Help Me Pick a Soldering Iron/Station...

[DIY_Guy79]

I just can NOT choose lol.

So I'm a home gamer shopping for a soldering station, not looking to drop half a check on a Hakko or Weller, I'm looking to stay around $70 or less. I'm also avoiding the lower end Wellers as I would like something with a detachable/replaceable iron. Rather than one that is hardwired.

To start, I have a Weller 8200 soldering gun that is more than sufficient for heavy gauge soldering, but way too big for intricate work. So, I'm needing something with temp control that would be great for PCB/SMD work and any other hobby or repair needs where control is important. I'm not gonna be too concerned if whatever I buy has trouble melting larger solder gauges as I have my Weller 8200 for that.

I'm not going to be soldering daily or anything like that, at least not now, just whenever the need arises.

When I started shopping, I had my heart set on a classic bench soldering station as I feel I'm likely to get the biggest bang for my buck, however, there is a very large fan base for a little 65W soldering iron called the TS100 that is powered by 12-24v DC. Its an all in one device, with an OLED display and temp control onboard. It's open source and can be loaded with custom firmware. It's very portable and can be powered by things like a LIPO battery pack or even your Dewalt or Makita power tool packs with an adapter. It's roughly $50 depending on where you get it. Its a very attractive little device, but I'm concerned the all in one nature, may mean that it wont be as long lasting as a classic station set up. Anyone happen to have any experience with one of these? Pic attached.

Other ones I'm considering:

The Yihua 939D+. Its a 75W digital soldering station has decent reviews.

The Yihua 853D, This one has a lot of bells and whistles, its a 3 in 1. It has the soldering iron, the hot air gun/rework gun, as well as a bench power supply, has decent reviews, but its definitely Chinesium lol. However the form factor of it, would make it easy to work on & modify. I'm attracted to this one for the power supply functionality, as I do intend to invest in a bench power supply in the future. Not sure this is the best route for soldering or a power supply. The hot air gun would just be convenient.

The KSGER T12, has a fairly large fan base as well, but I'm kind of turned off of this one, for a station, the transformer is tiny. Not sure how much that translates to quality or functionality. Just seems like you get much less for your money in this form factor.

Tilswall 65W Solder Station, This one has great reviews on amazon, but it doesnt have a digital read out. Not a must, but would be nice.


Does anyone know of a good station that would be good to pick up used on ebay?

 

[BFHtime]

Where can you find the TS100? Is that from amazon? Where did you find out about info regarding soldering stations? I need one too, and do not know much about them. I also need control for finer work as I have big and bigger soldering irons.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

Where can you find the TS100? Is that from amazon? Where did you find out about info regarding soldering stations? I need one too, and do not know much about them. I also need control for finer work as I have big and bigger soldering irons.

Hi, the TS100 is a chinese product, and as such the best places to grab it are going to be Banggood & Aliexpress. You can also pick it up on ebay. They are on amazon, but for whatever reason, its much more expensive on Amazon.

Here it is on banggood, which is currently the best deal on it: https://www.banggood.com/MINI-UpGra...p-1021266.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=USA

Just fyi, if you're unfamiliar, banggood is a good site to buy from. I've ordered from them before, I just use paypal so I'm protected in case anything goes wrong.

There is an upgraded version of the TS100, called the TS80 that looks really great too, its just out of my price range. It's about $80..Here isa great vid on it that I was literally just now watching:

As far as my info, mainly youtube. I'm just shopping around seeing what looks attractive and going to youtube looking up reviews on items. EEVBlog on youtube is a great resource for getting educated in all things electrical. Also If I see something I dont understand or am curious about, I go look it up on youtube or google to learn what it is.

Hope this helps.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

Where can you find the TS100? Is that from amazon? Where did you find out about info regarding soldering stations? I need one too, and do not know much about them. I also need control for finer work as I have big and bigger soldering irons.

Also, I should mention, on that TS100 I linked, that is just the soldering iron. It does not include a power supply or anything else. They have kits that have the power supply as well as the adapter for LIPO batteries, but it's about $70 or more for the kit. I was thinking I would need to buy the kit as I didnt think I'd have a power supply that would work. After taking a quick look around my house, I found 3 different ones that would work lol. Thats one of the big selling points of it, the plug is a common 2.5mmX5.5mm barrel plug and it will run on any voltage from 12v to 24v. The vast majority of electronics use this plug and run on a similar voltage. I have seen it suggested that the TS100 does not have reverse polarity protection, so its worth pulling out your multimeter and double checking the polarity of a power supply. The center pin should be your hot, from what I've read.

The TS80 I mentioned is a different animal, it just uses regular old USB C and will runs on 9V Quick Charge 3.0 capable power supplies.

 

[Tiny Jackson]

I purchased the hakko fx-888d digital model from frys electronics in store for $60. They ran that sale at least 3 times a year. It has been the best soldering station I have ever owned which includes several eller and stand alone and stations. Unfortunately the frys near me is no longer stocking anything good but they do have the product from other sources including the obvious Amazon.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

I purchased the hakko fx-888d digital model from frys electronics in store for $60. They ran that sale at least 3 times a year. It has been the best soldering statiomn I have ever owned which includes several eller and stand alone and stations. Unfortunately the frys near me is no longer stocking anything good but they do have the product from other sources including the obvious Amazon.

Thats one hell of a deal. Did that include the iron? I've been looking at the 888D as well but the best I've fond on it is about $90 if memory serves correct.

 

[paulsomlo]

Bought my Hakko FX-888D from Zoro - put it in your cart, wait for a promo code.

 

[Tiny Jackson]

Thats one hell of a deal. Did that include the iron? I've been looking at the 888D as well but the best I've fond on it is about $90 if memory serves correct.

Yes. It included the station and iron with 2 tips, sponge and the tray with brass shavings for cleaning.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

Yes. It included the station and iron with 2 tips, sponge and the tray with brass shavings for cleaning.

Thats a great deal. I just looked on Frys website. Doesnt appear that they carry it at all anymore. At least not online.

 

[dnschmidt]

What about the battery powered Ryobi. I like mine just fine.

 

[Tiny Jackson]

Thats a great deal. I just looked on Frys website. Doesnt appear that they carry it at all anymore. At least not online.

Frys have been going out of business in stores nationwide. It seems as though they have technically already bankrupted but continue to somehow keep the brick and mortars open but mainly only restock the import $5-$10 items. Used to be one of my favorite non-tool stores. The stores are now ghost towns.

 

[bluecomputer]

Hakko FX888D no doubt. Mine did have a cold solder joint on one of the transistors but otherwise no problems. Tips are very cheap if you buy the "compatible" ones.

 

[DIY_Guy79]

Hakko FX888D no doubt. Mine did have a cold solder joint on one of the transistors but otherwise no problems. Tips are very cheap if you buy the "compatible" ones.

Unless I can find it much cheaper, it's out of my price range unfortunately.

 

[kngelv]

I’m not trying to tell you how to spend your money but you are talking a $34.00 difference between the Hakko on Amazon and your budget of $70.00. I’d wait a few weeks or a month if needed and come up with the extra $34.00 and get the Hakko which is a great soldering station with a real warranty.

James

 

[dogdog]

I have the YEEEHAAAA 852D works great as a soldering iron, the hot air gun broke due to ... ahmmmm some one kept clicking it... soldering and power supply still works, power supply is cheesy low amp and *****...

Why I like it... the soldering tip is same as the HAKKO and cheaply available, I have the old pace still works great but it get expensive.

HAKKO , and the other brand (weller) have a lot of love also... PACE if you wanted some good stuff... not sure, they are supposedly military contractor...

 

[Stooge]

Just buy whatever Weller or Hakko soldering station falls into the budget and you'll be fine. I have a high end Metcal/Oki at work, along with several Weller stations, a few Weller corded pen style ones, and at home, a weller station and a surprisingly nice digital Radio shack station. lately ive been finding myself using an old analog/knob style Weller for almost everything at work, which includes alot of small 24-28ga signal wires for transducers, seriel cables, repairs, etc

url=https://flic.kr/p/2jc7HBJ]

[/url]2020-06-15_07-46-07 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

2020-06-15_07-46-49 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

 

[Davefr]

Increase your budget and get the Hakko or Weller for one major reason. There's a large variety of tips for almost any application and they're easy to find from a variety of suppliers. You can even find 3rd party tips that will save you $'s.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I use a very basic clone of the Weller WLC100 from Parts Express.
https://www.parts-express.com/stahl...e-temperature-soldering-iron-station--374-100

 

[Paul_The_Builder]

I bought a TS-100 from Amazon, and I'm very happy with it. I modified an 18V battery charger to run the TS-100 of an 18V tool battery, which is awesome.

I bought a cheap soldering iron stand from Amazon for like $10 to go with it. It works fine. I did have to glue a washer in the iron holder since the TS-100 is a lot smaller around than most other soldering irons.

 

[B_Bimmer]

I also encourage a weller or good brand equivalent, I tried cheap ones and they all had a short life for me. I love the idea of those all in one little chinese things but have seen more broken then working in real life. As usual quality control is lacking in the land of rona.