Don't Drink Wine Whilst Soldering

Don't Drink Wine Whilst Soldering

It seems pretty obvious once it's been said, but you shouldn't solder whilst drinking wine!

Sadly I found out the hard way, but it did make me finally upgrade my soldering iron.  I was using an Antex ER30 which has an incredibly short cable.  As I lifted it up the stupid cable got caught at the bottom of the desk and the iron slid out of my hand and I found myself holding the tip.  To be honest, I think this would've happened with or without the wine, but the wine certainly helped afterwards.

Anyway, after this I started looking for a new iron and I was recommended either a Weller or Hakko.  The Hakko's were more in my price range but nobody bloody seems to sell them in Europe.  That would be a good business importing them if you need a business idea.  You can import them easily enough from China on eBay, but there are so many fakes I thought it wasn't the risk (buy cheap buy twice)  So I ended up looking for a Weller Iron; the WHS40 analogue model;

http://amzn.to/2aV9kn0

The digital model lets you set the temperature more precisely, but the analogue model seemed good enough for my needs.  Soldering with this thing, suddenly I found all my solder work looking amazing. Like somebody that knows what they're doing (which isn't me).  It really is a step up from the cheaper Antex and if you're looking for a new soldering iron I can recommend the Weller.  A number of reviews complained about the tip sticking into place, but I always loosen it and re-tighten it before turning it on and haven't had a problem in the two years I've now owned it.

If you're broke, here's a link to the Antex ER30, which although it nearly cost me the use of my hand, it's still better than the super-cheap no name brand irons available (just watch the short cable though;

http://amzn.to/2bxmJPr