^ No you did not link to a "glowing" review at all in the context of a soldering station replacement, Dave found a few issues and I recognize a few more. For example at 7:39 Dave stated "well it's certainly not accurate" (temperature test).
I guess you missed his overall opinion at 19:18:
Dave Jones said:
I think this has got winner written all over it. The design and build quality is excellent, the thermal performance is excellent....It's more than what you'd need in most cases unless you're doing really super heavy bullet connectors.
Bacon! said:
The problem is not "tech it is based on", it's the fragility. The design has inherent weaknesses that a conventional solder station does not.
Care to provide any proof of that?
Bacon! said:
The context behind the product is this is an occasional use item when you need portability. Okay for that purpose but is not a contender for long term home use. In your linked video Dave states about as much, that it not only gets "too hot to touch"
That's when he's looking at the documentation for the iron, which states that it gets too hot to touch after
40 minutes of continuous use at 350C. Later he mentions that he's had the iron on at 350C for 10 minutes and the handle wasn't even warm.
Bacon! said:
but also "it's not going to be a production iron... is designed for 5, 10 minutes use in the field". What do you think the lifespan of the components on the PCB will be if the outer casing itself gets too hot to hold?
Considering the observed performance and the fact that the iron will turn itself down when idle, I find it highly unlikely that will occur. Even if it does, the microcontroller used is perfectly fine up to at least 85C, and it is by far the most sensitive component on the board. It'll be fine.
Bacon! said:
Why not contact Dave and ask him directly, for everyday, long term home use would he rather have that iron or a Weller or Hakko station?
That's a silly question. Who wouldn't prefer a full soldering station? Although I do think if you offered him a WES51 or the TS80 he'd opt for the TS80. The OP stated that he's working from home due to a non-work related injury. I figured money is probably tight, therefore I offered an affordable solution that should easily be able to handle his stated use case
and linked to an in-depth review of it so he could decide for himself.
Bacon! said:
Another issue is the USB socket is going to break off. That alone makes it a disposable product, though given its cost and that the owner knows how to solder, perhaps just a hassle to repair, again and again.
You sound awfully certain, yet again provide no evidence. The USB port is attached to the circuit board via 4 large anchor points and the board is firmly mounted in a stout aluminum housing. Here's what Dave had to say, since you seem to have missed it:
Dave Jones said:
For those who think the strain will be a problem on this, the supplied silicone lead is not only burn proof, but it is super light weight; there's no stress on that at all. You don't even notice it.
There's also the small detail that USB-C ports are on literally billions of cell phones worldwide and hold up just fine.
Bacon! said:
Additionally the mating socket to the heating element will lose spring tension and become an intermittent contact. If you are fortunate enough to find a compatible footprint, SMT replacement socket, that too can be repaired but again a hassle and in either this or the USB socket case, you need a 2nd soldering iron to repair it, and it may end up ripping the pads off the PCB in either case instead of just the socket itself being damaged.
Yeah, 3.5mm jacks are definitely untested, unreliable technology...that just happens to also be used by Weller for precisely the same purpose. I thought you said Weller made quality products?
Bacon! said:
It wouldn't surprise me if it develops a fault within the first 20 hours of use. If you must have a portable iron that might be an acceptable trade off, but is unreasonable for a home use station, replacement.
Yet another spurious assumption without a shred of supporting evidence.
Bacon! said:
Remember something, that a review of a (new from box) product does not prove lifespan.
It doesn't disprove it, either. Have you found evidence somewhere that this product is unreliable?
Bacon! said:
Dave's merely contrasting it against an even worse soldering iron as he mentioned initially, and considering its purpose which is not a bench station replacement.
Yes, it is designed to be portable. That doesn't mean it becomes useless if you happen to use it on a bench. I guess you missed the part where he compares its performance to a 130W JBC and comes away impressed at how well it does.
Bacon! said:
Quote "nice quality iron IF you're looking for a portable temperature controlled iron".
Again:
Dave Jones said:
The design and build quality is excellent
No qualifications.
Bacon! said:
That is not what vavet asked about in this topic.
Maybe you need to re-read the post. The only question he asked was if Weller was still the go-to brand. Other than that, he gave a list of general guidelines:
- soldering small PCBs
- This will be an out of pocket expense
- I don’t really want to spend this much
- I don’t want to buy a piece of ****
- I like the ability to change the tips.
I understand that you're unfamiliar with modern soldering equipment. Let me help you out. Direct-heat irons are far, FAR superior to older units. The WES51 was a great iron in 1970. Things have progressed.
I own two irons. A
Weller WD1002 and a TS80. Since I got the TS80 I've used the Weller once, when I had to solder onto a massive chunk of copper for a homemade battery spot welder. For everything else it just hasn't been worth the hassle to pull the Weller out of the closet and set it up. The TS80 does the job just as well and takes up a fraction of the space.
Bacon! said:
There are many trash products out there that work fine for a while.
Agreed. Not relevant in this case, but whatever.
Bacon! said:
On the other hand, there are orders of magnitude more owners of Hakko and Weller stations that have proven their use many times a day for years, even decades if you also consider prior Weller and Hakko models.
Of course there are more Weller and Hakko users. The TS80 has been around for less than a year. Last time I checked, new and bad weren't synonyms.
Bacon! said:
For regular everyday use, the TS80 is disposable trash compared to either of the aforementioned brands of soldering station.
Another unsubstantiated assertion. Disappointing, but at this point I really can't expect much more.
