I am new to soldering and I've been doing a lot of internet searching trying to come up with a good soldering iron. I want one for automotive electrical applications using primarily 16 & 18 AWG wire. From what I've come up with so far, a 45 watt iron would be a good choice - problem is, what brand. I've looked at Sears, Home Depot & Hobby Lobby and I didn't see anything that appealed to me. I looked at Amazon.com and they have quite a few. I'm not going to be soldering everday, so I don't want something that costs a fortune. I 'm hoping that someone on this site has some experience with a particular brand/model they like.

 

Weller is probably the best brand that is widely available.
How much do you want to spend?
For home projects, my $10 Wal-mart 40 watt solder iron works as well as the $100 Weller I have at work. Just the weller tips are smaller, it supply heat better (tip stays hotter)

 

Ive been using a Craftsman stick 45 watt for 10 years and it works plenty good for anything Ive ever needed.

The gun style is nice, but I like the precision of the stick style.

Have a good one.

 

For small soldering jobs I bought one that runs on butane. I really like it, but if you had lots of soldering to do at one time you may run out of fuel pretty quick.
Cory

 

I got a $12 one from Radio Shack and it does the job.

 

Here's what I use when I am not using the reworking station I have at work. It's a butane powered iron. Comes in a kit with 2 soldering tips, a "heat gun" tip, a hot knife tip, and you can use it as a pencil torch. Adjustable temperature. It's can do a lot more than soldering. I don't recall what I paid for it (i think it was over $50), but it is worth the money.

http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brand...c=037103060976

 

I use a temperature controllable Weller look alike. Best money ever spent. Set it to 600 deg. and off I go.

 

I would buy or borrow an iron,get a cheap one at first and try it out.Make sure that you have the specs for it so that you can make an intelligent purchase once you decide what will work best for you.
I use Weller products but consumables are expensive,I have seen some takeoffs from Asia that look like they may do the job but I am too redneck to buy their stuff.It looks like some of their tips might work on my american gear but the vendors in my area are pretty proud of them.
The last one I bought was a temperature controlled Weller on ebay as the new leadfree solder found on the newer boards these days requires more heat to flow and I have the option of cranking it up a little when I encounter some of the newer boards that require it.
I seldom use a gun unless I have something that needs a lot of heat like antenna connectors etc but in your case I would try a couple before you spend the big bucks to determine the heat range,tip style,balance etc that will be good for you to work with.Ron G