Cheap Elenco Soldering Station (40W Iron)

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List Price: $44.99
Sale Price: $31.61
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This is a great iron. I used to have a Radio Shack iron that was bulky and always got dirty. Having this setup with the temperature control and built-in sponge will save you lots of hassle.

I've only had it for about 2 weeks, but I've used it for about 10 hours at least. Get the extra tips and the desoldering wick if you are planning a serious project. (I was changing out LEDs in 5 exit signs so I had to remove them and put new ones in. The bigger tips work well for desoldering, the little tips work great for installing small items)

I see no need to get a more expensive model...

*****

UPDATE 8may2013

I've been using this for about 4 years now. I'm not using it as much as when I first reviewed it, but thats just for lack of projects. It still works great. I probably use it several times a year.

Last year I used it quite a bit when I wired some LED undercabinet lights.

Anyway, just wanted to update my review to let you know that its still working great after 4 years of moderate home-owner use.

If it ever dies, I will buy another one... its a nice iron!

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(Written by the buyer's husband)

After doing a LOT of research on high quality soldering irons, I was really going to buy a professional soldering station for more than twice the price. My wife surprised me with this as a gift before I could buy and I thought I would give it a try since I could not find ONE review on it! I can honestly say I am so very glad I gave it a chance! After heavily using this iron for the past couple months, it has continued to heat up quickly (within a minute) to the highest settings, it stays hot after continuous soldering ( I solder about 10-20 joints per minute), and I love the perks that come with this station:

1. I can plug any wall outlet iron into it no matter how professional or how cheap, and vary temp settings with this station.

2. The iron holder can be switched to the other side of the station for ease of lefty-righty handedness.

3. Never has there been any issues with warming up, such as smoking, or odd smells (which I have read many accounts of for other non-name-brand irons).

4. The cords are not overly stiff as I have seen in other soldering irons.

The only con for me is I personally love a digital temp readout... but if it is not professionally imperative to know the temperature, this is a fantastic value and best bang for the buck I have seen! PERFECT product for hobbyists and I would venture to say for professionals as well!

Don't let a lack of reviews deter your decision! Give Elenco's Station a chance!

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It not often I give a review let alone a 5 star one. But this product is just what I needed. I come with a 40 Watt Iron, a nice one but the most notable thing is it can be used with any pencil iron less than 300 watts. It has a 3 prong plug on the back for the iron to plug into. This means I can use my Weller Irons as well. I like Weller because you can get tips for them most anywhere. I have 2 I use.

So for just a little more than a soldering Iron holder, you get an adjustable heat control a holder with sponge and a 40 watt Iron. I don't think you can beat that.

Honest reviews on Elenco Soldering Station (40W Iron)

I use my soldering station to connect 22 guage wires to engine decoders on my model railroad. The heat control runs just above half the dial so there is plenty of control. I was also able to use my Weller soldering iron by just pluging it in, so your not stuck with one size tip and waiting for the iron to cool down to change the tips.

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I bought this and used it for a week. Mine took a long time to heat up even after tinning the tip it seemed to be a long time before I could solder a decent joint. I tried to desolder a few components on a 360 controller and it took forever but with the radio shack 35 watt Iron it seemed to take no time and it was clean. The iron itself seemed to lack enough power to do the most basic small jobs. LED Soldering, Wire tinning, Adding and removing a component. It really is sad because I had high hopes for the unit but Returning it and getting something better.

Pro: Cheap, can plug anything into the unit, Tips are relatively cheap online.

Cons: Failed to solder a few components and the joints were not without damage after it finally did solder. First 2 sections are for show, I could not use the iron until I turned it to the end of the third and it still wasn't hot enough which is confusing.

Overall : Maybe my unit was defective or the tips were bad but 7 bad tips? I bought the package with it with the spare tips just in case. I would not purchase this unit again. If you are looking for something within the price range, RS Sells a decent but long iron with an adjustable knob which out performed this unit.