Best Soldering Station Under 100: A Definitive Guide for Buyers

Electronics have become part of our lives. With our increasing dependability, the gadgets are also becoming expensive to replace them every now and then when they break down. Everyone has encountered this problem and it would be prudent of you before you can throw away, to know if the device can be fixed up.

It is a great way of reducing our electronic scrap that is both too expensive to manufacture and dispose of. Any electrical device has a circuit as its lifeline and its components are usually soldered into place. 

The quality of the soldering tip. The part of the soldering station that heats and melts the solder. The quality of the tip depends on the material used. The copper tip was used for the older station but it is dissolved by solder causing pitting, erosion that deforms the shape resulting in poor soldering. It is advised to avoid the lead tips that is classified as the RoHS regulations. Many standard tips are made out of copper coated with iron. A copper core is preferred due to its thermal conductivity and the iron coating prevents that is resistant to solder dissolving it. A silver-tip is better due to its thermal conductivity and a longer span but is expensive.

The soldering station you pick should have interchangeable tips, also called bits. This makes your single handle be versatile: you can change to different bit sizes for different conditions and sizes of work. The ability of one handle working for all situations is both economically sound and less cluttering rather than having a number of the handle for different jobs.

The best soldering station should have temperature regulation capabilities. This comes in handy when you are soldering different parts that are temperature sensitive. Many of the components in the circuit are temperature sensitive and not all can be soldered at 400 degrees Celsius. The capability of the station ensures that it is possible to carry any kind of work all through without any change but temperature regulation.

User safety: even the most experienced technicians make mistakes too. Therefore, safety is paramount when looking to purchase an electric equipment that heats up a piece of up to 450 degrees. A soldering sta​​tion should basic feature such as holders to support the hot iron when it is working. The emerging trend of using vibration sensors on the gun handle improve user safety. When handling the tool, the sensors pick up the touch and vibrations and automatically switches on and goes to sleep mode when put on the holder. The intelligent self-detection capability is also coming in handy in lengthening the tool life as it shuts downs power to cool the tip when it is not in use.

Short circuits and power surges: Your equipment should also be protected from short circuits and power surges that may occur during use. It would be out rightly a waste of money to buy your equipment only for it to fail during a power surge of a bad connection. The station should have its own redundant mechanisms to protect from such occurrences.

Another factor I decided to touch on last is the power requirements for the station. For those in the United States of America, Canada and most South American countries get a standard voltage of 120 Volts at 60Hz from their mains. For those in UK, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia get a standard voltage of 220-240 volts at 50-60Hz from their mains. It is therefore important you check the equipment power ratings and requirements before making a purchase. It would be very costly to buy an equipment, especially on online stores overseas only to find out you have to go to the shop and buy power regulators or adapters. You can learn about power grids click here.

I am sure many have questions they would like to ask or issues they would like clarified.​​​​​

What is in the solder box?

This varies depending on the manufacturer. However, the basic package comes with a soldering station, several bits, solder wire, holder and a user manual. Some may include a de-soldering tool, hot air gun for the hot air soldering stations.

Does it have a warranty?

To any conscious buyer, this is a must-look at policy before buying anything. This, however, is not standards thus is different for different companies. Nevertheless, I would advise you to read the fine print in the warrant to be well informed about what you getting to.

How do I change the solder tip?

For the older soldering tools, at the end of the heating element, the shank where the tip is attached, a screw holds the tip. You can unfasten the screw, pull out the tip, and attach another one. Fasten it and you are ready to go.

For the modern solder tools, the tip removal process has been made easy. You just unscrew a nut on the shank and it easily detaches from the handle. You can change your bit and screw it back and your good to go.

Note: make sure the soldering tool is not hot before performing the change.

You can get information on how to change the tips and maintain them from the following videos:

All the five products reviewed surely meet the requirements to be considered as the best soldering station under 100. However, I would personally go for the 3-in-1 853d Lead-Free Soldering Station SMD Dc Power Supply Hot Air Iron Gun Rework Welder Welding Tool. Despite sharing some attributes with the other four products, it stands out for me as it has a wide variety of uses from soldering to taking of measurements.

It would be a good investment because you get more functionality out of one buy equipment. It is hitting two birds with one stone. However, depending on your needs, you can pick the soldering of your choice from the list above