I only do small soldering projects, usually just wire harnesses and such. I wasn't expecting much from it since it runs on battery, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it heats up in about 30 seconds and has better than expected battery life on a single charge. I was able to put together a few harnesses and it usually takes about an hour, obviously not soldering all the time, but I'd say there were probably a hundred connections and when I was done there was still some charge left in the battery.