Best Soldering Stations: Take Your Wiring Skills to the Next Level

Best Overall: Weller Digital Soldering Station

Best Value: Yihua Digital Soldering Station

Honorable Mention: Hakko Digital Soldering Station

Best Cordless: Ryobi ONE+ Hybrid Soldering Station

Best Overall Runner Up: Hakko Soldering Station

The soldering station that best serves a professional probably isn't best for the typical automotive enthusiast with a DIY attitude. It's worth doing the research to find which brands are worth trusting as well as what features are important. I made sure to consider the kind of work we're likely to perform in this segment and base my list of recommendations on it. 

The Weller Digital Soldering Station is a clear choice for the top pick. It's built well, it'll do everything you need it to in the garage, and it's fairly priced. However, the Yihua Digital Soldering Station is excellent for those on a tight budget. 

When we start shopping for tools and products, we never overlook the secondhand market. In fact, it’s usually the first place I look. Whether you’re scrolling through Amazon’s Renewed section, eBay for car parts or tools, or flipping through the pages of Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, you have hundreds of thousands of used tools, parts, and gear ready to be shipped to your doorstep. Refurbished to like-new status, they’ll be willing to give you many more years of faithful service all while saving you money.  

To make your secondhand search easier, here are two tips to finding the best deals and making sure your new-to-you stuff wasn’t destroyed by the previous owner. 

Wattage is a key number to pay attention to when selecting any soldering tools. It relates to how hot the soldering iron can get and how fast it heats up. The higher the number, the hotter it will get and the faster it will heat up. Most soldering stations have ratings of about 15-75 watts, and bigger isn't always better. Lower wattage ratings are necessary for smaller, more delicate projects. For automotive wiring, however, 50 watts is usually good. 

Heating type and the ability to control heat are essential functions to keep an eye on. Soldering irons use different heating methods to work. In the case of automotive work, a standard contact-based soldering station will work just fine. Another option to consider is a lead-free soldering station, which is only different in that it runs hotter to use lead-free solder. Infrared and hot air stations are two other options you'll hear about, but they're generally targeting high-detail electronics work and can get really expensive. 

Soldering stations often come with a mix of interchangeable tips. If the one you're considering doesn't, it's important to find out if they are at least available. Interchangeable tips make it possible for you to use your soldering iron for multiple scenarios effectively. The basic chisel tip is what you'll use the most, but smaller conical tips and hot knife attachments can make a major difference in certain situations. Soldering tips do wear down with time and eventually require replacing. So even if you only intend the supplied tip type, it's essential that you have the ability to replace it later on. 

Soldering stations can cost less than $100 to more than $1,000. For DIY automotive wiring repairs, you want something that's not bound to fail after just a few jobs. Expect to pay about $100 to $200 to achieve that. Spending more usually means you'll get more features and functions. If you find that a soldering station on the low-end of the price scale is loaded with features, you can almost guarantee it's lacking in quality. 

You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers.