Well my Weller arrived WE 1010.

It seems solid and heated up fast and the temp reading seems very helpful.

But I was a bit taken aback to see no lights at all, the LCD display has no backlight nor is there a power on light on either the unit itself or the iron, not show stoppers of course but a bit disappointing. Its nice to see a light indicating "on" and although the display being visible tells me its on, in a darker room (as I like to work) its a bit sad that there's no light, so I can see from a distance if I left the unit on or not.

 

Well my Weller arrived WE 1010.

It seems solid and heated up fast and the temp reading seems very helpful.

But I was a bit taken aback to see no lights at all, the LCD display has no backlight nor is there a power on light on either the unit itself or the iron, not show stoppers of course but a bit disappointing.

didnt realise youd ordered weller when i promoted metcal.
I have two wellers, both very reliable, and much lighter than the metcal power supply.
awaiting some great pictures of your joints, will be interestimg on your thoughts .,

 

one thing ive not seen mentioned
you say you used to solder ,
a big difference now, as well as lead free solder tempratures, is ventilation.

The fumes from the flux / solder process are now classed as , shall we say bad for you..

invest in a minimum of a desk fan to blow / dilute the fumes quick, or better yet an extraction system.

re recomenation, 110 % metcal , the temprature control is exact, and they have amazing power , thats well controled.

What model do you have? does the display have a backlight?

 

What model do you have? does the display have a backlight?

no display on mine , sorry.

 

no display on mine , sorry.

Oh, so how do you adjust the temp?

 

Oh, so how do you adjust the temp?

mine are set by the tips,
good old fashioned. !

 

Well my Weller arrived WE 1010.

It seems solid and heated up fast and the temp reading seems very helpful.

But I was a bit taken aback to see no lights at all, the LCD display has no backlight nor is there a power on light on either the unit itself or the iron, not show stoppers of course but a bit disappointing. Its nice to see a light indicating "on" and although the display being visible tells me its on, in a darker room (as I like to work) its a bit sad that there's no light, so I can see from a distance if I left the unit on or not.

Just touch the iron with your finger and you will know if it's on.

 

Just touch the iron with your finger and you will know if it's on.

I stepped on a soldering iron when I was like 24. I was working on the floor and was in and out (I was alone) just wearing socks and like a dumbass stepped on it, incredibly I realized very quickly and only my sock gout burned, could have been really nasty.

The Weller is fine, the thing heats fast and the temp stability seems very good, I'm rusty my soldering isn't as adept as it was so a bit practice is called for but its far better than a conventional basic soldering iron.

 

My little sister grabbed the hot soldering iron!
My daughter put her hand on a hot stove element!
Just a reminder to never lose your guard when toddlers are around things that grownups take for granted.

 

I stepped on a soldering iron when I was like 24.

Hopefully, you won't be making that mistake again.

I wasn't paying enough attention and burned the webbing on my left hand between thumb and forefinger while I was an R&D Tech. Haven't made that mistake again...

 

My little sister grabbed the hot soldering iron!
My daughter put her hand on a hot stove element!
Just a reminder to never lose your guard when toddlers are around things that grownups take for granted.

When I was little - not sure how old - my mother was ironing and had to run to answer the phone. As she turned to go answer the phone, she made a split second decision to tell me not to touch the iron because it was hot. That warning turned a boring iron into something to investigate. Moth to a flame. I wasn't hurt more than a minor burn, including the one still in my memory.

 

Get a T12 type soldering iron. The tips are long . The tips have integrated heaters with a thermocople in the circuit. The electronics driving the tip pulses the power and then senses the therocople voltage in between pulses to control temperature. They heat up in seconds with high power (~ 75 watts) and maintain the temp accurately. The tips are long enough to easily change out when hot. Just get good quality tips, and clean the tip with an old piece of cotton tee shirt before each solder joint. When I solder surface mount boards , I use a home made heat block that holds the board down and keeps it at about 100 degrees F. A SMD rework air tool is very useful for removing goofs by heating the part to about 400 F and pulling with tweezers. A fiberglass pen is useful for cleaning excess solder and preparing the surface for resoldering Always solder the side of the part with the lowest copper mass connected to it first, then the larger (usualy ground side) If you make you own pc boards , you can fit a 805 parrt in a 1206 space.

 

Don’t ever clean the soldering iron tip with anything that is abrasive, such as a file or sand paper. The tip is coated with iron and nickle that creates a layer of protection. I prefer to use a damp sponge for cleaning.

Apply a layer of fresh solder around the tip once in a while. This is called “tinning” the tip. The tip should always have a shiny appearance.

 

Hopefully, you won't be making that mistake again.

I wasn't paying enough attention and burned the webbing on my left hand between thumb and forefinger while I was an R&D Tech. Haven't made that mistake again...

A Hakaday commercial for for modern ergonomic soldering wands - ouch!



Modern Ergonomic Soldering Wands | Hackaday.io

 

There were at least three people who did not know how to use a soldering iron, (1) the person asked to pose for the photo, (2) the photographer, and (3) and (4), the person who commissioned the photo and the person who uploaded the photo to shutterstock.