Reviews of Weller WTCPT 60 Watts/120V Temperature Controlled Soldering Station

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $176.00
Sale Price: $139.35
Today's Bonus: 21% Off

This kind of soldering system has been industry standard since the 1950's. I learned to solder to military specifications on one of these stations back in the 1980's and used it in bench repair of avionics equipment for over 20 years. I own several surplus stations that I use in my ham radio hobby at home.

In later years I used much more expensive solder stations with higher tech temperature control methods and slimmer pencils, but I found them to be only marginally better, and so much more expensive that I didn't see any need to buy one for home/hobby use. While the more expensive systems have complex configurations that aid some surface mount work, they were not worth the hefty price for regular through-hole and point-to-point soldering.

The tips are readily available, in a considerable variety, and are very reasonably priced. The other components of the system are also readily obtained and reasonably priced. If you wear out the iron or have some mishap with the cord, repair is not a big deal.

The reason I am taking off one star is the current physical packaging. The earlier WTCPN station was taller and heavier, with the sponge and iron holder integrated into the top. That configuration was superior because the base was heavy enough to stay put in the course of removing and replacing the iron, and swiping the sponge.

There is a set of keyed slots on the WTCPT that enable the iron holder to be fastened solidly to either side of the power unit, but access to the sponge is obstructed from one side. In practice, a quick side to side swipe is normally used to clean the tip, and this is not possible with the sponge blocked from one side or the other by the power unit.

The customer image that shows the iron holder perched on top of the power supply is a great idea, but I would secure it in place with cable ties or some other means, so that it doesn't go skittering off when being used.

This is a tried and true tool for soldering, at a very reasonable price.

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I solder about 300charms a day and this has made my life so much easier. The 1/16 tip is perfect and the heat control eleminates all guesswork and the ease of ues of the iorn is just a joy! I like it so much, I'm ordering another. Everything is so convenient and easy to hand to use on this station that it saves a lot of wasted motion. The BEST!!!!!

Karen Hostetter

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I've been in the electronics business for a long time and have had the same Weller WTC iron for at least 25 years. The current WTCPT station is basically the same thing as what I have; the technology has not changed at all. Mine has been dropped, rolled over by chairs, stepped on, and used for literally hundreds, if not thousands, of hours, under all types of conditions. It has never failed to perform.

I know that my iron is an older version, but I also use the current WTCPT model enough so that I think it's equivalent in quality and function to my old one.

I like the fact that it's simple; the power supply is really just a 24VAC 2A transformer, nothing fancy, and the temperature control is very simple (it relies on the fact that when you heat a magnet to a certain temperature, called the Curie point, it loses its magnetism, and when it cools below that point, it becomes a magnet again). So not much to go wrong.

One thing I really like is that the element can put out a lot of heat when needed. That means it heats up quickly (it's fully ready to go in 30 seconds or less) and, more importantly, it can deliver enough heat to cleanly solder large expanses of copper or joints with large wires. I've soldered some things with it that I thought for sure I'd need to drag out a soldering gun to tackle.

I have other irons, including a variable temperature-controlled one, two hot-air SMD stations, and a few soldering guns (Weller 8200s) but I use the WTC for all of my day-to-day work. I'd recommend it highly to anyone who needs a supremely reliable workhorse soldering iron.

Honest reviews on Weller WTCPT 60 Watts/120V Temperature Controlled Soldering Station

Well worth the price tag. The best iron for any electronics board work. No adjustments to worry about. Buy a low cost 700 degree tip and it keeps it at 700 degrees so that the solder tinning doesn't boil away every few seconds. Apply solder and more power is automatically fed into the heating element to maintain solder flow. Better than the TC (thermocouple types) because the tips cost one tenth of the price. You can have 3 or 4 tips for any purpose: 1/16 inch for fine work; 1/8 inch for normal work; etc. System is grounded to protect components from static charges.

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Works Great! I am an student at Oregon State University in Electrical and Computer Engineering. This is the exact model that the university uses and I got one so that I can finish projects at home and not need to spend money on gas to drive 20 miles (one way) to school to work on things or need to have more than one set of tips for soldering irons (one for school and one for home). I figured if OSU liked them enough to only have Weller WTCPT soldering stations, they had to be good, and I have not been disappointed yet! I figure the savings I will have on gas will pay for my soldering station in less than 2 years!