Yet Another Solder Station Choice Thread...

[EVHMXR]

Hi all,

Im a young (ish 24 years old) electronics hobbyist and all my life i've just used an awful £20 maplins solder pencil for all my projects. Not ideal really and so i've saved up a bit of money to put aside for a good quality solder station.

My budget is around £80 to £100 or so and i'm looking for a quality brand such as Weller or Hakko. Something that's going to last me for a good while. I mostly do strip-board work but occasionally ill have to crack it out to fix some PCBs from time to time so i'm not looking for the worlds most insane industrial soldering god but i do need it to be well made and safe to use.

I have been looking at the Weller WHS40...

 http://www.my-tool-shed.co.uk/p9814/Weller_WHS40_Temp_Controlled_Solder_Iron/product_info.html?utm_source=googleversafeed&vfsku=9814&gpla=pla&gclid=CPvHnNjHh8UCFfQatAodrk4A-Q

...which looks ideal. Good quality brand name, adjustable temperature and runs of 240v so i can use it in the UK. However, some of the reviews say that the transformers are noisy and that the iron doesn't hold its temperature. Overall people seem really hit and miss with it and i don't want to drop £80 on something that's not going to do the job.

So i just wanted some opinions of where to look and what to go for. And who better to ask than this awesome community of electronic engineers and hobbyists.

Thanks in advance guys.
Look forward to hearing your reply....

[ciccio]

I have bigger and better Weller stations, but when I tested a friend's WHS-40 I was disappointed.  The power is too low, so the tip temperature cannot be well controlled.
I think that maybe others were disappointed too, because most pro dealers do not stock it anymore.
For a lower price you can get a good Chinese Hakko clone, or one of the Zhongdi made, OEM labeled, units (they are not bad, and cost half the price of a WHS-40).
A better Weller unit will maybe be too expensive for you, but for about the same price of the WHS40 you can buy an HAKKO FX-888D.
I don't know the price in UK (I've seen a thread in the forum), but you can get it from Batterfly in Italy for 98.00 Euros, and if you search the forum you'll find that they offer a discount for EEVblog members
http://www.batterfly.com/shop/hakko_fx-888d
Best regards

[Fat]

I agree, the Hakko brand has been very good for reliability, tips are available everywhere and it's very fast in recovery.  I do a lot of desoldering and my Chinese clone couldn't keep up, but the Hakko can.

[dadler]

Another vote for the FX-888D, this is my back-up iron and works great.

I also have a FX-951 as my primary and it is spectacular, but more expensive.

[nanofrog]

Yet another vote for the FX-888D, given Batterfly's price in the EU (would need to swap the plug). 

FWIW, dancap.co.uk, & Grosvenor are both Hakko distributors in the UK if you want alternative sources, though IIRC, they want more money for the same unit w/ a UK plug.

Past that, you'd be looking at double the money or more (i.e. Ersa I-Con Nano can be had for 198EUR).

[EVHMXR]

Thanks A bunch for all your reply's and advice...

I think I'm going to go for an FX-888D. The only problem is that its a 220V station and UK mains voltage is 240V. Is it ok to just switch out the plug or would I need to get a step down transformer.

http://www.helipal.com/product_info.php?currency=GBP&products_id=11907&gclid=CLuznbnficUCFcjnwgod2JEAAg

This website says it will supply a socket adapter to plug into UK mains but is this safe. Is the voltage controlled down to 220v for the iron or would they be sending me a fudged adapter?

Thanks again...

[madires]

An Ersa i-con pico would match your budget.

[EEVblog]

I think I'm going to go for an FX-888D. The only problem is that its a 220V station and UK mains voltage is 240V. Is it ok to just switch out the plug or would I need to get a step down transformer.

I'd be surprised if there is a 220V and 240V version.
This UK supplier claims it's 230V model
http://www.dancap.co.uk/soldering/fx888ddigitalpricelist.htm
I think it's most likely that there is one model design for 230V nominal and is simply sold in 220/230/240V countries?

[ciccio]

I believe that all EU has standard NOMINAL 230V ac mains voltage.
In fact here in Italy main voltage was increased years ago from 220 to 230 V, following one EU directive (Cenelec HD 472, 1990).
We had to wait a national law from 1940s to be modified, but now voltage at our sockets is always higher than 220 V...(227 V now at 16:00, 237V last time I checked at 23:30)
According to my contract with the  supplier the nominal mains voltage range is 230 +/- 10% , that means 202 to 253 V.
You will not need an external transformer, the Hakko unit will work flawlessly at 240..

Best regards

[EVHMXR]

Excellent thanks very much for all your help guys...

I've found a few eBay sellers of the FX888D for some really quite cheep prices. But most are from China and i've heard some bad things about Hakko products from China turning out to be knock offs.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FX-888D-220V-AC-70W-Electronic-LCD-Soldering-Station-Iron-Phone-SMD-Repair-OEM/141446065984?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D30257%26meid%3Db2076f1513d14885be438c86a4344915%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D201061944504&rt=nc

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-HAKKO-FX-888D-Digital-Soldering-Station-Welder-Iron-Repair-Pro-ESD-/201061944504?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2ed039ccb8

What do you guys think? Would i be running a bad risk by buying one of these?
Its just i'd rather my money went through PayPal or eBay just to be sure i'm protected as a consumer. Plus my Italians not brilliant or else i'd buy through BatterFly. I will go that route though if it is in fact the best option. 

Cheers

[ciccio]

There is a thread on fake Hakko stations... They seem the original  one, but are fake.
Search the forum, I do not know how to post a link to the thread.
Best regards

[nanofrog]

Excellent thanks very much for all your help guys...

I've found a few eBay sellers of the FX888D for some really quite cheep prices. But most are from China and i've heard some bad things about Hakko products from China turning out to be knock offs.

What do you guys think? Would i be running a bad risk by buying one of these?

Easiest way to avoid a fake, is to stay away from Asian vendors. The likelihood of getting a fake is too high.

Buy from one of the vendors mentioned above (Batterfly, Dancap, or Grosvenor <last 2 are in the UK>). 220/230/240V will all work on UK 230V mains (may need to swap the plug to make it work, but that's it <been done before, so you wouldn't be a Guinea Pig on this>). 

[GoneTomorrow]

I recently bought an FX-888D. I just plain avoided Asian sellers completely as there's no guarantee you're getting a genuine one (and a very high chance you're not).

I ended up purchasing from Mektronics in Australia, as being in New Zealand they're reasonably close by (arrived next business day) and NZD:AUD is fairly favourable at the moment, and no import duties or taxes 

As for voltage, I can't remember exactly what my 888D is, but I think it's 230V (the voltage as measured in my house is 244V). I don't think it really matters, as mains voltage usually has a tolerance of 10%. So even something rated for 220v, should work fine up to 242V before it is considered an overvoltage condition.

[GoneTomorrow]

Actually, according to this photo from a teardown, the transformers primary is 220/230/240V, so no worries on voltage:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M1olrS4hE98/UTdkVEOqHcI/AAAAAAAACh8/VoZddXdOrQ8/s1600/IMGA0286.jpg

[picandmix]

To be sure of a genuine Hakko you need to buy from an authorized  dealer.

As well as DanCap already mentioned there is the Grosvenor Group here in the UK

http://www.grosvenor-group.com/PRODUCTS/Hakko-Soldering-Iron-Hakko-soldering-station.

The are both similar prices delivered.

As well as getting the genuine article you get proper uk warranty, try getting that from China ! ( which that Helipal link is)

[EVHMXR]

Thank you for all your feedback.

Dropped both Dancap and Grosvenor an email and Grosvenor gave me the best quote. Going to ring through an order on Monday.
Thank you very much for all your help with this guys.

Cheers