Soldering Stations.

[nutteronthebus]

Split from this thread:-

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=142958

Lidl are selling a solder station on the 14th for £8.99 with 2 rolls of solder 100c to 500c

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-O...articleId=9611

Dave

[MrBungle]

Not sure I'd touch the Lidl one. Got one of these recently which is equipped with lead free suitable soldering tip, fully temperature controlled:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2017...803295956.html

Got to be 100% honest, it runs rings around my Weller TCP (!)

Edit: throw the mains lead that comes with it in the bin ASAP. It's awful.

[Graham G3ZVT]

Edit: throw the mains lead that comes with it in the bin ASAP. It's awful.

No fuse, so you are relying on the 32A MCB in the CU for short circuit protection.
Cable is a few strands of CCS which will make a good electric fire until the breaker decides to break.
Earth pin is shrouded so it probably won't make contact.

Apart from that, it's absolutely fine

[MrBungle]

Yes. The actual box isn’t too bad. There’s a fuse in the inlet block, NTCs on the line and it’s properly gapped and isolated hot to cold. Leakage is tiny too (200uA).

The only hooky thing is how the inlet is attached to the SMPS, and the mains lead which was dangerous and went straight in the bin.

You can get a DC one and use a laptop power brick as well. DC one is less than £20.

[Graham G3ZVT]

I use one of the 936D solder stations from China. Very happy with it.

[dglcomp]

I'm happy with my Chinese soldering/hot air station too, mine even came with a correct rewireable UK plug too. Not a chinesium UK plug.

[Sinewave]

Originally Posted by MrBungle

Not sure I'd touch the Lidl one. Got one of these recently which is equipped with lead free suitable soldering tip, fully temperature controlled:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2017...803295956.html

Got to be 100% honest, it runs rings around my Weller TCP (!)

Edit: throw the mains lead that comes with it in the bin ASAP. It's awful.

I've not been very happy with the Weller ones to be honest.

[MrBungle]

Yes me neither. I think the badness started when they moved to the separate tip and slug. Just doesn’t feel like the thermostat is connected to the tip. If you hit a ground plane hard it just can’t heat quick enough. I’ve tried all sorts of tips.

Also TCP handle is also pretty huge. Compare to a clone Hakko 9501 iron (an investment of £4!):



Also the clone one has a ball switch in it and the station listens for movement. If you don’t use it for 5 minutes it turns the temperature down to 150oC. Moment you lift it up again it’s at 370 in 5 seconds (!).

The DC version of the aforementioned station will quite happily work on a car battery or NiMH pack with a little slower heating so good for field repairs. Idle current is about 800mA. Heavy heat is up to 3A. So a 7Ah battery will give you reasonable time.

Colour me impressed. Chinese took a high end Hakko station, did an excellent clone of it including tips, sell it for a price lower than an antex iron.

Unlike the older 936/937 irons the element is in the tip module so it’s just a case of pulling it out and sticking in a new tip. If you blew an element on the old clones, you’d have to have another soldering iron around to solder a new element in.

[Bazz4CQJ]

I grimace when I hear this term "soldering station". It's often being used just to refer to an iron which has a power control unit, and maybe some gizmo to hold a reel of solder. Why not just say temperature-controlled iron? Is a fixed temperature iron, with a nice stand and built-in solder dispenser a "station". If we get in to hot-air or de-soldering accessories, that's different.

I'm very pleased with my (budget-priced) temperature-controlled Aoyue 937 iron. The trains always pull out on time .

B

[MrBungle]

That’s a fair point.

I had an Aoyue 936. It didn’t work properly. Intermittent thermostat. This was what made me buy an antex (to fix the Aoyue) and then a weller for temperature control because the antex had terrible regulation as a fire stick.

[Bazz4CQJ]

But you're unhappy with the Weller too! I think you just have bad karma when it comes to soldering irons . I had to break out my old Antex 25W the other day when I was soldering tunnel diodes with Wood's metal (mpt 70°C). The lower limit on the Aoyue is 200°C, but with 160V on the Variac, the Antex did nicely (of course, a full HSE Risk Assessment was performed, of the risk of lifting the Variac .) A 25kg, 8amp, Variac with an old Antex... now there is a soldering station!

B

[MrBungle]

I tend to break or at least partially ruin everything that my hands touch.

That’s a proper soldering station indeed

[Bazz4CQJ]

My irons don't break, but the things I construct with them often don't work

[Graham G3ZVT]

Originally Posted by Bazz4CQJ

I grimace when I hear this term "soldering station". It's often being used just to refer to an iron which has a power control unit, and maybe some gizmo to hold a reel of solder. Why not just say temperature-controlled iron? Is a fixed temperature iron, with a nice stand and built-in solder dispenser a "station". If we get in to hot-air or de-soldering accessories, that's different.

Well, quite.
Not as bad as the DVD players that suddenly become "Home Cinemas" when they are packaged with a few puney loudspeakers.

[Analog Dave]

I searched for ages when I had some decent money to spend on a proper setup for my workshop. In the end I searched for "re-work station" because I wanted a vacuum desoldering pump for all the old synths and organs that I collect. I found a nice Duratool system at CPC in the end with temp controlled soldering iron on one side and temp controlled vacuum desolder gun on the other. It's been very gentle on the vintage circuit boards so far.

[Skywave]

I've always been an ardent fan of Metcal kit. Although I own one, I rarely use it because the replacement 'pencil elements' are just so expensive & seem to have a relatively short life.

Al.

[Oldcodger]

Originally Posted by ukcol

The Lidl soldering station mentioned by Dave looked an amazing bit of kit for the price even if the quality may not turn out to be great. It looks almost too good to be true and I see from a return to the link that Lidl have removed it from their website so perhaps it really is too good to be true. I shall pop into Lidl on Sunday 14th to see if they actually have any in stock on the day.

Might be OT, but I've added this soldering station in "where to get parts", with my comment on "nagging doubt " about quality, particularly on leakage. But having said that, I've visited a few Lidl stores today, and all have them in stock.
There's always the 6v cordless, as, from paperwork, it heats up to 550c, and with no mains connection, I'd say there's no chance of leakage problems.

[MrBungle]

550 is a bit high. 370 tops.

[Skywave]

"550 is a bit high" - yes, agreed. But Oldcodger did say: "it heats up to 550c", which might imply that the temperature is adjustable to that figure as a maximum.

Whatever, it sounds like a useful tool to me since it is independent of the mains supply. So perhaps a visit to my local Lidl tomorrow (Jan. 18th.) is due . . .

Al.

[Skywave]

O.K.: I bought one: £5.99. Upon an initial exam., it looks O.K. And that could be a bit of a mean accreditation.

The case seems strong enough to withstand a fair bit of punishment, including dropping it onto a concrete floor and treading on it. It's been designed so that it is (almost) impossible to leave it switched on when not in use. This is achieved by the on/off switch: to heat the bit, that switch has to pushed forward and then the button at the end of that switch has to be pushed down - and held down - typically with the thumb. Thus, if you let go of the iron, battery is no longer supplying current. And when the bit is being heated, a small, low-power light bulb throws a somewhat diffused spot of light towards the region that the tip is pointing. In fairness, that light is a bit of a gimmick, but it probably draws only a fraction of the power from the batteries that the heating element does. Finally, when you've finished with the iron, there is a conical shaped cap that you fit over the bit of the iron (having waited for the bit to cool down to cold!). That cap engages with the sliding on/off switch so that switch cannot be pushed to 'on' with that cap in place: clearly a safety feature. The bit itself - which is bright steel plated - is about 4 mm. in diameter, 30 mm. long, with a conical pointed end. I don't know if the bit is removable: I doubt it.

The iron comes with three AA alkaline batteries. Access to those is a sliding cover at the rear of the iron - and that cover does take a bit of mastering to slide off and back on again - but does make a firm mechanical and electrical fit. What I am yet to determine is just how long the batteries will last - which, of course, depends on usage. I expect that re-chargeable batteries will be O.K., but the final temperature of the bit will be a bit less on account of the reduced voltage. But that shouldn't be a problem, since the manufacturer does state a bit temp. of 550 deg. C. - a bit warm for most types of solder and, presumably, that is with a battery supply at a constant 4.5 v.

The packing box contains instructions in many languages and a mini metal stand to rest the 'hot end' of the iron on - a nice touch. The iron also comes with a three-year guarantee.

As yet, I'm still to give this iron the 'full test of time', but at present, it looks like a useful tool to own and at a price that simply can't be argued with!

Al. / Jan. 18th.