'Cheap' soldering iron: TS100 or CircuitSpecialists 60 Watt?

[brych34]

Hi all,

Up to this point I've been using a soldering iron that just plugs into a wall socket. It takes ages to heat up and struggles to melt solder when there is a large mass attached to it.

I'd like to upgrade to a soldering station, but I was wondering which one? My budget is only around £50, or $64.

I've been looking at these irons:
TS100 - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32860309312.html

CircuitSpecialists 60 Watt - https://www.circuitspecialists.com/60_Watt_Soldering_Station.html

Does anyone have any experience with either? Or do you recommend something else?

Thanks.

[thinkfat]

TS100, the other one doesn't have a directly heated cartridge. The drawback of the TS100 is, it's a bit flimsy. If you have more than one thumb on each hand, might be a problem.

I have a TS100. It's not my main soldering station. But as an on the road tool it's fine.

[brych34]

Ok - TS100 it is!

Thanks!

[Domagoj T]

I too have TS100 as a secondary iron, and it's pretty decent. What I like most about it is that I can hook it to a small motorcycle battery and have a decent portable iron that just happens to be floating.
It is still a bit of a struggle if you try to solder something big. There is a quite significant difference between TS100 and Weller WSP 81 which is my go to iron.

[Gyro]

These days, portable drill batteries and chargers make a convenient portable power source. In the UK, Lidl are the cheapest.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/teardown-lidl-20v-2ah-lithium-battery-pack-and-charger/msg2469087/#msg2469087

If you use the Ralim TS100 firmware, it has Lithium battery level monitoring and low voltage shutoff included.

[IDEngineer]

If you use the Ralim TS100 firmware, it has Lithium battery level monitoring and low voltage shutoff included.

I don't know that specific firmware for the TS100, but I definitely second the firmware upgrade recommendation. The stock firmware limits you to 350C, whereas the firmware we loaded onto ours goes to 400C which really helps with higher-mass soldering jobs like connectors. It also permitted a custom startup graphic, so I created one with my son's name so when he loans it to people there's no question to whom it belongs!

[Gyro]

That's probably the one. I forgot to link...  https://github.com/Ralim/ts100