Pace: why so expensive?

[cdev]

Are there strategies to maximize ones value, because looking at the new prices I know I cannot even remotely afford them.

For the present economy they seem very unrealistic, to say the least. Just need desolder base and handset, maybe $150 tops. USED.

[tooki]

You talking about the same Pace whose ADS200 is one of the best values in the industry?

They don’t make consumer crap, so it costs money. But it’s less expensive than much of its competition. Take JBC: perform great, but are expensive, and their tips are hellishly expensive. Pace consumables are very aggressively priced.

[cdev]

I'm still looking at them.  These days I am just bidding the lowest possible price for everything. Cosmetics are important too. I don't want my SO to get mad at me for spending money on what she calls "junk".

I have gotten a solder sucker since then that at least doesn't make me jump, its a simple bulb solder sucker.  $15
I'm experimenting with that and a little $6 foot-operated pump. And that is actually quite effective. Drawback is you need a bulky glass bottle to catch the solder. (or a small one with a large enough mouth the allow two wide hoses in, and some weighting to keep it stable.)

You talking about the same Pace whose ADS200 is one of the best values in the industry?

They don’t make consumer crap, so it costs money. But it’s less expensive than much of its competition. Take JBC: perform great, but are expensive, and their tips are hellishly expensive. Pace consumables are very aggressively priced.

[tooki]

I'm still looking at them.  These days I am just bidding the lowest possible price for everything. Cosmetics are important too. I don't want my SO to get mad at me for spending money on what she calls "junk".

I am currently unburdened by a SWMBO. (Well, actually, being a gay man I'll never have one of those, but I suppose a HWMBO would be nice eventually!) Not that tit-for-tatting is a wise tactic, but I'm sure one could find plenty of things they spend on that you consider superfluous!

I have gotten a solder sucker since then that at least doesn't make me jump, its a simple bulb solder sucker.  $15
I'm experimenting with that and a little $6 foot-operated pump. And that is actually quite effective. Drawback is you need a bulky glass bottle to catch the solder. (or a small one with a large enough mouth the allow two wide hoses in, and some weighting to keep it stable.)

Huh?

[WattsThat]

Not to sound snide but obviously you’ve never used a Pace tool. Yes they are expensive, good tools always are. My 30 year old Pace analog soldering/desoldering station is an everyday workhorse with every consumable part available from dozens of sources at very reasonable prices.

There is a reason why even the used equipment sells for the big bucks. The stuff retains its value and replacement parts for every device are readily available. Heaters, switches, cables, you name it, it’s available. Worst case, you buy a whole new handpiece. Sometimes that’s a better choice for things like the desoldering handpiece. I got 20 years out of the original one with more than ten years of daily use on the heater.

Buy junk, use it a couple of times and throw it away. Buy a proper tool and it can last a lifetime.

[cdev]

Imagine something like a bellows connected to draw air into a handheld solder sucker, using a foot to work the bellows pump.
The air is drawn through a tube and a glass bottle serves as a trap to catch any solids. You could put water in the bottle if you want, or just leave it empty. The air is exhausted near your foot. It works quite well. There is a lot more sucking capacity in a small foot pump than there is in a small bulb. The sucking occurs not when you press the pump, but when you release your foot.

When its done it will involve both feet.

I have gotten a solder sucker since then that at least doesn't make me jump, its a simple bulb solder sucker.  $15
I'm experimenting with that and a little $6 foot-operated pump. And that is actually quite effective. Drawback is you need a bulky glass bottle to catch the solder. (or a small one with a large enough mouth the allow two wide hoses in, and some weighting to keep it stable.)

Huh?

[vk6zgo]

Not to sound snide but obviously you’ve never used a Pace tool. Yes they are expensive, good tools always are. My 30 year old Pace analog soldering/desoldering station is an everyday workhorse with every consumable part available from dozens of sources at very reasonable prices.

There is a reason why even the used equipment sells for the big bucks. The stuff retains its value and replacement parts for every device are readily available. Heaters, switches, cables, you name it, it’s available. Worst case, you buy a whole new handpiece. Sometimes that’s a better choice for things like the desoldering handpiece. I got 20 years out of the original one with more than ten years of daily use on the heater.

Buy junk, use it a couple of times and throw it away. Buy a proper tool and it can last a lifetime.

Sorry, but I've always been unimpressed with Pace, regarding them as overpriced & clunky .

Many years back, the first time I did a High Reliability Hand Soldering course, we were provided with both Pace tools & the locally made Royel brand.
The Royel units were much easier to use, with smaller handpieces, & were definitely equal in reliability, so everybody pushed to get their hands on one

At the time, the Pace units were quite a bit more costly, so Royel should have had the market all to themselves, but that was not to be, & over time, they lost market share due to stupid management decisions, until, in the mid 1990s, when my then job decided to buy a desoldering station for the transmitter site, Pace was virtually the only thing available (still at great expense).

A desoldering station was a mismatch for the particular job which prompted its purchase, so it was done another way, & the Pace sat unused for years.
I kept agitating for it to returned to the Studio where it might be used, but to no avail.

[Shock]

That was 3-4 generations back though. They started using cartridge technology in the early 2000s. This is the latest handpiece/heating technology the fastest standard tips are just a few seconds to warm up to 350C/660F. The vacuum desoldering has gone through several changes as well.

[wizard69]

There are several brands of workstation or similar commercial grade soldering equipment.    All of them are expensive to one degree or another but on the other hand people easily justify them for day to day use.

Personally I'm glad we have lots of choice in this segment.    I read one response above about iron size and the first thing that came to mind is it is a good thing that Pace has slightly larger irons.   I have large hands, imagine size 16 shoes, and frankly a lot of "electronics tooling" can be tedious for me to use.   So yeah very happy to see a variety of soldering solutions out there.

As for price and the wife, wives are dime a dozen and frankly easier to replace than a good set of tools.   The best way to deal with her disgust is to simply don't mention new tooling.   

By the way there is an old fisherman's joke (fear) that applies here.   The fisherman when asked how he explains the cost of all of his fishing gear to his wife simply replies that his greatest fear is that she will sell it for what he 'paid' for it when he dies. 

The other way to deal with the wifes concern about the cost of your tools is to come to an agreement where an equal number of dollars goes to  each person each month for fun money.

[james_s]

They're expensive because they're good quality gear with a solid reputation and people will pay what it costs. They cater primarily to professionals where the company is usually paying the bill, and next to the salary of a technician even the most expensive soldering tools are cheap. The thing about tools is they are an investment, buy good tools and only cry once, take good care of them and they will retain their value and serve you for many years. Just tonight I was using my $50 Klein crimper, it looks about the same as the $15 cheap brand but it WORKS so much better. Feels good in the hand, the joint is nice and tight without any slop and it makes a perfect crimp almost every time. Amortized over hundreds of crimps the cost difference is nothing. There are lots of less expensive options than Pace though, and some of it is not half bad. I quite like Hakko but even some of the Chinese stuff is ok, you just have to figure out what's ok and avoid the junk.

As for the cosmetic aspects of your tools, don't compromise your tool selection trying to please a wife, the ones who nag about that sort of thing will never understand it, and surely they spend money on something you don't understand? The appearance of a tool to a layman has no correlation to the value of the tool. Mine has all kinds of random sparkly stuff that she values highly and I see as completely superfluous but I don't hassle her for spending money on that stuff and she doesn't hassle me for spending money on my hobbies.

[sotos]

My friend I have a Pace about nearly 5 years, I repair electronic cards, also covered with epoxy. I bought 5 in a pack and after nearly 5 years I have not changed a soldering Tip, I work with the same one. Figure it out.

[Ground_Loop]

I'll make you a great deal on a pair of digital Weller stations with nice iron stands and many extra tips that were replaced by an ADS 200.  Color coordinated and pretty lights. The wife will love them.

[KE5FX]

Agreed with vk6zgo, Pace is overrated as heck.

Get a Hakko 808, or the current equivalent thereof, and you'll forget you ever heard of Pace.

[Shock]

They are really different tools as the Pace SX100 is a lightweight slim station based pencil handpiece. It comes with a proper stand and there is optional foot pedal activation and optional disposable traps for convenience. About 40 tips in the range, some of them vacuum pick tips. Aside from that the Pace vacuum stations run like 9 different tools off them so while they aren't portable they are flexible in other ways.

The Hakko FR301 (and older model 808) vacuum the solder through the nozzle then a hole through the heater, if this starts to frequently clog it likely means a new heater (about $140 on the FR301). On the Pace SX100 the tip is the only part that can clog which is a $8-12 cost to replace. A desoldering gun like the Hakko 808 is a bit of a chunky monkey compared to the Pace SX100, obviously it's an all-in-one but it has to be at least 5 times heavier.

Pace SX100 (top) Hakko FR301 (bottom)

[Shock]

This video explains that heater wear problem I mention in my last post. It's a different model but the same concept. I've never read about it happening just assumed it did. Hakko have on some newer models opted to integrate the heater and tip, but they start at $45 bucks which blows out the cost of ownership a bit if you get 3 or 4 tips.

[james_s]

The Hakko FR301 (and older model 808) vacuum the solder through the nozzle then a hole through the heater, if this starts to frequently clog it likely means a new heater (about $140 on the FR301). On the Pace SX100 the tip is the only part that can clog which is a $8-12 cost to replace. A desoldering gun like the Hakko 808 is a bit of a chunky monkey compared to the Pace SX100, obviously it's an all-in-one but it has to be at least 5 times heavier.

Huh? It comes with a little reamer tool for cleaning out the bore of the heater, I don't recall exactly when I bought mine but it must have been close to a decade ago and I've never replaced anything other than the usual consumables. It's a little chunky but it isn't as heavy as the old Weller soldering guns, and the all in one aspect is of high value to me because at least half the time I'm using it away from my bench. That aspect depends on the individual obviously.

[xmo]

Add me to this list of satisfied Pace users.

Once in a while a pistol grip tool is nice for a job and for that case I have one made by OK industries, but for the majority of things I work on the SX100 is optimum.