Whether you're an absolute beginner to soldering or have been doing it for a while, you're probably wondering the difference between a soldering gun and a soldering iron. The main difference between them is that guns are better for heavy duty jobs, while irons are better for smaller jobs. However, both has advantages and disadvantages worth considering.
Soldering irons are usually designed as pencils or sticks.
Handheld soldering iron, the handle on the soldering iron is heat resistant and it has a rubber coating for comfort while working. They can be easily held with one hand, but may require the other hand to stabilize the first.
Lower the heat for finer work. They are usually much lower power than soldering guns and are great for small projects.
Temperature control: they don't have a switch or trigger like a soldering gun, so once you plug them in and turn them on, they start to heat up. Once fully heated, they will stay that way until you turn them off.
Soldering irons are usually designed as pencils or sticks.
Handheld soldering iron, the handle on the soldering iron is heat resistant and it has a rubber coating for comfort while working. They can be easily held with one hand, but may require the other hand to stabilize the first.
Lower the heat for finer work. They are usually much lower power than soldering guns and are great for small projects.
Temperature control: they don't have a switch or trigger like a soldering gun, so once you plug them in and turn them on, they start to heat up. Once fully heated, they will stay that way until you turn them off.
1）Power: The soldering gun has higher power, it's power range is between 100-240W. This means that it can be used for heavier jobs, and thanks to its ring-shaped tip, it is more convenient and flexible to use.
2）Space: The ring-shaped tip helps it work in tighter spaces, but it would be more difficult when it comes to smaller soldered components.
3）Instant heating and cooling: Compared with the soldering iron, the heating and cooling rate of the soldering gun is relatively faster. The soldering gun has a step-down transformers than the soldering iron in configuration, which can convert the power into low voltage current. With fast heating, you will save electricity and improve your work efficiency.
4）High efficiency and energy saving: When you press the switch key of the soldering gun, the soldering gun can achieve the effect of rapid heating and rapid cooling, which are very effective in converting electrical energy into heat energy. They don't require a lot of energy to get hot, and can save energy by cooling down when not in use.
2）Weight: Compared with the soldering gun, the weight of the soldering iron is relatively low, which is more convenient to use. The weight of the soldering iron is equivalent to the weight of the screwdriver, and it will not make you feel tired because of long time working. If your project requires a few hours of soldering, a soldering iron is better for you as it won't tire you out too much.
3）Work process：Soldering irons take a lot longer to heat up than soldering guns, but once the irons get hot, they will last longer than the soldering guns. In most cases, you can turn on the soldering iron and preserve its temperature during soldering. This allows for an uninterrupted workflow and more efficient job completion.
Earlier we discussed many of the benefits of soldering with a gun, but there are also some disadvantages you need to understand before choosing a tool.
1）Weight: soldering guns are much heavier than soldering irons. Soldering guns are designed for heavier projects and therefore it is set up with heavier assembly components. It is suitable for indirect soldering work that is often used, but you will find that it would become heavier after working for some time.
2）Safety：Although most soldering guns come with warnings and safety instructions, it is still important to note that the tip of the soldering gun is very dangerous, because the tip of the soldering gun is made of copper which is more conductive, so when soldering, there are still higher risks, such as the possibility of being scalded or being clicked.
3）Tip replacement：In addition to safety, you also face the annoyance of changing the gun tip frequently. In large-scale soldering, heating copper with high-temperature will face rapid degradation, so during soldering, you need to replace the tip of the soldering gun several times, so it is recommended that you prepare more gun tips before doing the soldering project, so as to avoid being forced to stop working due to tip missing.
4）Size：Soldering guns are much larger than soldering irons, so they can be awkward to use, and thus be more difficult to operate, and you have to keep in mind that soldering guns can work in weirder places, but it is not suitable for soldering in a relatively small space.
Soldering irons are not perfect when it comes to soldering jobs, it also have many shortcomings.
1）Suitable for small projects: Soldering iron is only suitable for small soldering projects, it cannot withstand large soldering projects compared to soldering guns. Because it cannot generate the heat required for large soldering projects.
2）Ineffective: Soldering irons heat more slowly and therefore consume more heat. Try to keep them on once heated, so we don't have to wait for them to heat up again. Compared with the soldering gun, its working efficiency is relatively low.
It mostly depends on what you need the device for. So, if you take into account the fact that soldering irons are cheap, lightweight and easy to handle. With a soldering iron, you can manage these little jobs perfectly. On the other hand, soldering guns are heavy, expensive and difficult to handle.
The above is our comparison between soldering guns and soldering irons, you should already know that what makes soldering irons and soldering guns different is mainly the application. Soldering guns and soldering irons are both great tools when you need to get your soldering done. However, there are some key differences to consider in choosing the right tool. The fundamental determinant of your choice of soldering tool depends on whether your job is microelectronics soldering or heavy duty industrial design soldering.
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