many unleaded solders need slightly higher temperatures.
Some high strength solders need very high temperatures.
Some high strength solders need very high temperatures.
It sounds like the Metcal would be to hot but what I find is that I can get on and off a joint very quickly. When building up PCB boards my typical time on a joint is probably around one second. When using my old Weller with a much lower temp I found that I was waiting for things to get hot, the lower temp meant that you were on the joint much longer and a lot of the heat was flowing away from the joint into components.
Remember, the Metcal was never intended for a hobby guy like me, it was intended for serious production soldering on assembly lines, tip temp recovery was much better with the Metcal. Other irons would cool down after a few dozen solder joints, they couldn't keep up, the Metcal just kept pluggin away hour after hour never needing a break.
My Metcal is over kill for hobby use, but I find that my soldering has improved quite a lot, the hand piece is so much nicer to use than the big fat Wellers from the past, and my finger tips are just 1.5 inches from the action. It's like holding a Sharpie fine tip permanent marker.
Actually I just compared the two side by side. The Metcal tip is maybe 3/8 of an inch further away from my finger tips than the Sharpie tip. Imagine the fine control that gives you. Combine that with the thin flexible cord and a handpiece that stays cool plus never ending power and it's a pleasure to use.
These were never sold at Radio Shack or Home Depot, they are high end industrial tools made for the electronics industry. They are in a class of there own.
BillWojo
Remember, the Metcal was never intended for a hobby guy like me, it was intended for serious production soldering on assembly lines, tip temp recovery was much better with the Metcal. Other irons would cool down after a few dozen solder joints, they couldn't keep up, the Metcal just kept pluggin away hour after hour never needing a break.
My Metcal is over kill for hobby use, but I find that my soldering has improved quite a lot, the hand piece is so much nicer to use than the big fat Wellers from the past, and my finger tips are just 1.5 inches from the action. It's like holding a Sharpie fine tip permanent marker.
Actually I just compared the two side by side. The Metcal tip is maybe 3/8 of an inch further away from my finger tips than the Sharpie tip. Imagine the fine control that gives you. Combine that with the thin flexible cord and a handpiece that stays cool plus never ending power and it's a pleasure to use.
These were never sold at Radio Shack or Home Depot, they are high end industrial tools made for the electronics industry. They are in a class of there own.
BillWojo
The 100 and 700 tips are for lead free. I use 0 tips with normal leaded solder.
I do 95% of soldering with an sttc-037, 038 and 036 (various small chisels). I have an sttc-017 for bloody big terminals, and an smtc-0167 for quad-flat-packs etc.
I do 95% of soldering with an sttc-037, 038 and 036 (various small chisels). I have an sttc-017 for bloody big terminals, and an smtc-0167 for quad-flat-packs etc.
Metcal soldering irons have adaptable power for each soldered joint mass. The higher mass, the higher output power. Ceramic heater irons have constant power , but variable temperature control. I have been using Metcal PS-900 soldering station for years.I measured 380 degrees C with SFV tips I use with leaded solder..It works much better than ceramic heater soldering iron set at the same temperature.
It is very important to have suitable tip shape for each application.
I also had good results with my spare soldering iron Ersa Multipro which has no temperature control.
It is very important to have suitable tip shape for each application.
I also had good results with my spare soldering iron Ersa Multipro which has no temperature control.
I noticed that too, seems a bit excessive to me, even the 600 series tips seem pretty hot.
Perhaps this is due to what I mentioned earlier, the inability of the Curie point irons to react proportionately to temperature drop, so they need to run a bit hot.
On the other hand, I realized the Chinese induction iron tips are bored down the center to house the thermosensor, this can't help the thermal behavior.
The Metcal tips are essentially solid, for the best heat path.
This seems to be an essential part of what make the Metcal work well, it's mentioned in a patent.
Best wishes
David
I've received my Metcal together with a 600 series tip. While the spec says 357 degC, it feels more like 320 degC setting of my old iron, which is good for my preference.
BTW, my old iron is actually from the same manufacturer of the Quick iron that OP refers. It's of a different model and the brand name in China is different, but I'm quite sure they're from the same factory.
My "Quick" iron was actually pretty good, but 2 things worth knowing:
- It takes 20-30 seconds to reach the target temperature from cold, but once there it's every bit as good as the Metcal.
- The main issue is the mechanical durability - I started with more and more SMD soldering lately so I keep switching between thick (for through hole) and thin tips, and this breaks the plastic hand piece after probably 50 times. The hand piece was happily working for a year when I didn't switch tips at all.
BTW, my old iron is actually from the same manufacturer of the Quick iron that OP refers. It's of a different model and the brand name in China is different, but I'm quite sure they're from the same factory.
My "Quick" iron was actually pretty good, but 2 things worth knowing:
- It takes 20-30 seconds to reach the target temperature from cold, but once there it's every bit as good as the Metcal.
- The main issue is the mechanical durability - I started with more and more SMD soldering lately so I keep switching between thick (for through hole) and thin tips, and this breaks the plastic hand piece after probably 50 times. The hand piece was happily working for a year when I didn't switch tips at all.
I use the recommended STTC-1 style tips for all of my soldering. That would be the 700 series. Like suszj I use the 137,136 and 138 style tips and I do have one of the big chisel tips to. I have not used it yet but remember reading a forum where a member used it for his car radiator repair.
When I got into the Metcal system I looked on ebay for assortments of tips, actual cost would be just a few dollars each. That way I got most of the common sizes and a few styles that may come in handy someday. They were all used but in good condition. Once in a while you can luck out and find some NOS ones dirt cheap as well.
cwtim, give us a report on how you like your new Metcal after you have a few projects under your belt.
BillWojo
When I got into the Metcal system I looked on ebay for assortments of tips, actual cost would be just a few dollars each. That way I got most of the common sizes and a few styles that may come in handy someday. They were all used but in good condition. Once in a while you can luck out and find some NOS ones dirt cheap as well.
cwtim, give us a report on how you like your new Metcal after you have a few projects under your belt.
BillWojo
I have an old Weller, an adjustable chinese unit and a new Thermaltronics curie point induction unit.
They all work fine, the first two get and stay hot, as you expect.
The Thermaltronics needs to be out of the cradle to begin heating up, takes about 5-10 seconds on the low temp tip, high temp tip is faster. You find yourself resting the wand somewhere- not the best practice! while it warms up quickly. The tips seem to wear out faster than the standard tips and are difficult to find, I buy mine in the EU of all places. Assuming the tip is in the cradle at rest, accidentally leaving the unit on overnight will not wreck anything unlike a standard soldering iron with no shutoff.
I found the soldering operation to be about the same in all these units. If you have a nice clean sharp tip in each of them.
One thing I don't see mentioned very often here is that you should also invest in a "fume extractor" (there are Weller and Chinese units available) to suck in and filter the smoke and other fumes. While these are quite loud and detract from quiet peaceful soldering you should have one for safety.
They all work fine, the first two get and stay hot, as you expect.
The Thermaltronics needs to be out of the cradle to begin heating up, takes about 5-10 seconds on the low temp tip, high temp tip is faster. You find yourself resting the wand somewhere- not the best practice! while it warms up quickly. The tips seem to wear out faster than the standard tips and are difficult to find, I buy mine in the EU of all places. Assuming the tip is in the cradle at rest, accidentally leaving the unit on overnight will not wreck anything unlike a standard soldering iron with no shutoff.
I found the soldering operation to be about the same in all these units. If you have a nice clean sharp tip in each of them.
One thing I don't see mentioned very often here is that you should also invest in a "fume extractor" (there are Weller and Chinese units available) to suck in and filter the smoke and other fumes. While these are quite loud and detract from quiet peaceful soldering you should have one for safety.
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