WellerBP860MP Battery-Powered Soldering Iron, Colors May Vary

I didn't have such high hopes for a battery powered soldering iron but even those smaller hopes were shattered when I tried to use it. I have an electric cheap soldering iron indoors which I use for basic electrical wiring repairs around the house. So when I seen this battery powered model, I thought to myself, wow! this would be perfect for making better connections outdoors when working on my car speakers etc...I didn't expect miracles but when I couldn't even make one decent solder joint on a recent door lock actuator project, I was pretty disappointed. The device after about 20 seconds of pressing the button finally got hot enough to melt solder when pressing onto it, but never got hot enough to actually heat the actual wiring enough to allow the solder to drip freely onto the crevises of the connection and make a permanent bond. At most it probably made a cold solder connection (not good), so I just used a crimping tool and connected wires that way. Maybe for real small electronic connections this might work? I don't know, but for outdoor car projects this was disappointing. I feel as if I wasted my money on it.I hope this helps others decide on exactly what they need it for. Thanks

I have bought battery powered soldering irons in the past and wasn't in the least bit impressed with them. These one works though. It does a great job of soldering. I got it to work on tiny little circut boards inside micro heli's and I am glad I went with this one. it heats quickly and melts the solder wonderfully. The only drawback I have found is the same one i have had with every soldering iron I have ever used in my life. There always seems to be that one sweet spot on the iron that heats and melts and the rest of the tip is pretty much useless. This one has the same issue and when working in tiny spaces that can be a real problem. Other than that little thing (whick is why its 4 stars), this is a great soldering iron and very portable, with the battery power you can take it anywhere and solder away.

This soldering iron heats too slowly to be practical, with new batteries it takes at least a minute to heat up even small gauge wire enough for the solder to stick and 12 gauge house wire takes even longer. It goes through batteries very quickly and rechargeable batteries do not work very well because their lower voltage causes the soldering iron to take twice as long to heat. Also it is not compatible with PowerGenix 1.6v High Voltage Rechargeable Batteries, these batteries are slightly higher voltage than alkalines but the work fine in most devises and are very good for flashlights but this soldering iron must be very voltage sensitive because it stopped working after I tried the high voltage batteries in it, it wasn't much of a loss though as I had already given up using it anyway. I also own a cold heat cordless soldering iron and it is even worse, it doesn't work very well for electronics soldering and it will not work on house wiring at all. I've given up on cordless soldering irons and decided to try the well reviewed $42 Weller Soldering Gun. Weller D550PK 120-volt Professional Soldering Gun Kit 260/200 Watts

Pros: Has a very solid feel with a good ergonomic design that allows for precise control; being cordless (uses 4xAA batteries) allows for easy use with no cord getting in the way. I used this to stipple my pistol and for that it did an excellent job. The standard tip that came with the device has a fine enough point that it allowed for great control.Cons: Being 8W/6V, this unit gets hot enough to melt plastic and solder, but doesn't get hot enough to use for burning wood. I tried it out with a new set of batteries and it still took a pretty long time to make a mark; uses the AA batteries pretty fast also.

The battery powered iron is slow to heat up, takes some time to heat even small gauge wire enough to melt solder. If you need an iron for one or two very small joints and don't want to have to warm up your real soldering iron, this works okay. I have found that on fresh batteries, it takes a full minute to heat a component enough to melt even the thinest solder. Having used this iron a few times now, I would not buy it again, it just isn't as convenient as I expected it to be.

Be advised that Weller must have changed this product since it was listed on this site.The technical details claim that it comes with 2 tips. The version of the BP860MP PRO SERIES I received only comes with 1 tip. I had to order the other tip (wedge shaped) on a different website for $8.99 plus $8.99 shipping, which has doubled the price of getting what I thought I was supposed to.Hopefully the lack of the second tip is the only downgrade Weller has made to this product.BTW, the color is not blue/black as shown in the image, it's orange/black.

I think I should have gone with a butane soldering iron. When it got hot enough to melt solder, it would not stay hot enough when touched to a circuit board pad. I was trying to repair a solder connection on a Blade MSR 5-1 board. You need a magnifying glass plus cheat glasses to see the pad when soldering. It would probably work solder very small gauge wire, maybe.

Not sure what I expected from a battery powered soldering iron... it works for very light soldering tasks. If you need to heat up a larger mass you may want to get out the big gun!