Soldering irons and soldering guns each have their uses. For splicing wires (12 ga. and smaller), soldering on a circuit board, and other small work, a 30 or 35 watt soldering iron is your best bet. Due to the fact that a lot of the new electronics are static sensitive, make sure the iron has a three-prong plug. If you're going to be soldering something to your ESC, which routinely have FET outputs, you might want to invest in a grounding strap (that ties to your wrist) and a soldering pad. As for makes, Weller is, in my estimation, the best. Ungar runs a close second. The cheapies that you find at Radio Shack, etc., work, but not very well.
If you can afford it, a Weller 'controlled heat' soldering station is the best. It has a temperature sensor and keeps the tip of the iron at whatever temperature you set it for. (Most electronics solder melts at around 660 degrees). THey are a little pricey, but they're worth it. Thanks to the controlled heat, it takes less time to heat up the pad/leg on a circuit board. The lower the amount of time a component is hot, the better.
For bigger jobs, a Weller 220 will do just about anything. THat's a soldering gun with a two position trigger switch.
As for a soldering iron or gun not getting hot fast enough, tighten the screws on a gun and the tip-retainer on an iron. THe reason the soldering tip isn't getting hot is because it's become a 'high resistance'. Tightening it up will fix the problem.
Last tip: Always tin the soldering iron/gun tip before you put it away. (Melt a glob of solder onto the tip, turn it off and let it cool with the glob of solder hanging there.) The reason for this is that the tip is made of copper, and oxidizes, and then goes away. An oxidized tip will also make it difficult to solder with, especially if it has a bunch of carbonized crap on it. (If the tip is black, it's carbonized.) If the tip gets oxidized or carbonized, you can sand it until you see copper again, and it'll be as good as new. For what it's worth, I've had the same 30 watt Weller iron for nearly thirty-five years now, and I've never had to change the tip, and it still looks like brand new.
gary
