antex soldering irons

:affraid:hi anyone know of discount outlet for antex  soldering equipment  the wind in stockton is very strong i hope the antennas in uk stay up thanks paul 73s

I don't know about discount suppliers but they're good irons I use them myself.

73's Gary.

hi gary i buy a new element i found new on ebay its a c 15 240 volt 15 watts i think it is well worth it as i have used it for aprox 30 years a very good light weight iron and i have 8 tips and orginal stand hope the strorm has not caused any damage all 3 of my ariels are still up best wishes paul m0kbd 73s

hi will the antex  12 watt heating element fit the antex c15 handle 240 volt thanks paul

Hi Paul,

All the 'precision' soldering irons in the Antex range use the same 'MK2' element the only difference being the voltage and wattage ranges. You can fit the M12 twelve watt element physically into the C15 just make sure you have the right voltage.

The heating elements usually have soldered connections to the mains cable so be aware of a 'chicken-or-egg' scenario in that you'll need a second soldering iron to repair the other(!)

I still have my old C15 from 40 years ago and only had to replace the element once, my XS25 almost as old still has it's original element. Shows what good irons they are.  

I do use a more modern soldering iron station nowadays as it has ESD protection, temperature control and amazingly 55 watts of power from a small pencil which can be handy for those more arduous jobs.


Hope you and your good lady are keeping well up there.

All the best,
Victor

hi i have found a shop near me in the north east well worth looking at for every thing antex it is ers electronic components ltd let me know what you think paul m0kbd 73s

Not a bad shop from a quick look just hate the +vat i like to see it all in.
Link to make it easier for others (Remove it Victor if it's not ok).
https://www.esr.co.uk/shop/index.html

I've used Antex soldering irons for decades too, but since they changed the tips a few years ago they've become useless imo. There used to be a circlip around the tip with a split up the side and used to hold it nicely, but since they put this silver foil stuff inside (and no split shaft) the damn things fall off the iron when soldering. They don't conduct the heat very well either and I've had the tip stuck to the PCB before now with a bare element on the iron. I've no idea why they did this because they were good irons but sadly now they've lost me as a customer through this 'improvement'. </moan>

I use a Weller iron now on a solder station thing and it's a lot better tbh, 40W is about right for me, 15/18W wouldn't do it and 25W is not quite enough for me anymore. I got my soldering iron out last week, first time in a while, and now I can't put the thing down, lol.

Not used Antex irons, but I did pick up a good quality iron for £40. It's a Yihua 936D. . Full temperature controlled iron with adjustable temperature control and digital temperature display. It even included some flux, sponge and a good selection of tips included for the price. Best value for money iron I used.