Best hobby soldering iron? Pinecil vs. Miniware, Hakko, Weller and Ersa
A good soldering iron or soldering station is a must-have in every maker's toolbox. But do you need a $250 soldering station or is a $25 soldering iron just as good?
Thanks to OpenBuilds for sponsoring this video! Get your parts at openbuildspartstore.com/
Products shown:
Pinecil
on the Pine64 Store pine64.com/product/pinecil-sm...
on Amazon go.toms3d.org/pinecil
Miniware TS80P
on Sainsmart www.sainsmart.com/pages/searc...
on Amazon go.toms3d.org/ts80p
Hakko FX-888D
on Amazon go.toms3d.org/fx888d
on Watterott (DE) shop.watterott.com/Hakko-FX-8...
Weller WE 1010
on Amazon go.toms3d.org/we1010
Ersa i-Con Nano
on Amazon go.toms3d.org/ersanano
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The project Farm vibe is so strong with this one.
Almost a copy
I searched “ project farm soldering iron” and this was the first video lol
It's so good, the "Made in" parts could have been the same guy 😅
We’re gonna test that
It's the British version
I'm sensing a Project Farm vibe during the product intro. 😁 Add: I'm in the same boat as another viewer and have had my run with hardware store specials and one decent Weller unit. That Ersa was really impressive, but geez, I don't solder enough to warrant the price.
Yep the "We're going to test that" Line took me from suspicion to laughter in an instance.
I was just going to say that! I love Project Farm and Tom, so this was great! On a side note, I have a simple Weller WES51 and I love it. It doesn't have a digital display, but I felt I could save some money and didn't really need the display.
Yeah had to check which channel I was on
It came to me as he said where the products are from. 🤣
@@WhiteG60 I got that vibe from "this product is made in China" etc.
This reminds me so much of project farm!!! :) Love that chanel. You even have the same vocal tonality "the ____ is made in ______" lol :)
"We're gonna test that!"
Lol, yeah that's not a coincidence
@@lordratner yeah, after I got to the end, I realized that lol. :)
Haha I love his omage to project farm. There's no way he doesn't also watch the heck out of that channel.
Omg I wasn't the only one who felt that vibe eh? Lol.
As a teenager I bought a Weller Magnastat. It was VERY expensive considering the money I had available for stuff like that. Now it is 35+ years later, I still have it and it still works great.
I bought a harbor freight one about 15 years ago, it still works great too lol
@@keldonator I bought one a few months back from HF. Ended up not being consistent with the heating and the solder ended up cooling on the tip and when I pulled it back, ruined a $300 circuit board by ripping the copper wiring out of a rare part.
@@Dan-gj1hz u must have done something wrong there. dont try to do things like those again, because u have other specialitys like that.
After 43 years it is still my goto soldering tool. Heating elements are still available and I have a box full of different tips. No need to "upgrade".
Pro-tip for tinning larger wires: hold your tip to the end of the wire. This way it transfers heat directly to every strand and helps to ensure that solder gets into the core. It will seem like it’s taking longer at first, but ends up being faster. Also, love my Hakko, but it’s the only proper soldering station I’ve ever used.
This is what I do. I use the Weller W1010E at work everyday. Its great. I was using the Weller WES51, and for an older machine it works just as well.
Bigger pro tip: use a larger diameter tip for large diameter wire; instead of the tiny one shown in the video
@@nonam3007 and a bigger one on top: dont do like holding ur tip to the insulation, because there wont be any insulation after heating that wire. so bigger tip, like the diameter of wire and heating up by hitting core is the real deal.
I just put some solder on the tip and that increases surface area and heat transfer by a lot.
We're going to test that! Lol, nice callout to Project Farm. Thank you so much for making this video! I have been trying to decide on a soldering setup for, what, over two years!
Project Farm is the best. Good on Thomas.
I was getting ready to buy a Pinecil when I saw this video, which convinced me that the Pinecil was just what I wanted. Thanks and BTW, continue mixing it up with different subjects. It's sometimes good to get away from 3D printers exclusively.
I love mine, works flawlessly, get one of the tips sets, the half moon works much better on thicker wires. Also it mentioned in passing, but you can hook it up to a battery pack of suitable wattage, meaning you can us it in the field and don't need wall power.
@@CF_Sapper Hey I've got a question. How long did your Pinecil take to get shipped to you? I've been waiting for over a month and still no Pinecil. :(
@@andrewhamop6665 I was part of the second production run, and from order time to receive was about a month give or take a week. It comes from China so I usually order stuff like that and it arrives when it arrives. I keep tabs on it if it seems like a sketchy company but this company is reliable just be patient and keep an eye on the tracking. If its longer that 2 months reach out to them there may be a shipping issue due to the current situation worldwide.
@@CF_Sapper Hi, did you order it from the pine64 website?
@@majidaskari8306 Yes, thats the only place I would order it from.
My Pinecil is great! Got it last week for soldering away from a plug. I can run it from a fast charger in my car and was able to solder up speakers & trailer lights. No basestation, lots of features and really quick. I bet it will work great for when I build an fpv drone as well. Can't go wrong IMO
I do love my Pinecil. One thing to point out in case you did miss it, the Pinecil is based on/influenced by the TS100. it accepts TS100 tips which you might be able to source locally for cheaper than importing them if you have import tariffs
It has the same screen layout too.
Thanks for pointing this out!
I upgraded from a cheapo 20€ iron to an ersa i-con pico last year, and I never regreted it: the super fast heat up times, super precise handle, feels like holding a pen, and the cable doesn't get in your way. it's amazing.
Totally. Also upgraded from an Ersa iron to the i-Con Pico last year. Such a pleasure to work with. Especially when working on smaller stuff like SMDs.
I have the nano and use it every day on my desk. Ersa probably has the best stations with the flagship i-con 2 being one on the beat on the market.
Two questions for you Ersa fans: Do you use the soldering iron of the pico? Or do you have an alternative? To me it makes the handle of the iron way too hot. (I'm talking about the cheap soldering iron holder that comes with the pico. Not the nicer one that comes with the nano. ) That's my biggest issue with the ersa. And yes, the fast heatup time is just amazing and perfect for me.
@@PenPeng Mine isn't hot. My guess you've cranked up the temperature bit too high. Personally I usually don't go above 315-325C (using 60/40 solder). Never changed tips for ~6years I have this station. Can't even think of other iron that could be more comfortable than this.
I've had the hakko for years. I absolutely love it - rarely have heat power issues. I am on my second unit - I could not tell if the pencil or the base station was bad so just ordered a full one ( cost of each piece itself was more than the whole - I was afraid of murphys frowning on me )
I purchased my Hakko a few years back and it has been a die hard consistent iron ever since. It’s been my favorite of all the irons I’ve owned.
Yup , feel exactly the same, it's effing AMAZING .
Love my Hakko, best iron i have ever owned
The Pinecil takes the same tips as the TS100. I know some Amazon vendors carry them, and you don't need to buy whole sets. I'm told they can also use tips for a higher end Hakko station, but it makes the whole iron quite a bit longer. The TS80(P) tips have better construction and design, and are more efficient, powerful, and accurate than the TS100 tips, but they are indeed pricier so you want to buy just the tips you want to use and take good care of them. The first iron I've had a ton of success with is a cheap Sparkfun non adjustable iron, which appears to be a knockoff of the Weller iron handle in this video. I threw away the iron from a cheaper Weller (which is an AC iron with a controller that limits the AC electricity going into the iron) and plugging in the Sparkfun iron into that.
yep Hakko T12 tips are longer but compatible with ts100 and pinecil and the t12 tip clones are cheap and comes in a wider variety of shape. It's a bit of a shame that those new gen hakko stations are not tested in the video because integrating the sensor inside the tip makes the temp more accurate and quicker to adjust by the station.
Great review! I have the Ersa i-Con Nano and love it! Heats up very fast, rich selection of tips available, and the handpiece with its flexible cable and short grip-to-tip distance is a joy to use. Never bothered with the SD-card, the default settings are good. Just turn it on and go, no fiddling with settings necessary.
22:34 actually the Ersa does kind of auto wake up from stand by once you touch a surface with the tip and heats up again from standby temp to set temp. Sensing and reheating is actually pretty fast (dep on your set standby temp). In fact can hardly remember using the button to wake at all.
This is true. I've had the Ersa i-con nano for some years now and used it a lot. Great product, never had any regrets spending a bit extra.
This is true. I have one for a few years now. I'm just a bit shocked about the price hike...
I love my ts100. It's one of the best things I've spent money on in a long time. It's such a jump from a $10 iron that my ts100 is more than perfect.
100% this. I had a $90 Snap-On butane one before I bought the TS100. The TS100 is sooooo much better at a fraction of the cost.
the pinecil is basically a ts100 v2, same tips, can be powered over usb-c pd and the barrel jack, comes with ralim firmware by default and costs less than half, even with shipping. and you can get spare parts, unlike the ts100 (my case cracked once, gl finding replacements.)
@@gamerpaddy they are around t he same price these days.
@@user-yk1cw8im4h No Matter where i look its allways 60 bucks and Up for a ts100
@@gamerpaddy I own the TS100 and the pinecil and I can confirm that. I loved my TS100. I love my pinecil even more. However I've had an annoying problem with the pinecil, which I believe is 100% my fault : sometimes when the tip touches a PCB, the iron reboots and stops heating. I am 100% sure that's a grounding issue as when I tried it with my powerbank, it never happened. But somehow it never happened to my TS100 either. Using a powerbank with the pinecil is one of the things that make it so good to me. I know you can get the TS100 working with a battery, but I don't know much about DIY batteries and I don't really feel like messing around that. Meanwhile you can buy a USB C power bank from a shop (as long as it has power delivery) and it'll work well for a really long time. And it's so much cheaper than the TS100 ...
I genuinely would recommend the Hakko FX-888D over the Weller if you want durability. I rarely see a weller 1010 in a lab where the Plastic nut on the iron hasn't broken after a few years resulting in the entire tip assembly getting as wobbly as a loose tooth. Having to wait till the iron is cold or using a plier on a metal nut is way better than a damaged iron.
i picked up a pinecil when my TS100 died, not regretted the purchase yet, but the Hakko FX-888D is pretty nice
Can't run a Hakko straight from a tool battery like you can a TS100 style iron. Printed a nice adapter for both my kobalt and DeWalt batteries.
So if you use at least something like 20W, I can tell you it definitely seems to heat up faster than my Hakko.
The FX-888D is not worth buying in my experience. It will get the job done, but it's so slow and loses heat so easily vs the TS100 or Pinecil that even once you have bought everything you need to make a proper station out of one of those portable irons, you are still ahead moneywise, and you can also take the thing with you and run it off a laptop charger, lipo battery, USB power bank, etc if you do fieldwork.
lcd died or the whole iron? I needed an iron to swap mine, the "irony"
@@nicoful86 whole iron, let out the magic smoke, entirelyy fault
Great job! I've had the hakko for years and it's been a solid workhorse. No complaints at all. Thanks for the video!
I'm so glad I found your channel. Everything has been so helpful. Thank you so much. I'm ordering the pinecil for cheap replacement tips, ease of use, and overall low entry cost. I'm looking forward to more content.
I only used lead free solder in my electronic education, was the first solder experience for me back then, and took 3,5 years. After that I begun to work where my predecessor was a totally fan of lead soldering, and I tried it too (he had few kg of solder left anyways), and damn its so much bether. I solder very often, at work and in my private workshop, in my opinion, if you do something really often it's totally worth it to do it comfortably and have as much fun as possible on that. You always need to wash your hands and have something to filter the fume is very important, but then it's not that dangerous...
I used to have a bench soldering station until, on a whim, I bought a TS-100. Since then, it is the only soldering iron I use. For me, having the temperature controls on the handle I solder with is the real game changer. I retrofitted the 24V PSU I use to have a very flexible cable, which makes a lot of difference. I 3D printed a tip holder and love that I can use a tip for a while, and it is still cool enough at the base to take it out with my fingers and swap it for another, which will be ready to use in seconds. I removed the fixing screws so I can change a tip in seconds, with the power on, and no firmware crash.
+1 for the TS100. I‘m surprised that this is not part of the comparison. Great form factor, great price and it runs customizable firmware.
@@slickheisenberg8208 The Pinecil is pretty much its successor. Tips are compatible and it has a barrel jack besides that USB C Port.
The one issue I have with my TS100 is that it just doesn't have the thermal performance of my old iron -- it heats up fast but doesn't seem to have the follow through to really deal with large copper areas. For everything else though, I love it a lot.
In 2015 I got myself a very sturdy CHF-LD48 soldering station from my local hardware store. It's built like a tank and works like a charm. A year later I ordered a set of spezial use tips for it, and yeah, it's been a great soldering station so far.
Thanks for a great video. The Pinecil and the Weller are my two favourites as well. I had a Weller soldering station which I used when I was growing up for all my work. I purchased a Pinecil about a year ago and it’s absolutely perfect for all my hobby project needs. Cheers 😊
I've used a Weller for decades and never had any problems. When you buy one, you can be fairly confident that replacement tips will be easy to find in the future. I used the iron professionally and don't see the need for a complicated interface.
Finding tips 10 years in the future is a bigger deal than people realize. If you go with any 'production' soldering iron company like Weller, Metcal, or even Hakko, you'll be able to get tips and heating elements well into the future, and can probably use the same parts from the past. I have a TS-100 I bought on a whim but never use it outside of soldering things outdoors, like in the car or working on antennas. The interface is fine, but it's a bit much. With my benchtop station the only time I need to touch the base is to turn the temp up or down a bit. I use the same solder and the tip holds the temperature really well, so I don't even need to change the temp very often. Just turn it on and by the time I'm set up it's ready to go.
I don't rate Weller very highly, they're okay for light use, but not for everyday soldering. Metcal is much more durable and almost impossible to break even with constant use for years.
@@hhin Exactly. We switched from Weller to Ersa at work, about 10 years ago. Never had any serious problems since then, and it is very comfortable to use and powerful enough. With the Wellers we had various software issues, the tip holders constantly breaking, etc...
One reason why I am keeping my TS80 - the silicone USB-C cable. The simplicity, lightweight nature of the soldering iron is OK, but the cable sells it for me. One needs to try to appreciate how big of a difference a cable can make.
You can get USB-C to 5.5mm jack cable with a converter to 20V for 10€. This cable is godsend. You can plug the TS100 to any USB-C charging port that supports QC 3.0
I actually swapped from a beefier Stannol soldering station to the TS80P and have zero regrets. It performs at least as well as the Stannol did of not better in my use, feels better in hand and has the silicone cable and the tip is closer to the handle too. The reason I bought it was that I have no dedicated spot to keep a soldering station at and lifting a whole station in and out of storage was annoying as heck. I definitely recommend flashing IronOS on it, it's super easy to do, the iron shows up as a usb drive on your computer and you just copy the firmware file there and you're done. It not only looks nicer but gives couple extra settings and apparently is more stable as well as I have not experienced any of those crashes Thomas talked about in the video. Edit: typo
I bought the ts100 and it's great, but if I were to buy again I'd probably get the ts80. I rarely if ever need the extra power.
So Pine64 also sells a silicone USB-C cable alongside the pinecil and it seems nice so far. Another thing missed on the pinecil is that it can run off of DC barrel jack (laptop charger), or off of USB C pd or qc3
pine64 sells a silicone usb c cable- i’m a huge fan of silicone cables, and it is literally one of only 3 that you can get- the others being the miniware which you can buy only with the ts80 or ts80 power supply, and an “allite” 100w cable, which is nice, but has to be bought either from amazon US or the chinese shopping websites. so the import fees are insane. pine’s is a steal in comparison and i’m buying more the next time i order from there
It's great to see you expanding your style and focus to other areas of making :) I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Great comparison, thanks! Love my pinecil, one great benefit (maybe not for everyone) is that with a simple power supply (18v drill battery and adapter in my case) it can be completely portable with a very long runtime. 😀
Love the Project Farm vibe of this video. Would be nice if your sponsors upgrade you to some more professional soldering tools to compare too. Used Ersa and Weller in professional settings, and we now got a full JBC rework station (4-tools) for a new workspace that i have yet to test and compare. I was very impressed by the large choice of oddly shaped tips JBC offer. Metcal would be another big name that is probably more geared to professional use that would be interesting to compare.
Nice but Tom should give credit if hes going to copy his phrases (We're gonna test that), etc.
@@orbitalair2103 If you watch to the end of the video he does give credit to Project Farm.
JBC is much better in my opinion. I wish JBC was incldued in the review. By the way, hakko is Japanese. He didn't mention it unlike german ones he did. By the way, Pinecil has boost mode. Otherwise, it doesn't go full power. Not sure this review is done with boost mode too.
@@orbitalair2103 credit for using words in a certain order?
JBC is a totally another kind of budget
I settled on this Hakko one, it has 5 temperatures you can define and you do not need to fiddle with the temperatures as everybody suggests for some reason (I set mine in a range from 280 to 400). I have not touched manual temperature adjustment in years, just select one of the presets and start soldering. When compared with weller many years ago (which was more expensive), I just liked how solid hakko felt, all heavy steel casing despite the "plastic-like" look.
I also have the Hakko. It's in my price range and it has been a good performer for several years. Previous experience with Weller was not as good. Hakko meets my price/performance requirements. The Ersa is just too expensive for an occasional hobbyist station.
Mine died on me 😢
Used a cheap no name Amazon soldering iron for my first project. Absolutely hated it and thought I sucked at soldering with many failed solders after hours of use. Got a hakko station for Christmas and did some test solders and had them soldered and tight within minutes. Game. Changer.
We used metcal irons when I first started my job 16 years ago so I bought one for personal use. Having your fingers so much closer to the tip than the others really improves your control. I’m so much more confident with a metcal than I am with anything else.
I think it's important to point out that the Pinecil v2 now supports higher wattages which (I believe) should improve its ability to keep up with heat dissipation on larger copper wires or plates
I’ve used a lot of really cheap soldering irons. Stuff you get from the hardware store. I love using the Hakko. I like the display refresh speed, and I really like being able to start soldering in under 30s. I’ve been using irons that can take easily 2 minutes to heat up. I’m very surprised that given the ease of finding replacement tips, it still was the least impressive option. Given my experience with cheap irons, I was really blown away by the performance of the Hakko.
My experience with soldering gear is that you very much get what you pay for. I've been using an analog dial controlled Hakko for well over a decade. I love it. I learned on an ancient Weller station that I will some day inherit from my father because it's a Tank.
I had a hakko fx-888 (the analog one) and I miss it. I left it at a job somewhere (not using it for work, but forgot it there until after I'd switched jobs). I very much dislike the interface on the 888D. Changing temperatures around is a royal pain compared to just touching a knob. I love everything else about it though.
Finding Hakko parts just easy in the US i guess. Had trouble to find the iron after seen recommendations.
I've never really seen the Hakko refresh except during initial heat: at least mine appears to display the setpoint instead of the actual temperature as long as it's somewhat close.
I agree. I have a Hakko and I love it. Before that my primary iron was a Weller 35W pencil iron. I bought the Weller about 10 years ago after dealing with cheap Radio Shack firestarter irons my entire life and decided to splurge. The Weller is leaps and bounds beyond the old crummy irons with their anemic heaters and tips that oxidize and rot away after a few projects, but man, it sure takes forever to heat up. Like 5 minutes. Until then, you can't even tin the tip. I bought the Hakko about 5 years ago and it was a game changer. I never had a legit workbench so when I finally built one, I bought a benchtop station. I don't know how I lived without it. Hot tip changes aren't a big deal if you just use some pliers. The only thing to look out for is accidentally changing the calibration offset if you press and hold the wrong button to change the temperature. Judging by the color changes of the tips, I was trying to use it at well over 400C, thinking I was around the usual 185-190C. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why my solder joints weren't 'wetting'. It was because I was vaporizing the flux as soon as the solder touched the tip. I figured it out, reset to defaults, and it's been smooth sailing/soldering since.
Got myself a "digital" Weller station when they came out some 20 years ago or so. Still going strong and consumables are available everywhere... I've had a few portables but they never last. Right now I have a dremel gas powered for my garage and it's pretty good even for automotive use.
ERSA is absolutely insane. I love their stuff... My oldest of their irons is from the 70s and it still works just fine.
I'm using a TS80 for around 2 years and i really love it. Bevor my TS80 i had a Ersa Station i bought in the mid 80'th :-) The best thing on the TS80 is, that you can also use it with a Powerbank... very handy outside ;-)
Metcals (which are twice the price of anything here) heat the core with RF and rely on the Curie point to set the temperature. Net result: super fast and super stable to a fixed temp and super easy to swap hot. A possible downside to some people (outside of the obvious price issue) is that the tip determines the temperature: if you want to go to a different temp, you use a different temp. But for soldering normal things, they are fantastic.
The tip setting the temperature is also a benefit for production work where for consistency you want all the assemblers using the same temperature. The shop can enforce that by only providing one temperature type tip. My WESD-51 does that by having a control lockout that is toggled by touching a magnetic tool to the ESD symbol. But the production environment "feature" and reliability means that the Metcals have a production environment price tag...
Yes. Metcal acknowledges 2 patents in the design of that station. 1905 : Induction Heating (Metcal uses RF) 1959-1965 : Weller’s Curie Tips and Magnetic switching.
I am so happy to see the Project Farm tribute! Loved the comprehensive test! I love the Hakko, but I may have to grab the Weller to compare on our projects!
The best product review I have ever seen, with great safety information while doing the reviews! Than you so much. I will be sharing your videos with all my friends. Great job. Thank you!
This is crazy, I just purchased a Pinecil and some extra tips last night after doing a bit of research. I'm glad to have some reassurance that I made a good decision!
Lol I did exactly the same
Update us on it Greg! I'm tempted too 👀
@@drmed92 It should be here in a few days, I'll update when I get it and get the chance to test it out :)
@@drmed92 Got to play with it a bit this weekend - the tip that it comes with works really well for most things, but you may also want a chisel tip if you're working with larger SMD components (it's compatible with pretty much any tip that works on the TS100) Overall, super happy with it. I ended up 3d printing an enclosure for it, too, where I can keep it and the tips once everything cools off after I'm done using it
I have the Hakko, love it, and I have found nothing negative to say about it at all. It definitely has the best color. ... By the time we begin to reach it's thermal transfer limits on bigger targets, I have already moved over to my Weller 8200, anyhow. .... I loved this review, Thomas knows what's up.
I'm an Industrial Maintenance Technician, and I had my company purchase the Weller 1010. I did enjoy it ONCE IT WAS ABLE TO MELT. Thinking about trying out the pencil. Honestly, I love the mobility of usb irons.
this has been so useful to know Thomas. Probably the best solder iron comparation i have seen for hobbyists. Thank you
Personally, I use Weller WD1 stations primarily, but did get a couple Hakko T12 clone stations recently to use on the move. I will say, the Weller WD1 with a WMP 65 watt pencil iron is a much shorter grip to tip iron than most I've worked with, and looks much like the Ersa handpiece's distance.
This is great! Definitely would like more relevant reviews like this for project things! Your analytical nature and experience in the field gives it more authority. A video on setting up a maker space or home budget project space would be great. Do you grab the Wiha flush cutters, or is the no name blue cutters that come with 3d printers work just fine?
I've been using a Weller WESD51 for the last ~14-15 years. It doesn't come out often but when it does it's a pleasure to use. Which I had to do last evening to solder a connector for a new fan on my Ender 3 max.
Thanks for the comparison, I have a Weller that I have been using for around 30 years and needs to be retired soon . Can’t complain about the quality. Great video and happy holidays.
Love Projectfarm. Immediately recognized the style.
Pinecil + ToolkitRC P200 is an insanely small and versatile setup. The P200 doubles as an incredibly small variable power supply with an additional USB-C out that's perfect for powering the Pincecil (the pine store also sells high temp silicone USB-C cables that pair the two wonderfully).
I'm glad the Weller 1010 was at the top of the list. I love mine. it is easy to use and I just really like the way it feels and looks. Nice to know it holds up against it's competitors.
I solder things maybe 3 times a year but I love my Pinecil. It replaced a 40 year old thing that my dad gave me, that barely melted butter let alone solder, especially lead free. It's so useful to be able to power it from a USB power pack and not need to be near a wall power outlet.
The best Investment I've ever made, was when I bought the TS100 in the Set. Its really fast in heating up and also is able to solder larger areas or areas that disipate heat better than normal ones. Also due to the Lightweight design, its also really easy to solder precisly like with the TS80.
Ts-100 is what I ended up using after 2 years of using multiple different devices for surface mount. Electrical engineer here!!
I've used a Weller station forever and was amazed at the TS100
Same here. Always used cheap stations, but the TS-100 is the best investment I've ever made in that regard.
I was pretty surprised not to see the ts100 in the lineup, I have to say.
Having used the impressive Ersa iconpico(propably the best station for the money, except the tip nut breaks now and then), i can easily say my TS100 is the best by far(except the handle, which ersa is better).
Soldering onto a large heat-dissipating surface (like a heated bed) is where the biggest difference can be noticed. It's almost impossible to do without a fast-heating iron with good thermal transfer.
You get a large chisel tip and crank up the heat to max. My insane iron goes up to 600C in just few seconds. Gotta love the crazy Chinese engineering.
I agree. Having great power capacity like Ersa and Weller is crucial for effective and comfortable soldering, in my opinion.
Thank you very much for this informative review. I have been searching around for the last 3 weeks for a good soldering station to buy. You helped me a lot. Keep it up...
I bought my first soldering iron from a budget hardware store, when I was chipping PS1s. Was awesome fun seeing the traces on a board ball-up, when you'd been a bit heavy-handed with something designed to solder pipes. Just imagine me as a crusty old-drunk in the corner of the bar, telling me that none of you even know you've been born, with these wonderful options :)
Excellent analysis! ..personally I love Ersa 😌, used to solder a lot in the past..
In 50 years of being involved with electronics, I've never had a good experience with Weller products. On the other hand, my first Hakko 936 is still up and running after over 20 years of service. My newer Hakko 888 has worked flawlessly over the last 8 years.
Love my Weller 1010! I've used many other irons in my life, but am really happy with the Weller. I use a smaller 0.8mm tip.
Thomas, a very well done thorough review. Many thanks. It looked to me that in many ways the Ersa iron would win out. I had already placed an order with a Pinecil a few days before watching this video, so it looks like I have made quite a good choice for a second iron. I very much admire your approach to putting this together.
Wow, this is the first review of soldering irons that’s actually properly done. The only note I have is that measuring reflective surfaces with a thermal camera isn’t the most accurate but at least it’s the same test for all tips. I was on the fence about getting the Weller or Pinecil but the pinecil seems like a no-brainer for me at this price. Also, others have already said it but you really have a project farm style to your videos lol.
Very fond of my Metcal soldering iron, wouldnt change away from that for anything these days. Quick to solder, short reach so nice to use and generally bombproof (mine was already second hand workshop sell off style when I got it). Tempted to look into a Pinecil for portable soldering now though ...
Bought a used Metcal years ago and I've always loved it. Thought I might get a TS-80 for the portability eventually
I have several soldering stations. And the one I go to when I have to do a lot of soldering is the Metcal. It is such a pleasure to use! It is also the only one I have with tweezers. It is not cheap though. My second choice is the XYtronic LF-3000. Strangely enough, as it is one of those Hakko kind-of-clones. For the money it is hard to beat.
@@Haakkon if you just want portability TS100 over TS80 personally
I love my Metcal PS-800.. Still going strong after 15 years.
Bought a used MX-500 on e-bay 10 years ago. Even for present days won't change it even to MX-5000, nor any other brands. Who try Metcal once, won't change it :) Bought a bunch of used and new tips of prefered types for surplus, and seek for prefered models on e-bay once in 3-6 months. In "Service laboratory" use mode MX-500 tips works from 1/2 to 2-3 years, depending of type of needed jobs. P.S. Bakon 950D with 5-10 different T13/T12 cheap chinese tips for portative use is my choice for last 5-6 years :)
Thank you Thomas! Very detailed analysis of details in the designs of these tools! More Please!
Surprisingly, the Ryobi 18v soldering station is really nice. I got it for soldering on vehicles/trailers, but now it's my main iron. It can run off AC too. It heats up fast and doesn't used a ton of battery. The only drawback is there's no temp readout. Also, I don't know if it's worth full MSRP, but that's that what refurbished sales are for.
"We're gonna test that." Love it. Kind of hope Project Farm also does one of these, but with the soldering stations available in the US, such as PACE.
Pace, metcal are professional soldering stations that costs over $500
I absolutely love my Weller. I have a different model compared to the one you tested. It is hot enough to solder within 20 seconds or so. I have used a lot of soldering irons in my life and this Weller is by far my favorite. Thanks for a great video comparing several different types.
Brilliant review and very timely as I'm in the market for a new soldering iron. I've been considering the Pinecil and you've made my decision for me. So thank you!
I smell strong Project Farm inspirations :D Great job, thank you for the reviews and a lot of helpful information in general!
I like the Ersa for the tip design - it is really good for fine SMD work.
True and you can swap hot tips in less than 10 seconds without tools.
Hi Thomas, there is a great alernative for the hobbiest. This iron outperfoms almost all irons. It's called the ksger soldering station. There service is great and they have awesome tips. For 50 euro's you can't go wrong. The only thing I am missing is a T12 iron for brass inserts.
agreed
you can also get similar models that straight up use JBC tips and then blow everything here out of the water.
@@tommihommi1 jbc tips?
@@gst8248 JBC, the company that makes the best "no compromise" soldering stations which the TS80 etc took a little inspiration from.
ah thanks
My take away from this video is that I'm glad I purchased a pinecil for Christmas. The performance from this little guy is really incredible, and I can't wait until mine arrives in the mail!
Hi Thomas, vielen Dank für dein tolles Review! Hab mir daraufhin einen Pinecil zugelegt & bin mehr als zufrieden ☺️!
I’m shooting out some love for the Ersa. I love that it only needs little space on the desk, the ultra-flexible cable, the short iron itself, ultra fast heat up and response times. The software profiles are nice and helpful, but why managed via microSD and desktop software (does this even run on current OSs?) - and not on the device itself - can only be explained by late 2000s marketing department requirements, assuming today it would get IoT and an app to it for similar unnecessary reasons, lol. Anyhow rocking this iron now for nearly a decade and happy with it like day one.
I believe it was meant for soldering workshops where the employer doesn't trust his employees to use the right temperatures. From my own experience I know that soldering pros tend to use way higher temperatures than recommended and later no-one knows why certain heat sensitive components have such a high failure rate.
Personally I use KSGER T12 soldering station with (obviously) T12 Hakko tips and custom firmware. With a lot of interchangeable T12 tips that is the must have soldering station even for the professionals having in mind price/quality ratio. Until I can solder telepathically, will use this. :)
Have the KSGER T12 and KSGER hot air station and these are the best value station. Make sure it’s properly grounded and a few more mods you can do your self.
After dealing with cheap soldering stations for ages, i got a TS100 and i've been nothing but impressed with how powerful it is for the size. Perfect for hobby in my opinion.
Great job "Project Farming" your vid ;) I have always used the Weller station where the tip temps are pre set by the tip itself. It has just an on switch.
project farm got a different accent all the sudden ;)
The fast introduction and the phrase "We are gone to test that" tickled my Project Farm senses. Very cool to shout out at the end to confirm them :) . Very interesting video. Please do more videos on what is interesting to you, cause it is highly likely we are interested too.
I've been soldering for about two decades by now. The pinecil is by far my favourite soldering iron i've used in all those years and I've come across many in different makerspaces, electronics labs and workplaces. The biggest advantge of the pinecil is in its name: it's not much bigger than a pencil and you can always carry it with you EDC-style. This in and of itself is already an unbeatablw quality if you ask me. the fact that you can run it off of almost anything just sweetens the deal.
Got my Pinecil earlier in the year. Works so well for pretty much any small stuff. Does chug a bit as like you said with bigger. I had only one issue with your test on it and that was the changing of the tip. At 20:18 you said you needed to do both front and back screws. You only need to do the front.
I kinda disliked, that he gave the stations the advantage with the bigger tips, but the USB irons didn't get that advantage for the comparison. Would love to know if you add a bigger tip to the pinecil if you still have problems with the big wire 🤷🏻♂️
@@ized88 Think the testing is mainly what you get out of the box.
Not sure why the best soldering iron is missing from this review - that is any T12 compatible, either from Hakko or chinese clone. The tip heats up pretty fast in about 10 seconds. Replacement T12 tip assembly with heater costs only $4 from china. T12 can deliver 75 Watts of heat into PCB. If included in the review, it would beat all the competition, maybe except Ersa i-Con Nano. Don't bother with soldering stations, where heater and tip are separate - they may work fine for a while, but eventually thermal contact between heater and tip will degrade and you'll have to replace whole handle with heater for $25.
i have a clone T12 too.... i love it.... is much better than those cheap fixed wattage iron....
I agree. (Not an ad ... my real opinion.) I settled on the Chinese 75W Bakon 950D. The unit sells for around $50-60CND with shipping. It employs 'fast heating', 'easily replaceable' cheap compatible T13 tips (~$5 each.) The operation is very simple, with 5 preset temperatures from 250° to 450°. It is small enough to be portable, takes little bench space, while powerful enough for demanding jobs. The iron is very lightweight with a flexible silicone cord. I recently bought a second unit, just in case the first one fails, but I'll probably never need it, as this has been very dependable. For anyone interested, the 950D is widely available on AliExpress. I suggest: 1. Buy it from a store with a 'good rating.' There is an 'official store' with a 100% rating, which currently sells it for $30+$24shipping (Canadian.) 2. Pay attention to the plug. Most units ship with a non-replaceable European 220V plug. If you need 110V ... make sure to pick this option. 3. Pay attention when buying tips. T13 is not an upgrade over T12 ... it's the same but with a different flange. Make sure you buy '950D compatible' tips.
The Pinecil also works with T12 tips, though you would want to add an extended grip of some sort. I'd recommend it over the FX-951 clones because the FX-951 interface sucks and the Pinecil is just an all-around less sketchy product. That said I would recommend the FX-951 clones (or many other irons that take T12 tips) over any of the proper stations listed in the video because of how much better T12 tips are and how many different ones are available.
Totally agree. For example KSGER ones seem to be well considered in youtube reviews, I was expecting it to be compared, or any T12
ya i was getting a CNC-Kitchen vibe. very in depth, full send on these tests and the graphs. love it
I’ve had my i-Con Nano for 7 years now and it’s served me extremely well. I just finished an internship at a place that used the “big” i-Con models (the 1 and 2), and it’s hard to even notice a difference between the Nano and those, though I’m sure there are some situations that can show a difference. If I had it to buy over again, I’d probably get the i-Con 1 because of the backlit display and rotary encoder for setting the temperature.
Wait, Project Farm is actually European? Meant as a compliment. Solid video with great use of a solid standardized testing method.
I love the pinecil, a true engineering marvel and running a RISCV processor!
First station I bought was a Yihua 937D, a 45W Hakko knock off. An Aixun T3A with a T245 handle has replaced the previous. This new station can run 200W and is compatible with JBC tips of 245 series.
I instantly thought of Project Farm :D. I'm using the predecessor of the TS80P for a while now and I'm still very happy with it. Stock firmware, no crashes yet. I ditched the TS100 (I think this is the predecessor for the pinecil, but only with barrel power supply) for the TS80, because the handling of the TS80 felt much nicer to me. Great video as always! Thank you Tom!
I recently got myself a JBC soldering station (CD-2BQE), that is pretty expensive (370€ for the station + 100€ for all the tips I need). It also uses direct heated tips and heats up super fast (about 3-4s from 0 to 320). I really love the station, but at that price it only makes sense, if you solder a lot.
Yep, JBC is the best system in the world and blows these away. The tips are quite expensive though and I was hoping I could adapt one of the TS100 tips to work with the driver unit, but it is not possible.
You need to have especially Hakko FX-951 added, Pace and Quick stations added into this review as those are great stations in affordable range as well. JBC and Metcal would worth a mention too, but that would be expensive and overkill. I'd say FX 951 is worth mentioning as it is not by much more expensive of FX-888 and produces much better performance. FX-888 is old and outdated technology.
Since you're mentioning JBC... Aixun T3A would be a great budget option for a JBC C245 compatible 200W station. C245-759 as general purpose tip (2.4mm chisel), C245-866 (6.6mm chisel) as just absolute overkill high thermal demand tip. Can even solder to the typical copper tubing used for heater hot water circulation in homes. Shoutout to SDG Electronics while I'm at it, for showcasing that thing. Would love to try a RF station eventually, so Metcal or one of those newer Hakko stations (I think FX-100?). Pinecil/TS100 is great if you happen to have a bunch of 6S liion/lipo batteries to repair rc models out in the field. But soldering XT90 is kind of the limit of what it can do. Possible, but it's noticeably struggling.
@@Rejdukien since the video focused on genuine brands, that would be only be fair to stick to those only. All other clones are worth mentioning in their own video comparison as there are just one too many.
I was looking for this exact video a few months ago. Specifically I was looking how the Pinecil compared to that Weller. Glad to see the Pinecil actually had some power, especially for a portable unit. I ordered it 2 months ago. Unfortunately I still haven't received it yet.
I would love to know how they compare for laying-up and reworking SMD components.
Why am i getting such strong Project Farm vibes?
RIP Sanjay. Throughout December, I'll be donating 1€ for every 1.000 views on the channel (on any video) to charity in Sanjay's honour kzhead.info/sun/n5eifaZvlnRqn5E/bejne.html
It breaks my heart hearing of the passing of someone with so much passion, hurts in my soul.
I bought the Ryobi soldering station about 2 years ago and it's great. Not sure how it compares to these stations, but it heats up reasonably fast and I have been able to work on some thick wires with the chisel tip. The convenience of a battery is great, although I wish the cable connecting the iron itself was longer and replaceable.
I had the Hakko and sold it after trying the TS100 and I have used that for close to 3 years. The body broke around the charge port and I was sent a replacement from miniwear for a reasonable amount. Recently I bought the Sequre D60 as a backup and for the price that is also good and uses the same tips as the ts100, but the software was not as nice to use. I have it setup for pressing brass inserts into prints at the moment. One problem with the TS100 is the number of fake tips around that will not give a stable temperature or give a sensor fault so make sure to use originals. Thank you for taking the time to test and share these.
Wasn't aware of the Pinecil, or the value it has compared to the cheapo irons I've been using. Thanks for doing this!
"It's clearly the best soldering station by far, but they forget to think about how to make a good product" is the weirdest (euphemistically speaking) verdict ever.
It's the best *performing* station, but the not the best. Just the same way you might prefer a Vauxhall station wagon over a Corvette for daily driving - the Corvette is obviously faster and prettier, but the Vauxhall actually fits your family and groceries for a week.
I still use the 120V no name solder pencil my parents gave me 1970s when I was in High School. Thanks for the video. I have been thinking for some time about getting a USB pencil iron. I will certainly consider the Pinecil when I do.
I really loved this video and the format. It was very direct and to the point. I did find the autofocus distracting and might suggest setting manual focus when possible on something like this. I also really would have loved to see some firmware upgrades tried as footnotes on the ts80/pinecil. The target audience is pretty likely to do that given it's a maker marketed product reviewed on a makers channel. A final spreadsheet with score on all the tests before recommendations is also always welcome in fast paced information dense comparison. I was really interested in the comparisons on these though and found your video helpful as I always do. Thanks for the great content!
KSGER T12 wipes the floor with all of these tested and costs around $50. No clue why it's not here being tested.
Came here to say just that. Comparing tiny usb powered integrated tip irons vs big indirect tip stations and they all perform anywhere near similar tells you all you need to know. Integrated/direct power cartridge style iron tips are far superior. And the KSGER T12 is the best bang for buck in that category. Showcasing those indirect tip stations is a waste of your time. There's 0 reason to use them.
@@spencmmWB Well quite. I have no idea why anyone would entertain the idea of buying those old style with the element in the handle. Once you go direct, you would never go back.