Soldering Iron HP80 from Antex (SQ8W270)

I bought this for doing a little bit of plastic welding. It was my first time and I had simply watched a YouTube video and decided to give it a go.40w is plenty for what I need, and no temperature control, but that suited me, as that’s all I needed.Then blade tip is straight flat cut and around 5mm wide..perfect for what I needed.My only negative is that the cable is maybe a little too short.It does come with a little credit card sized fold out stand, I didn’t bother using it, and ended up burning my carpet.Overall this was perfect for the plastic welding I wanted to do on my motorcycle panniersI have included some pictures, just to show the sort of job o have used the soldering iron for so you can see if it would sit your needs.

This brand was recommended to me by a friend who has had one of their irons for years. It has a big head and high power and is proving great for soldering larger joints and wires like 10g. It's a great complimentary iron to go with a smaller workstation for more delicate work.It's Very good value for money and came well packages with a mini metal stand which I wasn't expecting.Very happy with my purchase.

It get's soo hot it glows red after just 10 mins, which is a little worrying. But as i only intend to use this for those times my 25W iron cant cope, then it'll do for now.

I think it's about time I wrote a review on this.This is more than likely going to be the only soldering Iron I'll need for ever job I'll come up to.I had a cheap 60 watt iron from eBay, of which was used for about 5 wires until it was badly corroded and couldn't hold enough heat to solder any joints.I also have a butane soldering iron/blow torch, which to be fair is a great buy, but it takes a long time to heat up and struggles with 1mm upwards.This one heats up quickly, and once you get a bit of practice in, can be used on any (Within reason)thickness of cable.I have been using it on both 1.5mm house cable, and 0.6mm/0.3mm car cable, of which there have been no problems.It did take a while to get used to, but I had plenty of spare cable to practice on.Tl;dr I would highly recommend this soldering iron, as it's more than likely the last one you'll ever need.Thanks.

I wanted a soldering iron for stained glass work. Other 100 watt irons that are recommended are up to £100 each, and this one is so much cheaper I thought I should give it a go. It works well. This one has a big soldering tip, which is good for the larger amounts of solder that are needed. Many reviews criticised the tool for being too hot. Yes, it does get very hot - so hot that the solder starts to drip off the tip as it becomes too liquid, and yo need to be quick. Love the tip on the lead for any length of time at all, and the lead melts. But there is a solution. You CAN control the temperature. See the screw that holds the tip in place? Loosen it when the iron is cold and not connected to a power supply. Withdraw it so that about half the tip is in the core of the iron and half is out. Now try it. The further you pull the tip out, the 'cooler' it gets. So you can experiment with it and adjust it to just the right level for your work and personal preference. Simple. Now, why don't they say that in the packaging?

Having owned this for quite a while it became apparent that it is a very powerful iron. Unfortunately this meant that, in my case, when using for longer periods, the iron's plastic handle became so hot it could hardly be held in the hand. In addition, the metal heater barrel became loose and wobbly within the handle. Being concerned for my safety whilst using it, I decided to dismantle the iron to reveal that the plastic innards of the iron had partially melted.Given that I was effectively holding mains voltage in my hand via a loose, red hot chunk of metal in a melting plastic body, I decided to bin the item. Not worth the risk or the money.

My weedy 25W soldering iron was just not doing the job. I looked at electronic soldering stations but found reviews to be inconsistent. Meanwhile many reviews of conventional irons talk about bits not lasting long on Chinese manufactured models. Stick the the brand you know, they said. Here I am with a brand I know - Antex. 80 watts. I've had these before in lower wattages. The price was right and the heat was right. The heavier than usual soldering job I was seeking to do was very capably handled. Of course these are also made in China... but hey they're great.

Gets very hot. Much better for smoothing solder on stained glass than a standard 35w iron.