Weller175 Soldering Iron - SP175

The Weller 175 Soldering Iron - SP175 is a fantastic tool for any DIY enthusiast or professional. It heats up quickly and maintains a steady temperature, making soldering projects effortless. The ergonomic handle is comfortable to hold, even during extended use. The precision tip ensures clean and accurate work, whether you're repairing electronics or crafting. This iron is durable, reliable, and delivers excellent performance every time. Highly recommended for anyone needing a high-quality soldering iron!

One heck of a soldering iron!! It is HUGE. But it also works really well. It is well constructed and heavy. It takes about 2 min to heat up and about another min to get to max temp. But once it's there it will stay there and even the barrel will start to glow! The only problem so far is that the solder doesn't wet one side of the tip. Other then that you could cook with it or boil water if you needed to.DISCLAIMER: Don't put it in water or cook with it. It's electric and not water tight. Duh...

Looked high and low for this iron at hardware stores etc but could not find. Finally looked on Amazon and there it was (and at a REALLY good price). Placed order and delivery was very quick (to Canada). I use this iron for R/C airplane construction (soldering copper wire around music wire landing gear etc). Had used a Weller soldering gun in the past but spent a TON of money on the tips as this tool was not intended for this use. So far no complaints, takes about 15 minutes to heat up but that is no problem.

Needed a heavy duty iron with alot of thermal mass and this did the trick. The tip is the width of my pointer finger and is surprisingly nimble as i am using it to solder 21700 lithium cells. Takes about 10 minutes for unit to heat up properly. I use my unit with a homemade reostat made of an AC light dimmer switch to regulate heat when not in use and still keep unit warm. Good iron, heavy on the hand but seems well built.

This soldering iron is BIG. The Tip-Rod is the diameter of your thumb, surrounded by 16 or 14 gauge steel support piece. Is looks like made for heavy duty industrial job. Not as big as a BAS propane iron, but great for smaller jobs. The BAS is used for roofing and such. I use this iron to solder-weld 22 gauge steel sheet metal into boxes. The iron takes about 5 minutes to heat up. I also have a smaller Weller SP80NUS that does the same job, but this one is for larger production. Again, the iron rod, tip and support tube is of thick steel (14 to 16 gauge). The screw that holds the tip is small, but the tube walls are about 1/8" thick, so no chance of stripping the threads unless you're careless. This iron I use for sheet metal fabrication (22 gauge), copper sheets, thick car battery cables, etc. I haven't tested on 18 gauge steel, but I'm sure it'll work. My other Weller SP80 probably not on 18 or 16 gauge steel, but this monster will, but haven't tried it on those thick sheets.

Worked great the first two times. Used to solder UHF connectors on coaxial cable. Third time no heat. On investigation the element tests open with an Ohmmeter. Weller's reputation is shot with me, nd of course it failed just past the return time limit and Amazon told me to bugger off. Money down a rat hole.

I bought Weller because I have had their electrical soldering irons and pistols for decades and none of the local DIY stores had anything approaching this in terms of power. I needed something that would solder heavier, non-electronic projects so I ordered this one because of the name and the fact that it looked rugged. Well, it started to heat of the first time and then just failed. Tested the outlet (also used for 600W hair dryers). Tried the outlet used for the washer/dryer. Finally, got out the ohm meter - open circuit. So despite the name it failed the first time in use. So I returned it and bought a different, non-Weller model. Might be a one-off failure but based on some other recent reviews my experience is not unique. Another long-term USA brand that has outsourced its production, in this case to Mexico, and then not taken responsibility, it appears, for quality control despite the fact that it is their name on it. But at least Amazon provided a painless return.

Good heat and arrives at solder melting quickly. Fairly massive and get heavy duty done right. Sometimes over-kill, but well worth it wnen needed.