Recommendations for a Soldering Station

[Chris F.]

My 20+-year-old Weller WTCP iron was once a great unit but is now falling
apart, and the replacement heater assemblies seem to be getting
progressively worse. I just put a new one in a couple of months ago, and
within 2 weeks it appeared to have shorted and was turning red-hot.... so in
order to do any work without burning stuff up, I have to cycle it on and off
by hand every minute or so. I think it's about time this thing was laid to
rest.
I don't want to replace it with another Weller because the quality of
their products is not what it used to be. I'm leaning either towards Pace or
Hakko, probably Hakko because they're less expensive and easier to find.
Which would be the better unit? I want something that will last a long time
and not require too much maintenance, but I also have to be able to get
replacement tips and parts without too much trouble.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Morse]

My 20+-year-old Weller WTCP iron was once a great unit but is now
falling
apart, and the replacement heater assemblies seem to be getting
progressively worse. I just put a new one in a couple of months ago, and
within 2 weeks it appeared to have shorted and was turning red-hot.... so
in order to do any work without burning stuff up, I have to cycle it on
and off by hand every minute or so.

It's almost certain the magnastat has seized shut, causing the element to
stay on all the time. Replace the magnastat and it should sort out the
problem. If the element was shorting out and overheating, the magnastat
would just cut out more often to compensate as it would still try and
maintain temperature.

I think it's about time this thing was
laid to rest.

I still use Weller TCP stations and feel they are one of the finest ever
made in their price range. Simple but very effective and reliable. A new
magnastat would be far cheaper than a whole new station, (about £15 here in
the UK IIRC) assuming they are still readily available as spares- it's been
some years since I had to replace one.

Morse

 

[Arfa Daily]

It's almost certain the magnastat has seized shut, causing the element to
stay on all the time. Replace the magnastat and it should sort out the
problem. If the element was shorting out and overheating, the magnastat
would just cut out more often to compensate as it would still try and
maintain temperature.


I still use Weller TCP stations and feel they are one of the finest ever
made in their price range. Simple but very effective and reliable. A new
magnastat would be far cheaper than a whole new station, (about £15 here
in
the UK IIRC) assuming they are still readily available as spares- it's
been
some years since I had to replace one.

Morse

I agree. My main workhorse iron, which is powered for 16 hours a day, is a
magnastat controlled TCP, and my desolder station is also a Weller. I keep
both fully maintained, and would not want to change either. I too would be
looking at the magnastat switch itself, or possibly the suppression cap
across it. The magnastat assembly is currently just over £16 + VAT at
Farnell.

Arfa

 

[Smitty Two]

My 20+-year-old Weller WTCP iron was once a great unit but is now falling
apart, and the replacement heater assemblies seem to be getting
progressively worse. I just put a new one in a couple of months ago, and
within 2 weeks it appeared to have shorted and was turning red-hot.... so in
order to do any work without burning stuff up, I have to cycle it on and off
by hand every minute or so. I think it's about time this thing was laid to
rest.
I don't want to replace it with another Weller because the quality of
their products is not what it used to be. I'm leaning either towards Pace or
Hakko, probably Hakko because they're less expensive and easier to find.
Which would be the better unit? I want something that will last a long time
and not require too much maintenance, but I also have to be able to get
replacement tips and parts without too much trouble.
Thanks for any advice.

I've said it before....

I got sick of fixing the Wellers on the assembly line and switched to
Edsyn.

A Weller might be fine in the hands of a gentle professional repair
tech, but stick it out on the assembly line to get abused day in and day
out by human assembly robots, and you'll be fixing the damn thing once a
month. The heaters go out, the thermostats go bad, the socket that the
handpiece plugs into goes intermittent, the handpiece cords go
intermittent, the barrel that holds the tip loses its grip at both ends.
Repair parts are obscenely expensive. And the engineer who designed the
thing oughta be shot for the way it's put together. What a mess.

Buy the least expensive Edsyn for roughly the price of a cheap Weller.
When it breaks, (which it will, but it won't be soon) you can send it
into the company to be "repaired" for a flat fee of about $40 IIRC. They
toss it in the trash and send you a brand new one for your money.

 

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'm leaning either towards Pace or
Hakko, probably Hakko because they're less expensive and easier to find.

I've had a spare element for a recent Pace de-solder handpiece on order
for over 3 months here in the UK. One did arrive promptly, but was
smashed. It will be the second replacement on a device only switched on
when needed. The element in my different make soldering iron has never
been replaced in many years of use.

 

[Ross Herbert]

My 20+-year-old Weller WTCP iron was once a great unit but is now falling
apart, and the replacement heater assemblies seem to be getting
progressively worse. I just put a new one in a couple of months ago, and
within 2 weeks it appeared to have shorted and was turning red-hot.... so in
order to do any work without burning stuff up, I have to cycle it on and off
by hand every minute or so. I think it's about time this thing was laid to
rest.
I don't want to replace it with another Weller because the quality of
their products is not what it used to be. I'm leaning either towards Pace or
Hakko, probably Hakko because they're less expensive and easier to find.
Which would be the better unit? I want something that will last a long time
and not require too much maintenance, but I also have to be able to get
replacement tips and parts without too much trouble.
Thanks for any advice.

I have used the Weller WTCP both professionally in industry and
privately at home since the 1970's, and I find them to be extremely
reliable. I have also used Hakko soldering stations and they are
excellent. My current desoldering machine is a Hakko 474.