Hello,
Have to agree. Weller makes some very good products. But at twice the price for the same features, they should. If money is no object or you are afraid your boss will ding you if the equipment you choose has any problems, Weller is the way to go. If you are on a budget, better choices are available.
T12 and Hakko as examples.
Have to agree. Weller makes some very good products. But at twice the price for the same features, they should. If money is no object or you are afraid your boss will ding you if the equipment you choose has any problems, Weller is the way to go. If you are on a budget, better choices are available.
T12 and Hakko as examples.
The old Wellers are good. The later ones, last 10 years or so, they have been cutting corners. My latest iron literally falls apart at the handle.
And they carefully change connectors with each new type number to prevent you from mixing irons and base stations, even with the same technology.
I have a pair of perfectly working Weller base stations without irons which would cost about double of the complete new stations discussed here.
And those new stations heat much faster than my Wellers ever did.
I'm not looking back. Dinosaurs are gone too.
Jan
And they carefully change connectors with each new type number to prevent you from mixing irons and base stations, even with the same technology.
I have a pair of perfectly working Weller base stations without irons which would cost about double of the complete new stations discussed here.
And those new stations heat much faster than my Wellers ever did.
I'm not looking back. Dinosaurs are gone too.
Jan
I located the WD1 circuit although its an exploded diagram rather than a full electrical circuit -
https://archive-resources.coleparmer.com/Manual_pdfs/97110-95.pdf
I agree with Oldtech I have one of those variable temperature ( no display) in the same old blue plastic case hasn't let me down , I owned many of the older mechanical TCP Wellers .
I bought that Weller from an ex-War Dept. -UK government dealer ,you do know the specs for UK
/ USA government electronics is much higher than the public variety ?
https://archive-resources.coleparmer.com/Manual_pdfs/97110-95.pdf
I agree with Oldtech I have one of those variable temperature ( no display) in the same old blue plastic case hasn't let me down , I owned many of the older mechanical TCP Wellers .
I bought that Weller from an ex-War Dept. -UK government dealer ,you do know the specs for UK
/ USA government electronics is much higher than the public variety ?
FWIW I built many amplifiers/projects with one of these before I upgraded...
110V / 120V 30W Welding Soldering Iron Gun Heat Pencil Electric Tool | eBay
110V / 120V 30W Welding Soldering Iron Gun Heat Pencil Electric Tool | eBay
Weller makes an excellent product, but the value for the money just isn't there IMHO.
The new ones are far less money, the tips are far more versatile and you can change them while they are hot without burning your hands. It also reaches operating temperature in ~8 seconds and uses SMPS instead of linear making it more efficient
So who's in such of a rush to do soldering, that needs a hot iron in 8 seconds?
I'm certainly in no "rush to the grave", but I think society is..
And a pair of pliers can change my hot tip in a jiffy if needed.
As for power, I'm not concerned with "efficiency" when I'm working.
I had a genuine Hakko, too. It was their cheap crap model and it failed (the tip didn't get hot enough after changing tips...) after about 3 months
Apparently the 951 model is great though, and this is what the Shinenow and the like are knock offs of for 1/8 the price.
I'm not in a rush, per se, but it's nice to flip it on and it's already hot enough to solder with by the time I get back from the bathroom with the wet sponge. I wish I had a hot glue gun that heated as fast. I hate waiting 5 minutes to glue something for 5 seconds.
Apparently the 951 model is great though, and this is what the Shinenow and the like are knock offs of for 1/8 the price.
I'm not in a rush, per se, but it's nice to flip it on and it's already hot enough to solder with by the time I get back from the bathroom with the wet sponge. I wish I had a hot glue gun that heated as fast. I hate waiting 5 minutes to glue something for 5 seconds.
Last edited:
I keep a squeeze bottle of water next to the Weller on the bench.
And 5 minutes wait for a hot glue gun - I am patient.
The world is spinning way too fast, I try to tame it down and go along a nice, easy pace.
Besides, working at "the bench", among other things, can be relaxing.
There's an old saying: "Slow your roll!"
I was a longtime Hakko user up until quite recently. I used an 888 until I switched to a 927 that I picked up at auction for $12. I just preferred the grip on the 927 handpiece for some reason. The Amateur Radio Club I am president of bought some Weller soldering stations a couple years ago and I have been very unimpressed with them. Poor tip life, lousy temperature regulation, and the build quality leaves something to be desired. It feels like a piece of 1970s technology that has been dragged into the 21st century, and it just can't compete anymore.
That said, if you're serious about this, there's Metcal and then there's everybody else. Hakko has a model (FX-100) that uses the same technology and seems to get good reports too, but they aren't very available on the used market.
Tip change in 30 seconds. Heats up in about 15. Huge ground plane? No problem. Get an STTC-137 and an STTC-117 tips. The little bent tip can be kind of handy for SMD work too. I can practically solder copper pipe with the STTC-117 tip, yet I can also use it for even some SMD work without causing damage. The beauty of the Metcal is that it uses the curie point of the tip material to regulate temperature, so the compensation is instant. The 117 tip is just wide enough that you can heat up all three leads on a TO-220 at the same time- this is definitely the safest way to desolder these packages. I work on quite a bit of equipment that is extremely valuable or has parts that are difficult to replace, and the Metcal has already made itself worth it since I find it much easier to avoid damaging traces.
The Metcal is very expensive new, but there are tons of them on the used market for very reasonable prices. All of the "senior engineers" at the lab I work at use Metcal exclusively. After the first project I did with an MX-500, I went on eBay and bought one. That's how big of an improvement it was over the Hakko. For those who don't want to buy used, the Thermaltronics stations use the same technology and the same tips, but are a bit less expensive. Thermaltronics was formed by some ex-Metcal employees after the patents expired.
That said, if you're serious about this, there's Metcal and then there's everybody else. Hakko has a model (FX-100) that uses the same technology and seems to get good reports too, but they aren't very available on the used market.
Tip change in 30 seconds. Heats up in about 15. Huge ground plane? No problem. Get an STTC-137 and an STTC-117 tips. The little bent tip can be kind of handy for SMD work too. I can practically solder copper pipe with the STTC-117 tip, yet I can also use it for even some SMD work without causing damage. The beauty of the Metcal is that it uses the curie point of the tip material to regulate temperature, so the compensation is instant. The 117 tip is just wide enough that you can heat up all three leads on a TO-220 at the same time- this is definitely the safest way to desolder these packages. I work on quite a bit of equipment that is extremely valuable or has parts that are difficult to replace, and the Metcal has already made itself worth it since I find it much easier to avoid damaging traces.
The Metcal is very expensive new, but there are tons of them on the used market for very reasonable prices. All of the "senior engineers" at the lab I work at use Metcal exclusively. After the first project I did with an MX-500, I went on eBay and bought one. That's how big of an improvement it was over the Hakko. For those who don't want to buy used, the Thermaltronics stations use the same technology and the same tips, but are a bit less expensive. Thermaltronics was formed by some ex-Metcal employees after the patents expired.
Last edited:
It also depends on the quality of the plating. Again, I have not had good experiences with the quality of the tip plating on most Weller irons.
Some of the Metcal tips at the lab are over five years old. Granted, they aren't necessarily used every day, but they still have held up quite well. I have had similar experiences with Hakko when it comes to tip life- several years.
- this is about $30 T12 station. My one works almost exact as old professional Ersa 2000.
Using regular tin/lead Kester solder, Weller tips last and last.
But go and use that lead-free crap, and it's other versions, yes, it corrodes tips fast.
Nigel, on rare occasions, I've had the automatic magnetic temp sensor lock "on" with my Weller stations.
And that will fry tips quickly.
You have to be observant, and know if this happens.
That gentle "click" tells me it's fine.
Me too. Spent about 3 years looking for one at the right price.
Mine too. Makes it look like I can actually solder. I still have the old Weller I think I paid £20 for when work upgraded to Metcals but it never gets used any more. As I don't have the space for multiple irons on my bench the speed with which you swap tips is an extra bonus.
For all of my projects (and all the projects I do at work) we standardize on Kester 63/37. Again, not all tip plating is created equal.
I think Weller probably has made great things in the past, but it seems I am not the only one who has had issues with the quality of the plating on their tips in recent years.
Also, the tip change on a lot of these older irons is a huge pain, so you end up using a tip that isn't ideal for an application.
There have been some pretty big innovations in the world of soldering over the last 25 years, and I don't miss the old style irons like the Weller that was the standard for half a century. The newer style with the element (be it a traditional heating element or an induction heater like found on the Metcal) integrated into a tip cartridge is vastly superior on many fronts. Tip changes are very quick, and the grip-to-tip distance is shorter- which I find to be far more ergonomic, but it also makes precision work much easier. SMD is here to stay, like it or not, and I welcome the use of 1206 resistors. It saves so much boards space.
Perhaps more relevant to the service technician, temperature regulation is far better, so you can solder with lower temperatures. That's especially good for audio work, where you may have to deal with lousy PCBs from the 1960s and 1970s.
They do cost significantly more, however, I am someone who really prefers to buy good tools. If this is something that you use a lot, spend a bit of extra and get the best tool you can afford. There have been times when I've soldered XLR connectors non-stop from 10:00 AM until midnight. That grip-to-tip distance really matters during the last four hours of that. I was very happy with the Hakko for a long time, however, I think that people looking into buying a station now should consider what can be had for a few extra bucks, especially if you're willing to shop used.
I got one of these hot air stations to learn SMD, and I have been pleased with it for hobby use, considering how inexpensive it was. The supplied tips are crap, though, and I wish the iron cord was a little longer. The cheap stuff always seems to skimp on stuff like that. I keep this one in my ham shack, and have wound up using it for everything solid state. Tube stuff I still use a bigger station.
898D+ 2in1 SMD Rework Soldering Station Solder ESD Tips BGA Hot Air Nozzles 110V | eBay
I set up a modest workstation at my office, and keep one of these on a spare desk. Also works well for hobby use.
858D 3in1 SMD Soldering Rework Station Iron Hot Air Desoldering Repair 110V SMD | eBay
I bought a hot air station specifically for desoldering large DIP packages. There's an IO expander for the microcontroller on the MC450/MC650/MC1250 digital control board that sometimes fails, and it's something like 40 or 48 pins. I originally bought the hot air station for replacing them (since they were't originally socketed). It's the easiest way to take out a big DIP package without trashing the board.
Mostly though, I just use it for precision-shrinking of heatshrink tubing...
Mostly though, I just use it for precision-shrinking of heatshrink tubing...