Has anyone ever had a radio shack soldering iron just die?
like, it was working fine, i turn off its power strip, i come back and it doesn't get hot.
Its not the strip, and its not shorting out anywhere because it would get hot in that area, so I'm confused. I thought these were the simplest things ever...

 

Yep. I keep spares.

 

OK, I have 2 now, one with a broken tip that cannot physically be removed, and one that up and died spontaneously.

both lasted about 2 years

Are there companies that make these better than radioshack for a similar price?

 

How much did you spend? I stopped using RS soldering irons, but in my early days they were under $2 each. I used a file to recondition the tips, something that is not needed with a good iron.

 

I think they're $10 ish now

What do you use?

Id like something that will last...

I just realized that I now have pretty much absolutely nothing to do.
I guess I could read through all these tabs that have been bookmarked for a rainy day...

 

So, does anyone have recommendations on soldering irons/stations?

 

Weller WP-25 or better the WLC-100 - either last forever.

 

I got one of those for Christmas, it has a very durable tip, though I may have to buy a finer one.

 

I got one broke, one 100w I do not use, one 30w in spare and this for daily use:

The tip is removable, and I grind it sharp from time to time.

The 100w I was thinking of modifying so I can use it to heat up the etchant liquid I'm using. It's just a preliminary idea witch is growling very slowly.

 

Velamans's tips are good quality, if they'd pay a bit more attention to the base they might have something. I had one go out after a year ($25), then something blow and stink in the second unit after a couple of weeks, although it kept on working.

 

I use a Solomon like this with DIY regulator and it never failed on me, just had to change the tip once.