Which soldering station to buy

[Richard James]

DIYRE sells a generic Japanese one for cheap. I’ve been really happy with it. I’m a novice builder and was getting on for a while with a nicer Hakko I borrowed from a friend. The PSU feels much less robust than the Hakko and the temperature is maybe less accurate IDK but I run it lower, otherwise I experience no deficit in use.

 

[cyrano]

Forgot about this one: a 9,95 € battery powered, rechargeable from the Action supermarket. Not temp controlled, but hey, for that price...

Avoid. It's a nice enough soldering iron, only not for leadfree. But it doesn't keep it's charge. Always empty battery after two weeks.

Dunno if I'm gonna return it, or put a real switch in. Might be no room inside for a real switch.

 

[Big Valley Audio]

One option I haven’t seen mentioned here yet is the Pace stations.
I have a MBT301 and a couple of MBT PPS85’s.
I worked at Canada’s public broadcaster (CBC) for years and they had them in the tech department. I got used to the luxury so I bought some when I left there.
-Very good suction
-Very reliable

-Very expensive ( not helped by the fact that they are in the USA and so my Canadian dollar doesn’t go as far there)

One of the ones I bought was surplus from NASA so I brag about that to anyone that will listen ( no one has been interested yet, they just smile nervously and wave)

 

[tommia]

Ok so Hakko is back in the running. The choice is between Hakko(888 or 951), JBC(?) and ERSA (nano).
Who has worked with some of them and can compare them?
It looks like pace is not distributed in Europe

 

[Ricardus]

I have a 936 that I've been continuously using since about 2000, other than occasional tip replacement has been flawless.

I have 7 or 8 tips in my drawer for various jobs. Surface Mount, through hole, and bigger tips for point to point gear with big terminals and old school tube sockets.

 

[amplexus]

Ok so Hakko is back in the running. The choice is between Hakko(888 or 951), JBC(?) and ERSA (nano).
Who has worked with some of them and can compare them?
It looks like pace is not distributed in Europe

Personally the advantage of the quick change tips, integrated heating element, thermal recovery and capacity and the lighter weight handpiece- i’d take the 951 over the 888d every day of the week. The 888D is a great hobbyist iron if you’re going to spend a few hours a week with it. If you prioritize faster, more comfortable working and may change tips regularly you will absolutely see the difference in price melt away.

JBC irons are also excellent but you’re at double the price to get comparable (or slightly better) performance to the 951, which may or may not be worth it for you.

I have no experience with the Erse so can’t comment.

Someone mentioned Pace above, my experience with them is limited but they are also excellent irons in a similar price point to the hakko iirc

 

[Gold]

How do determine when it's time to change a tip? I don't think I've ever had any guidance on that.

 

[totoxraymond]

Hi,

How do determine when it's time to change a tip? I don't think I've ever had any guidance on that.

This video from element14 is quite interesting in this regard.



Cheers,

Thomas

 

[Gold]

Hi,



This video from element14 is quite interesting in this regard.

He talks a lot about it but doesn't show any practical examples. I think he is saying replace a tip when it becomes pitted and will no longer take solder. I have never had a tip in that bad condition for any iron i've bought new. I leave my iron on a lot. My bench has a single switch to turn everything on and i use it that way. Before I'm done I put a blob of solder on the tip. That can cook for a while. When I'm ready to solder I wipe the crusty solder off, tin the tip and go. I can't say I've ever noticed any pitting or plating wearing off. I'm using a dreaded Weller WD1. It's been working for over a dozen years now.

 

[totoxraymond]

Well i guess it depends on several factor.

I had to replace the tip on my JBC fixed temperature iron once. I forgot to turn off the iron several time plus my shop is in my basement and it's pretty humid here. The tip looked crusty and was harder and harder to use. When i changed it, everything was back to normal.

Few months later i could buy the Ersa, so i'm not using the JBC anymore (only for field repairs). The Ersa has an auto stand-by so i guess my tip won't suffer as much. The reason I chose the Ersa i-con Nano is because in its price point, it looked better than the weller equivalent and tips and accessories are more available here. I can't find a good supplier of Hakko in France, so Ersa it is and i'm not disappointed so far.

Cheers,

Thomas

 

[amplexus]

The Hakko has auto setback so that saves my tips a lot…

but generally i replace them when they get pitted or get spots that won’t wet or re-tin, or just when the tip wears enough that it loses its shape/contour. I used to go through weller tips every month or two… my hakko tips are more like 2 years and i work at 750-775F

the Desoldering iron tips die a lot faster but thats mostly cus the heat is higher and they have thin walls so they get physically worn down more frequently… which sucks cus they’re $30 a pop

 

[Khron]

For what it's worth, the Ersa i-Con stations have a neat two-state standby - 5 or so mins of inactivity puts the heater into an idle 250C mode, and 5-10mins after that, it turns the heater off entirely. The times may well be adjustable / programmable, but i haven't bothered so far

 

[mdelvecc]

I will throw in Edsyn. Made in Van Nuys CA for decades. Los Angeles area studios and techs often have them on the bench. The 951sx is a great unit. I have 2 that have lasted me many years as well as a desoldering station. My 2c

https://www.edsyn.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=951SX&Store_Code=EI

 

[Ricardus]

Time to make a choice!

 

[Gold]

I will throw in Edsyn. Made in Van Nuys CA for decades. Los Angeles area studios and techs often have them on the bench.

I know they work great but I with they would use a case design that wasn’t made to go with wood grain formica.

 

[tommia]

And the winner is ersa icon nano. Also because it is German, easy to get in Europe. Not very expensive nor for the spare parts and nice features

 

[cyrano]

Good looking soldering station!

Only, currently unavailable at Amazon and bol.com...

 

[totoxraymond]

They're in stock at farnell, radiospare, reichelt, conrad, and i stopped checking there.

 

[Zim]

Don’t know if it’s still the case, but when I got mine I was able to save a fair bit buying it from them direct in Germany rather than any of the uk distributors. Might be worth a look, depending on where you’re based: ersa-shop.com

 

[cyrano]

Thx, Raymond.

I only checked Amazon because Ersa's site has a prominent link to Amazon.