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Solder station bargain?

Bemused said:
Stocking up on tips is a good idea so long as it continues to function.
My mistake was in three different sets of tips for three different irons that all failed to soon.
On the other hand...
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They could become gold dust in a few years for those lucky few whose station still works, just think what the fleabay markup could be :D

But it's got a 1 year g'tee so I may take it in approx 360 days just in case...

As sods law would have it I think I have found some tips to suit my old one (in my own store room)....
 
graham-r said:
As sods law would have it I think I have found some tips to suit my old one (in my own store room)....
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You don`t suprise me - I find stuff in my loft that I haven`t just forgotten about, I can`t remember ever having in the first place..... (a brand new pair of KT66 valves complete with a delivery note from Quad (not addressed to me))!
 
graham-r said:
But at £40 who cares if it only lasts a few years :D Personally I think it will go on working for quite a while - it feels pretty well built.
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Both SStations I had from Maplin (one £20m the other £40) both failed before the year was out. Of course I should have taken them back. I am a heavy user though (solder not any other substances ;))
 
Bemused said:
Stocking up on tips is a good idea so long as it continues to function.
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I'll own up. I bought a soldering iron in Aldi! I have had an iron for over twenty years and it still works fine but I don't have a stand the right size etc. The Aldi iron came with a stand, spare bits and all sorts of stuff so I thought, how bad can it be?

Turns out, pretty bad actually. Ultra shoddy, worked once then died. I didn't even take it back, I blame myself for being stupid enough to buy it. Just dropped it in the bin.
 
graham-r said:
Haven't bought it yet - Metcal SP200 on fleabay seem to be £100+ getting it for £60 is good.

If I do buy it and it is garbage then it goes back. Simple.
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I bought my Metcal a few years back on Evilbay for £40 plus delivery. No tip though but have since gathered a collection.

Sometimes a small factory closes and they then come up week after week then bid on every one and luck may strike.

Cheers,

DV
 
The saying 'You get what you pay for' applies exactly for soldering irons. If you buy a Metcal or weller it should last a lifetime and if it does fail you can buy the bits to fix it. Also instant heat.
I had several irons before my weller which at the time i thought ok, but actually in comparison they were rubbish.
 
Colin Barron said:
The saying 'You get what you pay for' applies exactly for soldering irons. If you buy a Metcal or weller it should last a lifetime and if it does fail you can buy the bits to fix it. Also instant heat.
I had several irons before my weller which at the time i thought ok, but actually in comparison they were rubbish.
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I largely agree with this, as a Weller user for more than 40 years but they are extremely expensive now and probably hard to justify for the occasional user.
I have also used a few other makes at various places I have worked and with few exceptions they were far inferior to my Wellers in my opinion, but I have met some people with strong preferences for them. If you are happy using an iron and it doesn`t break down too often then that`s all you need.
 
Colin Barron said:
The saying 'You get what you pay for' applies exactly for soldering irons. If you buy a Metcal or weller it should last a lifetime and if it does fail you can buy the bits to fix it. Also instant heat.
I had several irons before my weller which at the time i thought ok, but actually in comparison they were rubbish.
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+1 - my old station is still going strong at 30 years (20 owned by me), it is the iron that is the problem.
 
Puffin said:
Both SStations I had from Maplin (one £20m the other £40) both failed before the year was out. Of course I should have taken them back. I am a heavy user though (solder not any other substances ;))
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Any idea of the model numbers - so they can be avoided ?
 
Mr Pig said:
I'll own up. I bought a soldering iron in Aldi! I have had an iron for over twenty years and it still works fine but I don't have a stand the right size etc. The Aldi iron came with a stand, spare bits and all sorts of stuff so I thought, how bad can it be?

Turns out, pretty bad actually. Ultra shoddy, worked once then died. I didn't even take it back, I blame myself for being stupid enough to buy it. Just dropped it in the bin.
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Aldi/LIDL/cheap 'discount' shops in general sell what is largely garbage and, for the latter, probably illegal counterfeit stuff. We have such a shop where i live, they used to sell Cadbury's almond choc - no such thing according to cadbury.... and as for the light switch.... well :eek:
 
I'm looking at Weller soldering stations. What is the minimum recommended for home use? Is variable temperature a huge plus? Is the WHS 40 too small? Are the single temp ones like the PS2D or PS3D good enough?
 
I bought one of these when it was at full price, big disappointment (uneven heat distribution on all tip sizes, iron comes unscrewed halfway through job), but useful for unsoldering static protection on cd laser lens diodes where there is a risk of damage from esd on a conventional iron.
 
Depends what you are going to do with it. I have used the old TCP for almost longer than I can remember, you vary the temperature by changing the bit, with a big No. 9 you can solder almost anything, however large, with a fine No. 7 you can do surface mount. With the advent of much more surface mount stuff a few years ago I bought an MLR21 iron with a PU81 power unit, I normally leave it set to 360 degrees but the small size makes it handier for doing lots of surface mount especially with the continally shrinking IC pitches. (I think the MLR21 may be superceded now though)
I`m not fully up to date but you used to be able to get a larger Iron which would plug into the PU81 which then covered vitually all requirements.
 
kenworthy said:
I bought one of these when it was at full price, big disappointment (uneven heat distribution on all tip sizes, iron comes unscrewed halfway through job).
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Haven't yet found any such problems, uneven heat may be due to the light construction of the iron required to get quick temp change I suppose, dunno but so far I am pretty pleased with it.
 
Mr Pig said:
I'm looking at Weller soldering stations. What is the minimum recommended for home use? Is variable temperature a huge plus? Is the WHS 40 too small? Are the single temp ones like the PS2D or PS3D good enough?
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By the best you can afford, new or 'pre-enjoyed' as appropriate.
 
graham-r said:
By the best you can afford, new or 'pre-enjoyed' as appropriate.
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There are a few Weller ones on eBay but I don't want to buy something that won't be any better than the iron I have. It's done me for twenty years, I just fancied something that maybe will prove more flexible and will work better. It's a 25W Draper one. Some things can be tricky with it but you always get it done.
 
My Maplin ultra cheap/on sale station has lasted for quite a few years. I do have to watch it though. Sometimes on switch on the temp reading drops from ambient to 1C and then stalls. When I first spotted it, having walked off to damp the sponge, a quick on/off toggle revealed the "true" temp to have climbed into the 500's! Apart from that it's solid. And for £35 not a bad result.
 
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