Try soldering 12ga stranded cable to extended Cardas binding post ends without one.

I had to buy one just for that purpose - the Hakko didn't have the required wattage, the binding posts just laughed-off my futile attempts with it.

Soldering guns are one of those "meh" items with me. They are nice in that they're only hot when you need them...but most of the time too hot or not hot enough. I have a couple soldering pencils of various wattages for various jobs, and a couple mongo irons picked up at garage sales that are perfect for heavy-duty soldering...like copper ground strap, PL-259 connectors on RG-8 coax and the like. I use an ordinary light dimmer mounted in a double gang box with outlets for temp control on the irons, cheap and it works. My Weller gun just sits in its case, all lonely and forlorn.

Try soldering 12ga stranded cable to extended Cardas binding post ends without one.

I had to buy one just for that purpose - the Hakko didn't have the required wattage, the binding posts just laughed-off my futile attempts with it.


I have several different tips.
Tips are avaiable for your hakko as well.

I have soldered 10 ga sucessully many times(even some 8's) with a soldering station and appropriate tips.
tal

My last Weller gun was a D-440 if I recall correctly. Yes, it did get dropped, and one of the problems was that the connections to the switch from the primary winding would break loose when the "transformer" assembly would shift inside the case on impact.

It would take quite an impact to make anything happen to the secondary circuit except to damage the tip or have the fittings come loose; the "winding" is a large bar bent into a narrow "U" shape, comprising one turn, and one leg threaded through the middle of a roll of thin strap iron that forms a toroid. The primary wire is several turns of something like #20 enamel wire, and has end and tap connections that go to the trigger switch for low and high temp respectively. Those connections will break eventually if the iron sees repeated falls.

Other than that there is little that can go wrong, as they are a simple design.

For soldering stations I have had poor luck with Cooper/Weller units, but have had extremely good luck with a line called Xytronics. I have 3 stations--one for each of my cars, and one for the service bench. I've had to replace the iron assembly due to wear and tear a few times on each over the many years I've had them, but I can't complain overall.

I have all my outlets above the bench at the wall, meaning no dangling cords to snag and pull these things onto the floor.

My soldering station is a cheap one from Harbor Freight. I know its not the best, but for the $35 or whatever I paid for it, I can't complain. Its worlds better than the cheap Radio Shack irons I was used to before.

As for guns, I had a really old Weller that I got from a yard sale years ago. It got dropped so many times, eventually there was as much tape as bakelite on the case. It finally fell one too many times and the handle cracked off. It lasted me probably 8 years, so I guess I got my $5 worth out of it. My current gun is another Harbor Freight special. What a piece of garbage, it melts through the tips and the trigger is intermittant. I've only used it a few times for stuff that the iron simply won't do. When it dies again, I'll find another gun at a flea market or yard sale.