The tips have changed over the years, the "old" style tips which are about 1.5" long are far far superior to the 5/8" long "new" style tips.
That's my gripe with the newer Weller stations.
They can be cheaper because PSU transformer is tiny and do hard work.
High quality , high VA power transformer cost much more money
for example in Weller soldering stations
RS Components are very good.
Farnell/Element14 have descended into sewer like levels of rubbish ness, too expensive, and many many products that they dont actually hold in UK or EU stock, and add £16 surcharge for ordering them in from the US.
I use both companies when sourcing spares at work, and Farnell dont get any orders from me any longer, unless I am desperate for something that RS dont stock.
In those cases, Arrow, or any number of other electronics suppliers beat Farnell on price and service
+1
I have been working in aviation industry for 40 years
We used Weller with adjustable temperature all the time
Rgds...
@mondogenerator
"Element14" has been a rather large PITA on this side of the Atlantic too. 😡 They closed the quite useful MCM Electronics down and Newark is well nigh indistinguishable from Farnell.
When sources closer to home "come up empty", Mouser, DigiKey, and Allied might be of use to you.
I've never used the Weller stuff but after a life of cheap irons I eventually followed the "buy right buy once" mantra. One open box Metcal MX500 off ebay for about £140.
Yes proper OKI/Metcal tips cost a bit but the range is huge and several years on I have yet to wear one out. The heat delivery is amazing, temperature control is unnecessary with the tech used, so easy and so quick to use. Wish I'd bought it 20 years earlier!
The wattage is not so important, 60 is pretty much ok for everything. Temp at tip depends mostly on the tip shape you use.
If I was you, i`d buy one of those old WTCPS stations - simple and work great. Inside the box you have a single transformer, tips are not expensive and you can get a very good deal off ebay on these. I`d buy used anytime - there`s nothing to brake in it (besides the heater unit but they`re cheap).
If I was you, i`d buy one of those old WTCPS stations - simple and work great. Inside the box you have a single transformer, tips are not expensive and you can get a very good deal off ebay on these. I`d buy used anytime - there`s nothing to brake in it (besides the heater unit but they`re cheap).
Quick change indeed! You can use bare hands and you don't even have to turn it off!
Maybe consider a Pace ADS200 if it's within the budget?
Next soldering station: Unisolder or Pace ADS200 ? - YouTube
Skip to 5:00 for the ADS200, or just watch the whole thing 😉
Next soldering station: Unisolder or Pace ADS200 ? - YouTube
Skip to 5:00 for the ADS200, or just watch the whole thing 😉
I bought a Maplin soldering station.
It lasted a week before failing.
I got a replacement and that failed too.
Bought a cheap Weller soldering iron and the tips on it lasted 3 days !
So next I bought a cheap Antex 25watt £15 iron and had that for a few years now and tips almost last forever. Works great for everything including fine pitch SMD work.
It lasted a week before failing.
I got a replacement and that failed too.
Bought a cheap Weller soldering iron and the tips on it lasted 3 days !
So next I bought a cheap Antex 25watt £15 iron and had that for a few years now and tips almost last forever. Works great for everything including fine pitch SMD work.
There are a Hungarian proverb (Lajos Kossuth - Wikipedia) :
"It's like Kossuth's knife.
The handle was changed twice, the blade three times, but still the original." 😛pp
@Nigel:
For fine pitch SMD soldering I love my Unisolder with JBC C-245 tips. Widest tip selection in the industry I think, always a perfect tip for the job (but I usually stick to a chisel tip). For SMD rework I also have JBC Microtweezers, mainly to avoid using the hot air station (noisy, not very energy efficient).
Edit: Original JBC stations are obviously not cheap, but I think there exist some chinese stations that are compatible with original JBC tips.
For fine pitch SMD soldering I love my Unisolder with JBC C-245 tips. Widest tip selection in the industry I think, always a perfect tip for the job (but I usually stick to a chisel tip). For SMD rework I also have JBC Microtweezers, mainly to avoid using the hot air station (noisy, not very energy efficient).
Edit: Original JBC stations are obviously not cheap, but I think there exist some chinese stations that are compatible with original JBC tips.
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I use quite a big tip for drag soldering.
Then wick off any excess.
A solder free tip is good for dragging off excess solder.
Then wick off any excess.
A solder free tip is good for dragging off excess solder.
3 days or 4 days ?
Try genuine original Weller tips and after + 3 years they do work perfectly ,
buy at Bürklin official seller for less 5€ etc.
Tips copy made in PRC from Ebay shops are not made for the professional quality tools..
I even have a special tip for drag soldering, I think JBC calls them "spoon cartridges". They are pretty handy, but I only bother to change tips if there is a lot of ICs to solder. A medium sized chisel tip is just so versatile and I am kind of lazy.
