Recommendations on a soldering iron/station

[rshadd]

Weller WESD51

 

[PBCampbell]

https://www.americanbeautytools.com/index.php?req=press&id=4

Just because conducting heat is so 20th century

 

[cheechi]

I have used a WES51 many times in the past, and many Weller stick/pen style 40w often, and occcasionally a gun type Weller also. Seems to be an industry standard, not necessarily a brand preference.

I've also used the bernzomatic butane torch/solder. I found a friend was using one then decided I had to have one. They are great for quick & easy, and of course portable, but I found they weren't as precise as I wanted working with PCB components. The quality of the tips aren't as good as other brands; I don't think that's the difference between butane & electric but between one brand & another or possibly if there is a different coating on one vs the other.

I have a FX888D now. It has made me better at soldering. Not an exaggeration, I'm not an expert or anything. Would a WESD51 have made the same difference? maybe. Couldn't say.

 

[exmaxima1]

In my case, the LT tips have been a **** shoot (thin & flaking plating right out of the bag on ~20% of them; COO is Bosnia). Even the WX series stations were so bad on initial release they had to do a recall (sorted now, but it was a mess). German and Japanese made tips don't seem to have these issues, while Bosnia and Mexico do (variable QC). At least there are 3rd party sources from Plato (Techspray) or Zephyr (Zephyrtronics) for example for some series of tips.

I'm sure the Japanese and European tips are very good, but you pay for that quality. Weller tips are about $4 each at Mouser, or roughly 1/2-1/8 the cost of many Hakko tips. I rarely go less than 3 months on a tip, and the iron is on most of the day. I still think a Weller would serve most DIY users very well, and at a fraction of the investment.

 

[mike7]

Another vote for the Hakko FX888D. In my opinion, if you are doing any kind of soldering, other than soldering two wires together, a variable temperature soldering station is the way to go. Soldering on a PCB is just too frustrating with one of those fixed temperature soldering pencils. At that's if the board is through-hole. Forget it if it is SMD. I like tools that could be used for a wide range of applications. A soldering pencil is just a one trick pony. A good soldering station, whether a Hakko or a Weller, can do it all.

 

[nanofrog]

I'm sure the Japanese and European tips are very good, but you pay for that quality. Weller tips are about $4 each at Mouser, or roughly 1/2-1/8 the cost of many Hakko tips. I rarely go less than 3 months on a tip, and the iron is on most of the day. I still think a Weller would serve most DIY users very well, and at a fraction of the investment.

Some are that inexpensive with Weller, but it depends on the series and profile (some a lot more, such as the cartridge types or specialty profiles). Also keep in mind, that other companies deliver quality at the same/similar price point, such as Plato (offer Hakko equivalents for $5 per BTW on Mouser).

Hakko's tips have a thick iron plating layer, so they last a long time (should be getting more than 3 months out of them with proper care in production). Weller's plating thickness OTOH is variable IME, along with adhesion to the copper (seeing ~20% defect rate). So even though Weller's tips may be cheaper MSRP wise, it's not a benefit when they have to be replaced so frequently by comparison (higher consumables costs in the end than Hakko or other equivalents).

I'm not saying Weller is total garbage, just that it's possible to do better with other brands in the same market segments (better value and performance).