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I have a Weller 60 watt. Of course that's a joke pen iron. It got me to purchase the Weller 140/100 watt gun version. I use rosin, I preheat...Well this gun falls short soldering 8ga stranded wire and just now let me down trying to connect a 4mm male to a 6.5mm female bullet connector. I actually put the gun down and got out my Bic lighter. The lighter made quick work of the connection.

So what is the best soldering gun out there for making up to 8 Gauge connections?


Got to admit, the blue flame of a Bic cigarette lighter did pretty darn good.

I like the Portasol butane irons for larger wires. I also have an old crusty trusty weller pistol grip iron for the big stuff like soldering caps to a motor can where you need to be in and out quick with lots of heat. For delicate stuff I use a cheap weller station.

Your solution is probably just one heavy duty iron or pistol grip for big stuff, and keep the small one for finer work

I've used a duratech 80W iron for years, cheap and reliable too. The tip style is crucial to your solder job at hand. A pencil point is useless if your trying to solder bigger wire, the tip just can't transfer enough heat. I always use the broad or chisel tip.

I've soldered 4awg amp power wire with an 80watt iron.

Personally I've been using a Hakko 936 for about 15 years (same one) but that and the other two I always see at the track are...

Weller WES51
Hakko FX888

Buy a good one once and it'll last a lifetime

This looks great

http://www.amazon.com/Portasol-010589330-Super-125-Watt-Heat/dp/B003H6NN2Q

Do I want a "butane pen soldering iron" or an actual pen torch?

http://www.findingking.com/p-37278-butane-pencil-torch.aspx?gclid=Cj0KEQjw2sO3BRD49-zdzfb8iLwBEiQAFZgZfB5KsP0mmwkYNU06Nv_bSXO2FGPfYYYyOr3rpbZA7c4aAsYX8P8HAQ

At my work they send you to class to become NASA certified to solder connections for space flight and we only use soldering irons. At home I have an adjustable weller that I use for smaller gauge wires but for the 8 and 10 gauge wire I use a fixed 40 watt iron that is more than hot enough to make great solder connections. The key to soldering is use only as much solder as you need to. Apply flux and tin the wire. Pull the excess solder off the wire with some copper wick. Put the wire to the connection, heat, then add a small amount of solder to flow onto the connection. When you got a big goob of solder, your iron cannot keep it all molten. Anything more than 40 watts and you'll end up scorching the insulation.