[Boatanchors] Weller Soldering tips

[Ken Kaplan]

Interesting how everyone has a favorite soldering tool. I have used a 
Weller TCP-1 since the 1970's. I've changed the tip about 3 times. I 
also have a Wen 250 watt gun that I got around 1960. Keeping tips 
working on the gun was a challenge until I learned how to better care 
for them. I've actually used the gun to assemble a Heathkit OM-3 scope. 
Trick is to manage the heat. About a year ago, I worked for a company 
that repaired large UPS systems. The systems used thick circuit boards 
with lots of foil. I had to pre-heat the board with a very hot air 
blower and use the Wen gun to remove some IGBTs. As long as the Wen tip 
is clean at its connection points, cold to solder melt time is less than 
5 seconds. There have been times where I have needed to wear a glove 
because the gun case got too hot to hold.

Keep the tips clean with a wet sponge and/or stainless steel scrub pad 
and things should be fine. Don't file or grind them or their plating 
will be removed. Geesh, I just realized that I've been using the Wen for 
51 years and the Weller for 36 years. YMMV

Ken kb7rgg

On 4/15/2011 12:42 PM, David C. Hallam wrote:
> I don't think Wen makes soldering guns anymore.  I had several and got
> rid of them because I couldn't get replacement tips.  I got tired of
> waiting for the tip to get hot and replacing burned out tips.  Besides a
> soldering iron is much more practical for radio work.  I now use a nice
> Hako soldering station and a great big old iron if I have to do
> something like unsoldering a capacitor can from a chassis.  I could
> never get enough heat from a 200W Weller gun I have to do that job.
>
> David
> KW4DH
>
> On 4/15/2011 3:25 PM, Paul Kraemer wrote:
>> DoesWEN still have those plated iron tips? That is a big advantage of using
>> a Weller if you care about craftsmanship. Only thing I ever thought a WEN
>> was good for was starting the charcoal in the bbq and doing wood burning
>> projects.
>> I have three different Weller guns from 70w to 250w and all are great for
>> some purpose.
>> Precision soldering is always done with a temperature controlled iron either
>> a Weller or a Hako with an appropriate wattage tip.
>> Paul K0UYA
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "john fitzsimmons"<w3jn at yahoo.com>
>> To: "David Knepper"<collinsradio at comcast.net>
>> Cc:<boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
>> Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 11:13 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Weller Soldering tips
>>
>>
>> Get an old Wen soldering gun and you'll have almost instant tip heating and
>> you'll never need to mess with tips again. I have my dad's old Wen from
>> about 1960, and have never replaced/tightened/otherwise messed with/ the
>> tip.
>>
>> Why Wellers are so popular is beyond me. They have a truly terrible design.