What is the best soldering iron out there?

[Kibi]

JBC CD-1BC it is! Thank you everyone who responded, you guys kick so much ass I have no words 

Congratulations! You have made a good choice, will not be sorry. 

[Smokey]

Congratulations! You have made a good choice, will not be sorry. 

..... until you use a Metcal   I'm just kidding.  Happy soldering!

[KJDS]

If I had to only use a JBC, or only use a Metcal, I'd be happy enough. Whilst both have advantages they both meet the needs of almost all electronic soldering requirements.

[SeanB]

Just bought a slightly well used pair of Weller magnastat irons, and all they need is a clean up ( coming soon) and a new set of tips, which I went out and bought at a local shop. Were actually cheaper there than online. One is the 50W soldering station with the transformer, and the other is the 35W 12V unit, with a set of 4mm plugs to be used on a 12V battery supply. All that is missing is the holders, but I have some around in a box.

[EV]

I have always used Weller irons. I have no experience about others.

[EEVblog]

Weller contacted me and asked if I wanted to review their new $14.99 to $27.99 consumer iron coming out shortly, available from a good department store near you.

[ddavidebor]

Nice!

[Emil]

Weller contacted me and asked if I wanted to review their new $14.99 to $27.99 consumer iron coming out shortly, available from a good department store near you.

How about a review of the JBC?

[ron]

If Weller has the guts to ask for a review, maybe you should give em one.  probably have a greater audience that esoteric Stanford Research stuff.  Besides, you can always say "what a heaping pile of ..."

[neslekkim]

I haven't used ersas or paces though, so can't comment there.

I've used both, and they are quality brands. Pace is very old skool
I do like the tiny Ersa irons, great handling for fine SMD stuff.

I bought this 2bb also, absolutely amazing tool (even after using the fx888d for couple of months).

but regarding tiny ersa, the 2bb can use the t210 handle, have you tried those?, I havent found any review or comparision yet, it would have been nice to see how those are for small work.

[Emil]

If Weller has the guts to ask for a review, maybe you should give em one.  probably have a greater audience that esoteric Stanford Research stuff.  Besides, you can always say "what a heaping pile of ..."

Agree.

I think a video comparing a low end, an mid range (Hakko FX-888) and a high end (JBC?) soldering station would be very interesting. It could include a comparison of the features and explanation of what you get at each price point that you don't get with the lower cost soldering stations.

[ben_r_]

Same here. Dave we need a soldering iron shoot out!

Ive been a Hakko and Metcal fan for around 15 year now. Had the ever well known 936 and loved it for that long. I also have a single port Metcal which is no longer available but has always been awesome:

[Dave]

I have had the chance to test Ersa I-Con 1 soldering station and I couldn't find a single flaw on it. Temperature adjustment is simple and intuitive, it heats up in a matter of seconds (from ambient to over 300°C), the temperature regulation and heat delivery are absolutely amazing. Ersa also has a very wide variety of tips to select from. I am determined to pick it up, when I find the right price. Our official Ersa distributer puts out a promotion every once in a while, where they sell these stations for about 300€ (tax included). The last one of these promotions was in december and I missed it, currently waiting for a new one.

[EEVblog]

but regarding tiny ersa, the 2bb can use the t210 handle, have you tried those?, I havent found any review or comparision yet, it would have been nice to see how those are for small work.

No, haven't tried it. JBC only sent me the stock iron.

[cwalex]

I have a JBC CD2BB and it is magic! I was previously using for 15 years a hakko 936 which I loved but I didn't know what I was missing until I bought the JBC. With the JBC you can solder nearly anything, it heats up gnd and pwr planes almost immediately if you have good thermal contact with the tip and you don't have to turn the temp up to solder really large parts/PCB. The distance from your hand to the end of the tip is really nice, much closer than other irons and I find it gives better control in general so now I'm definitely a JBC fanboy.

I also bought a thermaltronics TMT-9000DS-2 http://thermaltronics.com.au/index.php/soldering-systems/62-soldering-stations/191-tmt-9000ds-2
I haven't used the thermaltronics very much since I only bought it recently but I find that it is just as comfortable to use as the JBC, the distance from hand to end of the tip is about the same as the JBC. It heats up in seconds and in the small amount of use I have I like to use it just as much as the JBC so far, it is basically the same as the Metcal stations as far as I know, they claim it performs better. I haven't had a chance to try the desoldering tool yet, I still have to get around to buying the correct fittings for my air compressor but I expect it will perform well, I'll update when I have had some experience with the desoldering tool.

[Corporate666]

I've had a bunch over the years.  About 8 or 9 years ago I splurged on a Metal MX-500 with the desoldering gun.  It started to get flaky some years ago, so I bought a Pace Heatwise (I think HW-100 or something).  Honestly, I actually prefer the Pace over the Metal.  The things I didn't like about the Metcal were that the tips were really expensive ($20+ each), and they didn't last long at all.  It really got old spending $100 on tips every few months whereas the Pace tips are something like $7/each and I still have the original ones I bought about 5-6 years back and they work good as new.  The Metcal tips seem to get compromised somehow and as soon as that happens, they just disintegrate and need replaced.

I've tried a bunch of Weller irons over the years, but they always just seemed hobby-level to me.  One thing I don't know if most people appreciate is the awesomeness of a pencil sized handpiece.  I hold it just like a pencil and it's super accurate.  I could never go back to some kind of bulky $30 Weller ever again, or even a Hakko unless it had a super tiny pencil grip tip.  In this case, size (smaller is better) is everything.

[cwalex]

I've tried a bunch of Weller irons over the years, but they always just seemed hobby-level to me.  One thing I don't know if most people appreciate is the awesomeness of a pencil sized handpiece.  I hold it just like a pencil and it's super accurate.  I could never go back to some kind of bulky $30 Weller ever again, or even a Hakko unless it had a super tiny pencil grip tip.  In this case, size (smaller is better) is everything.

I didn't know what I was missing until I got the JBC. I thought my hakko 936 was the ducks guts

I would love to try out a Pace and an Ersa station at some time just to compare but from my experience with the thermaltronics and the JBC there just isn't anything in it. I like them both. I think the JBC would be better in really thermally demanding situations though just because it has more watts up it's sleeve than the thermaltronics.

I have noticed with both of them that the hand piece gets quite warm when you have been soldering for a long time, it isn't uncomfortably warm but more than with a hakko 936 for instance, I guess some people might not like that, I hope it isn't something wrong with mine but I assume not since it happens with both of mine. Probably due to the much smaller size of the hand pieces or something.

Maybe some other users could comment if they experience the same thing with hand piece getting warmish.

[free_electron]

The best soldering iron is the one that gets the job done that you need doing.

Sometimes you need a 500 watt cannon and sometimes you ned a surgical instrument....

That's why i have 9 soldering irons...
I have thermal tweezers, a small hot air gun , two wmd80 , one with a broad flat tip , one with a conical big tip , a desoldering gun, two microtouch stations with a whole collection of tips, frim microscopically small to big heads to desolder plcc , so , tqfp . A big hot air gun.

Depending on what i do ipick one or another..

It's that simple.

You can pick up used weller base stations on ebay for 50$. Slap on a WMD-80 pencil and you are set for life.

I scored a wrs3000 for 200$... Mt1500 microtouch basestations can be had for 80$.. The pencils are mega$$$ though. 250 to300$. For the handpiece. Tips are also expensive, but they last very long if you treat em right and there are maybe 60 different ones.

[Corporate666]

I've tried a bunch of Weller irons over the years, but they always just seemed hobby-level to me.  One thing I don't know if most people appreciate is the awesomeness of a pencil sized handpiece.  I hold it just like a pencil and it's super accurate.  I could never go back to some kind of bulky $30 Weller ever again, or even a Hakko unless it had a super tiny pencil grip tip.  In this case, size (smaller is better) is everything.

I didn't know what I was missing until I got the JBC. I thought my hakko 936 was the ducks guts

I would love to try out a Pace and an Ersa station at some time just to compare but from my experience with the thermaltronics and the JBC there just isn't anything in it. I like them both. I think the JBC would be better in really thermally demanding situations though just because it has more watts up it's sleeve than the thermaltronics.

I have noticed with both of them that the hand piece gets quite warm when you have been soldering for a long time, it isn't uncomfortably warm but more than with a hakko 936 for instance, I guess some people might not like that, I hope it isn't something wrong with mine but I assume not since it happens with both of mine. Probably due to the much smaller size of the hand pieces or something.

Maybe some other users could comment if they experience the same thing with hand piece getting warmish.

Interesting... what exactly do you like about the JBC, especially compared to the Hakko? 

I think most (maybe all?) of these irons use bakelite handpieces which is pretty resistant to heating up, but my Pace definitely heats up the handpiece quite a bit if I use it for a long time.  It's not uncomfortable but maybes slightly so if you try to grip it right near the end of the handpiece. 

The thing I don't like about the Pace is that it uses STUPID plug-in "heat modules" which are just 1/8" headphone jacks with a resistor inside.  On the other hand, I hated the Metal way even more, where the temp level was built into the actual tip, and if you want hotter, you gotta change tips.  I absolutely HATE the fact that my hot air rework station starts from 90 degrees every time you start it up, and you need to hold the button down for a few seconds before it starts to quickly scroll the temperature.  Can't understand why these guys don't put a rotary knob on the heat control - an encoder that increases temp quicker the faster you turn it.  I hate pressing buttons to adjust heat.

[cwalex]

Interesting... what exactly do you like about the JBC, especially compared to the Hakko? 

I think most (maybe all?) of these irons use bakelite handpieces which is pretty resistant to heating up, but my Pace definitely heats up the handpiece quite a bit if I use it for a long time.  It's not uncomfortable but maybes slightly so if you try to grip it right near the end of the handpiece. 

The thing I don't like about the Pace is that it uses STUPID plug-in "heat modules" which are just 1/8" headphone jacks with a resistor inside.  On the other hand, I hated the Metal way even more, where the temp level was built into the actual tip, and if you want hotter, you gotta change tips.  I absolutely HATE the fact that my hot air rework station starts from 90 degrees every time you start it up, and you need to hold the button down for a few seconds before it starts to quickly scroll the temperature.  Can't understand why these guys don't put a rotary knob on the heat control - an encoder that increases temp quicker the faster you turn it.  I hate pressing buttons to adjust heat.

Gee.. where to start...

The JBC heats up from cold to soldering temp in about 6 seconds, when you put the hand piece in the stand it goes into sleep mode where the temp drops to about 200degC (this is adjustable) so it drops to below the melting point of the solder on the tip which reduces oxidation while you aren't using it, when you lift the hand piece from the stand it gets to ready to solder temp in about 2 seconds, less time than it takes you to get ready to start soldering, this extends the tip life substantially.

The distance between your hand and the board you are soldering is way less, the soldering hand peice is so small and light that if feels better in your hand and you have much better control.

You can change the tip with one hand in a matter of seconds without turning off the station and the newly fitted tip reaches soldering temp in seconds, I think this feature makes having multiple irons fitted with different tips unnecessary.

It has so much thermal power it is just amazing, it heats up gnd and pwr planes in seconds so you don't need to turn the temp up you have less chance of damaging traces, pads and components while the job is just so much easier.

I'm sure I could think of more if spend more time thinking about it. It is worth every penny IMO. The hakko 936 isn't in the same league, same with the 888, don't know about the hakko FX951 though, never used one but the hand pieces look delicate and over complicated from what I have seen.

[RCMR]

Weller contacted me and asked if I wanted to review their new $14.99 to $27.99 consumer iron coming out shortly, available from a good department store near you.

Why not review it?

Remember that there will be a lot of people out there who are looking for a budget iron and are not at all interested in spending more than $30 to get one so a review based on "value" rather than outright performance or suitability for electronic work might be a good idea.

Remember there may be some kids getting into the hobby who don't have $100+ to blow on a soldering station so for them, gear like this is the only affordable option -- it might be nice to help them make an "informed" decision.

And for those who perhaps already have a "dumb" iron in this range, you could do a comparison of several offerings, spanning the range from $20 through $450.  That'd let people better decide how much coin *they* ought to be dropping on their soldering iron.

That's the way I look at the reviews I do.  Some of the stuff I review is really budget stuff that I know *I* would never buy - but I appreciate that some folk have lower expectations and less stringent needs than myself -- so I try to help them with information and objective reviews as well.

[SLJ]

+1   Remember Dave we all (or most of us) had to use entry level tools and equipment at one point.

[wraper]

I have ERSA ICON-2 with 2 i-tool soldering irons. Best soldering station I've used so far, yet for a crazy price. But I don't regret I paid for it. Solder irons are very small but powerful, 150W peak. Temperature sensor is on end of the heater. It's less than 1 cm from the end of the tip. Also I like movement sensor in iron, temperature goes down after timeout when iron isn't moved, so all my tips are in good shape, not burned. With same iron I've done repairs from 01005 SMD (that was tough ) to some heavy shielding like a charm. And tip can be changed in 5 seconds very easily.

[Zad]

Maybe it is a cultural difference, but a lot of engineers here in the UK still use relatively cheap Antex and Weller irons for through-hole and larger SMD packages. Amazingly, we still seem to be able to produce well soldered and robust connections.

[nanofrog]

Maybe it is a cultural difference, but a lot of engineers here in the UK still use relatively cheap Antex and Weller irons for through-hole and larger SMD packages. Amazingly, we still seem to be able to produce well soldered and robust connections.

Assuming you mean the US, I'd think it's more about cost than culture, given the cost of an FX-888/D is under $100USD vs. a bit over double (135GBP converted to $209.01 using xe) before shipping and taxes. Quite a bit less expensive in the US than in Europe, which makes it much more attainable for a hobbyist.

As it happens, I learned how to solder using a fire stick iron as well (RadioShack). And although it wasn't comfortable to use (handle would get too hot to touch), it could make decent joints. Just had to unplug it often to let it cool down.