Which soldering station to buy

[tommia]

I've always used Weller. The last one was Wsd 81. The quality of Weller is not what it was. 3 years ago I replaced the soldering iron, the connector and cable is from inferior quality, the heating element broke now after 3 years. Is there another brand with the quality Weller once was?

 

[Whoops]

Hi,
I just use JBC soldering Irons for many years (more than 20 years) , those are the best I used and still happy with them.
Their soldering stations look pretty good also:

https://www.jbctools.com/compact-category-10.html

 

[Khron]

It wasn't cheap, but i'm pretty pleased with my little Ersa i-Con Nano. Heats up within 10s or so, plenty of "juice" even for bigger joints and groundplanes; 98% of the time i use the PLCC wedge/knife tip as a catch-all (fine enough tip but still a fat flat edge for more heat transfer).

I've had mine for 5-6 years now, still going strong, and even got my boss to buy me one for work.

I do still want to DIY a power-controller for JBC wands one of these days, though...

 

[CJ]

i use a weller but it is really old. this model works on a different principle than most irons, the temp sw in the tip is magnetically controlled, as the magnet gets hot, it loses gauss which lets the sw turn off, as it cools, the mag field increases and pulls in the switch, very dependable. used in the 60's during the cold war. back then, defense contractors and other electronic companies stayed open 24/7. and the soldering irons stayed on 24/7. in other words, this is an industrial model. i have one at home but at work i use....the same thing. if you accidently leave the iron on overnight (like me back when i used to get hammered every night),,then the soldering actually likes it because it reminds the iron of the good ol days. you wake up and the house has not burned down and the tip looks fresh, clicking away like a miniature cricket.

they sell them on evilbay but please don't hog them up, i might need one some decade.

 

[CJ]

there is a trick that nobody knows about when it comes to making the weller tc201/202 system totally bulletproof.
you need to buy the industrial tips. new tips are not worth a crap. i used to burn thru a new one every three weeks. they have about 1 micron of lead free coating. a real joke and a pain in the rear. but these industrial tips? they have many layers of coating, made out of kryptonite or something. they never wear out. they are impossible to destroy. therefore they make me very happy because i am never pissed off about burning thru another 5 dollar tip that i have no spare for.

i bought a bunch of these thinking they would need to be replaced. 5 years later i am on the same tips at work and at home and they look like the day i bought them. but please do not hog these up. i might need one after i am dead.

 

[nielsk]

You got 3 years out of your WSD81? Count yourself as lucky!
I stopped using everything Weller 25 years ago and never looked back (I guess I never had the mil-spec version but I remember the iron clicking). Maybe if I got NOS parts from the 1960s they would have lasted longer than a month...
I have been using Hakko since, 700 series. Excellent quality, easy and cheap to get parts for. Be sure and take the tip off & put it back on regularly as it will seize up from metal expansion long before the heating element dies or tip coating wears off (a good idea on any of them).
As planned obsolescence is an art form these days, I go for old quality that can be maintained (=parts availability)
Oh, NEVER use the brass wool tip cleaners if you want your tip to last!

 

[warpie]

You got 3 years out of your WSD81? Count yourself as lucky!
I stopped using everything Weller 25 years ago and never looked back (I guess I never had the mil-spec version but I remember the iron clicking). Maybe if I got NOS parts from the 1960s they would have lasted longer than a month...
I have been using Hakko since, 700 series. Excellent quality, easy and cheap to get parts for. Be sure and take the tip off & put it back on regularly as it will seize up from metal expansion long before the heating element dies or tip coating wears off (a good idea on any of them).
As planned obsolescence is an art form these days, I go for old quality that can be maintained (=parts availability)
Oh, NEVER use the brass wool tip cleaners if you want your tip to last!

That's really confusing. Some people say "never use the brass wool cause it will destroy the coating" and some other say "never use the wet sponge because it will destroy the tip".

Personally I use both.... haha

There's an old video from pace that recommend to first use the wool and then the sponge. Go figure....

 

[blakeyboy]

I must have eight Weller 24v tcp irons, I only ever have 4 that work at any one time, but I'm giving up buying spares for them.
The thermostats have trebled in price over the last 5 years, and last no time at all.
They changed the barrel dimensions/ tip arrangements, so that expensive time-consuming conversions are needed to change over to the later type, which is a pain.

I bought a Solomon SL20 seconhand, and it was excellent, so I now have a pile of them.
Having temperature control means I can solder thick wire to big tags on copper buss bars in a console,
yet turn it way down when the iron is on all day, so the tips last and last.
My only gripe is that the iron cable is stiff and short, so I'm going to experiment with changing the cable to thin silicone rubber.

I'm slowly collecting together all my old Weller iron bits and when I have time I'll sell the lot.

 

[TLRT]

I use Hakko FX888d's they are working well for years now(along with FR301, the big smoke extractor system etc)

 

[Ike Zimbel]

Here's my reply to a similar thread on another forum:
"I have been buying all of my soldering/de-soldering equipment from these folks Soldering, Desoldering, SMD Rework, Heat Guns, Microscopes for at least 20 years. I have no affiliation with them other than they have given me very good service.
I own two De-Non SC7000z de-soldering tools and would not work without them. I have also owned an Edsyn Z500DX which was very, very good EDSYN ZD500DX SELF CONTAINED DESOLDERING STATION. Edsyn also makes a very good soldering station, the 951SX Edsyn 951SX Solder Station | Howard Electronics which is also excellent."

 

[amplexus]

You got 3 years out of your WSD81? Count yourself as lucky!
I stopped using everything Weller 25 years ago and never looked back (I guess I never had the mil-spec version but I remember the iron clicking). Maybe if I got NOS parts from the 1960s they would have lasted longer than a month...
I have been using Hakko since, 700 series. Excellent quality, easy and cheap to get parts for. Be sure and take the tip off & put it back on regularly as it will seize up from metal expansion long before the heating element dies or tip coating wears off (a good idea on any of them).
As planned obsolescence is an art form these days, I go for old quality that can be maintained (=parts availability)
Oh, NEVER use the brass wool tip cleaners if you want your tip to last!

Same. Hakko FX951 has been my main station for 5+ years now. Never a hiccup, on 6-8hrs a day. Crazy good handpiece and quick change tips. Hell i get a year or more out of a tip in daily use.

 

[ccaudle]

other say "never use the wet sponge because it will destroy the tip".

I use wet sponge, but with distilled water. I do not have positive confirmation for my suspicion, but I always thought that people who complain of wet sponges ruining their tips were using tap water, which will result in a layer of mineral deposits building up on the tips. Distilled water obviously won't have that problem, when it boils off nothing is left behind, so I don't see how it can ruin a tip if it leaves nothing behind.
I bought a used Metcal solder station for my home bench about 20 years ago because the ones at work seemed pretty bullet proof, and both the power base and the three size tips I regularly use are all still working great after 20 years. I'm not sure what modern Metcal gear is like because I've never needed to replace mine. Hopefully they have maintained the same level of quality.

 

[warpie]

I use wet sponge, but with distilled water. I do not have positive confirmation for my suspicion, but I always thought that people who complain of wet sponges ruining their tips were using tap water, which will result in a layer of mineral deposits building up on the tips. Distilled water obviously won't have that problem, when it boils off nothing is left behind, so I don't see how it can ruin a tip if it leaves nothing behind.
I bought a used Metcal solder station for my home bench about 20 years ago because the ones at work seemed pretty bullet proof, and both the power base and the three size tips I regularly use are all still working great after 20 years. I'm not sure what modern Metcal gear is like because I've never needed to replace mine. Hopefully they have maintained the same level of quality.

From what I've read, the argument is that the wet sponge destroys the tip due to expansion and contraction.

 

[Andy Peters]

Go Metcal or don't bother.

 

[CJ]

new Solderon solder suckers suck too.

got to go vintage NOS on those.

never had a problem with the wet sponge on the industrial tips. they have 7 coats of plating on them.

failure mode on the new weller's was heater gets locked on, thin 1 layer tip gets red hot and cooks off plating, user files tip for emergency use due to no spare, heater element gets overworked due to no heat transfer, heater element gets cooked and goes open, user throws weller in the junk pile,

 

[mobyd]

Go Metcal or don't bother.

Definitely in the Metcal camp - got a couple of MX500s and with a good collection of tips, they can do anything from copper hot water pipes to tssop48 smd chips. Only one gripe, and it is a big one : these puppies cost a fortune to feed. My everyday tip (STTC-137) lasts around 2 months and replacements are in the $40 range. I kept seeing a lot of love for the Hakko FX888D, so I bought one to try out as a cheaper alternative. Nah, the Metcal still blows it into the weeds.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I have a Hakko 936 on my bench that I haven't turned on for several weeks, and that time was to repair a broken solder connection in a battery charger adapter cable.

I'm cheap and rarely solder these days, since I shut down my tuner business last year (so far zero service calls).

The Hakko was serviceable for light duty.

JR

 

[moamps]

I use a few Weller W(T)CP20s for field and rough work, a few Metcal STSS-002 (MX500) high frequency types for everyday work. Metcal (Thermaltronics) is the best soldering iron I have worked with so far (Weller, Ersa, JCB etc.). But the tips are quite expensive and don’t last long. Especially if I solder with lead-free tin.

 

[tommia]

I've worked with Metcal some 20 years ago with good results. Yes I remember the tips were expensive.
I've had a Weller that was magnetically controlled years before that. Build like a tank, they don't make them like that anymore.
So I read I'm not the only one complaning about the Weller's quality today.
Also I have to say I'm from Europe and it looks like Edsyn is not distributed here.
So Hakko is not for everyday use compared to Metcal.
Which Metcal is the model to look for or is the MX500s the one to buy?

Thanks already

 

[abbey road d enfer]

I use that
https://www.amazon.fr/HANMATEK-SD1-...ywords=station+soudage&qid=1634788111&sr=8-36It comes with 10 tips, and replacement tips cost less than $2 apiece.
It can stay on 24/7, having an automatic sleep mode.
I have 2 of them. If one dies on me (it happened) I switch to the other and order a new one, that I get the next day.
When I was still in charge, I started with Wellers and then with JBC's, but the quality was going down all the time.
With those, I don't expect much and am never disappointed.