Dual-wattage Soldering Iron

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

I bought this iron to teach myself to solder. It has been mostly adequate for that. The tip that comes with it is quite large and hard to get into smaller places. As one reviewer stated, you really need to switch this iron down to 15W if you're going to let it sit. After a couple long runs at 30W, the tip started to deform and pit. After the third time, the tip now has a hook to it.

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

The tip does not fit properly.
The set screw does not allow the tip to be tightened. That is the job of the set screw.
There is not enough heat transfer. I have not found a job small enough that this soldering iron can do.
I have kept this around as an emergency back up iron. I am throwing it in the garbage.
Useless.

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

I have used this so splice 14 AWG wires together, have used this to modify a PS2 console and have use this to repair a USB flash drive, had to solder wires onto the microcontroller used kynar wire 30AWG and lots of flux. Works very good and heats nicely for me. Works even better if the tip is filed down slightly to reach the pins of IC chips if needed.

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

I see a lot of people complaining about this thing burning out on them. I guess it depends. I have used mine from minor circuit board repair to repairing jewelry and it has held up, until today. I agree that is does have a broad tip that makes it unwieldy in some situations. I am now looking to buy another one to replace mine since the front metal portion of it has broken loose. Oh, did I mention I have had this one since 1991? Yes, I definitely got my money's worth out of this one.

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

I didn't like the included tip either, but the 15W, 64-2052 tip fits this perfectly and is a great fine tip. A bulky solder station is better if cost is no object, but I prefer this for the toolbox. The one caveat is you must switch to 15W to let it sit on a stand or it will go through tips and eventually die, but with most cheap single-wattage irons you have to turn them completely off to let them sit any length of time. Use the 30W for warmup or switch to it a few seconds before tackling a larger component. My first one lasted 3 years of heavy use until I let someone else use it. I replaced it without hesitation; the new one appears identical.

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

Can't fint any replacement tips other than the stock tip. Useless iron if you need to solder with a small tip. Don't waste your money on this iron, spend a few more bucks and get a quality iron like a weller.

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

I could not count on this iron to maintain a constant temperature. I know it is a cheap one; however, even for what it is, it is not a quality product.

Avoid this and go for something else entirely.

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

Sucks, I needed chisel or bevel tips and it's hard to tell which ones work for this thing. Also [*] that our local stores ONLY carry the regular tips.Sucks!

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

after plugging it in, the thing smokes@15W! Let it sit, gets too hot. Used 5 minutes anyway and the barrel is oxidized and overheating.Then dead.

Why do we possibly go back to the Shack and support this garbage!

Comments about RadioShack Dual-wattage Soldering Iron:

It worked great for the first year. I only used it for about 20 minuts at a time so no heasvy duty use. i agree that it does burn tips but i never had a problem with it. Overall it an ok iron until the forest elves burn all the wire off the element then it doesnt heat up very good.