soldering station

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BigE

BigE

Active Member
I think I may be in need of new one.
While doing all my lamp posts yesterday and took a break, the thing would not melt solder.
I broke out an old radio shack iron I still have to finish off the work.
Any recommendations?
Keep it under $100 please (or at least close to that).
E.
 


There are all brands of imports which will get you digital for $100 or so. Are they any good? I have no idea.

I have used Weller for years.

That WES51 unit is fine for many applications but keep in mind that it is rated at 50 watts - will that be enough for what you want to do?

I should have mentioned that I use a Weller station rated at 85 watts and that has proven to be fine.
 
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I'm helping a friend, a former electronics engineer type, with his layout. Once he told the crew to bring soldering irons and everyone that brought one had the Weller mentioned above. I like mine.
 
I use a Weller WLC-100. It's only rated at 40 watts, so it's for light duty work, but it does it quite well. $37.90 at Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100...5318&sr=1-1&keywords=wlc100+soldering+station

For soldering feeders to track I have a Weller 8200PKS 100-140 watt gun. I use the 140 watt setting and the feeder is soldered before the ties have a chance to melt. Works just slicker than snot on a door knob, as my high school English teacher used to say.
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-8200PK...30095546&sr=1-2&keywords=Weller+soldering+gun
 
A bit more expensive than you requested, but I love my Weller WTCPT soldering station. It does a great job and seems to be indestructible. Mine is about 30 years old and still going strong. Even the original tips are still quite usable. It's had heavy use, too -- thousands upon thousands of solder joints -- everything from 1/4-inch wire to N-scale decoders. A great product!

- Jeff
 
To put a different spin on things, I recently re-built my layout and bought a Weller Pro something or other from Home Depot for around $30. It has a replaceable ceramic tip and detachable cord and heats up in about 35 seconds as advertised with an on/off switch. I do a lot of little bitty quick jobs, and the quick start up is handy for me. It did everything I needed it to do, and it is still going strong.

I am scared to death of leaving the iron on and bumping into it at an inopportune time or burning something or bumping a plastic engine shell. I get a lot of peace of mind of turning it off when done, and it is not a big deal to turn it back on.

Some of the old pro's might enjoy this as a second or back-up unit.

Bill
 
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Here's a 3-day sale on one that I've used for something like 20 years. It'll let you control the temperature so you won't melt that tiny little stuff! Get several types of tips while you're at it.
 


BigE said:
Carey has a fancy one he brings over with a digital readout.
Click to expand...

I have Weller like the one below which I brought home from work (Lucent). I'm sure it got a lot of use at work and i've had it for more that a decade. Weller has easily replaceable tips of different sizes. If it were adjustable, I wouldn't know what to set it to.

weller.png


looks like $50 on ebay
 
mattm said:
Hakko FX888D. Just got mine and so far its amazing. Reviews are excellent long term.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ANZRT4M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...

I have the Hakko FX888D. I think it is far superior to the new Weller low priced stations. The Hakko is industrial strength. One of the best features is the large variety of tips available for reasonable prices.
I have heard that Old Weller stations are of higher quality than the newer ones. If the price is close, get the Hakko without hesitation.

Pete Steinmetz
 
mattm said:
Hakko FX888D. Just got mine and so far its amazing. Reviews are excellent long term.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ANZRT4M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...


I own the weller, but if I had to do it again, I would go with the Hakko. I have been a weller WESD51 user since they came out, but I have had to replace the control board in it three times, and each time it is really hard to get one. The weller tips are nice, but Hakkos selection takes it to the next level. I convinced a friend to get one when they needed a new station and they loved it.
 
BigE said:
...

Carey has a fancy one he brings over with a digital readout. I don't think I need that.
But he does decoder installs a lot.

Anyone else?
Click to expand...

Eric,

Mine's not really fancy. It's just a cheap Radio Shack one, (built by Weller). When I have to replace it, and I know that I will have to, I will probably get a Hakko as well. Trouble with mine is, to replace/change tips, you almost have to take the handle apart. It unfortunately doesn't unscrew. It was only $69 on sale 4 years ago.

It does have several features I like; Temp range from 300` to 842`, three preset temps, that can be changed, nice length on the cord to the iron. Funny thing is, I still have 4 other irons that I still use for track work. I have them at 15W, 30W, 40W, and lastly 80W for frogs and guardrails.

I also have had 3 100W guns, and never could solder worth a crap with them. One could be said that it was exactly like the Erie Triplex. Hell itself couldn't keep it hot!
 
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