New Soldering Station Recomendation Weller VS JBC VS Ersa VS Others

[sn4k3]

For me going back to ersa, weller or metcal (I have access to and can use all three of them) after using my trusty jbc for more than 9 years would be like saying I was too bored with a ferrari and decided to get a VW for a change.
If you get this station post your review, it would be interesting.

Sure i will do.
Overall i think all top brands are good if you go good models.
Whatever a person tried first, if that please and simplify our live we will always try to stick and advice that brand based in our experience. Sometimes hard to decide when we got to many good choices. To do a fair decision is required to try all options.
My father work with JBC pencil since ever, tried other but can't leave JBC (More than 40 Years), they are very durable i don't renember a iron get broken beside tips and resistor, tip is changeble and resistor my father repair it and almost never have to buy a new one, he is electronic repairer, Started with OLD CRT TV repair as a bussiness and living. Now he do almost everything, even using JBC to cut plastic and other things, and after a cleaning tips are ready to solder xD (Not the best for the tip i know but we use the tools we have)
When i was a little boy i cut a JBC pencil  power coord, because of a mistake i made in my head (I heard someone saying have to cut it for do something else, not sure now), so in order to help i have cut the cable without permission and spare time to my father (Because cutting a cable is dam time consumption  ) End of story: He kick my ass hard so i will always respect JBC too ahah

[sn4k3]

I have placed the order



I will write my review latter, the price i got for the station is a bargain, so i can't miss it.
Regards

[nctnico]

IMHO you went a bit overboard with the really tiny tips but luckily you ordered some bigger ones as well.

[sn4k3]

IMHO you went a bit overboard with the really tiny tips but luckily you ordered some bigger ones as well.

I know.
As they are cheap there are no problem to keep them if i really need them anytime.
Don't forget the 1.6mm stock tip as well.

[tooki]

You're gonna love that thing. I have the I-Con nano and it's great. But I agree that you went way overboard with the conical tips. You're never gonna use them. (I have the 0.4mm "chisel" which is practically conical, and I've used it maybe once.) On the other hand, I HIGHLY suggest buying a drag soldering tip (I think Ersa calls them PowerWell.) I got the 2.4mm one. Not only does it work great for QFPs and the like, it's also perfect for tinning wires and things like that. The 1.6 chisel, the 2.4 PowerWell, and the 3.2 chisel take care of practically everything I do. I may add a 1mm-ish chisel at some point, and maybe a hoof, but neither seems urgent.

[sn4k3]

You're gonna love that thing. I have the I-Con nano and it's great. But I agree that you went way overboard with the conical tips. You're never gonna use them. (I have the 0.4mm "chisel" which is practically conical, and I've used it maybe once.) On the other hand, I HIGHLY suggest buying a drag soldering tip (I think Ersa calls them PowerWell.) I got the 2.4mm one. Not only does it work great for QFPs and the like, it's also perfect for tinning wires and things like that. The 1.6 chisel, the 2.4 PowerWell, and the 3.2 chisel take care of practically everything I do. I may add a 1mm-ish chisel at some point, and maybe a hoof, but neither seems urgent.

Yeah i know i will not regret
I know about tips, but as i said they are so cheap compared to what i buy before (JBC) and ersa icon tip collection is not so big, so i plan to adquire all and test them all
I only have buy 4 tips that are conical up to 1mm, the rest is other format, chisel, oval and the powerwell.
Thats for sharing your usage

[sainter]

I would really advice buying one >6mm chisel tip (I have 10mm 0102CDLF100). Wonderful for larger thermal mass components, or event to pull TO220 in one go. Just had to re solder a 4mm barrel jack on a ground plane, dwell time was next to nothing, they never drop more than 15-20 deg. of a set point.

Blade tip 0102BDLF20 is my go to for most of the jobs.

They came up with something new (at least for me) 0102CDLF24, seems like a good product for people who solder more through hole. Anyone have experience with them?

[MaximRecoil]

For me going back to ersa, weller or metcal (I have access to and can use all three of them) after using my trusty jbc for more than 9 years would be like saying I was too bored with a ferrari and decided to get a VW for a change.
If you get this station post your review, it would be interesting.

I've soldered millions of joints with a Metcal STSS and MX-500 (about 8,000 joints a night for 2 years on a production line in a PCB factory; ~4 million joints), and it certainly was no "VW". Anything that can keep up with production-line soldering for nearly 24 hours a day (all three shifts), 7 days a week, 50 weeks a year, is not analogous to a "VW". If JBC is analogous to a supercar then Metcal is as well, assuming you are talking about a real Metcal, i.e., the 13.56 mHz ones, and not the bargain-priced 450 kHz ones.

Also, I like the hard plastic Metcal RM3E handpiece. I hate rubbery/foam grips like JBC uses. It is like with Snap-on screwdrivers. The classic ones with a hard plastic handle were perfect. I can't stand the

ones.

[jonatanrullman]

On a related note. I was looking at some different irons, pretty much the same list as OP with a few minor differences.
But I'm a little wary of these overly complicated digital systems, if I'm going to spend this kind of money on a soldering station I'd like to think that I'm going to have it for 30 years.

Any thoughts on the longevity of, for example, the I-Con 1?

Cheers

[MaximRecoil]

On a related note. I was looking at some different irons, pretty much the same list as OP with a few minor differences.
But I'm a little wary of these overly complicated digital systems, if I'm going to spend this kind of money on a soldering station I'd like to think that I'm going to have it for 30 years.

Older Metcals, such as the STSS and MX-500 (which are the same thing aside from the latter having an extra RF jack) don't have anything digital. Their power supplies are simply a 13.56 mHz RF generator. You can even build one yourself - https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/diy-metcal-13-56-mhz-rf-supply/, and just buy an RM3E handpiece (or whatever they are calling their equivalent these days) and STTC-XXX tip cartridge to go with it.

[nanofrog]

On a related note. I was looking at some different irons, pretty much the same list as OP with a few minor differences.
But I'm a little wary of these overly complicated digital systems, if I'm going to spend this kind of money on a soldering station I'd like to think that I'm going to have it for 30 years.

Any thoughts on the longevity of, for example, the I-Con 1?

Cheers

There's some internal photos in the ERSA i-CON 1 - Teardown and Repair (Success) thread if you're interested. 

I don't have an Ersa, but I've had my Weller WD1 for nearly 9 years without issue, and I don't see a problem getting another 9+ out of it (I don't use it daily though, and I don't beat on my stuff). It has a standard LCD display though, not one that's backlit. I mention this as I saw an Ersa i-Con 2 on eBay where the backlight had gone out, but suspect it's repairable (it sold BTW). I damn near bought it, but a new iron was too expensive IMHO (over $300  ).

Despite the mention of some broken ones (all fixed BTW IIRC), they do appear to be well made. But like most things, stuff breaks. But it does appear most of it is repairable, and possibly all of it (i.e. not sure you'd be able to locate a new display unit in Q=1 if Ersa won't/can't sell one to an owner). To me, the biggest issue would be the firmware should the uC die.

[Neganur]

Can't help but think the Ersa and JBC nano look very similar?

[madires]

I mention this as I saw an Ersa i-Con 2 on eBay where the backlight had gone out, but suspect it's repairable (it sold BTW). I damn near bought it, but a new iron was too expensive IMHO (over $300  ).

The i-Tool is EUR150.

[wraper]

Despite the mention of some broken ones (all fixed BTW IIRC), they do appear to be well made. But like most things, stuff breaks. But it does appear most of it is repairable, and possibly all of it (i.e. not sure you'd be able to locate a new display unit in Q=1 if Ersa won't/can't sell one to an owner). To me, the biggest issue would be the firmware should the uC die.

AFAIK most of the faults were caused by faulty triac. LCD is off the shelf 128x64, shouldn't be an issue to source. Solder iron costs about EUR 150 as previously said (handle + heater + 1.6mm tip). But you can buy a heater separately for half of that.

[nanofrog]

The i-Tool is EUR150.

Looked further, and found it for $216 at TEquipment before the EEVBlog discount ($203.04). Definitely better, but it's still higher than what I'd like to pay just for an iron (I'm accustomed to getting an iron + stand set for that or less).

[tooki]

The i-Tool is EUR150.

Looked further, and found it for $216 at TEquipment before the EEVBlog discount ($203.04). Definitely better, but it's still higher than what I'd like to pay just for an iron (I'm accustomed to getting an iron + stand set for that or less).

Well, just as Weller (fundamentally American company) is overpriced in Europe, Ersa is overpriced in USA. But yeah, you could potentially find a European vendor to send a replacement iron for less than $200. Not that I can imagine any reason why you'd need to replace it. Even the heater (which is about half as expensive) seems to last indefinitely, since it's massively over-specced and runs at a fraction of its maximum rating during use.

As for what you get for $150... you realize the i-Tool is a 150W iron with its own accelerometer, calibration EEPROM, etc? It's in a totally different class from, say, a Hakko 888D.

The i-Con nano (which uses nearly the same handle, with the identical heater element, but driven only to 80W peak) is about $150 in Germany -- half of what it costs in USA. I think that shows its actual "home" pricing is much more in line with what you expect. You're just reacting to the "German product in USA" markup...

[nanofrog]

Not that I can imagine any reason why you'd need to replace it.

You're just reacting to the "German product in USA" markup...

I was eying an i-Con 2 with desolder tool & stand being sold for parts (appeared to be a blown backlight). No iron or stand for one, so I was looking up the cost of those to see if it was worth going after or not. Given the initial prices I saw, I declined to make a bid. And the person who won got it for the minimum bid (less than $300 shipped IIRC).

Oddly enough, my Weller gear is German made. 

[kxenos]

For me going back to ersa, weller or metcal (I have access to and can use all three of them) after using my trusty jbc for more than 9 years would be like saying I was too bored with a ferrari and decided to get a VW for a change.
If you get this station post your review, it would be interesting.

I've soldered millions of joints with a Metcal STSS and MX-500 (about 8,000 joints a night for 2 years on a production line in a PCB factory; ~4 million joints), and it certainly was no "VW". Anything that can keep up with production-line soldering for nearly 24 hours a day (all three shifts), 7 days a week, 50 weeks a year, is not analogous to a "VW". If JBC is analogous to a supercar then Metcal is as well, assuming you are talking about a real Metcal, i.e., the 13.56 mHz ones, and not the bargain-priced 450 kHz ones.

Also, I like the hard plastic Metcal RM3E handpiece. I hate rubbery/foam grips like JBC uses. It is like with Snap-on screwdrivers. The classic ones with a hard plastic handle were perfect. I can't stand the

ones.

For a production environment I see what you say. The 5000 series are indeed top notch equipment. The lack of adjustability though is a drawback in a repair shop.
The OKI/Metcal line (MFR1350 etc.) are complete rubbish in terms of quality (for a 600Euro class device) and I have 2 destroyed resistors and plenty of tips to back up this claim.
The Weller WRS3000V2 has been proven even worse in terms of quality but I'm not sure if I should blame it or the 150Kg gorilla that is using it for that. An other issue is that it's huge compared to JBC or Metcal and it can't be used easily for delicate rework in crowded PCBs. This applies to other older Wellers like WES51 as well.
To conclude, my list of requirements (for a repair workshop) include: fast (jbc and metcal), reliable (jbc and metcal), adjustable (jbc and weller) and thin (jbc and metcal) and that's how I assert that jbc is the best from the limited list of tools I've used.

[MaximRecoil]

For a production environment I see what you say. The 5000 series are indeed top notch equipment. The lack of adjustability though is a drawback in a repair shop.

Metcals are adjustable, in the same way that the old Weller Magnastats are adjustable, i.e., you change the tip (though it's a lot faster/easier to do with a Metcal than with an old Weller Magnastat). But regardless of that, I've always used the same temperature tip (STTC-1xx) for everything, both at work and at home, so not having a temperature adjustment dial (or digital equivalent) isn't a drawback for me, given that even if a Metcal had such a thing, I'd never use it after setting it once.

[madires]

To conclude, my list of requirements (for a repair workshop) include: fast (jbc and metcal), reliable (jbc and metcal), adjustable (jbc and weller) and thin (jbc and metcal) and that's how I assert that jbc is the best from the limited list of tools I've used.

ERSA i-Con with the i-Tool got all the features you've listed

[GreyWoolfe]

For a production environment I see what you say. The 5000 series are indeed top notch equipment. The lack of adjustability though is a drawback in a repair shop.

Metcals are adjustable, in the same way that the old Weller Magnastats are adjustable, i.e., you change the tip (though it's a lot faster/easier to do with a Metcal than with an old Weller Magnastat). But regardless of that, I've always used the same temperature tip (STTC-1xx) for everything, both at work and at home, so not having a temperature adjustment dial (or digital equivalent) isn't a drawback for me, given that even if a Metcal had such a thing, I'd never use it after setting it once.

I have a Metcal MX-500 and also use the STTC-1XX series tips.  I don't miss the knob of my Hakko 936.  I also have a Hakko FX-951 and I think I adjusted the temp once. 

[eKretz]

The only failure I've heard of from Ersas is the triac failure that one of our members posted about a while back. IIRC he bought it not working and repaired it. Nobody I know of with an Ersa actually had it fail on them though. Who knows what kind of abuse they go through at some workplaces. I've had my iCon 1 for probably 8 years now and use it all the time for hours at a crack with no reliability issues at all. I've got 8 tips with collars that I bought with it and all of them are still going strong also - no signs of losing their plating.

[torgil]

Thank's for the recommendations.

I went here looking for a private soldering station, I previously only have experience with Metcal's [SMA factory repairs] and Weller's [various]. I couldn't wait for your review (is it here somewhere?) so I basically copied your list minus a few conical tips but added the power-well 2.3mm and the 10mm. Adding support for the tweezer tool or air tool looked tempting but were too pricey for my use-case. I'll just settle for a heat gun and "manual" tweezers instead.

[TheAmmoniacal]

My first iron was a Weller, the tip dissolved and corroded away after hours of use. Never again.

[Magnum]

Thank's for the recommendations.

I went here looking for a private soldering station, I previously only have experience with Metcal's [SMA factory repairs] and Weller's [various]. I couldn't wait for your review (is it here somewhere?) so I basically copied your list minus a few conical tips but added the power-well 2.3mm and the 10mm. Adding support for the tweezer tool or air tool looked tempting but were too pricey for my use-case. I'll just settle for a heat gun and "manual" tweezers instead.

I just bought a Ersa I-Con Vario 2, with hot air and Vario Tweezers. Actually I was only looking for tweezers, as I already have two I-Con Nanos, a noname throughole dessolderer and a Aoyue 852A++ hot air gun. As I am really happy with the Nanos I wanted to stick with Ersa. So I looked at the I-Con1, but you can't use the Vario Tweezers with it. These tweezers have two times the power of the non Vario tweezers (2x40W instead of 2x20). So I wanted the I-Con1V, but the I-Con2V costs almost the same. Thinking about spending 700 Euros, I thought it would be a good idea to spend a bit more and get a good airgun, too. So I ended up with the Vario 2.

This unit is really great, the tweezers are fun to use. Because of the high power and a temperature sensor in each leg soldering is on a complete new level.
The air gun is also great, much smaller than the Aoyue. The temperature is spot on and has more than enough airflow and power for me, and heats up really quick.
My Vario doesn't have the vacuum pump installed (I couldn't justify another expensive "upgrade"), but I found a X-Tool Vario and a CU100 pump on ebay for a really good price. So now I will work only with the Vario and the Nanos.

My advice for someone buying a new station is getting a Nano if you want good quality for a good price. It has the same handpiece like the I-Con, but with only 80W and no automatic wake up. But usually it wakes up when you take it out of the holder and clean the tip (it recognized the temperature drop of the tip).
If you want to be able to upgrade with tweezers, throuhole desoldering or a high power handpiece later on, get the I-Con2V. IMHO the Vario tools are better than the old ones.
If you are crazy like me, get the Vario 2 or 4. I opened my Vario 2 today and think you can upgrade it with the internal vacuum pump (saw it too late, my external CU100 pump is already on the way). The pressure sensor and cable connector needed for the pump are installed on the mainboard and I think they use the same firmware for all versions (Vario 2 and 4).