48W Temperature Controlled Soldering Station

Buy this instead of TS1620!

TLDR: This station is temperature-controlled, whereas TS1620 is power-controlled. But why does this matter? When you place your soldering iron on for example, a circuit board, the thermally-conductive metal on said board pulls heat out from the tip. In a temperature controlled station, the power to the tip will be increased to hold the same temperature. Power controlled, no such thing. You'll be fluctuating between too hot and too cold! Consistent temperature is one of the most important things for good solder joints and an easier time working on boards. As for the power of this station, 48W is suitable for most things, but if your board has large copper traces, it may become overwhelmed.

Disappointing

Cannot recommend this as it has arrived in such poor condition. Was this previously used? The text is faded, there is a black mark on the iron holder like a burn mark. It works but the QC sticker on the bottom of the unit seems like a cruel joke. Definitely no QC was followed here

Simple and reliable.

Had this iron for almost 10 years as my go to for almost all soldering projects. I work for a competitor but recommend my customers get this station as the ones I sell are around the same price but are high tech digital ones that lack the simplicity and reliability of a big chunk of copper and iron. Left it switched on for a few days straight about 6 years ago, has been stored in cold damp conditions, dropped, covered in chemicals but still keeps going. Only replaced the original tip to allow for better small smd work, and it won’t work great on large heat soaking components but it’s a great all rounder.

Does the job

Purchased this for electric guitar soldering. Pros: The handle is nice and light to hold. The handle cable is adequate length and not too rigid. Supplied tip suits my needs. Replacement tips available. Doesn't take up much work space. Cons: As with another reviewer, on 2nd use the handle was hot but the iron wasn't hot enough to melt the solder even after waiting 25 minutes. After switching it off, I checked the screw that holds the tip only to discover it was loose. Switching it back on, it worked fine. I'm not sure whether placing it in the holder (it's a tight fit) or rotating the tip in the brass to clean it worked it loose. The 4 stars is because I don't know when it's reached the dialled temperature - cold solder joints are very unattractive and frustrating to diagnose; the manual tells you nothing in this regard

Seemed like a good idea at the time...

I bought this soldering iron a few weeks ago, did one job succesfully with it and have now spent a day with it either a. not softening the solder at all b. softening it to the extent that it's just balling. Totally not working for me. Shouldn't have to sit for 10 mins waiting for it to affect the solder in any way whatsoever - then unsatisfactorily.

Great for starting out

Bought this a while ago and for me is still going strong. Feels like a good robust soldering station with the basics for soldering. The sponge did go bad after a while but that’s not a big deal. Would definitely recommend this product for people with moderate or slight experience.

Both blown up

I have so far purchased two of these and they have both blown up out just outside of warranty ... If you're happy to treat them as a throwaway item then that's ok