Soldering Station Advice

xrobwx71 · Oct 30, 2020

@Digerati
Bill,

Occasionally, like this morning, I needed to re-solder some tiny studs that broke off of a circuit board in a paint sprayer. I have a propane-powered soldering iron that works but I am looking for something that is controllable and better suited for these kinds of repairs. That propane iron is like trying to hold a mosquito with a pair of chopsticks.

What about this model?

Amazon.com

FreeBooter · Oct 30, 2020

X-Tronic Model 3020-XTS LED Display Soldering Iron Station to be the best for beginners and casual hobbyists. The station performed similarly to options that cost twice as much and had one of the fastest warm-up times of the soldering irons.
Amazon.com

Digerati · Oct 30, 2020

That's a lot of money. How often will you be soldering? I would consider something like that if I was doing a lot of soldering almost every day.

How often do you need to solder? Do you only need to solder? What about air rework?

I certainly think it is important to "invest" in quality tools. And there are some stations that cost well into the $1000s. But there are quite a few that are less $100 that work great for most tasks. Even something like this (no fair - FreeBooter just beat me to it

) X-Tronic may serve your needs well. Check out the Pro-kit version. The lighted magnifying glass is really a nice feature. The son of friend just got that model and so far, really likes it.

I have a 30 year old Weller that seems similar to this and still works great - though it does take awhile to heat up and stabilize. But I do so little soldering these days that I don't mind.

xilolee · Oct 30, 2020

X-Tronic 3030-XTS, Missing 1 Tip! | eBay

Make $29.95 as offer: yours with $38!

xrobwx71 · Oct 30, 2020

Thanks guys. It's one of those situations where my partner, who owns most of the business till he retires says, "Get a damn good one".

I'm not going to be soldering every day but frequent enough to spend some money. The repair I made yesterday @$75 per hour will pay for itself in a few goes.

I'll probably get the Hakko for the store and the 3060 Pro for my home personal use.

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Soldering Station Advice

xrobwx71

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FreeBooter

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Digerati

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Microsoft MVP (Ret.)

xilolee

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xrobwx71

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Soldering Station Advice

xrobwx71

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FreeBooter

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Digerati

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xilolee

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xrobwx71

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Moderator
Hardware Expert
Microsoft MVP (Ret.)