Weller Super-Pro Self Igniting Cordless Butane Soldering Iron Kit | PSI100K

Great productHeats quickly. Works very wellHot enough for big jobs and nimble enough for the small stuffPortability is fantastic...no cord

This is a replacement for the exact same tool that worked hard for 27 years until the fill valve gave out. It served me well throughout all that time. Heats fast, reasonable gas use. Well working (manual) power control. Everything you would want in an off-grid soldering iron. (Or even on the grid. It is so much easier to have this in the drawer, than setting up a soldering station when you need it.

I have purchased several low cost butane irons and all of them were made cheaply. While nearly everything at low cost today seems to be made in China, some China production is truly worthless junk that will fail shortly & you with no replacement parts to be had from anywhere. My last $30 iron was one of these & it looked wonderful but the metal was so soft it deformed when hot and low pressure applied to the tip.I am a Ham Radio operator 300 feet from the ocean and have migrated from lead based solder to the lead free versions which will not oxidise as readily near salt water. This requires a higher heat as some of the wires are 14 gauge and the connectors are substantial. Being far from electricity the only way I could get the power to solder was to use a 1,200 watt inverter and power it from a motorcycle battery and then use my Weller electric iron to do the job. A lot of work and the battery did not last long. To carry a deep cycle battery out to the different antennas is not realistic.This weller Iron does three particular things for me; It melts the plumbing solder quickly. It has a very effective adjustment valve for the gas (heat) flow and it is solid as a rock. More, it starts easily and the controls are effective. I rate this 5 stars because it does what I bought it to do and it does it well. It is NOT a 250 watt equivalent iron and I don't know if there is one for butane that gets that hot. I would like one assuming it also went down to as low a temperature as this one but I don't need itCons: The product itself is just fine. You do need to remember to shut off the gas by using the on/off "switch" as at the lowest valve setting there is still a miniscule flame that endures and will remain lit while you put the iron away. I would like to see a metal sheath for the tip to fit into that will snuff out any flame when putting the iron away in its case, one affixed to the case that requires the iron to seat into it to close the case. In case of user stupidity it would not stop the butane from running out but it would stop the heat.

This is the second Weller Butante Soldering Iron Kit I've purchased. I purchased my first Weller butane soldering iron about 15 years ago when I needed a soldering iron that could be used in places where there wasn't electric power--like repairing a radar in a boat tied to a mooring. It does a great job soldering. However, I found the hot air source to be even more useful as the ideal solution for heat-shrinking even where power was available. For just a quick job of heat-shrinking a wire splice or single connection, a click of the igniter is way quicker than digging out a heat gun and cooking everything else in the immediate vicinity of your one little connection.Recently when helping my son-in-law hook up the driving lights on his rally car, he seemed to be casting covetous eyes on my Weller butane iron. Smart kid that he is, this was just before his birthday, so he got his own as a gift. Incidentally, as usual Amazon had a much lower price for this than the usual industrial supply companies and the shipment was very fast. All in all, it's a very useful, multipurpose tool that will provide year's of service.john

The best I have ever used. Goes from hot to very hot.

I love buying things on Amazon because you can always look back and see when you bought something.I purchased this Weller PSI100K four years ago (2012) and it still works great today (2016) although tab on the plastic ignitor/sparker switch as broken off and the plastic knob for the temperature adjustment is now chipping and cracking also. (it might be time to get a new one soon)I looked back and paid $78 dollars for my PSI100 in 2012. Since it's already lasted 4 years that's only $19.50/year. which is very reasonable for any tool.I'm a security tech and use this soldering iron a couple times a week. It heats up very quickly and get really hot. For most of my work I have the temperature setting as the lowest level which is more than enough. I mostly use the flat chisel tip and occasionally the heat gun attachment to melt shrink tube. When I first started in the security business I used to carry around an electrical pencil type soldering iron but it was always a hassle to find a power plug near where your were working and you always have to wait for the iron to heat up.Butane heat is the way to go. This iron is easy to light (thanks to the piezo starter switch) and is ready to go in 30-40 seconds. I though butane would be a hassle but a full tank lasts me several jobs and filling up the fuel reservoir is quick and easy. One tip I will say is always make sure you have a spare can of butane handy in your truck or tool bag. There's nothing worse than having two more wires to solder and running out of butane.As far as build quality is concerned Weller makes some of the best tools out there and this iron is no exception. I am a little disappointed that the piezo starter switch tab broke off after two years of moderate use and now after 4 years the plastic temperature knob is cracking. It would be great if you could buy repair parts to fix these little things but it looks like one day I'll have to bite the bullet and buy another PSI100K.Overall this is a very good portable Soldering Iron with adjustable temperature control and handy carry case. It's easy to fill with fuel and easy to light. The size of the iron is not too large and is well balanced and comfortable to use even for long periods of time.I would recommend this iron to anyone and when my four year old PSI100 finally packs it in, I'll be buying another one.