The WE1010NA. I know there are better and more potent stations out there, but this one fits the bill just fine.

Pretty good, but has the “sleep” mode started to annoy you yet?

 

I've been using an X-tronic 5040-XTS-XR3 for about 6 years now and I really enjoy it. Weller is a great brand, one cant go wrong there, but I am surprised with how good the XTronic is (and looks) that I have never heard of anyone else getting one. It warms up in seconds, the cord is flexible (and burn resistant) silicone, it came with replacement heating elements, and I still have not ruined a tip. There is no miserable sleep mode either. The enitre iron comes apart with ease so if a wire comes loose, it is easy to fix (and thankfully I havent had to fix it). Best of all, the reflow preheater on top makes a great coffee cup warmer!!!

 

Pretty good, but has the “sleep” mode started to annoy you yet?

Not yet ... but I promise I'll let you know when that happens.

 

I have never heard of anyone else getting one

I've been using the X-Tronic 3020 70W iron for years. Very compact (before they started adding all the gimmicks like "Helping Hands") with detachable solder roll holder (use mine detached). It does go to sleep but not very quickly (never timed it) and never really bothered me when it did as it is quick reheating. They were ~40USD but now 55USD. Very similar to Weller, only more compact.

 

I've been doing soldering for ages. But this is the first time I've had to implement a "soldering production line" of sorts in which several people are tasked with soldering #24 ga wires into PCB's. The soldering equipment I'm using is of the "Cheap-o-matic" brand. That is, they're simple, primitive soldering pencils.

Well, after a rather clumsy start, I discovered that not all soldering tips are created equal, nor even close alike. The tips do not hold on to the solder at all because they're not pre-tinned, and melted balls are created that dance around the PCB until they find a hot spot and finally get attached and then flow into it. I know that the key to proper soldering lies all in the way that heat flows into the parts. But I have been unable to make things work the way I'd like them to.

In example, after soldering a couple of hundred cables, the tip got badly corroded and quickly wore out ... what's the deal? ... am I using too much flux?

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This is because you're not using FLUX. You must use flux, as this _cleans' the tip and the surface you're working with. Get yourself flux, and use the right solder- make sure you know which is right, based on needs (are you using silver solder, or another kind, or using rosin core? I find for tinning, keeping a spool of heavy gauge rosin-core around can be quite useful.

 

I own an old WES51, and it works ok. But its ability to sustain a stable temperature sucks. I'm also thinking about using flat tipped "screwdriver" tips for this application. Soldering a wire to a PCB requires heating a larger work area than an ordinary electronic component, I would guess.

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I still use the same for non reflow work-- do you still have the magnetic pencil to _set_ it at the value you want it to maintain?

 

I still use the same for non reflow work-- do you still have the magnetic pencil to _set_ it at the value you want it to maintain?

Yes, all of the WES51 parts are original and fully functional