In article ,
William P.N. Smith wrote:

Zak wrote:
This is the Weller page for the UK
http://www.cooperhandtools.com/europ...ller/index.htm
but which iron in the drop down box is the best value?

Why are you looking in the spare parts index? IMHO, the "best" one is
the old standard
http://www.cooperhandtools.com/europ...r/soldering/WT
CP51.htm
which has been around forever, and is available used for very little
money.

Maybe if you solder for a few minutes a day, Weller will work for you.
We solder all day long every day, and the damn things are more trouble
than they're worth. They used to be good, maybe 20 years ago, but
they're s**t now. The cords go intermittent, the cord jacks go
intermittent, the fuses blow, the thermostats short out, the heaters go
open, the tips burn up in an hour, the metal sponge trays turn to piles
of rust. They're annoying as hell to fix because the idiot engineer who
designed them flunked third grade. That's why I finally put them in the
dumpster and bought a bunch of Edsyns.