Low Cost Soldering Station for hobbyist use in the UK

[picandmix]

After looking though the previous thread  "Low Cost Soldering Station hobbyist use" it seems if you are in the US you can buy good quality budget stations like the Weller WES51D or the Hakko FX888D for under US $100 or GB  £64.

Yet here in the UK the Hakko is only available in 220 volt form as an China import  ( real or copy ?) , costing a total of around £130 after UK import charges  and Wellers seemingly Uk equivalent is in the £200 to £350 price bracket. 
I know its 'rip off UK' but seems strange why Weller should give the US market such different prices / units

In that other post WattsUp suggests the Xytronic LF-1600 80W from Rapid at £110 though not sure about its quality ..?
(Seems a lot of posts about the wrong 60w heating elements being fitted to some units )

Looking on ebay , UK only stockists,  there just seems a collection of the usual low quality far east units.

Is there anything like a decent solder station for around or under £100 in the UK..?   

[rob77]

check out this:

http://www.soldering.com.tw/soldering-station.htm

probably there will be a importer/reseller  in UK (there is a importer in EU covering czech republic and slovakia)
i'm more than happy with the SL-20, build quality is very good (stainless steel holder for the sponge, very good plastic parts...) many tip styles available..
i bought mine in a local shop for something like 90Euro, the tips are in the 2Euro range and a new handle is approx 16 Euro (i bought a second handle - it's faster to plug in a second handle with a different tip than changing tips , and i'm lazy by nature of course )

[WattsUp]

After looking though the previous thread  "Low Cost Soldering Station hobbyist use" it seems if you are in the US you can buy good quality budget stations like the Weller WES51D or the Hakko FX888D for under US $100 or GB  £64.

Yet here in the UK the Hakko is only available in 220 volt form as an China import  ( real or copy ?) , costing a total of around £130 after UK import charges  and Wellers seemingly Uk equivalent is in the £200 to £350 price bracket. 
I know its 'rip off UK' but seems strange why Weller should give the US market such different prices / units

In that other post WattsUp suggests the Xytronic LF-1600 80W from Rapid at £110 though not sure about its quality ..?
(Seems a lot of posts about the wrong 60w heating elements being fitted to some units )

Looking on ebay , UK only stockists,  there just seems a collection of the usual low quality far east units.

Is there anything like a decent solder station for around or under £100 in the UK..?   

You are probably right  about the quality, I just wanted to give him some ideas. Also, HAKKO have an (official) UK reseller, dancap.co.uk although they only accept a bank transfer of cheque. The prices are OK (but too much for my low budget), with the FX-888d coming in at ~£98. remember you have to add postage as well though.
Hope this helps,
Ben

[WattsUp]

With postage and VAT it comes to £130, although you are more likely to get half-decent product this way.
Ben

[KJDS]

I might have another Metcal lurking in the corner of the lab but I won't know until the new shelving turns up.

I do have a Weller WECP-82, yours for £60 including P&P.

[sparx]

Have you looked at the Atten rebadged stations?

AT907-938D - http://uk.farnell.com/tenma/21-10115-uk/soldering-station-60w-220v-uk/dp/2064549

AT60-D - http://uk.farnell.com/tenma/at60d-uk/soldering-station-220v-uk/dp/2075393


Do both of these have the "resistance" measurement technique described elsewhere rather than a proper method of measuring temperature?

[picandmix]

Thanks all  for the replies, a few options to consider / review / follow up on.

Think the Hakko FX888D would suit my needs, but equally think it would choke me ( tight yorkshireman  )  knowing that it sells for half the UK price in the US.

I might have another Metcal lurking in the corner of the lab but I won't know until the new shelving turns up.

I do have a Weller WECP-82, yours for £60 including P&P.

Thanks but think even a second hand  Metcal is way beyond my bugdet !

The WECP-82 , assume it works ok ?  though from the little I know of it, it originally came with the LR82 iron, which costs £200 to replace!      but your pics shows something more like a WSP80 size iron, wondered if that is so ? and if it works ok with that controller ?

[dannyf]

Is there anything like a decent solder station for around or under £100 in the UK..?

You should take a look at your needs and see if the Hakko or other options, including the clones, feed your needs. Once you figured out that answer, you can figure out the purchase channels.

To me, the basic handles with temperature controls are more than sufficient - but then I have only used those Radioshack 25w irons before so anything, clone or otherwise, is an upgrade to me.

[KJDS]

I might have another Metcal lurking in the corner of the lab but I won't know until the new shelving turns up.

I do have a Weller WECP-82, yours for £60 including P&P.

Thanks but think even a second hand  Metcal is way beyond my bugdet !

The WECP-82 , assume it works ok ?  though from the little I know of it, it originally came with the LR82 iron, which costs £200 to replace!      but your pics shows something more like a WSP80 size iron, wondered if that is so ? and if it works ok with that controller ?

It's got a WSP-80 iron but seems to be working fine.

[Howardlong]

While I realise you weren't looking for a rework station, I use one of the 898D clones daily (for example http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hot-SMD-2-in-1-Rework-Station-220V-Air-Gun-Solder-Iron-Welder-Spare-Accessories-/201088516793 ) and for some time I used the iron too as it saved me having to swap bits on the Weller I have (I have more than one Weller now so I don't have to swap bits). I still use the hot air iron, and have done for about four years. I keep a spare unit just in case, but have never needed to use it.

The 898D is available under a number of different re-badgings, and there are some UK suppliers of it, although check what accessories you get with it. I used the SMD bit (900M-T-1) extensively and found that I needed spares, but I was using it daily for proper work. I consider it excellent value for money, although be aware that sometimes the construction and attention to safety facets isn't quite what it should be. If it rattles on delivery, take it apart and fix it!

You will quite likely need a UK to EU plug adapter for it, or, far better, chop the round pin off and wire a "proper" 13A plug directly onto it, although these days I guess we're not meant to suggest such a transgression of health and safety unless a qualified electrician does it  (While I am not recommending this, back when I was your age, it was not unusual to not even bother with a plug, I won't go into the details, but suffice to say matchsticks have more than one purpose).

Regarding the Weller KJDS mentioned, I use a WSP80 iron daily, and have done for some years. If treated well, the bits last forever, mine still has the original chisel bit supplied with it. Weller is a sound investment. It will last you a lifetime.

[Yago]

If on that tight a budget I would punt with KJDS, he is a decent chap, not some fly by night. (I have bought test gear from him and very happy)

I think an iron should really not be skimped on(in terms of the quality), invest here as best you can.

UK is a bitch for some stuff no doubt, Flukes and Hakko etc, just have to learn to play the Euro game.
Go for companies like Brymen and Ersa, see plenty of USA posters bemoaning getting their hands on some of our kit!

In short, at least take a look at the Ersa Pico, give that Hakko more than a run for its' money IMVHO.

[nanofrog]

Another vote for the WECP-82 w/ WSP80 iron available from KJDS. 

FWIW, I have the same iron, and it works quite well. Good tip selection (LT series), and there are alternative sources for tips other than Weller should you want/need them (i.e. Techspray/Plato).

[artag]

Totally agree. A secondhand Weller is far nicer than some chinese clone, and £60 is a decent price. A yorkshireman will appreciate the quality . You might get one a bit cheaper if you hang around ebay for a month or so, but not much, and who knows how long ? KJDS is reliable and it's there now.

I saw a post here somewhere from a person who'd just burnt the lead on his nice new soldering station. Wellers come with silicone leads. I haven't burnt one yet.

[KJDS]

I just had a hunt for spare tips, as I knew I had some lying in the boot of my car. I think they have ended up under the spare wheel so I'll look tomorrow when its light, but have found a pile of Weller BA-60 barrel assemblies if anyone needs some.

[Wilksey]

I purchased a 2nd hand Weller temp controlled station from Ebay a few years back for about £60, was on an auction rather than buy now, I was bidding on auctions for about 3 weeks before I finally got one!

There is also some bargains to be had by sellers typing in the description wrong, i.e. spelling it "Weler" or not putting in a model number.

I had to buy new tips and a sponge, but all in all, I ended up spending about £80 on the temp controlled iron.

I have a static temp Oki Metcal station which was also quite expensive, another Ebay special, I got that one for about £120 with a tweezers attachment as well as the iron (single output though).

My original iron was a static Weller (WTCP 51) which I bought for around £150 from Farnell/CPC or Maplin on a special offer, worked OK for standard leaded stuff.

The T/C Weller is a WSD81, which is a 80W iron I believe, I will be looking for the 150W version shortly to upgrade.
The static OKI/Metcal is the MFR-1110, the tweezers are MFR-UK4 product code.  I had to buy tips for this one also, which are about £10 each from the likes of Farnell.

If you add up the parts from new, you can see the sort of savings you can get if you bide your time and persist.

[nanofrog]

I will be looking for the 150W version shortly to upgrade.

Might I ask what are you doing regularly that you need a 150W iron? 

[Wilksey]

Oh, I don't need one as such.
Some wires are a bit harder to solder, and some wire models I have repaired in the past seem to take a bit of heating, so I figured more wattage = better heat transfer for these types of fixes.

I am not going to rush out and buy one, I will wait and see if one comes up at a decent price on Ebay, and if it doesn't make any difference then oh well.

[nanofrog]

Oh, I don't need one as such.
Some wires are a bit harder to solder, and some wire models I have repaired in the past seem to take a bit of heating, so I figured more wattage = better heat transfer for these types of fixes.

I am not going to rush out and buy one, I will wait and see if one comes up at a decent price on Ebay, and if it doesn't make any difference then oh well.

Is a larger tip for better thermal transfer possible with your existing iron/s?

No idea what you've tried, so just offering what little I can in the way of suggestions.

[Wilksey]

Yeah, I have tried larger tips, it does help a little bit, but I would like to try a more powerful iron, plus, why not!

[artag]

I have a static temp Oki Metcal station which was also quite expensive, another Ebay special, I got that one for about £120 with a tweezers attachment as well as the iron (single output though).

My original iron was a static Weller (WTCP 51) which I bought for around £150 from Farnell/CPC or Maplin on a special offer, worked OK for standard leaded stuff.

'Static' is maybe a bit misleading. Both these irons are temperature controlled, it's just that the temperature is fixed by the tip. This is mostly a good thing. Some people like to be able to adjust the temperature according to the job, but often this is because they're used to irons where the control isn't very tight and they're stacking up some extra thermal energy so the temperature doesn't get too low when the joint is heated.

And a Metcal with tweezers for £120 is awesome

[Wilksey]

You're right, I should have said non user adjustable.

I had an app on one of my old phones that found misspelt items on Ebay, fat fingers or something, and I put a bid of up to £200, there were only 3 bidders including myself on the listing I think, and won it for £120, had to pay something like £15 postage, but I was happy with that.

I didn't know it came with the tweezers, it just said accessories, and they were in the box as well as the standard iron attachment, not sure why they were selling it, but it works great, just wish I had the dual output station!