Hi,
For Weller WMD-1D & WD3000, I have many issue to clean the nozzle because the desoldering iron is curved.
For me the best is a gun (e.g. Hakko). Because the tin storage is not in your hand (don't burn your hand) and not curved (easy to clean).
I didn't really like the Hakko-Desoldering-Iron. It felt not very ergonomic without the grip and with the "Gun"-look it was not very precise to use.
BTW: Changing the Tip is REALLY stupid! You have a little plastic-tool but the whole thing is so hard to remove sometimes I threw the hot Tip on the bench because I had to use so much force. For proper cleaning you also have to remove the Tip and turn it by 90 degrees. And the solder gets always stuck in the latter part (there's a little pipe behind the heater), so you have to do this often.
Another issue I hated: Combined heater and Tip. Maybe it's faster, but ~40€ for a Tip (and you have to have a collection for proper desoldering). I would have to invest ~150€ just for Tips, thanks but no!
As for the Weller, there are not-curved Irons too (DSXV80), but i like the curved one. It is less precise in use than the straight one, but quite comfortable. And the cleaning is not such a big issue, you have to put this needle once in a while into the nozzle, but that's just a matter of 3-4 seconds. And that issue I had with every Desoldering Iron including the Hakko.
The PACE (I think it was a MBT-350) ones I did like, but they have (at least the one I used) a fatal design flaw. There were "flying" wires going into the heating-element that broke after a few years due to heat and mechanical stress -> buy a new heater. The SMD-Tweezers were also troublesome, the rubber on the grip was not really heat-resistant. But the soldering-results were great.
From all stations I used, the Weller WMD 3 is (for me) the best. Only Issue are the small tips. For big desoldering-work (BNC-Plugs soldered at the case) it's a bit annoying (I have only a 50W-Unit, not the DSX80
). In that case I use a WSP80 to give a little extra heat, and that iron has power
There is one "extra-thick" Nozzle for higher thermal capacity, I will try that one.
From first impression (but never used it) the new ERSA-Units look pretty cool (i-Con Vario).