WSD 81 soldering station bug or defect - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2016, 01:51:16 pm
content: I am considering getting one of these, as its on sale at weidinger now:http://www.weidinger.eu/en/shop/soldering_equipment/weller/weller_soldering_and_desoldering_device/weller_soldering_and_desoldering_stations/wl31307I am very fond of the regular analog control WS 81s we have at work, but the WSD has in addition auto-off function, which is quite helpful. However, I have found at least two different instances (see links below) where it looks like there are some trouble with waking up from this mode. Is this valid for most units or were these two users just unlucky? Is it a quality problem? A firmware bug a combination? Should this put me off getting one of these?+Regards,Cristian

author: TorqueRanger
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2016, 07:52:31 pm
content: I would stay away from weller and hence why alot of the lower models are on ebay broken for sale .. I have alot of reason to hate weller but won't get into it .. Peronsaly for the price buy a Good metcal or jbc iron and you will never look back .. Also check out the much cheaper Hakko FX-888D which can be had on sale from Fry's stores for something $69.99 or purchase for about $90 from a genuine dealers of hakko's..

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 04, 2016, 08:01:56 pm
content: He is from Romania, Hakko is expensive in Europe (although became cheaper recently). Instead of this thing I would take Ersa I-CON Nano any day.http://www.ersa-shop.com/ersa-icon-nano-elektronisch-geregelte-l%C3%B6tstation-standby-antistatisch-p-364.html. Shipping to Romania EUR 18,70.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2016, 08:30:37 pm
content: I had only one iron with a sleep function. An X-tronic. That one was buggy, too. It has a magnetic sensor to detect when it's in the steel stand, and it often failed to either go to sleep and/or to wake up. Very annoying. Also, it might be pretty annoying if you were working on something in a steel enclosure, I imagine.Hakko 951 (IIRC), a much more expansive iron, uses just a simple mechanical switch in the stand that is pressed by the weight of the iron. KISS.QuoteAnalog all the way for me. I'd pay extra for the knob and to hell with the sleep function. I sometimes turn my iron down for a manual sleep, but for most lead-free work it's just not necessary, IMO. I have left my iron on all night many times, and I only sorta burned one tip when I was doing something with the temp turned way up. It still works fine, but the color changed.

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2016, 08:59:17 pm
content: Wow! I managed to get 3 replies and I have the entire palette of opinions: metcal/jbc lovers (and weller haters), ersa lovers and analog proponents.I probably should have expected that. Its just that the WS 81 and WSD 81 stations seems to keep their price on ebay, even for auctions. And there must be a reason behind that (maybe cheaper soldering tips?).I did notice you can get the Ersa Nano new at 180 EUR (excluding shipping) but then again, I am not sure a new weller is slightly more expensive with no reason...Regards,Cristian

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 04, 2016, 10:59:56 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on January 04, 2016, 08:59:17 pmErsa have more durable tips than weller and they are not expensive. BTW nano uses the same heating element and tips as 2x more expensive I-CON 1 and (even more expensive) I-CON 2 and I-CON vario stations. Temperature control and solder iron size is in completely different league. Probably I would buy JBC (tip cartridges are expensive, so that sucks if you do different kinds of jobs) but no way that retarded weller station.

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2016, 02:01:25 pm
content: I guess then I'll get a JBC-BT2BWA. It's also on sale at Weidinger. And although the tips are more expensive, I plan never to buy new ones, I will not be using much of them. I only need to buy a 20EUR additional tip on top of the two ones the station is delivered with and it should last me enough until the industry will see a radical change (like moving to light instead of electrons or something).I did also work a little with a JBC at work and I liked it (particularly the tip changing mechanism, which is instant and without touching the tip. Also the heat transfer seems marginally better.Regards,Cristian

author: TorqueRanger
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2016, 11:10:21 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on January 04, 2016, 11:22:33 pmlol I love my hakko and yes the station is a odd color but I like the fact it has more tip selection . If anything breaks like the iron ,then parts can be had to repair verse weller where you have to buy the whole iron .. The Weller WES51 have a huge problem with the control boards going bad which is half the price of the unit for a new one .. Also there are alot of threads on repairing these weller unit.. Hakko has a couple repair threads but not even close to weller and plus there is almost never any used hakko on ebay and there's a reason for it ..Don't get me wrong I had a nice weller WES51 and it worked great but I love tip selection of hakko and the fact if the heater goes in the hakko iron I can replace it or keep a spare ..

author: alank2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2016, 12:20:52 am
content: I love the WES51 - it works great for me. I wanted to love the Hakko, but I couldn't get it to solder worth a darn. I don't know why. I tried multiple tips and none of them work as well as the ETP tip in the WES51. I've got who knows how many hours on the same ETP tip and it works as well as it always did. You can get an entire control board for it here for $23.49. I'm going to order one as a spare sometime.http://www.tequipment.net/Weller/WES206/Soldering-Accessories/?search=true

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 06, 2016, 12:38:44 am
content: Quote from: alank2 on January 06, 2016, 12:20:52 amAre those genuine Hakko station and genuine Hakko tips?

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2016, 12:59:29 am
content: My personal thing about Weller - I grew up in the town where Carl Weller invented the soldering gun. The last plant they made them at before selling out to Cooper was a half mile from my house. I still have a 50's era Weller gun, cracked Bakelite case and all, but it still works a treat. There are tons of facilities around the area built with the generous donations of the Weller family and named for them. But after selling out to Cooper Industries, Cooper capitalized on the name and slapped it on EVERYTHING. That's why you can get a high end professional level soldering station with the Weller name as well as a cheap piece of junk Walmart special (I have one of those too - another supposedly 150 watt gun that is less than half the weight of the old 50's one and MIGHT actually be about 100 watts on a good day when the line voltage is on the high side), and everything in between. It used to be that if it was a Weller, it definitely was a quality tool. Now it's sort of a crapshoot - there's very good Weller equipment and there's very bad Weller equipment.Seems that no one around here likes Xytronics, not sure why, I have an LF-369 (analog control, not the newer digital ones) which is my main iron and I use it for everything from circuit board assembly to building track for my model railroad. Had it about 6 years so far and it's been a champ. I can't believe all those years I just used basic irons instead of temp controlled ones, I should have gotten one of these 30 years ago. Best part is it cost me under $50 from a US dealer. I'm considering a second one, some brand, maybe another Xytronics, as I plan out my combo hobby bench, electronics on one side, modeling on the other. I might consider something more specialized for electronic assembly and keep the current one on the model side. That's probably a later acquisition, after all it's not going to be too difficult to swivel my chair to the other side when I need to solder something. I have other purchase priorities, like a good handheld meter to compliment my classic Fluke 8012A bench meter.

author: alank2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2016, 03:43:56 am
content: Quote from: wraper on January 06, 2016, 12:38:44 amYes, ordered from Amazon/TEquipment. I was really surprised. With everything everyone said here, I really thought it was going to be awesome.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2016, 02:23:10 pm
content: I'd skip Weller entirely, and go for the Ersa I-Con Nano if you want simple tips (or other I-Con model if you want to be able to use different tools, or even multiple tools simultaneously). If you'd prefer cartridge tips, then go with JBC.Performance from both are excellent (I'd give the edge to JBC, but you do pay for it), and availability of spares/consumables is good in Europe as well. And in the case of the I-Con Nano, less expensive than the Weller WS 81i you've been looking at (~180EUR v. 250EUR).FWIW, this is coming from a Weller owner (WD1 + WSP80 iron + WMP iron + WDH10T stand <has a switch in it> + WDH10 <no switch>). It works very well and I'm happy enough with it, but it's not as good a value as other brands, and they do seem to have a higher defect rate than other manufacturers (~30% from their products made in Mexico and Bosnia in particular; products made in Germany haven't been completely spared either).

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2016, 03:10:44 pm
content: Thanks, I'll take this advice, I also ended up considering either the JBC-BT2BWA (260 EUR initial cost (on sale at weidinger) + 20 EUR/subsequent cartrige) or the i-CON Nano (~180 EUR initial cost + 12 EUR/subsequent tip).I'll take the JBC as at least I have briefly worked with one in the past at work (good experience) and the on-cost is not that relevant, as I will take it... well, pretty much for life, unless I start making money from the hobby either (and then cost won't matter either because it is going to be covered by earnings).Regards,Cristian

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 06, 2016, 07:40:18 pm
content: QuoteOne of the major knocks on my own Hakko 888 is that the connector is not great. Sometimes my iron goes cold and I have to wiggle the connector! Maybe yours had the same problem.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 07, 2016, 01:16:58 am
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on January 06, 2016, 03:10:44 pmWhat 12 EUR tip? Most of the general purpose tips cost 7.82 EUR at ersa-shop, 12 EUR and more is for some more specialized tips.

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 07, 2016, 06:15:04 am
content: Yes, but I have to add 20 EUR for shipping. And I'll probably not get more than two tips at once.So I'll have to buy those locally, and they are a bit more expensive.Regards,Cristian