Weller BL60MP Cordless Soldering Iron

This is my fourth Weller soldering iron. I have a basic 25w, Basic 40w and one of their newer 40w with a triangular non roll grip and LEDs. I also have a variable temp Chinese soldering iron kit that I tend to use more than the old ones because of its versatility of dial temperature control and multiple less chunky tips.

  • Weller BL60MP Cordless Soldering Iron
However, this cordless soldering iron looked like it might solve a few problems and be a lot more convenient, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Packaging

The BL60MP came sandwiched between two sheets of that frustrating clear vacuum formed plastic that requires heavy duty scissors or you risk injuring yourself breaking it open.

The Iron

Inside, you have a somewhat chunky charging base, a simple AC adapter you plug into the base and the soldering iron itself with a very basic multi-language pamphlet with instructions.

Previous Weller soldering irons came with everything you need to get started with a simple soldering job. A choice of a couple of tips and a small coil of solder.

The rechargeable soldering iron only comes with the included pointed tip and no solder. Personally, I would have liked to have gotten a chisel tip for medium duty soldering because the pointed tip is really only for light duty work. You can buy the chisel tip separately for about $10 but Amazon doesn’t carry it at this time and the iron does not come with it.

The instructions warn you that you cannot use the charging station as a dock and MUST not put a hot iron in there while turned on. Instead, they have an odd steel wireframe piece that unclips from the bottom of the charging dock and clips into the side. You can rest the hot iron on this.

The iron has a cylindrical shape that is comfortable and well balanced with a single LED pointing forwards. The only downside to the cylindrical shape is that the iron can still roll along a flat surface. My last corded weller with LEDs had a triangle shaped crossguard that prevented it from rolling.

Charging

I left the iron charging a couple of hours and used it the following day. The soldering iron only sits firmly in the cradle one way and does not dislodge easily. The only charging indicator is on the plug itself. A green LED flashes when charging and goes solid when finished.

In Use

I use an iron fairly frequently. I play the guitar and like to upgrade and modify the electronics and, every now and then, I play around with some RC models or try and repair something electrical that stopped working.
This soldering iron is easy to use. The tip just pulls off and pushes back on and has a small rubber grip to offer a good purchase so it’s very easy to do. I would advise against trying it on a hot iron. The grip is small and the surrounding metal will probably get hot.

Controls are simple. A single switch slides forward to turn it on and back to turn off again. A red LED lights up behind the switch when it is turned on as does the forward facing LED which lights up your work. The LED is a nice feature. It’s just bright enough to light your work but not so bright that it reflects back in your face and blinds you with glare. So just about right.

I use 60/40 Tin/Lead solder which I prefer to unleaded. It seeps into wire easier and doesn’t leave much gunk behind to dirty contacts and cause problems. In use the soldering iron takes about half a minute to reach a temperature that will melt 0.031″ Wire Diameter I typically use. The wait time is very short which was nice and the iron was very easy to control. It’s well balanced where most wired soldering irons seem top heavy because of the large metal tip and light plastic handle. This cordless soldering iron is balanced and doesn’t tip forward when placed on a flat surface. It will still roll so it’s best to still use a rest like the detachable one that comes with the base.

The best thing of all with this soldering iron is that it is cordless. Cords are always too short and the weight always seems to try and drag the iron off the bench you’re working on so you end up having to anchor it. With guitars that have beautiful finishes and awkward fairly large shapes with confined spaces to work in, the cord is a real pitta. With cordless you can use the iron from any angle or direction and put it out of the way when not using it. So there is far less chance of you accidentally burning yourself.

The Weller made light work of the thin gauge wire in the electic guitar I tested it on. But I would have preferred a chisel tip for soldering wire to the metal casing of potentiometers. It takes a long time to heat a large surface area with this pointed tip. A chisel tip would heat the same area far faster with less risk of damaging the internals. This iron would work fine with most of my RC electronics too, though again a chisel tip would be preferred for tinning thicker guage wire. The powerful LIPO batteries on my RC cars use 10 guage wires, this soldering iron would need the chisel tip to have any real chance of soldering connectors properly to mid/heavy duty wire.

Conclusion

Overall I am very pleased with this soldering iron. It’s small compact and well balanced, heats up quickly and since it’s cordless, it gives you a lot of freedom. It’s also good for safety because you can put it well away from your work area when it’s not in immediate use. The LED is nice and helps in cramped dark places. The price is reasonable but I do feel they skimped a little. The cradle for the iron is sub par and fiddly, and you only get the pointed tip when every other soldering iron I have ever purchased also came with a chisel tip for medium duty soldering. As I mentioned, you can buy the chisel tip separately for about $10 but Amazon doesn’t carry it at this time. Out of the box, this one is only good for light duty and you will still need to purchase your own solder separately.

Otherwise it’s excellent, very convenient and works great. I really like it. It’s made soldering far less stressful. No cord means that there is nothing to get caught on and drag it off the bench. Nothing for small kids and pets to tug on either. So great for piece of mind.
I recommend it.

Product Name: Weller BL60MP Cordless Soldering Iron

Product Description: Weller BL60MP Cordless Soldering Iron with Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery

Offer price: $69.99

  • Design
  • Ease of Use
  • Battery Life
  • Price
4.4

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