Soldering Irons

[mcandmar]

I'm sure there is a thread for this but i just cant find it.  I dropped my cheap $30 eBay soldering station and broke the iron, ahh well upgrade time

Looking for suggestions for a decent soldering station, willing to spend a few hundred dollars to get something well made and durable.  Its seems Weller and Hako are the two most respected but interested to hear what you hardcore solder slingers use.

Cheers,

Mark

[Grainger49]

I have the 1970's version of the current Weller WTCP.  I have changed out the tip once.  I left it on for 3 weeks, so that was my fault.

It is rugged, heats fast, holds temperature and makes good solder joints.  I don't know what else to say about it.  Oh, I wouldn't want to be without it.

[Doc B.]

 Used to use a Hexacon. Now I use an Ersa 2000A.

[mcandmar]

That's the impression i get of the Wellers, you buy it once.  There are some on eBay for decent money but finding a 240v version is proving elusive.  Mouser have some in stock but they are a little on the expensive side.

[mcandmar]

The Ersa looks like a really nice bit of kit, but just a tad out of my price range..

[wylymon]

Check out American Beauty soldering tools.     They also make a very nice soldering pot......

[JamieMcC]

Only £39.99 might suit you for a stop gap. I was pleased with mine

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/60w-professional-lcd-solder-station-with-esd-protection-a55kj?gclid=CNa3_7mbwsECFQsEwwodO6YAZQ

[grausch]

Here is a link to amazon.co.uk.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Weller-Whs40-Temp-Controlled-Solder/dp/B0001P17EW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414054984&sr=8-1&keywords=weller+whs+40

Prices seems to be expensive. I bought mine at a local store, and I don't think I paid that much.

[mcandmar]

Decided i am going to go for a Hakko FX-888D, seems to tick all the box's and i can source them locally for €220.  I looked at the Weller WSD81 but it comes in about €100 more, and i actually prefer the stand and overall form factor of the Hakko unit which seals the deal.

http://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_fx888d.html

http://www.weller.de/products/product.php?pid=1202

[Chris65]

The Hakko is a nice iron, bought one myself a little while back. The good thing is the back-up parts etc, from Hakko, Weller, Ersa.
I had a nice station before but uncommon & I couldn't get parts for it, even new tips.

But €220 is very expensive. These cost about $100 in the USA, unfortunately those of us in 230V areas get stung with much higher price for these. I' d look at the UK for one,  a place called Dancap Electronics has them for £99 plus VAT & shipping.
There may be other sellers too.

[mcandmar]

The Hakko is a nice iron, bought one myself a little while back. The good thing is the back-up parts etc, from Hakko, Weller, Ersa.
I had a nice station before but uncommon & I couldn't get parts for it, even new tips.

But €220 is very expensive. These cost about $100 in the USA, unfortunately those of us in 230V areas get stung with much higher price for these. I' d look at the UK for one,  a place called Dancap Electronics has them for £99 plus VAT & shipping.
There may be other sellers too.

Thanks for the info. Have you bought from Dancap before?  If you look on eBay there is a bunch of them for ~£99 but they are all fake Chinese copies. Unfortunately the clones are very common which makes me skeptical if the price is too good to be true.

The 240v versions are a lot more expensive than the 120v, i've even found a few threads where people have bought from the US and replaced the transformer with a generic item as all it needs is 24v 3.5amp.

[tjessen]

I use one of these; http://www.ebay.ca/itm/AOYUE-937-Digital-Soldering-Station-/120545542541

I've had it nearly 2 years and it has been nothing but wonders, accurate and quick digital temp. read out/adjustment, and came with a spare element. Money very well spent, and excellent product for the money spent.

Anyone else have experience with the Aoyue products?

[Chris65]

Thanks for the info. Have you bought from Dancap before?  If you look on eBay there is a bunch of them for ~£99 but they are all fake Chinese copies. Unfortunately the clones are very common which makes me skeptical if the price is too good to be true.

The 240v versions are a lot more expensive than the 120v, i've even found a few threads where people have bought from the US and replaced the transformer with a generic item as all it needs is 24v 3.5amp.

No, not bought from them, bit too far away! But at least they will be genuine.
Yes, most, if not all 230V version on Ebay are fakes. Nearly gave up & got one of those when I was looking, but then saw a video of one being dismantled & it was scary!, very poor workmanship & likely dangerous.

[mcandmar]

Did a bit more digging on Hakkos website and found a distributor list, the Irish agent lists it at €136 on their website which is much better.

I flat out refuse to buy another crappy Chinese product.  The last iron i bought was one of those $30 units, it worked ok in that it got hot and melted solder but the LED died after a week so i cracked it open to investigate.  Kind of wish i hadn't as it was dodgy as they come.  All i can figure out is the heater runs on mains voltage and is switched on/off at varying frequencys depending on the pot position, and any time i turn it on the UPS powering my computer freaks out.  It also makes tube amps hum like crazy, i spent an evening re soldering connections trying to cure the noise before i realized it was the soldering iron doing it all along.  I hated it so this time i want a decent Iron, with a lump of Iron inside.