Best Soldering Station Under 100: A Definitive Guide for Buyers

Weller WLC100 40-Watt

Overall Rating: 5/5

  • Power: 5 W to 40 W
  • Temperature Range: 900⁰ F
  • Weight: 1.65 pounds
  • Dimensions: 8.8" X 3.76" X 6.3"
 Get it on Amazon$38.60

X-Tronic Model #3020

Overall Rating: 5/5

  • Power: 75 Watts
  • Temperature Range: 194°F to 896°F
  • Weight: 2.48 pounds
  • Dimensions: 9.76 x 6.42 x 5.47 inches
 Get it on Amazon$79.80

UBEGOOD Soldering Station

Overall Rating: 5/5

  • Power: 60 Watts
  • Temperature Range: 392℉ to 896℉
  • Weight: 2.06 pounds
  • Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.1 x 4.7 inches
 Get it on Amazon$39.99

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. 

There is a few best soldering station under 100 available for making repairs or even carrying your own projects of the building of electronic circuits. There are many soldering station available in the market and it can be confusing for many to pick the appropriate package that works for them at a pocket-friendly price.

which are the Best Soldering Station Under 100?

There are a number of trusted brands available in the market. I have shortlisted a few which in my view are the top contenders when it comes to value for your money. Below are the best soldering stations under 100

Best Overall:  Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station

“Nice and solid, fits in a petty small toolbox along with the gear”

Best Value:  X-Tronic 3060-PRO-ST-ACC - 75W Soldering Iron Station

“The helping hands are really neat. Additional tips are included also which will be definitely useful.”

Best For Soldering Capability:  Soldering Station, UBEGOOD Digital Soldering Iron Station Kit

“This is a great little kit. Great quality for the price and it won't break the bank.”

Top 5 Best Soldering Station

1. MUDDER SOLDERING IRON 6-IN 1

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Product outlook

  • The products come packed in a compact briefcase.
  • A blue colored solder gun.
  • Solder sucker
  • Has six soldering tips
  • Solder wire
  • Soldering iron stand
Features and performance:

A blue gun soldering gun with an adjustable temperature soldering iron, solder sucker, and solder wire and a soldering iron stand. The power specifications are 110 volts, 60 watts and have a working temperature of 200 to 400 degrees. The solder wire contains 60% silver-2.7% Tin and 2.0% flux and is 1 mm in diameter.

Key Benefits

  • The soldering iron heats up quick, so u never have to waste time waiting for the tip to heat up.
  • It has six interchangeable tips that ensure that the station can be used for a wide range of soldering scenarios.
  • It has an adjustable temperature capability, which means it can be used for different soldering processes. It is also capable of maintaining a stable temperature during its use, a deviation less than 20 degrees which accurate for a manual soldering station.
  • It also comes with the standard safety feature, a holder for holding the hot gun during use. This ensures that the hot tip is held and avoids fire or burning accidents in the working area.
  • The tips are made up of industrial grade materials that guarantee durability. They are lead-free therefore are CE and RoHS compliant. There is need not worry.
Mention-able Negatives
  • The station is manually controlled and therefore switching on and off the power solely depends on the user. This is not energy efficient and shortens the tools life because it is kept hot for long times.

2. NEW 2 IN 1 SMD SOLDERING STATION

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Product outlook

  • A soldering iron
  • Hot air gun
  • LED display screens
  • Solder guns holder
  • Solder wire
  • Extra nozzles
  • Temperature adjusting knobs
Features and performance

It features two soldering tools, the soldering iron and the hot air gun that is used for both soldering and rework. It also features an LED display screen on the unit that gives the temperature readings for precision measures while working. The two knobs are used for adjusting the temperatures for different working temperatures and extra nozzles too. It also comes with two holders for holding the soldering guns while hot.It has power specifications of 110 volts and requires 60 watts while the hot air gun requires about 800 watts.

Key Benefits

  • Having two soldering guns that can work in a commentary manner. This comes in handy to those who would need the hot rework solder in their jobs.
  • It also adjustable temperature abilities that give it the ability to work on jobs that are temperature sensitive.
  • It also comes with a smart holder that switches on the station when the gun is picked and switches it off when the gun is placed back. This increases the user’s safety and saves power. This feature also helps in extending the tools life as it ensures there is cooling down of the tool when not in use.
  • It has an LED display screen that indicates the working temperature that is important when working. You do not work out of intuition or estimates but on metered accuracy to avoid accidentally destroying some components.
  • The hot air gun fan runs quietly.
Mention-able Negatives
  • The system does not have the hot iron. This limits the use of the station to specifics tasks that mean you have to buy a hot iron separately.

3. 3 in 1 853d Lead-Free Soldering Station

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Product outlook

  • Hot air iron
  • DC probe
  • Guns holders
  • 4 nozzles and 11 tips
  • Sponge
  • De-soldering wick
Features and performance

The station is a combination of three individual components can be used simultaneously. The DC probe works as a meter and can test for voltage, which is a great feature. The tips and nozzles can be changed for different jobs. The desoldering wick finds use in reworking and repairs.

There is an LED display to show the mobile RF signal and testing voltage. It also features intelligent self-detection function on the guns holders.

Key Benefits

  • It has three devices combined into one, which increases the usefulness of the station? It is capable of soldering using hot air, hot iron and takes measurements at a go.
  • It features intelligent sensors on the holders and the hot air gun that automatically switches on when picked up and switches off when placed back to their holders. This avoids accidents such as burns or fires as the guns switch off when they are idle. It also saves power and increases the tool life as it gets to cool down while not in use.
  • It also has redundant mechanisms that avoid overheating, overloads during power surges and short circuits. This ensures that the station is protected from such eventualities that would be dire and expensive.
Mention-able Negatives
  • To those only looking for soldering guns, may feel that the addition of the DC power supply or meter makes more of an instrument than a high voltage soldering equipment.

4. Aoyue 9378 Pro Series

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Features and performance

The station features an LED display for displaying the welding temperatures. The AOYUE 9378 pro series is a programmable station that is CE and RoHS compliant.

It has simple button settings that help you toggle between the Celsius and the Fahrenheit’s easily. It has a temperature of 200-480 degree and consumes 60 watts at a voltage rating of 110 volts. The soldering iron is B016 and 2660 holder.

Product outlook

  • Hot solder gun
  • Solder wire roll
  • 9 interchangeable tips
  • Heating ceramic component spare

Key Benefits

  • It is programmable and can be set to various settings for different uses or working conditions. This eliminates the need to buying different stations as the one serves multiple situations.
  • It is CE and RoHS design complaint, therefore you can be assured of the quality you are getting from the purchase.
  • It has a smart holder complemented by the programmable system that helps detect vibrations and switches on when in use and off when not in use automatically. This makes the station energy efficient and prolongs the hot iron life as it cools when it is not in use.
  • The different interchange tips give the station more flexibility as it can be used for various jobs by just changing the tips. The extra plug-in spare long life heating ceramic comes in handy when the current one fails. You do not have to buy a new one.
Mention-able Negatives
  • The system comes in a digital mode and requires mastery of several aspects that are introduced by programming before using it.

5. TXINLEI 858D 110V Solder Station

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Features and performance

A hot air gun uses a brush less fan and has a temperature range of 100 to 480 degrees. It has an operating voltage of 110 volts and the output power is 700 watts. It has an airflow of 120 liters / minute. It comes with a holder, IC extractor, different sized nozzles and a manual.

It has a dial knob to control temperature and has a display screen to show the temperature.

Product outlook

  • Hot air gun
  • Extra nozzles

Key Benefits

  • It comes with three nozzles, 5 mm, 8 mm and 10 mm that are interchangeable. This increases the flexibility of the station as it can work on different jobs.
  • It comes with an IC extractor for removing integrated circuits. You save time and money, as you do not have to get one from the shop again.
  • The LED display provides the user with information, which is important when working on temperature sensitive works.
  • The brush less runs with less noise, less than 45 Db that is tolerable to the human ear.
Mention-able Negatives
  • The system does not have the hot iron. This limits the use of the station to specifics tasks that mean you have to buy a hot iron separately.

Some of the important aspects you should pay attention to are

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 station 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.

Below are some of the FAQs I get on this topic

Q. 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.

Q. 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.

Q. 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:

Verdict

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 iron of your choice from the list above

Willie Ryan
 

Wille Ryan is a tool expert from the U.S. He is a Mechanical Engineer and uses tools almost every day at home and at work. He enjoys helping people to master everything about a wide range of tools through blogging. He is for sure a Tools Guardian!

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