Hey there probably a silly question but I bought a haako 951, I know it’s an esd safe station and the tip of the iron is also grounded (per the manufacturer) but my question is if it working on an esd safe mat grounded via the screw on a receptacle and using an esd wrist strap is the only the thing I need to do to bring the station to the same potential as myself the mat and the components I’m working on is place the station and holder on the mat and plug it in the same receptacle that the mat (and wrist strap via the snap common point ground that on the mat) are connected to? I don’t see any kind of grounding lug on the iron so I’m assuming it’s all done via internal wiring and the ground pin of the plug , as long as it’s the same receptacle ?
Sorry if it’s a silly question just want to be sure.

 

If the soldering station comes with a 3-pin power plug then the iron would be grounded through the power cable.
You can check for continuity between the iron and the ground pin of the power plug using an ohmmeter or continuity tester.

 

I suggest making a continuity check, with the solder station switched on but not plugged in. Check the resistance between the ground pin on the mains plug and the vearious metallic parts of the soldering tool. There should be a reasonably low resistance.

 

If the soldering station comes with a 3-pin power plug then the iron would be grounded through the power cable.
You can check for continuity between the iron and the ground pin of the power plug using an ohmmeter or continuity tester.

Understood, I assume with haako (buying a genuine one ) it should be good but I’ll just double check the continuity and go from there. Do folks usually solder directly on the esd mat or use some kind of silicone mat to avoid burning their mat ? Does using a silicone mat basically negate the esd protection from the mat and grounded iron/ my personal grounding with the strap ? Or is the potential the same between the iron /part/me since the part was placed on the esd mat before moving to the silicone mat ?

 

I think heat penetrating through the circuit board is not hot enough to damage the ESD mat.
You don't need an additional silicone mat.