Hakko FX601-02 Adjustable Temperature Controlled Soldering Iron, 67 Watts

Best soldering iron I have ever used. Better than Hexacon & Unger.

Does the job, and does it well.. We use this one for doing stained glass projects

The iron is very, very good. The power cord is a disaster. The power cord is very stiff and takes away the joy of using the very good iron. There is no excuse why Hakko cannot supply a nice highly flexible cord with this iron. My Weller iron has a nice cord and it a pleasure to use. Hakko - put on a good cord and have a really nice product. Dont need a cord like was be on a circular saw!!

Work awesome for doing stain glass

Heats up very fast! Cord made with vinyl coating could be a little more supple. I still give it five stars.

Coming from a Weller 100W iron this one seems paper light. I thought the long cord might be a problem but (to me, at least) it makes it easier to solder without feeling like its difficult to move the iron around. My wife liked the first one so much I needed to get a second so that we could both be soldering at the same time. Heating up is fast and temperature control is very good.

I bought this elsewhere, as I needed a replacement iron quickly and mine had burnt out. Quick background - I have made a few hundred large stained glass windows in lead came, and now make products using copper came and sheet. I have used Leponitt, Hexacon and Weller irons around the 100W range and needed something similar, but with better temperature control for stop start work. First the good - this is a great little iron for small work. The temperature control works brilliantly and the iron does indeed heat up really quickly. The bad - it is not the equivalent of a 100w iron with a heavier tip and is really no good for working quickly on larger projects. This would be fine if they didnt claim it was great for large windows and compare it to a 100w iron. The reasons this iron heats up quickly are twofold 1) The ceramic element is probably marginally more efficient than a nichrome wire wound one 2) The heating element is heating a much smaller thermal mass. This is great for heating up, but also means there isnt much energy stored in the tip, so if you work with copper came, or solder a long joint it will run out of steam and the joint will go cold. It does heat up again, in 20 seconds or so. I love the idea of not heating a big mass of tip, but I think you would need a 200 watt ceramic element to push enough energy into the joints to keep up.

I love that you can adjust the temperature control. If there was any negative was that there are not much info on using it. Might be a little pricey but it works well.

Will buy again. Great tool. Easy to use. Well made.

The best soldering iron in the World! Needs to buy more tips and sponge, and you dont need expensive soldering station!