Soldering Irons

4 May 2018

I'm looking to step up my soldering game. I've seen the relatively new intergrated heating element into the soldering iron tip, like the JBC stations. Does anyone know a budget version that uses the same tech?

Top Comments

jw0752 over 7 years ago +4

Hi Jade, Here is a great soldering iron that was given to me by a good friend. I have been using it every day for about a year and it is still on the first tip. You can set the temperature anywhere you…
shabaz over 7 years ago +3

Hi Jade, I've not used it myself, but we specified Metcal PS-900 for a few sites, no complaints so far. It is fairly low cost. It uses Metcal's own system, which is like a competitive technology to other…
fluxcap over 7 years ago in reply to genebren +3

I looked at it and it seems to be a good choice only that your counting on the smartheat thing to adjust for the temp. I'd rather be able to control it. Also if you know of any really good old tech soldering…

msbettyhunt over 6 years ago

My vote goes to Hakko 941 soldering station which is also one of my best investments ever in soldering.
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genebren over 7 years ago in reply to fluxcap

Jade,

I wish you good luck with your ebay purchase. I have gotten a lot of good used equipment from Ebay, but you never really know who you are dealing with until you receive and test your equipment. I have some new/unused and some lightly used tips for this iron. Should they be of any use to you, they are yours for the cost of shipping only. Let me know if you are interested and we can setup a transfer.

Good luck!
Gene
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neilk over 7 years ago

Hi Jade

I have a Precision GOLD A55KJ soldering station, originally sold by, now sadly defunct, Maplin.

It looks exactly like the Tenma 21-10115, as mentioned by John Wiltrout jw0752 and Fabio Origlia gecoz.

It works extremely well and was modestly priced - about £50 GBP I think

Neil
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gecoz over 7 years ago

Hi Jade,

I can vouch for the the Tenma 21-10115 too, the same John mentioned before, as I bought it about 18 months ago and I found it very good.

Fabio.
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shabaz over 7 years ago in reply to koudelad

The Ersa models are very impressive too. I guess the common thing with all these models is the large amount of power available, and the ability to rapidly deliver it with its closed loop feedback, regardless of the underlying implementation. I too have a JBC iron, but an older model base than yours (but same handle, T245, although I use the smaller T210 more often for general work).
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