WELLER soldering iron reliability?

I posted a query about the failure rate of WELLER soldering iron heating elements - just got a "failed message" receipt in my inbox, apparently WELLER cant even manage their own website so if you DO try and query whats going on with their (used to be excellent) products, the query bounces.

Gives you further confidence in their abilty, doesnt it. A company worthy of continued support.

Andrew VK3BFA.

"Andrew VK3BFA"

** It's not just you.

Must have gone through 4 heaters and 5 switches in my WTCP before I turfed it for a Hakko 900.

The rot set in when Weller started making spare parts in Australia - at their factory in Albury IIRC.

Have been using Hakko now for about 10 years, two 900M irons and one station with ZERO failures.

Even their tips last for yonks.

A really top product.

....... Phil

Dunno, I have mine running for over 15 years. Still original.

Meindert

I had a single failure of my two irons in the last 10 years. The local weller distributor replaced the faulty element free of charge, even as it was long out of warranty.

But the tips seem to become worse. I have to replace them at increasing speed. Say every couple month. And this even if I don't use them every day. It is switched off then.

Rene

The tip reliability certainly went downhill when Weller sold out to Cooper and eventually stopped making their own tips. I believe Vanier make the tips nowadays, not nearly as long lasting. I dont think the iron plating is as thick as it once was.

Well the old product was very good. I have my first WTCP starting around 1975 and only replaced the heater and the switch once up until

1999 when the transformer developed a short and overheated thus melting the plastic case. The iron itself was still ok though. I made do with another base unit which had seen better days until I bought a new WTCP about 5 months ago. I will see how it goes for reliability. At least they are still made locally in Aus which is something.

My first weller was second hand, looked at least 5 years old at the time of purchase and is still going strong some 7-10 years later.

Another one in the shop is now about 5 years old, still no problem.

Last one is about 7 months old WMD-3, all 3 heaters working like a swiss watch.

SioL

I used a Weller soldering station for some years without any problems, then sold it when I got a second-hand Metcal system a couple of years ago. That is very reliable, also, and the cartridges (even the pointy

1/64" one I use most) still work as well as when they were new.

Leon

"SioL"

** Seems the OP is speaking of the *Australian* built version of this:

Ever see one ??

....... Phil

Its not you. Weller sucks. Their tips wear out way to fast too. I had some Weller irons in the past, but they also died too soon. Since then I buy Ersa.

--
Reply to nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)
Bedrijven en winkels vindt U op www.adresboekje.nl

I also recently had 2 different weller irons fail. Now im looking into which to replace it with. Maybe not so much at weller now.

I used XyTronic from Jameco for years. I still have these around. I used to use the unregulated Ungar and Radio Shack types. They all worked for me, but using this Weller WRS 3000 is a real treat. I'm not used to using such a small iron with such high power 80 watts. I could never go back to those bulky irons. No problems yet other than keeping the solder sucker cleaned out.

greg

Hakko Irons for me.

Had 10 Weller's in the shop at one time, two in the repair box needing tips, three at the repair shop, three in the return box,two on the bench. Hakkos two is all we need.

Which model do you use and how long have you had them? Regards,

Mike Monett

There's a Chinese knock-off wot replaces the 'H' with 'Qu'.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

--
"it\'s the network..."                          "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com             Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog  Info for designers:  http://www.speff.com

Hi Mike, their both WTCP series - the first one is approx 15+ years old - it ran fine for 13 years, then the element failure problem started. I suspect it was an American made one. The second is approx 3 years old - it just failed. It was Australian Made.

It seems the local (here) Australian made ones are crap. Dont think the home company knows about it.......

Its funny - so many people will just write off things like this as a lesson and not buy any more of the companies products - I do it, especailly when its cheap. These 2 irons cost a bit of money, and I tried to tell Cooper tools they had problems with reliability - maybe thay are unaware of the issues as no one has told them. So far, NOTHING heard from the Australian or US parent company.

And I have gone and bought a HAKO - used them once in a production environment, 8 hrs of solid, heavy soldering, day after day.. Went perfectly, no sign of tip erosion which is another problem with WELLER.

Andrew VK3BFA.

Thanks for the reply. I also have problems with tip erosion on the Weller. It's very obvious while soldering under a microscope.

Actually, I was interested to find out what model of the HAKKO iron you are using. Would you mind taking one more shot at it?

Regards,

Mike Monett

The Aus WTCP's made prior to the 80's were better than the US made ones as many people will testify due to their long and reliable service. I don't know yet how my new WTCP will go but so far (touch wood) it has performed as expected and hopefully it will keep performing that way.

I would certainly recommend Hakko. When they first appeared in Aus back in the 80's I compared them with Ersa,Metcal and other high fallutin names and their build quality was equally as good and they were more rugged to boot. For general purpose use they couldn't be faulted and they had a distinct price advantage over the "better" brand names both in initial purchase price and spares. One of the techs I keep in contact with whom I suppled with a Hakko back in the mid 80's still uses it today without any problems.

The irons are great, but the tips do wear out too fast. Maybe its the fact that the ones I buy say "Made in Germany" on the box.

Anyone else from EU here to report?

SioL