Are expensive soldering stations really worth it?

[OwO]

So I have a $10 temperature controlled soldering iron that I've been using for 6 years. It's potentiometer and triac controlled, and uses 900M tips.

I solder a few boards per month on average, both SMT and through hole, but occasionally do a 10-board job for pre-production design verification. I am still on the original tip that came with it, which is a conical tip with one side sanded, and works well for almost everything from low pitch QFN to through hole.

This has served me well and gets the job done with no fuss, but for soldering big RF connectors the thermal response isn't good and I have to use above 350C and take more than 5 seconds. I would like better thermal response which would allow me to cut down on time spent per board.

I would like to upgrade to a "proper" soldering station, but it seems a big jump to go from a $10 disposable iron to a $200+ station. I first surveyed what is available locally. The higher end ones average $50, and use a tip construction like this (they call it "500M"), which seems to poke a thermocouple close to the top of the tip (?):


My question is how much thermal performance improvement can I expect from a tip construction like the above, and what else besides thermal performance does a "name brand" station like Hakko or Pace offer over my $10 iron to justify its cost? (and don't say "quality" - I know how to weed out shit crap on taobao and get something that lasts a decade, which I'm sure my $10 iron will).

[james_s]

Without having used your soldering iron I can't really say, but to me it was certainly worth it. $200 is not much to pay for a tool you will use frequently that can last decades.

[OwO]

True, if it does last a decade 
My experience is stuff fail just outside warranty regardless of brand. It's always a gamble so the most I can assume is something will last 2 years, and put a big emphasis on ease of repair (replacement parts availability). I think most likely I'll first try the local stuff and get a proper name brand station if it does fail or doesn't live up to expectations.

[james_s]

This is only one data point but I bought my Edsyn Loner soldering station used almost 20 years ago and I'm still using it. I've replaced the tip 3 or 4 times in the time I've owned it, I use it typically several times a week.

[ataradov]

Quick change tips are worth it. Other than that, $50 T12 stations from Ali work just as well as more branded stuff.

[tszaboo]

Hakko, Pace or Weller, probably not. Metcal, for sure, buy that. Try one, never look back.

[2N3055]

Hakko, Pace or Weller, probably not. Metcal, for sure, buy that. Try one, never look back.

I have ADS200 from PACE.
Built like tank, inexpensive tips, loads of power. And you don't need to change tips to set temperature.. 
To me worth every penny, but it is used in production not hobby. So it pays for itself.

For hobby, any soldering station with thermostat control (so it doesn't overheat) 50-60 W and few decent shape tips will do.
For boards with high thermal mass, you need preheating anyways.

[Helix70]

At work, I use a JBC CD-B with the T245 handle. It is so much better than other cheaper irons (Hakko, Weller etc) that I sold my Hakko station at home and bought the same JBC for home.

If for no other reason that the heat is turned off after putting the pencil back in the holder, it was worth it (no more hot iron for days by mistake!). Of course, being able to change the tips easily when it is still hot is another "never go back" feature (5 seconds).

This leads to the thermal perfomance, witch is fantastic with the normal conical tip, and rediculous with the chunky tip (both included), used for ground planes, copper sheets, thick cables, whatever. I bought a C245-937 tip to improve the 0.6mm conical tip thermal performance for fine soldering on large planes.

Once I showed it to the local tech space, they bought one too.

[KL27x]

Owo, since all you've ever used is a conical tip, you can not only get some MASSIVE changes in performance for especially SMD tasks by using the right tip, but because you have a Hakko clone, you can try these tips for super cheap right now. (Try the T18 tips, not the 900M; the T18 will fit your iron but they work better).

If you bought a Metcal or whatnot, trying a new tip might cost twice your current station.

I would rather use a crappy iron with the right tip than the Metcal with only a conical.

[ataradov]

We have Metcal at work, and I don't really see what's all the fuss is about. It is no worse and no better than any other soldering station I used. And yes, maintenance for them is expensive.

[RoGeorge]

Try the T12 style.

For the same electrical power, monocartridges like T12 are thermally much more powerful than what you have had.  There are plenty of cheap yet decent T12 based solder stations + T12 cartridges clones.

[thm_w]

Owo, since all you've ever used is a conical tip, you can not only get some MASSIVE changes in performance for especially SMD tasks by using the right tip, but because you have a Hakko clone, you can try these tips for super cheap right now. (Try the T18 tips, not the 900M; the T18 will fit your iron but they work better).

If you bought a Metcal or whatnot, trying a new tip might cost twice your current station.

I would rather use a crappy iron with the right tip than the Metcal with only a conical.

I agree completely. Although tiny conical tips on a metcal are actually usable for precision bodge work, on other stations I've used they are not as good (FM202, FX951, T12 clones, and a ton of cheap stations).

As for OP, you just need to try other stations if you can. I seriously can't believe you are using $10 junk to solder multiple boards every month, you deserve better. At least a T12 clone please.

[ejeffrey]

To me it really depends on what the alternative is.  A moderately powered temperature controlled iron with a good tip availability will do most of what you need.  And after that I would spend money on a second iron, a good set of tips, hot air tools, and probably a bunch of other tools as well.  For instance, in terms of reworking high copper boards, the nicest, highest power direct heat soldering iron isn't as good as having a hot air preheater and a cheap soldering iron.

But if you aren't trying to scrape together enough $$$ just to make sure you have a complete set of tools, a good soldering iron is a nice luxury that I really like to use.  I use a JBC at work, and it is amazing.  Heats unbelievably fast, instant tip changes, plenty of power and heat control, great tips.  But ultimately those are mostly convenience features.

[Mp3]

We have Metcal at work, and I don't really see what's all the fuss is about. It is no worse and no better than any other soldering station I used. And yes, maintenance for them is expensive.

I think im glad i went with pace.   

[OwO]

Owo, since all you've ever used is a conical tip, you can not only get some MASSIVE changes in performance for especially SMD tasks by using the right tip, but because you have a Hakko clone, you can try these tips for super cheap right now. (Try the T18 tips, not the 900M; the T18 will fit your iron but they work better).

Yes the conical tip was useless for SMD soldering out of the box, so I sanded off one side which made QFN and drag soldering much easier.
Currently I have no problems with SMD soldering, just need more thermal capacity for big connectors on ground planes (which mostly can't have thermal relief).

Unfortunately other than hakko it seems most of the commonly known brands (Pace, JBC) are unheard of here and no one seems to sell them, so tip availability might be an issue later on; T12/TS100 clones look like a good candidate.

If I search for production soldering stations (on either JD or taobao), there are a lot of stations that advertise "fast thermal recovery", but I haven't yet found any that use a cartridge tip; they all seem to use 500M tips which look like this (seems to originate from the quick 205H):


Has anyone here had any experience with these and know whether they actually have good thermal performance? Would a 60W cartridge tip outperform these 150W 500M tip based stations?

[exmadscientist]

We have Metcal at work, and I don't really see what's all the fuss is about. It is no worse and no better than any other soldering station I used. And yes, maintenance for them is expensive.

We've found that the Thermaltronics tips are equal to or better than the Metcal tips at around a third of the price.

Other random Metcal thoughts: The Metcal/Thermaltronics RF Curie point system does seem to underperform with small tips. (Perhaps the element is too far from the tip, due to minimum sizes? I don't know, I shouldn't speculate too wildly.) For the really fine stuff I'd rather have a JBC. For "old school" through-hole sized work, Metcal does seem to be best (if not by much). And for the "massive ground plane" type jobs (remember to enable thermal spokes!), Metcal also struggles because the RF amplifiers simply can't put out as much power as more basic designs.

It still kicks Weller's butt though.

[KL27x]

Although tiny conical tips on a metcal are actually usable for precision bodge work, on other stations I've used they are not as good (FM202, FX951, T12 clones, and a ton of cheap stations).

Thm_W: But what temp did you run your 951 at? And did you remember that the pointier of the 700 series tips run as high as 398C? 

I believe the Metcal is worth every penny... if you like it. The ergos and balance is very good and very unique. And it is ruggedly built and well-supported for heavy production use. And it works, great. I'm sure it more than holds its own, even when you compare apples to apples. But if I were outfitting my own employees with them, I might wonder if I wasn't paying some extra $$$ for what is my own personal preference, compared to some cheaper alternatives.  For myself, if I like it? Sure, what's a few hundos?

On second thought, the Metcal system is maybe the best for professional use, because you can't adjust the temp. For me, I like to adjust for the job. But in a work environment, if the station is adjustable, completely wrong settings get used... for a week before anyone realizes why output has dropped and error rate has gone up.

[tszaboo]

On second thought, the Metcal system is maybe the best for professional use, because you can't adjust the temp. For me, I like to adjust for the job. But in a work environment, if the station is adjustable, completely wrong settings get used... for a week before anyone realizes why output has dropped and error rate has gone up.

First, I was also like " but how do I adjust???" and after a while, being stuck with it, I realized, that adjustment is overrated, if it does the job. And it does. I've yet to find a solderjoint, that I was unable to do with it. The only reason IMHO to have adjustment, if you want to abuse your station to melt plastics or heat up your coffee. Or IDK.
we have a bunch of them at work, powered for 8 hours a day for years, and they work as expected. Replace tips after they are gone, take out from the holder, 2 sec later you can solder with it. Tip replacement in 10 seconds.
Starting price is 350 EUR. Sure, you can maybe buy 10x T12 stations for this, and then take them apart connect the ground, so you dont die if you touch the housing, and fiddle with the controls, and upload new code, because the original code has bugs and and hope that a failure of a single FET will not set your house on fire.

[ebastler]

For me, the short grip-to-tip distance is the key benefit of my ERSA i-Con. Maybe I have gotten clumsier over the years; the longer distances of my older irons feel uncomfortable in comparison now.

Is the temperature regulation etc. so much better than in cheaper stations? Not sure, e.g. soldering to large ground planes still takes a bit of time. The i-Con is good but not working any magic on that front.

[coppice]

On second thought, the Metcal system is maybe the best for professional use, because you can't adjust the temp. For me, I like to adjust for the job. But in a work environment, if the station is adjustable, completely wrong settings get used... for a week before anyone realizes why output has dropped and error rate has gone up.

First, I was also like " but how do I adjust???" and after a while, being stuck with it, I realized, that adjustment is overrated, if it does the job.

The main reason people adjust the temperature of their iron is to crank it up so the temperature doesn't plummet too much when they apply the iron to a large object. The whole point of the Metcal design is to reduce those temperature drops, so twiddling the temperature becomes a moot point.

[tooki]

For me, the short grip-to-tip distance is the key benefit of my ERSA i-Con. Maybe I have gotten clumsier over the years; the longer distances of my older irons feel uncomfortable in comparison now.

Is the temperature regulation etc. so much better than in cheaper stations? Not sure, e.g. soldering to large ground planes still takes a bit of time. The i-Con is good but not working any magic on that front.

I also really like the grip-to-tip distance on my i-Con nano and now find irons with longer distances to be super annoying to use.

[KaneTW]

I'm a big fan of my Ersa i-Con ergonomics-wise. I want to try a JBC someday but I can't justify another soldering station.

[tooki]

Having used both, I prefer the ergonomics of the Ersa. On the other hand, the JBC tips are much easier to swap. (But crazy expensive!) But to be clear, these are both excellent stations.

Me, I’m trying to find a way to justify to myself buying a Pace. :p

[ferdieCX]

I am very satisfied with my ERSA I-CON 2. The short grip to tip distance of the  i-Tool is very comfortable.
For really massive components, I hook to the station the Power-Tool iron and use a wide tip.

[KL27x]

The main reason people adjust the temperature of their iron is to crank it up so the temperature doesn't plummet too much when they apply the iron to a large object. The whole point of the Metcal design is to reduce those temperature drops, so twiddling the temperature becomes a moot point.

I think the metcal doesn't do this fundametally different than other irons, though. I suspect people get the impression it performs better, simply because the setpoints of the pokey metcal tips is so high, combined with a sleep stand.

I think if peeps turned the knob up to 400C with the needle point, then many of their less expensive stations will also work similarly well. Just hope they have a sleep stand.

I think the metcal is great, but to me it's for the quality, ergos, and durability.  And the simplicity and removal of human error, esp where people share equipment they don't own or care about.