30 Watt vs 40 Watt soldering iron

Baskevyl · 4340

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Offline Baskevyl

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on: January 19, 2018, 08:48:03 AM
Hi! new to the forum, but the manual says to ask if you don't know something, so I'd rather be safe then sorry.

Is there much of a difference (enough to impact the quality of a finished kit) between the two wattages? I'm getting to the soldering part of my Crack OTL and realized I only have a 30 watt iron though a 40 watt is recommended. Should it be alright to use?

Mikhail Kostiouk


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #1 on: January 19, 2018, 09:04:26 AM
If the wattage numbers are accurate the 40W iron will probably be a little easier to use on connections with heavier terminals, but it probably won't be a deal breaker to use a 30W iron. That is assuming this is a basic iron that plugs directly into the wall socket. A 40W solder station will seem like a huge step up in terms of functionality from a basic line powered iron.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.