Weller 260 Watt 200W Professional Soldering Gun Kit with Three Tips and Solder in Carrying Case D550PK

Nice soldering gun. Be sure to tighten the set screws for the tip. They seemed tight, but the tip would not get hot. After I used the included allen wrench to tighten it got hot right away. Now it is working great. Read more

This heat gun has some weight to it (just over 3.5 lbs), and you can really feel the quality as soon as you pick it up. It heats up fast, gets nice and hot, and makes a huge difference compared to the cheaper pen-style soldering iron I was using before. The build feels solid and professional, and it’s been great for my projects so far. The only thing I’m not a fan of is the case — it’s a bit flimsy and cracked after I accidentally set something heavy on top of it. Not a dealbreaker, just a little annoying. The tool itself, though, is fantastic and absolutely worth the money. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a serious upgrade from an entry-level soldering iron. Read more

I received the first one, and it did not heat enough melt solder. I began a return at about 8 PM. The replacement arrived before noon. All I had to do was a brief test. The lights were obviously brighter, the tip was smoking in moments. Very satisfied. Read more

I ordered this following a loss of patience with my "pencil" iron that works fine, but takes forever. Yes, those are aimed at the lighter electronic repair jobs, so as always, get the right tool for the job. This Weller is a BEAST by comparison. It's HEAVY, and has a pleasant "hum" when you engage the trigger. Worked like a champ. Three minor gripes. The trigger controls the high/low heat settings, with two detents. Inexplicably, "High" is the first detent, and to get "Low" you pull the trigger all the way in. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit counter intuitive? Good thing the hum lets you know clearly which level you have selected. So do the lights...they are a bit brighter in "high"...when they work...out of the box the bulbs were not screwed in all the way, so at first I thought they were DOA. Twist twist and they came to life. The bulb sockets are a little loose in the case. Not sure that was pre-planned. But they are old school incandescent lamps (not LEDs), and the kit does not have spares. Might want to pick those up before you need them. Finally, the cord does not seem to have any tension protection/strain relief where it enters the gun. No grommet, no rubberized tail-like sheath covering the cord for a couple inches at the handle, just a wide open hole. For careful users in a clean shop, probably no big deal, but if you haul this around to job sites...if nothing else the hole will let unwanted stuff in. OK, maybe one more gripe...the case. Clear plastic front is great for marketing, but will not last unless you are very careful. Overall, does what I ask of it, and it was $25 cheaper than the very similar but higher power 300/200W D650. As others have noted, not the best for small, delicate electronic work where the pencil irons rule. Bigger wires, this thing rocks! First heat took about 20 seconds in "high", then after that, each subsequent pull on the trigger made liquid metal in under 10 seconds, but I never got the record setting 6 second melt others have reported. Great value in a tidy package. Just a little short on the details. Read more

Not much has changed from the original design. I purchased this as a replacement for my 40 year old 8200. What I have noticed on first use was lack luster heat performance. Although this was easily rectified by tightening down the two set screws that affix the tip. Without a good solid connection, the current draw to the tip will hurt performance making the gun seem weak and under perform. Both lights were loose during shipping and needed a quarter turn. Other than that it works well. Read more

UPDATE: My first Weller lasted 9 years 3 months, the trigger got stuck which melted the trigger assembly inside which I found out taking it apart. I did not notice it was still on when I sat it down where it was for about 10 minutes when the smell alerted me. I paid $40.59 for my second one Dec 29, 2020. Both are made in Mexico, the new one has a smaller handle. If you solder or heat things on a regular basis this will save you time and is an excellent product. Amazon has the best price, being parsimonious (polite way of saying cheap) I checked around. I paid $41.43 for this including delivery from amazon. If you compare it to this one 180 Watt Industrial Soldering Gun there is a $4.95 difference. You get a 7 year warranty with the Weller, with the Chicago you get 1 year. You can read my review of the Chicago, it works good a few times then craps out. Sometimes the Chicago will get the tip red hot, others it works like my 45 watt Craftsman. The Weller has two heat settings, 200 and 260. I use it for soldering and it works extremely well, I also use it to heat brass stylus bar holders to melt shellac that holds the stylus in place for Edison cylinder phonographs. In both applications it works extremely well and has saved me a great deal of time. I work with silver bearing solder which flows at a higher temperature, the Weller melts it like butter. The less expensive 45 watt Craftsman pencil type took up to 30 seconds to do what the Weller will do in 5 seconds. As noted the first time you turn it on take it in the garage as you will get a smell from the tin on the tip melting. This product is made in Mexico so do not expect perfection in construction, but it works wonderfully well and has the 7 year warranty. The best part is it operates the same each time and the case does not melt like the Chicago does. After 9 years 3 months it died, I got the replacement overnight, thanks Amazon. Read more