Ordered a JBC CD-2BB 230V soldering station with 4xC245 tips (C245-036/030, C245-906, C245-907 and C245-741) and I have been very impressed!
I have used it at 350Centigrade on a few small jobs like motherboard capacitor replacement and solder re-flowing on a laptop charger jack including building a solder bridge between the ground solder pad and the charger ground shield (metal surround). The claims of quick return to temperature from sleep are true, the only tip I am using at the moment (C245-907) has been excellent for all work and I have moved the iron from joint to joint without having to wait for thermal recovery. This especially helps when you can't get all the solder out from a through hole joint on a capacitor (my lack of experience) and you are pushing the component leg first into solder heated up from the other side of the board - I can move from joint to joint and I have the capacitor in place in less than 10 seconds if I'm accurate with the position of the legs before I push slowly.
My previous soldering station was an expensive (to me) circa £85 W.E.P 876D eBay clone which claims it has a Samsung chip on the thermal control circuit or whatever claim they were trying to make. At first I thought it was great because it was way better than the cheap solder station and cheap 30Watt Maplin soldering irons I had wasted money on. The W.E.P 876D barely helped me remove a double USB socket that was edge mounted (four ground anchor points + 4 usb pins) but I see now how bad of a job it did.
With the JBC CD-2BB I haven't had any issues to note.
For example, I am now able to successfully use my solder sucker without issue and I have seen some success with solder wick without it getting stuck to the through hole solder.
I put this down to the solder staying molten long enough (I can actually see it turning a slightly dull grey from molten shiny as the heat disappears when I remove the iron) and the iron holding a stable temperature which seems to instantly melt solder even when I don't use flux.
I love how heavy it is, the eBay clone would move if I had the iron too far from the base. The wire to the iron is removable and is thin and flexible like a laptop charger as well as having a holder on the station to keep it out of the way during soldering. The distance between your hand and the tip is short so I was able to solder more precisely, it feels like writing with a regular pen its that nice to hold and use.
I like how it has an isolation switch on the unit itself and that it takes a standard kettle plug (standard desktop computer power supply cable). The display is an easy to read and appealing blue display with white writing which is very easy to read in dim natural light (soldering as the day is ending).
It even comes with brass curls and a sponge (which I haven't used yet). The brass curls alone can be expensive in my opinion.
I haven't had the need to use the quick tip removal but I'm happy to know I can safely switch tips without the iron having to be turned off to cool down the tip and unscrewing some potentially hot piece of metal to switch tips and then screw the metal holder on hoping not to cross thread it and then wait for the unit to reach temperature before I can work again.
The price was the big boundary for me, but once I had committed to spending £300 to import a Hakko FX-888 230V unit from America without any tips this was a no brainer. Just factor in the currency conversion, PayPal fees and shipping when costing up this unit. My PayPal fees were €11.70 which I think includes currency conversion from £ to €.
I looked at the three UK based suppliers of this unit and they all required you to be a business to create an account which is no use to a hobbyist like myself.
mikgntl-2013 gives you a great service!!!
For your money you get... A great deal on this fantastic item, a tracking number for Poste Italia (which was then shipped via ParcelForce in England), pictures of the item working, what your package should contain, the invoice, your box with shipping label stuck on it..
Don't hesitate to PM mikgntl-2013 and create a combo of soldering station and suitable tips for a great price, I'm glad I did!