On Thursday, August 2, 2018 at 10:48:13 AM UTC-4, Fox's Mercantile wrote:
On 8/2/18 9:15 AM, John-Del wrote:
One day a few years ago when I was waiting for parts for my
last working Weller station
I don't understand John. Is there some special ordering code
for defective Weller equipment?
My first Weller was the soldering gun in 1968. Still have it,
it still works. Shortly after getting hired at TRW in 1973, I
was introduced to the TCP magnastat series. I've owned and
used them up until 2001 when I bought the WES51 style. I have
a pair of the DS600 desoldering stations.
In all this time, other than tips, I've had to replace the
cord on a TCP twice (two different units) and a heating element
once. I haven't had any problems with the desoldering stations,
nor have I had any problems with the WES stations that are now
17 years old.
--
"I am a river to my people."
Jeff-1.0
WA6FWi
http:foxsmercantile.com
I have no answers Jeff, only my personal experience. Maybe I'm just tough on soldering equipment.
I've had many Weller heaters and sensors fail over the years as well as breaks in the wires, and was spending more to keep these things running than I was my truck (okay, hyperbole but still..), and I don't think I ever visited a repair shop that didn't have a Weller pencil handle with tape folding the wire back over itself to keep it in contact.
The last straw was the handle for the EC4000 that quit after about a year with minimal bench usage. I forgot what I paid for that but it wasn't cheap..
I replaced it again because there are times when I need an exceptionally fine tip but I use it maybe two or three times a year at most to preserve it.
Otherwise, it's the cheap Chinese ebay 60W pencils that I've been using every day, most of the day. Not one has crapped out in almost three years, and even if one did, I have another $8 one brand new on the wall still in it's little baggie. I spent less for these than the shipping cost of getting Weller parts to my shop.
You know what else I've gone cheap on? Shaving razors. I now buy Trac II generic blades:
https://www.amazon.com/Personna-Twin...eywords=tracii
If I replaced the blade once per week, I get two years for $15. Since I replace them once every two weeks, I get four years for $15 (that's just $4 per year), and I can't tell much difference between the generics and the Gillette.