[pamarine]

The only drawback I see with using Soldering Irons is most of them are 40 watts max. They are designed to generat no more than 400-500 degreees Farenheit. A Plastic Welder, wheter the electric or Hot-Air type, are designed to generete around 1000-1200 degrees. HDPE (the stuff our wonderful boats are made from) melts at around 300 degrees. This is the upper range of most consumer soldering Irons. They take longer to heat up, have a harder time keeping even high heat on a cooler material, and have a harder time allowing sufficient penetration of the heat into the substrate. Using a purpose-built welder can make projects a lot quicker and give stronger and more visually appealing results. And, these welders can be picked up for the same amount as a high-end soldering iron ($40-50). I feel they are a much better tool for repairing Plastics.