Hakko 888 solder station

[Pumpkinguy]

I have farted around with cheap soldering irons for the last year. I have gone thru 1 radio shack 25 watt and 3 weller Home Depot 40 watt cheapos. They just die.

This is a prime example of wasting money on cheap stuff before buying a good one. The other major problem with the lower wattage units is that it's really hard to do a 5.5mm bullet and 12 gauge. Impossible with a 6.5mm bullet and 8 gauge which I use on my hex. I would have to use a mini torch for those and you all know how that ends.

So I treated myself to one of these https://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_fx888d.html
after reading a few online reviews.

It is a wonderful tool.
It has a nice long silicon lead and comes with a small chisel tip. Perfect for pretty much everything I do. The stand is powder coated aluminum and everything looks like quality.
5.5 and 6.5mm connectors are a breeze and I'm not wasting connectors.

If you are new or old to the hobby and are frustrated with soldering, specially the big stuff. Don't do what I did and waste money on garbage. Get a good iron and you will be surprised how much easier it makes your life.

 

[econfly]

Totally agree. I have a Hakko FX-888D and a Weller WESD51. Both are excellent and make soldering so much easier. If I had to pick one, I would probably take the Hakko, but it's close.

 

[Pumpkinguy]

There are probably a hundred out there as good or better depending on price but the point I wanted to make for the newer folks was that this is a tool you cannot afford to go cheap on or you will just get poor performance, frustration and an iron that may not last a month.
Just pure stupidity on my part as I normally don't buy cheap tools but it's just an iron right? Why do I need to spend $100-200???

 

[Motopreserve]

I have the Weller 51 digital - which just this past year replaced the old analog version I had. You're totally right - you get what you pay for.

That old one finally went in the spare bin (still working but required a screw driver to adjust the temp) after about 13 years and countless recording studios wired. If I had a count on the number of points soldered it would give me a heart attack.

I'd say it lasted the equivalent of about 100 cheap radio shack irons. So $150 for 1 good one isn't all that expensive