Get a Hakko soldering station
 

I followed HotnCold's suggestion and got a Hakko 936. Less than a 100 bucks including a few spare tips. It is without doubt the best soldering station I have used. It even beats out my old $250 Weller digital. Connectors, leads or battery packs, it does it all. Thanks for the advice guys!

Glad it worked for ya =) Happy Tinning....

Its quite amazing!
Too bad I've damaged the heat controller's fuse.
I've to replace it now.

I also have a Hakko 936 with the larger 908 iron. They are AWESOME!

One of the best things I have bought. I have used many differnet irons and a couple stations.. this is hands down the best.

I will be getting this solder station this weekend, I think. They are on Ebay for less than $80, and my dad has agreed to pay for half (since he would also have his uses for it). I've been using a Weller 120watt gun, but the tip is too small to effectively transfer the heat. Since I'll be soldering up 20 A123 cells (yes, I have two Dewalt packs on their way to me), I need to be able to solder the packs together without overheating the cells.

But I want to make sure that this iron will be able to solder up these packs like I want to (the soldering gun won't cut it).

Got a link?

I got two 30w irons that are used for most of my work and a 100w inland for battery busting and resoldering

MetalMan - I just saw the auction - ask them about other tips - the small chisel tip is good for most stuff - but for batteries - you may want the bigger tip - if they dont have it - you can prob find another place - just may get charged extra for shipping just the tip.... Good luck

The 936-12 in that auction is very good, but I would recomend the 936-13 if you can find one. The base station is the same but the #13 comes with a little bigger iron and tip.

The 936-12 is the "medium" size 907 iron.
The 936-13 is the "large" size 908 iron.

I know lots of guys with the medium iron and they work awesome too. But the large can only be better for doing batteries and it already comes with a nice fat tip.

The 908 stations usually cost like $10 more. IMO, the 936-12 will be just fine, but I don't personally have experience with one.

I just ordered a Hakko 936-13 (I took your advice on the larger iron, glassdoctor). This soldering station is especially necessary considering that I have 20 A123 M1 cells waiting to be soldered together :004:.

This place has the best overall cost (including shipping) that I found:
http://www.wisecomponents.com/storecatalog/hakko.htm
Mike doesn't sell these, right?

I think when I get one, I might get the 937.

The 937 would be nice, but I could never justify spending twice as much when the lower cost one works just fine. I'd rather spend that extra $100 on a Dewalt 36v battery pack on Ebay :004: