I get the big iron out for large soldering jobs (lower left on bench).. This is a 175 watt many use an 80 or 100 watt iron. When I get soldering fast the iron will maintain a good temperature but if set down it will get hot enough to melt the lead fast. I use a solid copper tip that requires filling and tinning - this is my preference because of the amount of soldier I can hold on the tip as well as the speed that the soldier melts on contact of the tinned tip.