A cheap but not garbage soldering iron

[jiro]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for a nice soldering iron, but not too expensive because  moved to a different country and I'm still settling (you know, all sort of expenses) I'm looking for one that can last me at least one year. It won't be used in a daily basis, just from time to time

I had a Weller soldering iron (I had it for about 12 years now) but it is on the loose    so I had a "just in case of emergency" sondering iron but it is just garbage, almost set the house in fire    (see the image)

This image is under wtfpl license if anyone want to teach / show what happen when you buy garbage, it cost about 5USD or something like that (perhaps less)

So, I've been reading here because he basically have the same requirements than me, but I don't have the restriction for importing, the main restriction at the moment is the price (that's why I started a new topic)

The Bakon BK950D seems to be a nice choice, I've read some negative comments about Yihua, so I was wondering what nices alternatives exists in this range?

[bd139]

Can you get second hand Weller TCP stations there for a reasonable price? I'd rather take a 40 year old Weller station than a new Chinese POS.

[sasa]

I had a Weller 40W iron long time ago. However, it was only an Iron without temp control and fixed temp was 350 or 400C. It was good for "hard jobs", to solder some pipes or similar, however, not for electronic circuits. It melted plastic of the board, oxidize tin copper traces or pull it out with no time.

Then I bought soldering station ZD-937 in local electronic shop and use it even today for all hobby projects and some home devices repair. It was relatively cheap (50 Euro or less), but I do not regret any spent cent. Relatively easy can be found several types of tips.

It is not Hakko, but it will do the job.

[bd139]

Only the red cheap Weller irons do that. The TCP irons are temperature controlled.

[Cliff Matthews]

The TS-100 has been talked about (around $50 http://bit.ly/2thJAe4 )

[KL27x]

Bakon 950d has really grown on me. It didnt really catch on until i heavily modified a 951 knockoff handpiece, though. And made my own stand.

The main drawback of bakon UI is i run it hotter than i like, at 350c. Its too much hassle to change it everytime.

There are more powerful clones, too.. i have 24.5V clones. But bakon works great at 19.5V.

The chrome on a xouple of the chinese tips has started showing damage way earlier than im used to with t18 tips, but nothing scary.

Id say it is well worth the pocket change. Esp if a 1 year lifespan will suffice.

[b_force]

I always had a Hakko ripp-off for years.
Never had problems with it, could solder everything I wanted (even SMD 0603).
At my work we even had these things for interns. The soldering irons were being used on a daily basis.
Never had any major issues.

Unless you're very impatient, I don't see why you should spend more than 40-70 bucks for a soldering iron.

[poorchava]

Xytronic LF1600 or LF1680. Taiwanese stuff, but I've had my LF1600 for over 5 years and it's still going strong. Uses tips that are compatible with weller/hakko tips for ceramic heaters.

The price was a little less than 100€ IIRC. The LF1680 seems to be a more recent model, which has a hot tweezer port too, but I've heard that this tweezer is a bit disappointing. Still good value nonetheless..