Soldering Station opinions

[Tibia]

I'm in the market for a new adjustable temperature soldering station. My limit's about $75-$100. I'm sick and tired of burning through cheap RatShack irons like kindling. I like Weller brand, but I'm open to others, provided I hear good things about them. There are a few MUST haves, any other things you think I should consider, go ahead and let me know.

Tips need to be replaceable and fairly easy to acquire
Hopefully last longer than the crap tips RatShack has
Minimum of 25W of power
Minimum temp of 200F
Can at least get up to about 600F
Looking for fairly small footprint
Reliable and consistent heat
Stand up to frequent use (several times a week, two or three hours per use)

[Pkmnjunky7]

http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... CEoQ8wIwAg#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tips need to be replaceable and fairly easy to acquire

I'm afraid you aren't going to have an easy time finding an iron that meets this requirement. The tips for this Iron are easy to replace, but I've never found a place to buy them locally. They're really durable and long lasting tips though, I use my Iron several times a week and even several times a day when I'm in the middle of a project, and I've been using the same tip for a year now.


Hopefully last longer than the crap tips RatShack has
Definitely going to last longer than the crappy radio shack irons.


Minimum of 25W of power
40W

Minimum temp of 200F
Can at least get up to about 600F
I really have no idea what the actual temp range is...


Looking for fairly small footprint
Eh, It's larger than just an Iron, but the stand is fairly small.


Reliable and consistent heat
This has never been an issue for me.


Stand up to frequent use (several times a week, two or three hours per use)
Yes.

[Snipeye]

... Swear I already posted this, but the WLC100 is the same station/iron I have, it's worked perfectly for me for a long time. I suggest the st7 tips.

[jdmlight]

It's too bad that the Weller WTCPN (the soldering iron I have) isn't made anymore, because it really would fit all of your requirements.

Tips need to be replaceable and fairly easy to acquire - as easy to find as tips can be for soldering irons, but really you won't need to replace them if you just keep them clean.

Hopefully last longer than the crap tips RatShack has - this was a hand-me-down from my parents from before I was born, still going strong

Minimum of 25W of power - 50w

Minimum temp of 200F - 600-800 degrees, the temperature is controlled by different tips

Can at least get up to about 600F - see above, but yes

Looking for fairly small footprint - honestly as small as you can really get while still having the coil thing to put the iron into while it's hot

Reliable and consistent heat - no problems at all

Stand up to frequent use (several times a week, two or three hours per use) - again, 'twas a hand-me-down from before I was born, it got heavy use from my parents before it was handed down to me

I'm not sure about getting a used one, but I really like my soldering iron(s, I have two, I keep one with a fat tip in it and one with a skinny tip in it side-by-side at all times ) I think that the WTCPT is the newer replacement for the WTCPN that I have.

I actually have used the Weller WLC100 that Pkmnjunky suggested, and it's truly pretty good (a BIG step up from the ratshack irons), but the WTCPN that I have just feels better built.

[marshallh]

used Hakko 936 on ebay.

Best iron ever

[Tibia]

@ pkmnjunky7 and jdmlight

No problems with the tip cooling down? I see that it's pretty much a dimmer switch on a regular cord, and I'm slightly concerned that there's no feedback from the iron to the base.

I don't mind ordering tips on-line, I'm just trying to avoid something that's going to be impossible to find in six months, on-line or locally. That's exactly what happened with my old RatShack iron, and the biggest reason I won't buy a new one there.



I do like the looks of that Hakko. One on e-Bay now for $105 obo. Hmmm.

[Snipeye]

105? How 'bout new for 95?

http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_ ... a6d8ec9bde" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've done business with adafruit before - excellent company.

[jdmlight]

@ pkmnjunky7 and jdmlight

No problems with the tip cooling down? I see that it's pretty much a dimmer switch on a regular cord, and I'm slightly concerned that there's no feedback from the iron to the base.

I don't mind ordering tips on-line, I'm just trying to avoid something that's going to be impossible to find in six months, on-line or locally. That's exactly what happened with my old RatShack iron, and the biggest reason I won't buy a new one there.



I do like the looks of that Hakko. One on e-Bay now for $105 obo. Hmmm.

I honestly don't know what it'd be like to have the tip cool down. I mean, if I use my 1/32" tip for soldering 14 gauge wire it won't heat it well, but you just match the tip size with what you're doing (and that 1/32" tip is pretty much exclusively for SMT). Is that what you're talking about, where you go to solder something and there isn't enough heat to make a decent connection? Because that's not a problem with either of my WTCPN's, assuming I'm using an appropriate tip size.

You can still order the various parts for the WTCPN (handle, base, collar that holds tips on, etc) in addition to still being able to buy the tips. I think you're pretty much fine if you stick with a Weller in that regard.