What solder station to choose - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: buvikingen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2018, 10:35:06 am
content: Hi Eevblog membersI have asked question in here before, with great results. I love the advice I get.I am now looking into upgrading my crappy soldering station (cheap one from conrad). I am located in Europe, so I have narrow my field into Ersa soldering irons, and there is physical stores that sells them.I am really in doubt to choose either the:Ersa i-CON NanoOrErsa i-CON 1I know the price different is large (I-con 1 is 1.8 times more expensive than the I-con nano), but I do not want to upgrade the iron again in the future. I am leaning more towards the nano, since I do not solder large soldering pads (from motherboards for example).What would you guys advice?

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2018, 01:44:44 pm
content: I have the nano.If you can afford a “bigger” i-Con, I’d suggest it. (Especially the 1V if you can afford it, since it supports other tools.)What I miss in the nano:- backlit LCD- real, accelerometer-based setback- settings configurable on the station, instead of having to use a PC and microSD card (as on the nano)- power switch on the front!!!None of these affect the soldering performance, which is great. It’s just convenience/usability. (The nano and the bigger models use the same heater in the iron. It’s literally the same iron, just with an accelerometer and a different connector.)

author: buvikingen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2018, 01:55:11 pm
content: Thank you for the respons tooki!The real accelerometer-based setback you meantion is that for the "sleep" mode when you put the iron into its base?I can see the I-con 1V is a lot more expensive than the I-con 1, and I haven't really used other tools in my days, exept sometimes the tweesers you can get to remove smd components (they are very handy, but I do not think I will use them enough, for the high price tag).Isn't it true that the I-con 1 can deliver peak power of 150watt? and is nominal 80watt like the nano? Or am I mistaking?

author: KaneTW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2018, 02:26:59 pm
content: Get the i-con 2v if you're considering the 1v --- it costs the same. The higher end stations are only worth it if you need the built-in (as opposed to separate) vacuum pump, as the hot air station is rather weak.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2018, 02:51:17 pm
content: Quote from: buvikingen on August 22, 2018, 01:55:11 pmYou're welcome! And yes, that's exactly it. The nano does it only by detecting lack of activity, which works OK, but there are some situations where it won't automatically wake up and you have to press a button.Quote from: buvikingen on August 22, 2018, 01:55:11 pmI mean, the big things are the SMD tweezers or a desoldering gun.Quote from: buvikingen on August 22, 2018, 01:55:11 pmErsa's specs on this are clear as mud. :/ Depending on where you look in their documentation, the nano is listed as either 68W or 80W, while the i-Con 1/1V is 80W or 150W, and the 2/2V is either 120W or 150W. Meanwhile, the iron itself is rated at 150W…(I do know that the nano drives the iron at 16.5V while the bigger ones drive it at 24V.)Quote from: KaneTW on August 22, 2018, 02:26:59 pmOh wow, they are! How weird is that?!?

author: KaneTW
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2018, 03:18:06 pm
content: Yeah, I don't even know. Maybe they're phasing out one of the models?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2018, 03:42:29 pm
content: If you will use it only with smaller tips, there won't be difference in performance between nano and 1 or 1V. However if use larger tips like 3.2mm or larger chisel on high thermal mass stuff, you'll notice significant difference.

author: TJ232
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2018, 04:01:16 am
content: +1 for i-con 2v