Review on 🔥 Weller 7200PK Lightweight Soldering Iron - Standard Model by Michael Clarke

The gun is cheap of course, but heats up quickly and does the light soldering I have to do (connecting 18ga speaker wires) with no problems. I've had mine for 3 months now. I know that this gun and most other guns of this type use high amperage at low voltage. It doesn't take much resistance to pull the voltage down to 0. I would expect the sudden heat loss to be due to corrosion on the tips. A little cleaning and tightening should restore normal operation. I did this with an old Wen shotgun that sometimes ended dead. Will be updating in a few months to see if my gun falls in the catastrophic failure reported by other reviewers but then I'll have to give it 5 stars. Update May 6, 2012 Up to now many hours in use without incident. The tip broke, which was to be expected given the number of uses. I use it regularly (every few days) which probably keeps corrosion from building up and hence I haven't had any of the sudden failures that others have mentioned. I ordered two nozzles so I have a spare next time. Considering the price and the services it offers, this tool deserves a full five stars. Next time the Weller people come back to this design (every few decades apparently) I suggest adding a bright LED focused on the tip. I've found flashlights to be a valuable addition to other tools I have. Update October 20, 2012 The gun still works fine. There is a proposal to review weapons. A gun that's just been corroded to keep it from getting hot will likely still make a buzzing noise, and you can probably feel it. These guns (not only this one, but other models and other manufacturers) just need to remove the tip, clean the contact points with sandpaper and reinstall. No noise or low vibration means you probably have a broken winding in the transformer driving them. This corrosion problem is most common on shotguns that are only used occasionally. Those that are used daily and updated regularly will live long and happy lives.