Electronics > Beginners
Should I be worried about tip lifetime when buying my first soldering station?
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tooki:

--- Quote from: Shock on May 07, 2019, 09:18:56 am ---The working distance of the tip and grip position is shorter than the JBC, Ersa, and heat up speed comparable to JBC. The ADS200 has no overshoot however and single digit degree accuracy.

--- End quote ---
The working distance on the Ersa is only 4mm longer than on the ADS200. I'd say they're both superb in this regard. (I don't know what it is on JBC.)

As for overshoot, the Ersa lets you set the "aggressiveness" of the heating, so you can choose fast with overshoot, slow with no overshoot, or medium with a little bit of overshoot. (I think older Pace models had a similar setting, but the ADS200 does not. Probably doesn't need it!)
Shock:

--- Quote from: tooki on May 07, 2019, 04:10:18 pm ---
--- Quote from: Shock on May 07, 2019, 09:18:56 am ---The working distance of the tip and grip position is shorter than the JBC, Ersa, and heat up speed comparable to JBC. The ADS200 has no overshoot however and single digit degree accuracy.

--- End quote ---
The working distance on the Ersa is only 4mm longer than on the ADS200. I'd say they're both superb in this regard. (I don't know what it is on JBC.)

--- End quote ---

4mm? You can fly to the moon and back with 4mm :). But you have to admit the Pace iron has a much superior "front end". I'm not sure about the usable grip position on the Ersa, but you can get right down in the money on the Pace iron and it feels great.

The other end of the Pace iron is the weirder part but when you understand how the strain relief works the design (which had not really changed from the previous series) becomes a little clearer. It's got to be one of the easiest soldering irons in the world to change a cable on, one screw and done. I pulled mine apart and had a good look at how the cartridge contacts worked. Even if you have a wire break it's trivial to shorten the cable and get it back running.


--- Quote ---As for overshoot, the Ersa lets you set the "aggressiveness" of the heating, so you can choose fast with overshoot, slow with no overshoot, or medium with a little bit of overshoot. (I think older Pace models had a similar setting, but the ADS200 does not. Probably doesn't need it!)

--- End quote ---

Good point, I can't see any reason but if you weren't aware of profiles and overshoot you could easily believe ones superior over the other without any quantifiers. I'm sure the ADS200 profile religiously examines those last few degrees before it goes to idle temp. :)

Hey check this out. This was Daves original station line up. Check which sponge is the dirtiest. I think his tally now is Pace 2 Hakko 2 JBC 1 Chinesium 2.

tooki:

--- Quote from: Shock on May 07, 2019, 04:50:39 pm ---4mm? You can fly to the moon and back with 4mm :). But you have to admit the Pace iron has a much superior "front end". I'm not sure about the usable grip position on the Ersa, but you can get right down in the money on the Pace iron and it feels great.
--- End quote ---
I remeasured using calipers this time instead of a ruler, it's actually 50.6mm on the Ersa i-Tool, so just 2.6mm longer. Here's what it looks like, to scale, with calculated sizes (using official images from Ersa and Pace):



So I'm not sure if you're being facetious about the "superior front end" or serious about it, but to be clear, the Ersa iron is very svelte and comfortable. I just wish it had a rubber grip and even softer cable.


--- Quote from: Shock on May 07, 2019, 04:50:39 pm ---The other end of the Pace iron is the weirder part but when you understand how the strain relief works the design (which had not really changed from the previous series) becomes a little clearer. It's got to be one of the easiest soldering irons in the world to change a cable on, one screw and done. I pulled mine apart and had a good look at how the cartridge contacts worked. Even if you have a wire break it's trivial to shorten the cable and get it back running.
--- End quote ---
No doubt it looks solid. I think the Ersa handle is clipped, I have no idea whether it's possible to open it non-destructively. :/
David Hess:
In my experience good iron plated tips last years unless mistreated.

There are some good habits though.  Wipe the tip *before* soldering a joint (1) and leave excess solder on the tip when holstering the iron or shutting it off; the solder on the tip will protect the surface from oxidation.

What you might do before buying an iron is to check the pricing and availability of spare tips.

(1) A damp sponge works fine but it needs to be a cellulose and not synthetic sponge so that it does not melt.
stj:
in theory if you use a wet sponge then every time you wipe the tip you deposit a microscopic layer of minerals and possibly flouride on the tip.
flouride is severly corrosive - it's one of the few things that will eat concrete!!

use brass wool. :-+
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