Cheap soldering station

[fizzy]

Oh, by the way...

A decent Antex variable station is what, £180?

A decent variable Weller station is about £280...

Neither of them are really in the same league as a variable station from lidl for 9 quid

Fair comment - but it is mainly down to the tip. If only these cheapies made a bit of an effort with the tip attachment they would be far better.

 

[tflnemesis]

Also with a lot of the cheaper irons I have found it can be almost impossible to tin the tip properly.

 

[angellonewolf]

Oh, by the way...

A decent Antex variable station is what, £180?

A decent variable Weller station is about £280...

Neither of them are really in the same league as a variable station from lidl for 9 quid

not in the same leauge but both have a 240 plug on them


i have used one and can solder with one do all the prep work first turn on leave to heat up and dont leave the tip dry

dont mean i liked it not the easyest of unit to work with but better than a lot i have used

 

[Turbo]

Something I found with the lidl soldering station is that the cable is very stiff doe to it being pvc instead of rubber & it always gets in the way!

 

[Olderisbetter]

I got the soldering station they did last year with the digital read out, The tip seemed to have issues fast and it had no punch, I have a old blue weller soldering station with a fault, i think it needs a new element so i am just going to fix that as its already 20+ years old.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Something I found with the lidl soldering station is that the cable is very stiff doe to it being pvc instead of rubber & it always gets in the way!

That's my other gripe with it too, it does make it a bit cumbersome.

 

[angellonewolf]

Theoretically, they've been 230 volts since 1993

not in my house still showing 240v

 

[fizzy]

not in my house still showing 240v

It fluctuates - especially at peak demand.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

It fluctuates - especially at peak demand.

It'll still kill you - that's why I'm very wary around elektrickery.

 

[Jetex]

Its not much help to just recommend a company for soldering irons, Weller, Antex, Hakko etc as these companies supply a whole range of soldering products from the cheap and nasty to top quality product. I currently use a Weller TCP45W iron, its 24V with a power supply base.

Its quite old now but uses the magnetic solder bits to maintain a set temperature. I did have the yellow 240V Antex 25W iron before and agree that the Antex is probably the best of the cheap 240V irons.
A popular iron now for electronics work is the Hakko FX888D

 

[Jetex]

Of course it also depends on what you need to solder. If it needs more heat then maybe one of these:

Ceco Vari-stat