Weller still the soldering iron of choice?

Apologies if this should have been posted in another forum.

Ok my 15w el cheapo from rat shack worked fine to repair some headphones but won't get hot enough so I can desolder the ribbon cable from a red diode I scavenged from a DVD burner that I want to use for my first DIY project. I did some searching (shock! ) and saw that a weller that could do 25w seemed to be the most recommended.

After looking around online I found a variable powered (5-40w) for a decent price on Amazon and wondered what the seasoned vets thought of it.

Here's the Amazon link:

Weller WLC100

Thanks for any input!

Do yourself a favor, spent a little bit more. You wont regret it.

This is about where I would start Soldering Stations

Or the trusty old WTCP Soldering Stations

The WTCP you change the tip to vary the temperature (600, 700, 800F).

I once attended a Weller workshop for the introduction of RoHS lead-free solder. They referred to the WTCP as the "alphabet iron". LOL.

These are pretty reasonable too, we used them for general work in my last job: HakkoUSA - Product Detail - Hakko 936 ESD Soldering Station

My personal favorite is the FX-951. Not in your price range however. HakkoUSA - Product Detail - Hakko FX-951 Soldering Station

^^^^ agreed^^^^

I've been using the WTCP Weller soldering stations in our
shop exclusively for near 30 years and would recommend
them to anyone...

Hakko also seems to makes some nice stations that
I have not yet tested..

Jerry

dnar said:

Do yourself a favor, spent a little bit more. You wont regret it.

This is about where I would start Soldering Stations

Or the trusty old WTCP Soldering Stations

The WTCP you change the tip to vary the temperature (600, 700, 800F).

I once attended a Weller workshop for the introduction of RoHS lead-free solder. They referred to the WTCP as the "alphabet iron". LOL.

These are pretty reasonable too, we used them for general work in my last job: HakkoUSA - Product Detail - Hakko 936 ESD Soldering Station

My personal favorite is the FX-951. Not in your price range however. HakkoUSA - Product Detail - Hakko FX-951 Soldering Station

Click to expand...

I agree,
I wouldn't use any that have an AC cord directly attached to the iron.
I used the Weller WTCP back in the mid-eighties and it was state of the art at the time and still will do a good job. I've used the Hakko systems and those are pretty good too. For the past 15 years or so, my favorite has been the Metcal solder stations.
Twice The Power, Metcal
They use a technology they call "smart heat", that applies just the right amount heat.
What I like about them most is they are at operating temperature in about 3 seconds and if you have a large connection or a ground plane which needs lots of heat, it senses it and more heat is applied. If it's a surface mount connection needed very little, it only applies what is needed to make the solder flow and joint form.
Other thing I love about them is the large array of interchangeable tips for various surface mount packages and point size requirements and they are easy to change. All you do is turn the unit off, pull the tip off and plug a different one in.
They are expensive though, but if it's a tool you use daily it's well worth the investment.

I have been using this butane Weller and I have to say I love it. But I will say my previous irons mostly consisted of Radio Crack units.:beer:








Does not work to well on thumbs tho.:banghead:

I've been using Ungar and Weller for 20 years. However Ungar was bought out by Weller.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't mean to post and run lat night. Stupid computer took a dump and is down for the count until I can fix it tomorrow after work. I had to break out the little Dell netbook I normally take on trips so I could get my lpf fix.

I think I've decided to go with the Weller WES 51 station. It is more than I wanted to spend but I think the variable heat setting will be well worth it in the end. The only bad thing is it's not available locally so I have to wait for it to get here Wednesday from Amazon.

Now to research what temp I should set it to to desolder the ribbon from the diode I scavenged yesterday.

I also got a butane soldering iron and i love it.. the heat you can get to the tip is very nice and makes soldering applications easier.. My previous iron was a weller 40W its rubbish compared to the butane one..

pros - Super hot tip, Heats up fast, easy to use.

the only con id have against the butane one i have would be that i have to refill it every once in a while.

LtKernelPanic said:

Thanks for the advice. I didn't mean to post and run lat night. Stupid computer took a dump and is down for the count until I can fix it tomorrow after work. I had to break out the little Dell netbook I normally take on trips so I could get my lpf fix.

I think I've decided to go with the Weller WES 51 station. It is more than I wanted to spend but I think the variable heat setting will be well worth it in the end. The only bad thing is it's not available locally so I have to wait for it to get here Wednesday from Amazon.

Now to research what temp I should set it to to desolder the ribbon from the diode I scavenged yesterday.

Click to expand...

Cool. You wont regret it.

I would try that ribbon at around 650-700F. Sensitive parts like cooler temps, however too cool and you need the heat on there longer. It is a double edge sword.

Id recommend using a good exato knife to remove that ribbon.. heat isnt required to remove it however it is the easiest.. the knife however is the safest (for the diode) your safety isnt guaranteed

You will be very happy with the Weller that you purchased. I like them even though I use a Hakko, which I also like.

If you ever come into some money (yeah right) you should try one of these Ferrari soldering stations. I use them for fine-pitch work, even the low-end is pricey but you can't beat the 3-second heat-up time.

JBC Tools

dnar said:

These are pretty reasonable too, we used them for general work in my last job: HakkoUSA - Product Detail - Hakko 936 ESD Soldering Station

My personal favorite is the FX-951. Not in your price range however. HakkoUSA - Product Detail - Hakko FX-951 Soldering Station

Click to expand...

+1 to hakko irons.. All the ones I've used were very high quality!

This one is interesting too: Amazon.com: AOYUE 936 Soldering Station: Home Improvement

I believe its (almost?) identical to the Hakko 936 units, but can be found cheaper elsewhere.

LOL its described as Cute o.o;

Hehe.. it is, just dont cuddle with the business end