Soldering Iron Recommendations?

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Each to their own, but the WLC100 is ok...

Jim Thompson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

here's some user reviews;

It says the iron (at the tip) is UNgrounded.That's not good.

Static build-up? Might be handy for "live" soldering ;-) ...Jim Thompson

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I have one, good for general stuff. Temperature control isn't really good, looks like just a triac control to the heating element. As a result its easy to burn thru tips. If I had to do it again I'd go with WES51 or the WESD51. Or a Hakko

Cheers

WES51 looks AOK, ordered, Thanks! ...Jim Thompson

Oh, come on, you're not living until you're soldering on live equipment, and that tends to be rather more difficult when the tip is grounded! :-)

Fix it! That's what I did when mine fell apart, and I couldn't be happier.

"Jim Yanik"

That aside, low voltage irons operating via isolation transformers ( plus electronics) can safely be left with no earth on the iron - and it is often desirable to do so.

In fact, it is dangerous to have an earthed iron when servicing electronic equipment cos of the very great risk that it would be accidentally applied to a circuit which is still energised.

.... Phil

What kind of soldering station would you reccommend to do the repair work?

I splurged on an Edsyn 951SX about ten years ago, and running it

It is a real workhorse.

Jim

I was just trying to solve the Zen puzzle of how one would fix a soldering station with itself.

It would cost more to re-cable, re-connector, replace the cracked base, than to buy new.

I ordered the WES51. ...Jim Thompson

Wow!!! Ten years ago, and they are still on the market.

Not a bad price scale either. If I was looking, I'd buy one.

Bill

I recently bought an Xytronic 168-3C that I think is a very good deal for the money:

It is 60W, but there is a 30W handle available that fits the same controller. However, you can get tips down to 1/64" with the 60W handle. I prefer the analog temp display to digital ones which I find to be distracting. I also prefer the smaller diameter 30W/60W Xytronic handles over that of an (older) Weller model I once used.

It uses a very fast heat up nichrome heater and isolated 24VAC zero voltage switching with grounded tip. It also has a long (4ft) silicone (burn resistant) handle cord.

Many tips are available (Xytronics 415 series) at a reasonable cost:

Note the 443 is a special "mini-wave" tip for use with solder ball dragging:

The 404 is the standard 1/16" chisel tip included with new units.

These 415 tips are available with a J suffix for an extra thick iron cladding for extra life and are probably worth it (50% more cost, 100%+ more life):

The 60W replacement handle is the 207ESD:

and the 30W is the 206ESD:

which uses the smaller 413 series tips:

Jameco carries the regular tips as well as replacement heaters (XY37) and handles (XY48) for a very reasonable price:

I don't know how the Jameco XY48 handle compares to the 207ESD.

One fellow really gave the 168-3C a rave review (note the newer models are 60W not 40W):

"it changed my life!" LOL.

Anyway, I've been happy too with the 168-3C so far.

Cheers,

Mike Shell

Zen can't solder worth a damn, no matter what he uses. ;-)

Is the iron still good? I have a spare base (or more) but no irons left. A so called 'engineer' recently bragged about throwing away about

Key question is where is the soldering iron made. If it is sourced from China, run.

"Phil Allison" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:

This model is NOT a "low voltage" iron. In fact,you can plug in any 120VAC iron and control it,the base is just a triac controller,like a lamp dimmer. If you plug in a -grounded iron-,it will be actually grounded.

What DUMBASS solders on circuits that are energized? How safe is that?

I do sometimes, of course only when you know what you're doing and circuits are powered from low DC. I agree 99% of the time it is stupid.