Weller WLC100 Soldering Station

i have a lot of weller irons and guns. hopefully, this unit will also serve me well. unfortunately, i cannot register the product on line as the instructions direct me to the U.K. quality control?, one of two screws securing the base omitted during assembly down in mexico.

I just purchased a new WLC100, after the one I had bought in the early '90's and used in countless electronics and speaker building projects finally wore out. In looking around for a replacement and being unsatisfied by the competively available products, I came back to the old standby, the WLC100.

The picture does not show it, but the design has been modified. The soldering iron now plugs into the station in a standard AC socket on the left side. Unlike one of the the other reviewers, I think this is an improvement and offers additional flexibility. The only flaw--and it is a minor one--is that the ring of the soldering iron that fits into the holder is a a tad large, so you need to be attentive to making sure the iron is properly seated in the holder when you put it down.

Highly recommended!

Although this is not an ESD certified soldering station, it has the basic features I need working on tube stuff. The dial is for tip temperature and it heats up quick.On the highest setting -5 - it will flat cook! Plenty of heat for turrent boards and whatnot. For chassis grounds you need a bigger gun like 100 + watts. I have left it on overnight accidentally a few times and it didn't hurt it. Be sure and get a couple of extra tips and sponges so you'll have them if you break one off in the middle of a project or the sponge gets to grubby. The tips are not pry bars! I use old solder to tin it, distilled water on the sponge to cut mineral deposits on the tip, and I turn it down to 1 when I take a break.. If you do not need a temp display, this is a decent station! I have not and likely will not try lead free solder on it but it might work just fine. Beats a pencil and cheap stand to pieces.