Stannol Industa 550 soldering station teardown

[Trakehner1]

Hi all,

I got a good deal on a station from a brand that is better known for its soldering wire/pastes. The company is based in Wuppertal and has released three new soldering station units, all digital. The Industa 550 is their entry level and where I live retails for EUR130 but in Germany it can be bought for less than EUR90. I did play with their previous Industa 300 series and they felt like crap, very bad build quality on the outside, soldering pencils looked like a $3 Radioshack one, but have not used one. So, here`s the new line.

The good

The build quality is fantastic, looks better than on the pictures. Case is nice, made of powder coated aluminium. The unit is bulky, bigger than my Weller EC2100 and weights 2kg. The back AC inlet looks very much like a Schurter, uses a computer type socket cable. Connector is very tight and looks of good quality. The pencil feels ok, nothing fancy, although I do prefer my EC1201A. The cable is good but does not seem to be silicone rubber, not as hard as on a RDS 80 but could have used silicone cable instead. It`s not an obstacle when soldering. Tip hits 380C faster than the advertised 50sec, my chronometer showed 38 seconds indeed in what was around 28C room temp. Station reacts quickly and is advertised to be ESD safe, which it is as seen later. The plug is to the back. Transformer is a torroid with dual secondaries of 24VAC and 9VAC. PCB design and soldering appears too clean for a knock off (I will make a point on this later) and the elements look genuine, like the ones I get from Mouser. All wiring inside is laid out very nicely with extra thermal shrinking tape and silicone boots around the cable ties. Cabling is pretty thick, thicker than on the EC2100. The build quality, with one exception (the iron plug socket) seems better than the Wellers I`ve had. It feels very robust as a unit. It was also nicely packed, the power unit, iron and the stand had all their own separate white cardboard box inside the main one. The unit is also supplied with two extra tips with the main one being a conical (which made me look up if it`s not a knock off). The manual is very limited and consists mostly of warnings to not touch the tip when hot and so on (even to not use the station when under illegal drugs! - formulated this way exactly - made me laugh).

The bad

The display is really too bright and can be quite annoying, especially if it is darker. The iron socket is misaligned (not sure if this was made on purpose, but why would they). The soldering pencil looks identical to the Aoyie and heating element does not appear to be ceramic (but is advertised as high quality ceramic heater) and has no producer name on it. The soldering iron stand also resembles what was the Hakko 936 but is slightly modified, having elliptical holes to the top. The supplied sponge is narrower than the bed inlay and its annoying to touch the stand almost every time when I need to wipe the tip. Temp tolerance is given as 5% which is a lot - at 300C that`s 15C! I don`t have an infrared thermometer to check its accuracy but can do this soon. Besides, under it there are no large circles as in the original Hakko 936, which makes me think if this could be another nicely dressed Hakko 936 knock off. Stannol is a big brand and I doubt they`d do this but the pencil and the stand look so similar to the Aoyie clone.

What do you, guys, think - can this be a OEM unit made by Hakko for Stannol, or maybe the power unit is in house design and the soldering iron and stand are OEM built by Hakko for them?

Or does this look closer to another knock off?

[wraper]

Dunno if hakko clone for EUR 90 can be considered a good deal.

[wraper]

The fact that heater has metal shell, means that it in not just average hakko clone but there is a little bit more in it. It still can be ceramic heater inside.

[Trakehner1]

Hi, what do you mean about the metal shell on the heater?

I did look around and the iron and holder are identical to those supplied with the Atten 938D. I paid EUR73 for it but thing is, I was going to buy an Ersa Icon Pico and just saw this which seemed cheap to me as this station usually retails for EUR130 here. I don`t like copies and budget was enough for a Pico, RDS80 or a FX-888D. May still return it and get a proper one.

[nanofrog]

I'd suggest looking at an Ersa Nano instead (i.e. ~174EUR, here). Based on comments from owners, it's much better than the Pico, as it's made in Germany, uses metal for the heater assy. rather than plastic, and unlike the Nano, is ESD compliant.

It's also a far better performer than the Hakko FX-888D or RDS80.

Also, Ersa's 102 series tips are very well made (thick plating = will last a long time), offer a large selection of shapes, and don't cost a fortune either.

So if you can come up with the additional funds, it would be in your best interest to take a hard look at this before buying (fair bit of information on this station here in the forum, including internal photos IIRC).

[Trakehner1]

If I have to be honest, the Nano i a bit over my budget - I know it might be excellent but not sure if I can afford it now. I did call the shop and they`d refund me and take the Atten copy labeled Stannol. I notice the Nano base is only EUR84 but the iron is pretty pricey?

So choice is now between the Hakko FX-888D or the Icon Pico. If i manage to find a good Nano (or a second hand one in good condition) I would very likely buy it instead.

[wraper]

Hi, what do you mean about the metal shell on the heater?

Outer layer of the heater is metal, all other clones I've seen are ceramic on the outside.

[Trakehner1]

http://www.myvolt.de/index.php?cat=KAT218&product=P5106E-HE

This above is the Stannol branded one. Below is the Atten 936b heating element which is exactly the same as the one in the station, even the cables are same colors.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/ATTEN-4-Core-50W-Soldering-Irons-Replacement-Heating-Element-stainless-steel-Heater-for-AT936b-AT8586/2037902751.html

Definitely their own power unit (Stannol) driving an Atten iron.

[Keith956]

I bought one of these soldering irons from iFixit. For the price it's not bad value, however I have one problem with it: spare bit availability. I have tried but so far had absolutely no luck finding a source of replacement bits. I've tried contacting Stannol themselves, they replied but unhelpfully suggested Farnell and Conrad, neither of which stock them in the UK, and would not supply bits directly.

iFixit who sell the iron, despite their bold claims of being standard bearers for the right to repair, don't sell spare bits either.

[wraper]

I bought one of these soldering irons from iFixit. For the price it's not bad value, however I have one problem with it: spare bit availability. I have tried but so far had absolutely no luck finding a source of replacement bits. I've tried contacting Stannol themselves, they replied but unhelpfully suggested Farnell and Conrad, neither of which stock them in the UK, and would not supply bits directly.

iFixit who sell the iron, despite their bold claims of being standard bearers for the right to repair, don't sell spare bits either.

Measure dimensions and see if they are the same as hakko and it's clone tips.

[Keith956]

Measure dimensions and see if they are the same as hakko and it's clone tips.

Good idea. They are 5mm external diameter, 4mm internal. The shank of the bit is 25mm long. They look very much like these:

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-iron-tips/7998985/

which don't have the dimensions alas.

[wraper]

Measure dimensions and see if they are the same as hakko and it's clone tips.

Good idea. They are 5mm external diameter, 4mm internal. The shank of the bit is 25mm long. They look very much like these:

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-iron-tips/7998985/

which don't have the dimensions alas.

4mm internal is the same as Hakko. I doubt you wrote correct external dimension though. 0.5mm wall is suspiciously thin.

[Clemichevre]

Has anyone found out if the Hakko tips are compatible? Tips availability is the only thing stopping me from buying this station... Thanks!

[uli12us]

The cheap 900M tips should be good. The measures are 4mm Id and 6mm Od. Unfortunately I can't find how long the hole is.
But if its different, you can either cut it off or you can extend the hole with small parts of unused Tips.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=soldering+iron+tip+900M&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=soldering+tip+900M

[Keith956]

I found these fitted:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06VZ3Y9ZW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[wickated]

can you get a replacement?

yes

[Keith956]

can you get a replacement?

yes

Tell me where? I checked a RS Pro iron which visually looks identical. The pinout of the connector is wired differently though (and the RS element is ceramic, unlike the Stannol one). Worse, the sensor has a different resistance/tempco, so even if you rewire it, it can't control the temperature.

Nobody in the UK seems to sell Stannol irons and even iDontFixit have stopped listing them (and they didn't sell replacement parts anyhow).

[wickated]

Nobody in the UK seems to sell Stannol irons

but everybody in china sell chinese products https://aliexpress.com/item/33042780389.html

[Keith956]

Thanks, but do you know if those elements have the same sensor as the Stannol iron? As I mentioned, seemingly identical irons have elements with a different sensor making them incompatible.

[wickated]

Thanks, but do you know if those elements have the same sensor as the Stannol iron? As I mentioned, seemingly identical irons have elements with a different sensor making them incompatible.

you have amplification adjustment pot on board for compatibilty

[Keith956]

Well as there is no UK distributor for Stannol it's going in the bin and I'm buying a Hakko to replace it.

[wickated]

Well as there is no UK distributor for Stannol it's going in the bin and I'm buying a Hakko to replace it.

plz no hakko. go for pace ads200 at least

[SteveyG]

Well as there is no UK distributor for Stannol it's going in the bin and I'm buying a Hakko to replace it.

plz no hakko. go for pace ads200 at least

Unobtainium at the moment, especially in the UK

[Shock]

Unobtainium at the moment, especially in the UK

Farnell and Welectron in Europe both have Pace ADS200 stock. Just not the Instant Setback Stand (ISB) version. Everywhere else is fine, Tequipment have 40 of the US model with ISB (left from about 60).

You can always order the 230V model directly from Pace as well or use a freight forwarder. But importing probably works out more expensive due to tax and freight extortion.

[Keith956]

Well the Hakko arrived and I'm very pleased with it. The power unit is smaller than the Stannol one; the stand holds the iron nicely and the iron itself feels good quality. Heats up quickly and more importantly maintains temperature well.

I can only presume Stannol isn't interested in selling their irons in the UK (or supporting their users here?).

As for iFixit, the company that champions the 'right to repair' but sells stuff that can't be repaired - what a bunch of hypocrites.