Portable *professional* soldering iron? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 06:25:38 pm
content: I'm getting tired of lugging my entire Hakko setup on the road. Too many separate pieces, etc. However, the typical Radio Shack-style "heater with a cord" is completely useless junk for real work, and while I've tried the LiPo-powered irons they just don't have decent temperature regulation.Is there aprofessionalportable iron out there, meant for road warriors who actually need good equipment?

author: switchabl
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:15:34 pm
content: I use an ERSA Multi-Pro for odd jobs which is basically a high-quality version of the heater-with-cord iron. It's better than the cheap ones, the PTC heater sits inside the tip which helps. It works for small stuff but compared to my regular JBC station, it is very slow and it lacks power. However they now have the Multi-TC which is the same form-factor but is supposed to have fast regulation with a sensor at the tip. May be worth a look?If you don't need to change temperature a lot, you could also look at a soldering iron with a self-regulating (Curie point) tip, like the Weller Magnastat series.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:20:42 pm
content: I know it's small, but a TS100 powered by a Power tool battery (or maybe, with lesser power, a TS80 and USB-C supply) will give you a highly portable setup with Hakko type heat output and regulation. Tip choices are adequate rather than extensive.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:27:27 pm
content: I used TS100 with power brick to work in a field. Can be used with external battery too. Tip to grip distance and grip itself are not great but good enough for portable tool. TS80 is newer and better designed tool, easier to use with power bank. However maximum power is a bit lacking. EDIT: I see there is also TS80Pnow with more power. Not up to TS100 but IMHO quite acceptable for most cases.

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:36:24 pm
content: The TS100 is ann excellent product, but I'd regard it as a hobby device. Not because it's a toy, but because the real distinction between hobby and professional is whether the manufacturers regard commercial use as an excessive duty cycle for their product.This might take the form of not backing the warranty if it's determined that the tool is being subjected to levels of use that are unreasonable for a hobby device. I have no idea whether Miniware have this attitude, but in most cases we buy their products from vendors who are all but uncontactable if there is a failure. This alone makes them non-professional. If you buy them from Digikey or Farnell the situation might be different .. but do they sell them ? The commercial vendors might have their own policy on whether they're professional tools or not.I use the TS100 'professionally' (ie for elements of my paid work) but if it breaks I'd regard it as unfortunate and buy another, not expect to be able tom return it. Indeed, on mine the OLED display died after a few months of sparing use. I didn't return it, I bought a replacement display. It was less hassle than trying to return it to a far-east vendor I'd chosen for lowest cost.Traditionally, portable irons used professionally were usually gas devices such as the Weller Pyropen or the Oryx version. I don't know of a replacement product. The pyropen (which is actually manufactured by the Chinese Engineer company, famous amongst hobbyists for their PA09 crimps) is still available at an ever-increasing price. They're a bit agricultural for modern circuit boards but I do know a guy who used a gas iron to repair SMD boards in the field. Almost literally .. the boards in question were in a visitor attraction at Kew Gardens.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:37:49 pm
content: Another option is something like thishttps://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000055007842.htmlused with genuine or clone Hakko T12 soldering iron.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:39:43 pm
content: Are butane catalyst irons no longer a thing? I remember them being quite useful for some tasks at work, back in the day

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:42:07 pm
content: Quote from: artag on September 11, 2022, 07:36:24 pmThe problem with "Professional" brands is that for portable use they offer only garbage firesticks, usually with no temperature regulation whatsoever.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:43:52 pm
content: Quote from: AVGresponding on September 11, 2022, 07:39:43 pmTry taking that on an airplane. And it's not a replacement for a proper temperature regulated soldering station.

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:50:59 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on September 11, 2022, 07:42:07 pmI still have my Oryx 50, which I bought at college in 1979. It's thermostatic but has no separate power supply box. I think Weller make something similar in the TCP range. Oddly, it still seems to be available (there's also an Oryx 30, which has no regulation) but only in Zambia. I tend to use the TS100 instead with a laptop power supply, mostly because it has smaller tips available.Hoping to see Mikeselectricstuff join the thread. He's a guy who does a lot of fieldwork on state-of-the-art electronics, who's also fussy about what tools he uses. Maybe he's built a battery pack for a Metcal. Though battery packs aren't great for air passengers either.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 07:58:39 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on September 11, 2022, 07:20:42 pmthere's also the PINECIL if you can get one

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 08:06:39 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on September 11, 2022, 07:43:52 pmI have taken one on a plane, though granted, that was in the late 1990s.Sometimes you don't need a temperature regulated soldering station, you need something that will solder two things together in the middle of nowhere, with no mains electricity.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 08:15:08 pm
content: Quote from: langwadt on September 11, 2022, 07:58:39 pmI see they use the same tip cartridges as TS-100. But why in the hell they basically cloned that unergonomic handle design, which I hate the most in TS-100.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 08:38:39 pm
content: Try fitting a PTFE (or thick fibre) washer onto the sholder of the tip. It gives a positive finger stop, which I've found it to make a huge difference to the ergonomics of the handle and how hard you need to grip it...https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/ts100-soldering-iron-test/msg1343465/#msg1343465

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 08:41:01 pm
content: Quote from: IDEngineer on September 11, 2022, 06:25:38 pmThe only name-brand portable, temperature-controlled soldering station I’m aware of is the Weller WSM1C (the “C” is the battery version). But IMHO it’s very expensive for what it is, and it’s a 40W micro pencil, so you’re not going to be doing huge joints with it. I’ve used the non-battery version, and it’s lovely for small joints, but it’s gonna struggle with big ground planes. The selection of tips also skews very much small.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 08:59:05 pm
content: Antex. I had the analog version of this iron years back, at the time is was the best I'd ever had and I used it in fairly rough environments. Unfortunately I don't know if there is a 120V version available.https://www.antex.co.uk/products/precision-range-soldering-irons/tcs50w/

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 09:06:57 pm
content: For our service department I´ve bought two WS1C stations.Pro:- Very handy although it´s a station- Is using Weller RT tips with build-in heating element, therefore very short heating time and continous heatflow.- There are more than 10 different RT tips avaible from 0.1mm "needle" up to 3.2mm thick, which allows you to solder on doublelayer boards with groundplane (having a little patience of course)Con:- Very expensive, more than 400€- Although it´s so expensive, building quality of the station is poor, the "+"/"-" symbols for example "vanishing" in a relative short time because of touching them (Can´t express it better).Me, I´m using at home a 3d-printed station for the RT tips, with OLED display and 12Vdc supplied( so you can choose between accu or psu).Doesn´t look good but works fine - And cost me appx 80€ on ebay...(edit: 2500 posts in 2.5yrs, I´m a spammer)

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2022, 09:29:54 pm
content: The Station...

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2022, 12:27:38 am
content: Quote from: wraper on September 11, 2022, 07:37:49 pmIreallylike the idea of a portable iron that uses Hakko tips. That was my biggest concern about some "travel iron" (pun intended), that I'd be stuck with some "generic" tip that did nothing well. The problem with this solution is it requires 24VDC, and my "road kit" maxes at 19V (a laptop switching power supply) which I then drive into a homemade DC power supply. If I have to provide 24VDC I'd have to carry an extra supply, and I'm basically back to my existing Hakko setup.

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2022, 12:30:37 am
content: Quote from: AVGresponding on September 11, 2022, 07:39:43 pmI actually have a really nice one of those, and yes, I've carried it on airplanes (even internationally) since 9/11 so no problems there. Honestly their best purpose is on heat shrink tubing using the heat spreader tip. But they have all the temperature control of a gas cooktop... which means "human closing the loop". Not really a good option.

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2022, 12:33:53 am
content: Quote from: tooki on September 11, 2022, 08:41:01 pmJust looked that up... basically a Hakko station without a power cord. I'm hoping to reduce the volume more than that. Really nice looking product, though.

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2022, 12:37:58 am
content: Well... I just looked up Hakko "standalone irons" and found two: Their FX600-05 and their FX601-02. The former has interchangeable tips (not sure about the details, still researching) and the latter has "high heat capacity" but makes no promises about tips. Both have analog-style variable temp right on the handle. $65-90 with 120VAC line cord.EDIT: Confirmed (via Hakko's own PDF instruction manual) that the FX600-05 uses standard Hakko T18 tips. It ships with the T18-B (standard conical). Sadly my FM-2027 handle uses T15's but oh well. The idea of a Hakko iron that uses any of ~30 off-the-shelf Hakko tips makes buying dedicated tips for it a minor detail for the convenience and flexibility.I downloaded the FX600 manual and it's not just a blind analog temp setting, it does include an indicator for "warming" and "at-temp".Despite the 601's "high heat capacity" it's just 67W while the "no special heat features" 600 is actually higher at 74W.Still researching, but we may have a winner here!

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2022, 01:16:44 am
content: It did sound like you were more interested in a compact mains design. If you can find a distributor there is goot who have a rater oddball soldering iron (among their more normal designs):https://en.goot.jp/products/detail/px_280High power, range of tips, adjustable temperature, direct mains connection, small size/weight.

author: IDEngineer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2022, 01:50:45 am
content: Quote from: Someone on September 12, 2022, 01:16:44 amYep, which is why I said "and while I've tried the LiPo-powered irons they just don't have decent temperature regulation".QuoteLooks good and I do like the digital temp display, thank you!I've decided to try the Hakko FX600. For right at $100 I can get the iron and seven assorted tips (six of my choice) shipped to my door thanks to the TEquipment EEVblog discount and free shipping. All from a well known, well supported brand here in the States. I have an upcoming week-long trip where it will get a lot of use.Thanks to everyone who contributed! I'll report back on how it works for the benefit of everyone.

author: LaurentR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2022, 05:41:48 am
content: I have an FX600 in my R/C car toolbox for impromptu repairs.If you already use Hakko tips, it's a great complement as you'll be able to share your tip collection.Apart from that, it's a usable but not great iron. Like most of these stick irons, it is slow and somewhat unwieldy due to the thick power cord.But it does have enough temp control to be useful and of course sports the awesome Hakko color scheme.If you are into brass "sponges", I highly recommend a brass sponge with a tip holder. Because of the power cord, you really need something to rest it on while it's cooling down or while doing something else. I have this one in my toolbox, and it does the job:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005C789EU/

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2022, 08:05:23 am
content: TS100 + drill battery is by far the best option I've found.Gas irons are pretty terrible as the temp is uncontrolled and they are very susceptible to wind. If you must, I've found Iroda to be the best - Weller pyrpopens look good but they've often let me down for various reasons.Unfortunately many soldering stations use AC phase-angle control so non-trivial to convert to battery operation.Ryobi makes a drill-battery powered soldering station, though not sure if temp is adjustablehttps://uk.ryobitools.eu/diy-power-tools/speciality-tools/heat-guns-and-soldering-irons/r18soi/r18soi-0/