What Pencil Solder Iron or Solder Iron Stations are good these days????

[harddriver]

I've been running my old Radio Shack Pencil 30 Watt Solder Iron for years and it is a great solder iron but I finally used my last tip on this last amp project and I can't find tips any longer.

I bought some new 30 watt Weller irons thinking they will be at least equivalent decent like my old one....NOPE!!!!!! the damn tips get so hot and burn they won't tin they just burn the flux and the solder, what a hunk of shit......... I'm pretty pissed about it but I can't return them as I bought two. I don't want to waste any more money on anything from Weller......... I had heard how their quality just sucks lately and I agree.....

Pretty bad when old Radio Shack stuff if better than a solder company................WTF!

So I need a good solder iron or solder iron station, I don't really need anything more than 50 watts for my main solder iron, I have been running 30 watt solder iron for years with ample heat without being too hot for all my amp electronic projects and I have an 80 watt and 100 and 200 watt if I need bigger..

What do you guys recommend????? Please include model numbers if you can. Hakko always seems to come up........

Thanks!

 

[Greazygeo]

I have an Atten ST-2090D station. Got it recently. Adjustable temp control, auto sleep. Holds a spool of solder. Been uisng it about 6-8 months. Happy with it.

Previously had an elenco forever. Still works just can’t find any tips for it. So it get used for pulling frets.

 

[harddriver]

I have an Atten ST-2090D station. Got it recently. Adjustable temp control, auto sleep. Holds a spool of solder. Been uisng it about 6-8 months. Happy with it.

Previously had an elenco forever. Still works just can’t find any tips for it. So it get used for pulling frets.

Winnnning...................I found one more new tip off another new unopened old solder iron.................YEA...... I can finish with a new tip until I buy something and retire my old trust 30 watter as I only have a few more solder joints to go for this amp to be done!

Thanks for your input!

 

[yeoldefortran]

I mostly use a Weller WE1010NA, but I bought a pinecil to use for work in really narrow spots and holy cow that thing is shockingly effective. God knows how much it will cost with tariffs but was totally blown away by the quality and effectiveness compared to cheaper irons in the past.

 

[TheBiggestJerk]

I have one of these. I love it. It works flawless and I love that it has a variable temperature control!
https://amzn.to/3RgbwHO

 

[7704A]

I've been using an OKi/Metcal PS1100 with the MFR-H1-SC2 pencil handpiece (the one that uses cartridges instead of tips) and I really like it. Before that I was using an Atten SS-50 pencil with a Hakko chisel tip that got the job done for the most part but took longer to heat up (~30s) and had a harder time maintaining temperature.