Soldering Stations: Time to fish or cut bait

[watchmaker]

I have been reading the threads on soldering stations (I have a Weller that needs to be replaced).

Thank you to all.

It seems to me a lot of energy is expended to make the various Chinese versions functional.  On the other hand, the stations they attempt to emulate are very expensive; Hakko being the exception but having its limitations and higher cost.

I do not want to include solder station hacking in my list of hobbies.

After reading about the Esra, I settled on this used I-Con station with extra tips and knobs for $125 w/ returns.  I downloaded the manual and will check it out upon arrival.  I am a believer in used equipment of proven design.  The only new things costing over $50 in my learning lab are a Siglent scope and an Analog Discovery. 

Just a suggestion to others trying to make sense of it all.  As always, make sure the seller offers a return privilege and that it has an eBay money back guarantee.  Been on since 1998 and have never been stuck with a bad item.  Always got refunded.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256199736830

[tooki]

That’s an odd configuration, in that it’s the i-Con station with an older handpiece. The station itself is actually really good, being the older-type i-Con 1 (later renamed to the 1V) that supports both the new and older handpieces. Later i-Con 1 (without V) units support only the new handpieces.

With that said, you really want the new handpiece, the i-Tool, because it has twice the power in a smaller, lighter handpiece. Or even better, get the just-released i-Tool Mk 2, which they claim is 20% better still. The new bayonet-type tips of the Mk 2 mean you don’t have to buy a separate tip holder for each tip you buy; the bayonet-style ones have the holder built in, at the same price. And they’re easier to swap with one hand.

(I have an i-Con nano at home and it’s great, and have used the i-Con 1, 1V, and 2V extensively at work. I think they’re a great choice.)

[ferdieCX]

I have the i-Con 2 since 2008 and I am very satisfied with it. I have the i-Tool and also the 80W PowerTool for things that require a more massive iron.
The TechTool is a 60W iron. May be in the future you will ad the i-Tool for more delicate jobs.

[watchmaker]

I will have to try this setup out before doing anything else.  What makes it work is that it should be a turnkey system and the seller accepted my $125 offer.  My Weller is 60 watts so this might well meet my needs.  Especially if Ersa specs are conservative.  If not, back it goes.  If I have to buy a new handpiece, might as well bite the bullet on a brand new station.  Looks like new can be had on Amazon for around $300; and that's without shopping around.

Thanks.  BTW, do all iron variations accept the same tips?  I grew up in the days when one plug in iron fit all situations.  But then, circuits were on terminal strips.

[Psi]

There's really only 2 absolutely critical factors when getting a new iron
- The Tip and Element are in one single bonded assembly, so you have the best thermal coupling between them
- That genuine tips are available. (eg if getting a china clone iron it MUST support a common tip standard from a reputable brand so you can put a genuine tip on it)

[tooki]

Thanks.  BTW, do all iron variations accept the same tips?  I grew up in the days when one plug in iron fit all situations.  But then, circuits were on terminal strips.

Each iron accepts a particular tip series only.

i-Tool, i-Tool nano, and i-Tool pico all use series 102 tips.
The Mk 2 versions of those, as well as the i-Tool Trace, use series 142 tips.

Because the i-Tool is already quite a powerful iron (150W peak power) it can handle a wide array of tips, from the tiny (and IMHO largely useless) 0.1mm chisel, all the way to huge inch-wide wedges for solder wicking large areas. I routinely used the one at work with tips from under 1mm up to a 10mm chisel.

There was never a time where one plug-in iron fit ALL situations. They sold different size “fire stick” irons in the past for that reason.

Anyhow, if you want flexibility, consider keeping that station and just buying the new handpiece for it. (Or asking the seller if you can just return the Tech Tool handpiece for a discount.) As I said: the old station has wide flexibility with handpiece compatibility. If you buy a new i-Con for $300, it will not support as wide a range of handpieces. (And other than this, they haven’t changed.)

[tooki]

There's really only 2 absolutely critical factors when getting a new iron
- The Tip and Element are in one single bonded assembly, so you have the best thermal coupling between them

That certainly is not “absolutely critical”. Ersa manages to get extremely good performance from “passive” tips thanks to precision design. I’ve used JBC and Pace cartridge-heater systems, and Ersa i-Con systems (which aren’t cartridge heater) and honestly, the Ersa is my overall favorite of them all, though all of them are good. Yes, the cartridge-heater systems heat faster, but only by a few seconds, and in actual soldering you just don’t notice a difference at all. So when other factors come into play (notably, tip quality, handpiece design and station ergonomics), I think those end up being more important.

JBC, for example, has excellent thermal performance (thanks in part to its aggressive overshoot) but extremely expensive tips that don’t last long, and while I like how thin the handpieces are, I don’t like how long they are. I prefer Pace and Ersa’s short handpieces. Ersa tips last forever and cost half as much. (It’s a pity JBC tips are so costly, because their array of tips is absolutely massive. But you’d go broke buying them all.) I really dislike how JBC won’t let you change the tip temperature without pulling the iron out of the stand (and for the life of me I cannot come up with any explanation for this; if anything it took more effort to program the error message it displays than it would to just let you do it!).

[watchmaker]

The Ersa I-Con with Tech tool arrived last night. 

 Very beefy control unit!  The Tech tool is not all that different from the size of my Weller.

While it only has a timer based auto sleep mode, it is ESD safe and came with 5 tips and sleeves/nuts.  The plastic nuts seem to stay cool enough.  For $125 with about 3/4 pounds of Kester solder, it likely suits my future needs.  Not being a professional, I am less concerned about recovery time and having to wet the tip to wake it up.

Nothing against the Chinese stations, but I literally do not have enough time to learn what I want and to also correct the issues reported with the new units.

As time goes by, I may do as has been suggested and upgrade to the I-Tool iron.  But that decision will be based on what I wind up doing.  May consider the Pencil instead for a maneuverable iron.