You might consider looking at the Weller wes51. They are under $100, have a wide range of temp control, and you can get a huge variety of tips for under $5 bucks. I use the standard tip that came with the iron and bought a needle point tip for smd's. It's also ESD safe.
Works awesome and they have a great reputation.
Sorry no personal experience with B&D models, I did not realize they made soldering irons.
-David
Works awesome and they have a great reputation.
Sorry no personal experience with B&D models, I did not realize they made soldering irons.
-David
$20 soldering irons will give less than $20 results. Black and Deckers tool quality has really fallen off in the last 5 years. If you really can't spend more than $20, Then get Ungar with interchangable elements and tips or watch out for a deal on a used station. Once you've used a temp controlled quality Iron, you'll never go back.
I have a CSI station 1A http://www.web-tronics.com/solstat.html
Although I have never used a real quality soldering station, this does the job for me, even with SMDs. Worlds better than the cheapie blister pack irons. $50 with a bunch of tips.
Although I have never used a real quality soldering station, this does the job for me, even with SMDs. Worlds better than the cheapie blister pack irons. $50 with a bunch of tips.
I've got the CSI 2A and it's comparable to a Weller station which I use daily at work - only it's a lot cheaper! I build and rework boards that use all surface mount parts. 0603 size and up packages are easily soldered with normal or flat/chisel type tips and some sort of flux (liquid or pen dispensed). Either of the CSI stations are great for the price. The tips don't seem quite as good as Wellers but that just means you have to do a little more work to keep it clean.
I'd recommend a Pace SolderTek digital controlled unit. About $115, but no tips are shipped with it (About $5 each).
The pace stuff is professional quality stuff, and they walk all over a weller. I just bought 6 of them for my guys at work. We do .5mm surface mount stuff with them.
Similar quality as the more expensive Pace units, but much nicer price.
-Dan
The pace stuff is professional quality stuff, and they walk all over a weller. I just bought 6 of them for my guys at work. We do .5mm surface mount stuff with them.
Similar quality as the more expensive Pace units, but much nicer price.
-Dan
Just a little more feedback:
My CSI 1A iron came in today and I played with it on the bench right next to the Weller I use at work (I think it was the WTCPT, but I completely forgot to make sure what model it was). The Weller is definitely a much nicer unit, but for the price, I was pleasntly suprised at how well the CSI 1A did. The build quality and the parts used on the CSI unit were of obviously cheaper quality than the Weller. Most notably the case of the CSI was cheap plastic and the connection from the iron to the power supply was a little cheap feeling too.
As to how it worked, the temp regulation seemed pretty stable, but I didn't measure it to get an exact feel for it. I couldn't notice a big difference between working with the Weller and the CSI 1A in terms of the final product, nor with how the irons worked the components I was using. This may be due to the fact that my primary job isn't soldering all day, and I will be the first to admit that my technique is not nearly as good as some people's, so YMMV, but I was getting about as good results as I can get with this iron.
The warm up time of the CSI 1A was ~1 minute to get to 650 F, which is fast enough for me, and a lot better than the crap iron I owned before this. The tips seem nice so far, but of course the lifetime of the tips will really tell the tale. The main difference in terms of usablity for me was the feel of the irons. I must admit I like the feel of the rubberized iron of the CSI vs. the foam of the Weller, but I do have questions as to how well the rubber will hold up over time. I guess time will tell.
My first impressions of the unit are, overall, very positive. The results I got were about as good as I have gotten with any other iron, and that is what matters most in my book. My main gripe is the quality of materials that go into the unit, but what do you expect for $35? I figure if I ever do wear this unit out I will have justified spending some real cash on a better made unit, but so far so good.
My CSI 1A iron came in today and I played with it on the bench right next to the Weller I use at work (I think it was the WTCPT, but I completely forgot to make sure what model it was). The Weller is definitely a much nicer unit, but for the price, I was pleasntly suprised at how well the CSI 1A did. The build quality and the parts used on the CSI unit were of obviously cheaper quality than the Weller. Most notably the case of the CSI was cheap plastic and the connection from the iron to the power supply was a little cheap feeling too.
As to how it worked, the temp regulation seemed pretty stable, but I didn't measure it to get an exact feel for it. I couldn't notice a big difference between working with the Weller and the CSI 1A in terms of the final product, nor with how the irons worked the components I was using. This may be due to the fact that my primary job isn't soldering all day, and I will be the first to admit that my technique is not nearly as good as some people's, so YMMV, but I was getting about as good results as I can get with this iron.
The warm up time of the CSI 1A was ~1 minute to get to 650 F, which is fast enough for me, and a lot better than the crap iron I owned before this. The tips seem nice so far, but of course the lifetime of the tips will really tell the tale. The main difference in terms of usablity for me was the feel of the irons. I must admit I like the feel of the rubberized iron of the CSI vs. the foam of the Weller, but I do have questions as to how well the rubber will hold up over time. I guess time will tell.
My first impressions of the unit are, overall, very positive. The results I got were about as good as I have gotten with any other iron, and that is what matters most in my book. My main gripe is the quality of materials that go into the unit, but what do you expect for $35? I figure if I ever do wear this unit out I will have justified spending some real cash on a better made unit, but so far so good.
Hi,
maybe I am the one to be lazy this time but I had assumed that UK/RS pricing would put a temp controlled iron at three to four times the price.
Even including shipping across the pond for that 1A and all the spare bits and second iron are going to be cheaper.
But this is all based on Rapid cataloque pricing which is easier and quicker than RS website.
maybe I am the one to be lazy this time but I had assumed that UK/RS pricing would put a temp controlled iron at three to four times the price.
Even including shipping across the pond for that 1A and all the spare bits and second iron are going to be cheaper.
But this is all based on Rapid cataloque pricing which is easier and quicker than RS website.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.