Soldering Irons?

[ridds]

Thought here may be a good place to ask.

Looking for new soldering iron, anyone have experience of any of the many stations available on Amazon?

[Actual]

During my previous career as an electronics test engineer I have always used Weller thermostatically controlled soldering iron stations.

This is my current iron.

Weller WE 1010 (T0053298399) 70W/230V WE Digital Soldering Station Kit with UK Plug, Temperature Range 100°C – 450°C
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CHZ132F/ref...

[untakenname]

I've been using the TS100 portable soldering iron for a few years now, the convenience is great and the digital temperature control works well.

It's been superseded by the TS101 which can also be powered via USB C and a powerbank.

https://oscarliang.com/ts101-soldering-iron/

[LunarOne]

Actual said:

During my previous career as an electronics test engineer I have always used Weller thermostatically controlled soldering iron stations.

This is my current iron.

Weller WE 1010 (T0053298399) 70W/230V WE Digital Soldering Station Kit with UK Plug, Temperature Range 100°C – 450°C
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CHZ132F/ref...

I have the very same one. Fine for electronics and small scale hobbying. Not so good on larger items. But great digital temperature control and very well made. Weller was the standard soldering station when I was doing my electronics A-level in 1992!

[ApriliaTuonoVeeFour]

I have an ancient Weller that was handed down to me by my father. It's not a fancy temp adjustable one but (according to the old man) the tips come in different materials that give you that.

It's absolutely fine for both electronics and larger stuff like LiPo connectors.

[DIW35]

I use one of these Hakko FX-888D

It has a nice comfortable grip and is fine for electronics and general hobby work. It gets up to working temperature quite quickly and has been very reliable.

[Fusion777]

May be a bit overkill, but in industry we tend to use JBC or Pace.

[Zad]

Or just a 35W Antex like most of the electronics engineers I know have in their general use toolbox. No messing around with temperature control, USB power supplies etc. Just plug it in and off you go. Pace, Metcal etc are fine if you are running a commercial production line manufacturing operation.

[ridds]

Thanks all, as soon as I saw Weller I remembered using them many years ago and how dependable they were.

I cheaped out in the end and went for the following off Amazon.

Preciva 939D+ III Digital Soldering Station, 60W 200~480℃

Seems OK so far, well built, well packed and was at Solder melting temp within 15 seconds. Lead is supple and the Iron itself is small and light, which is usually a downside of some cheap Irons.

[goldar]

I had this dilemma a while ago. A ts100 was initially on the cards, but then they released the ts80 and I much preferred the short tip. But then I found out the pinecil was very similar to a ts100 and considerably cheaper. And it takes usb c. Bought the pinecil and haven't looked back.

https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-port...

[ridds]

goldar said:

I had this dilemma a while ago. A ts100 was initially on the cards, but then they released the ts80 and I much preferred the short tip. But then I found out the pinecil was very similar to a ts100 and considerably cheaper. And it takes usb c. Bought the pinecil and haven't looked back.

https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-port...

I did see those but was worried it may run out of juice. tbh I may get one for mobile works anyway. They do look good.