05-03-2025, 05:02 PM
The X25 was my first soldering iron, from around 15 right through university. No stand, so the mains lead regularly pulled it off the table - reflexes kicked in and I caught it by the hot end umpteen times.
Don't know what I did with that when I proceeded to Weller, until the the second one I bought cable crumbled internally to dust and burned the transformer out (what sort of company has cables that degrade and short the transformer - itself wound with low temperature solderable enamel). Weller walked away. Raft of weasel excuses "out of guarantee; you must have abused it; you should have sent it to us for repair at your cost" etc etc.
I do have a massive mains powered and no temperature control Weller. I regularly use that to loosen grub screws that have thread locker on them. Allen key into grub screw, massive hot stick on the allen key while applying gentle torque with pliers, until the thread lock gives up. SI120D £65 from Amazon.
So now my go-to iron is an eye poppingly expensive Metcal GT90; bought so I could do surface mount work.
Craig
Don't know what I did with that when I proceeded to Weller, until the the second one I bought cable crumbled internally to dust and burned the transformer out (what sort of company has cables that degrade and short the transformer - itself wound with low temperature solderable enamel). Weller walked away. Raft of weasel excuses "out of guarantee; you must have abused it; you should have sent it to us for repair at your cost" etc etc.
I do have a massive mains powered and no temperature control Weller. I regularly use that to loosen grub screws that have thread locker on them. Allen key into grub screw, massive hot stick on the allen key while applying gentle torque with pliers, until the thread lock gives up. SI120D £65 from Amazon.
So now my go-to iron is an eye poppingly expensive Metcal GT90; bought so I could do surface mount work.
Craig
