That $40 solder station nearly melted my bench down

I picked up one of those cheapo soldering stations from an online auction for 40 bucks. Looked fine for building fuzz pedals at home but the temp dial was COMPLETELY off by like 200 degrees on my first build. Ended up lifting a trace on a vintage transistor board and now that pedal is toast. Has anyone else had luck with those sub-100 dollar stations or am I just better off saving for a Hakko?

3 comments

3 Comments

caleb_gibson1mo ago

Cheap irons can work but you gotta verify the temp yourself before touching anything valuable. That trace lift sounds more like holding it too long than the iron being off by 200 degrees. Maybe it's just me but a multimeter check would've saved that board.

caseyclark1mo ago

A 40 dollar station lifting a trace sounds less like the iron being terrible and more like you left it on the board too long. I've got a 30 dollar special I use for guitar jacks and it's fine as long as I check the tip temp with a multimeter first. You cooked that transistor board yourself my man.

king.ruby1mo ago

Wait, are you telling me my $25 Amazon special isn't supposed to double as a soldering iron AND a paint scraper? lmao