Solder Stations

[Hungeryhippie]

hello, I brought my self a temp controlled solder station at the weekend.

this one

It was from maplins, on sale, £9.99 from £29.99

I have never had one of these before.

What temp do i set it at?

and it says it has an "Anti-static ground output" how useful is this? does it connect to a ground point ie the common ground on the bench power supply?

there was next to no info that came with it, just a warning that the human body and animals would get damaged if they come in contact with the iron or the black cover.

thank you

[Peter Snowberg]

At that price I assume this is a regular style iron with an AC dimmer. Try setting it to 1/2 and using it a bit. If the rosin in the solder turns quickly to carbon crud, lower the temp. If the solder feels a little plastic (when using 60/40 solder), increase the temp to where it works well.

Without a temperature guage, all you can do is try some settings and see what they do. Use the lowest temperature that makes it easy to work and your tips will last a long time if you use brass woll for cleaning.

Congrats on your new iron.

Take care,
-Peter

PS: If it's an actively controlled iron it should heat up to working temperature in under 2 minutes. If it's not, you might want to turn the heat up when you first apply power to heat it faster and then turn it down once it's hot.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

http://www.maplin.co.uk/?userid=SearchEngine&targetmodule=11517
I think it IS adjustable! grab it guys! but, get some spare tips too, because you never know when tips are going to disappear off the market..

[Hungeryhippie]

the link you put up isnt the one i got, Mine was £9.99. I did by a packet of spare bit for it though, thought that would be useful. I havent used it yet though.