Ersa I-CON PICO or Weller WS81 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 02:20:46 pm
content: OK, I am at a loss...I am considering getting a new soldering station. Nothing fancy, just for general purpose prototyping at home.I am familiar with Weller, as we have some of these at work. Not so with Ersa. However, I do not understand the justification between the price gap between a new iCON Pico and a WS81.The WS81 is advertised as 95W, although I think it is limited in output by the soldering iron (standard is WSP80 which seems to be 80W only; or?).The iCON pico is controversial. In some places I see 80W, in some other places I see 68W. Which one is right? I suspect it might be the difference between the power absorbed from the mains vs output heating power.If it is 95W (Weller) vs 68W (ERSA) then I can understand the 240EUR (Weller) vs 130EUR (Ersa), although even so, it seems a bit too much of a price difference.But if it is 80W (Weller) vs 80W (Ersa) then... no clue why. Of course, I realize there are also other parameters that matter, but temperature range is similar, size is about the same... what else?Regards,Cristian

author: akkarin
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 02:26:55 pm
content: I would also check what the tips cost. And if the ERSA has a silicon cable (thats really important believe it or not...) I know some ersa don't have one. Weller I am almost sure has it.Also how fast is the heating time of both till they are operational? There is nothing more annoying than wanting to solder a fast joint and having to wait 5min till the iron is heated up (exaggerating, but some cheapies for sure have a 5min heat up time...).My 2ct, you don't buy a soldering station very often. Rather spent some more bucks on something good than something cheap which will annoy you. Also the pico has some buttons you have to press to adjust the temperatur. Not sure how good that works. Weller has the good old knob. So to say instant power adjustment.But I guess both of them are fine, might wanna flip a coin?I have a Weller WX2 and I am absolutely statisfied with it and Weller. But apart from that I can't say anything about the WS81.

author: Isad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 02:52:58 pm
content: The ICON PICO was supposed to be for the lower price markedidk about the Weller and Ersa is a European based so the pricewould be the import tax and other stuff.Ersa Icon Pico is smallerand has some nice features like acelerometer in wich if you leavethe iron sitting in a place for more then (idk the time to be honest) itsgoan shut off but as @akkarin said the WS81 has a good old knobbut with the ersa u get button and i bealive a sd card slot wich you can set 3tempreture and then upload them on the iron and then select between those.Idk what you like more but seeing that you live in Romania then getting a ERSA would be yourbest deal since you wouldn have to hasle to much with internation shipping if u want to ever send it backfor a repair.

author: awde
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 03:00:04 pm
content: Pico doesn't have accelerometer. It simply uses timer to go sleep and second timer to shut down. You can wake it by pressing a button or using sponge (sponge cools down the tip and Pico senses that). I just measured ERSAs power consumption and it was 73 W during the heat up.In general I like Pico's shorter grip to tip distance better. Only downside of that is that the handle heats up more than Weller's. Weller's cable is thicker but it is very flexible. I also think that ERSAs tips are better quality in general.

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 03:05:52 pm
content: True, I can get the Ersa locally easier, but that does not really matter too much. I would also put in the effort to negotiate a wellrt shippment (which seems to be German, so still in EU). Regarding paying that extra buck, I don't know... These two units seem to be capable of doing about the same things. Not anything you would want around the lab, but a lot of it. And even if I pay more for the Weller, there would still be things it cannot do. That is true even for considerably more expensive gear.So difference between capsbilities small; diffetence in price large (don't forget VAT). I guess I am convincing myself... Although the contradicting power rating information still makes me uneasy.Regards,Cristian.

author: Isad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 04:55:52 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on December 22, 2015, 03:05:52 pmWait weller is German.I allways thought weller was a US bassed company idk why.Why would you even need more then 60W i allways thought i needed 100W power but theni am seeing my self now using only 50W maybe 60W in some ocasions .

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 06:45:24 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on December 22, 2015, 03:05:52 pmThat weller will suck compared to i-con pico for any job you could imagine. But Pico is not ESD safe, therefore if you really need it, you should look an Nano. Heating up time is in a favor of ERSA too.

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 06:57:06 pm
content: Well, the WS 81 is not ESD safe either, is it?Regards,Cristian

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 07:10:03 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on December 22, 2015, 06:57:06 pmit is ESD safe. But regardless of this even i-con nano is cheaper. Nano uses the same heating element as more expensive i-con stations. 102 series tips are the same for all i-con series.

author: rigrunner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 07:51:24 pm
content: The tip wobble on the pico annoys me at times.I prefer using the pico to build stuff and the weller if i'm dismantling something.If i could only have one i'd choose the pico.

author: RR
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 07:53:31 pm
content: How about JBC?http://www.weidinger.eu/en/shop/soldering_equipment/jbc/jbc_soldering_and_desoldering_device/jbc_compact_line/wl26830Or just buy t245 handle and build rest yourself If that is option for you

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 09:14:30 pm
content: QuoteHow do we know it? I know it is marked as such by various retailers, like RS or Weidinger, but I could not find any reference to this in the datasheet from Weller (which is rather brief).This might be the exact tipping point driving the price up in favor of the Weller. Since then the WS 81 is in the price range of the Nano and the JBC suggested above, all of them sharing the capability range AND the ESD safe property...Regards,Cristian

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 10:11:34 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on December 22, 2015, 09:14:30 pmhttp://media.digikey.com/pdf/Data%20Sheets/Cooper%20Tool%20All%20Brands%20PDFs/WS81.pdf

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 12:14:52 pm
content: Right,So the PICO is then disqualified, not being antistatic.This leaves me with the NANO and the WS 81 to choose from. The JBC suggested above has VERY expensive tips. The NANO has tips more expensive than the Weller, but it might still be a good deal. One thing I saw at the WS 81 units we have at work is that the tips wear out very fast. I think it is because this soldering station type does not have any sleep mode and the tip is on all the time. Not only the tip wears out, but also the barrel holding the tip itself wears out and after some time it is not capable to hold the tip anymore.Does anyone know how the NANO performs in this regard?Regards,Cristian

author: flolic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 12:26:32 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on December 23, 2015, 12:14:52 pmTwo JBC stations in my shop powered for 8 hours every day for the last two years still have their original tips.So, tips are expensive, but on the other hand, not really

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 02:43:12 pm
content: Correct. But then occasionally you need a specialized tip which you know you will only be using a few times per year. And I do not want to be paying 20 EUR+ for one of those.Regards,Cristian

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2016, 01:05:50 pm
content: Quote from: Isad on December 22, 2015, 04:55:52 pmWeller is American. But as far as I can tell, they manufacture their 230V equipment in Germany.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2016, 01:08:41 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on December 22, 2015, 02:20:46 pmIt took me a while to find out, but it appears it's 68W continuous, 80W peak. I have the nano and am very happy with it. Its baseplate says 68W (and "Made in Germany" - the pico on the other hand is made in China).

author: xtech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2016, 11:06:16 pm
content: I have Ersa Nano for 3 years and I can recommend it. Tips are in the price range 7 to 27euro (most expensive is miniwave tip) and they are good quality (I have few different, except finest 0.2mm tip - I have two same and both are poor). And it is 68W but this is more than enough.

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2016, 09:24:11 am
content: Well, I eventually bought this one:http://www.weidinger.eu/en/shop/soldering_equipment/jbc/jbc_soldering_and_desoldering_device/jbc_compact_line/wl26830Regards,Cristian

author: xtech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2016, 10:16:23 am
content: I think you made great choice. I had JBC nano station at work and it was great tool - tips were rather expensive because they are integrated with heater (but thanks to this tip temperature stability and heating up time are great) but they were rather robust. But cost of JBC nano is more than 1000 euro.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 31, 2016, 09:35:32 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on January 31, 2016, 09:24:11 amThat's a fine station, and you should be quite happy with it when it shows up at your door.As you've noticed, the tips are a bit more since they're cartridge types. But they last a long time with basic care (keep it tinned), so the long-term value is actually decent.