ckthorp said:
Go for a WES51. The heatup time is about 20 seconds. Literally. It's fast and accurate. I've got one in my lab at work and love the thing.
+1 for Weller.
I used to have a WTCPN (the current incarnation of which is the
WTCPT) station that I... uh, "borrowed" from my dad. Evidently he got it the same way from his dad (my grandfather). I had to replace the heater coil (probably the original) at one point and replace a few tips after foolishly sanding them down to get a finer point (Weller tips are multi-layered - sanding them makes them corrode), but it was otherwise trouble-free.
The design's simplicity makes it pretty much bullet-proof. The tip undergoes some kind of mechanical or magnetic change depending on temperature, so the iron's temperature is set by what tip you have installed (I always used a 700° tip). A magnetic switch in the tube of the pencil picks up on that change and toggles the heater on and off. There's an audible click when the thermostat switches states, which lets you know the iron is up to temperature... It took less than a minute to go from stone cold to ready IIRC. All the base has in it is a fuse, switch, power light and transformer. There's not much to wear out or break.
After discovering that he was using a cheapie plug-in pencil iron, I returned the WTCPN to my dad a little over a year ago and picked up a Weller WESD51 to replace it - It's the WES51 with a digital display. No complaints so far. According to the display, it heats up in under 30 secs and consistantly keeps the tip within 20°F (±3° while idle) of it's set temperature, no matter what I'm doing.
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Oh... I also carry a Weller Portasol 2 around in my car tool kit. Nothing but good experiences there as well, if you're looking for something butane powered. I wouldn't expect nearly the level of regulation you get from an electric soldering station, but it excells as a go-anywhere iron. I think I got it at lowes for $30 or $40 - just the basic iron, no case or extra tips.
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