12 Volt soldering iron
 

Where's the best place to get a decent 12v soldering iron of 40W or above? My trusty one finally gave up the ghost recently, so I bought one off ebay and on its second time of use the handle got so hot I couldn't use it :thumbdown:

Yes I know it'll tech me for buying cheap and cheerful.........

One of these

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...rchases001.jpg

I've still got my original one from the mid 90's and it still works, I could do with a new tip though.

do you have an email address for them? I used to have a WASP soldering iron like that "back in the day"....

They do 80w soldering irons which we use at Axeminster

Next to the Crematorioum - spelt wrong in Bobbing

think about £25

No email address just give them a call on the number on the photo's/

They sell smaller tips which are more useful now that you don't need to solder cells up.

The only thing to be careful is that these irons heat up really fast but they don't regulate so they can over heat. You need to switch them off whilst you're getting things ready to solder. It takes less than 30 seconds to heat up once it's been up to temperature.

If you leave it on for a while not doing anything the tip doesn't last very long which is what has happend to mine. It doesn't matter if you explain to people not to leave it on when they borrow it they will. I need to get another tip for me to use and I'll use the one that I've got now for when people borrow it.

used wasp iron apsolutely great never let you down mine was 8 years old when i sold it :thumbsup:

Bang on.

excellent iron, although i need a new tip due to leaving it on.

It's the same one, SPEC took over WASP, I bought one off them a couple of years ago and it's great, although as Bungleaio says, make sure you turn it off once it's up to temp.

Can't see that it's 12V though mate?

Sorry forgot to say that they still haven't sorted their website, but I think this is their number:
020 8656 9200

As an alternative, try a gas one, about £20 from Maplin.

After breaking too many 12v irons, I went to gas and it's fantastic, best purchase this year.

For gas soldering irons, have a look at this website.
http://www.nimrodeuropedirect.com/in...derpro&x=0&y=0

Same as Maplin - but cheaper and they have some real heavy duty gas irons...

Does anyone know if it's possible to still get the tips for these?

I might try the number above

Wasp iron tip
 

Had my wasp iron since 1995, I replaced tip with a old copper rivet and still working ok and is easy to reshape to this day. Might find rivets online .

Really good to see that the Original Irons my dad sold (WASP)are still out there being used
He'll be looking down with a smile too I'm sure!

Thanks for positive comments guys
Mark

Still a fantastic iron, I was really proud when I got it back when I was a kid. I've got a wasp battery box knocking about too.