Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station

• On/off switch with power-on indicator light
• Variable power control produces 5 to 40 watts
• Quality, lightweight pencil iron
• Cushioned foam grip with replaceable heating element
• Includes iron-plated copper tip, safety guard iron holder, and natural sponge tip cleaning pad

The Weller WLC100 Soldering Station includes everything you need to start using solder to join metals and create efficient, electrical connections. Designed with the hobbyist and the do-it-yourself enthusiast in mind, this kit features a high-quality, lightweight pencil iron with variable power control, a cushioned foam grip with a replaceable heating element, and a safety guard iron holder. And it’s from Weller, the world leader in soldering since 1945.

Durable, Easy-to-Control Pencil Iron
At the heart of the WLC100 Soldering Station is a high-quality lightweight pencil iron with an ST3 iron-plated copper tip. To ensure that you can work comfortably for long stretches of time, the iron has a cushioned foam grip that sits comfortably in your hand as you work. It has a replaceable heating element, so you can continue using the same iron for a long time to come.

Easy-to-Adjust Variable Power Controls
Unlike many basic soldering kits, which can be difficult to adjust, the WLC100 features a variable power control that lets you adjust the power level from five to 40 watts with a simple turn of the knob on the base unit. This lets you choose the precise setting for each unique job that you tackle. The base also includes a "power-on" indicator light and on/off switch to help keep you from leaving a hot iron on accidentally.

The workstation also provides a built-in iron stand to keep your workspace organized and a natural sponge tip cleaning pad to keep your tip ready to go at all times.

High-Quality Accessories for Dependable Performance
The WLC100 includes an ST3 iron-plated 1/8-inch screwdriver tip. Weller also offers a wide array of compatible ST series tips to perform a variety of applications (additional tips are sold separately).

All Weller tips are constructed of solid copper and plated with iron, as well as nickel and chromium to protect against corrosion and solder creep, helping to ensure that your tools perform reliably over time. Additionally, Weller tips are pre-tinned with tin/lead solder.

This WLC100 Soldering Station is UL-listed, which means it has been tested and meets independent safety standards. It is backed by a one year warranty against manufacturer’s defects in material and workmanship.

What's in the Box
Soldering iron, ST3 tip, and base unit with built-in iron stand. 

                                   

By Science Boy

I've had this iron for ten years now. The level of use it's seen has varied up and down, depending on how much time I had available to spend on my electronics hobby. The iron itself is absolutely fine for, you guessed it, hobby and DIY use (no problems with it not being ESD safe, and I've soldered a lot of semiconductors). If I ever need to do a higher volume of work I will upgrade to a WES-51 temp controlled station, but for now this continues to fit the bill quite nicely. The tips are long-lived if you take care of them (keep it tinned even while sitting in the holder, try not to bash it on the holder when you put it in, don't leave it switched on if it won't be used for a while). The standard tip is too big for electronics use and must be replaced with something smaller. For a long time I had a medium-size tip on there and it seemed to function well between 3 and 4 on the heat control, depending on the size of the work. With this station you need to pay quite careful attention to the way the solder flows when you heat the joint, if you want to produce high quality solder joints. The solder should become fully liquid and flow into and around the joint area on its own, without needing to be spread around the sides and back. If not, the temperature isn't high enough. On the other hand, don't set the temp higher than it needs to be or you will shorten the life of the tip and may damage the component you are working on. Remember this and you will quickly learn where the 'normal' setting is and when to turn the iron up or down a bit in response to larger or smaller work.

Now for the really important information that I wanted to pass on to users of this iron:

I was so used to using my medium size tip in this heat range that when it finally burned out and I replaced it with a fine point, I just turned the iron on and waited for it to heat up so I could tin the tip and start using it. But there was a problem: solder simply beaded on the tip and I couldn't tin it. I thought I had a bad tip BUT here's the kicker: heat level 3 was too high for the fine tip, so it immediately overheated and oxidized. Luckily, using fine steel wool and _very_ careful use of 600 grit paper I was able to bring the tip back to a metallic color. I then switched on the iron at its lowest heat and waited for it to heat up, regularly trying to melt solder. Eventually it got there (I had to turn it up to about 1.5) and I tinned the tip. Turns out the operating range for a fine tip is about 1.5 to 1.8 on my dial. Any higher and you can burn the tip, especially a new, untinned tip. Operating in the low power range, it takes a while for the tip to come up to temp, and to recover its temperature after soldering a few joints. This is the reason why I would go to a temp controlled station if I had to do a lot of work. If time isn't money and you are prepared to closely monitor what's going on at the tip, there's no reason why you can't make perfect solder joints with this iron.

Another thing: often when soldering to the metal tabs in RCA connectors I had trouble getting solder to flow onto the tab. for a long time I solved this by sanding or filing the area BUT a much easier and just as effective method is simply to clean the shiny tab with a Q-tip dipped in acetone!

Finally, please consider minimizing the lead pollution of your electronics work. Personally I don't much like lead-free solder but I don't want to put lead solder in the trash (ie landfill, ie groundwater). For at least the ten years I've had this iron, I have kept all solder waste and soldered wire clippings in a flip-top container. It takes up next to no space on the bench and I always have somewhere convenient to eject the contents of my solder sucker. At some point I will take this hazardous waste to a local electronics workshop or the municipal recycling depot, but it accumulates so slowly that it really hasn't been an issue yet. Just make sure to mark the container "lead - do not empty in garbage" if there's a chance that someone might do so.

Thanks for reading, and happy soldering!

By Lee Uzzell

I use a Weller WES51 Weller WES51 Analog Soldering Station, Power Unit, Soldering Pencil, Stand and Sponge at work doing work on circuit boards. I've got probably 24 hours of use on the WES51 so far. I bought the WLC100 for use at home on hobby and DIY work because it is half the price of the WES51. The biggest differences I have seen being: The WLC100 takes MUCH longer to reach operating temperature(but the WES51 only takes 20-30 seconds) and doesn't have the same ability to hold operating temperature when doing large joints. With that said, it's as solid a unit as I've used besides my WES51 and can get every job done that should be needed by a hobbyist. If you are planning to use this for long periods of professional work, I suggest going stepping up, but for smaller jobs this is the station to get.

By FOX

Many years ago when I got this iron, it was only $30, and I see it has almost doubled in price, but STILL FAR BELOW the cost of the other Weller soldering iron stations!

And there is really no other reason to get the other ones, when one of the elements goes bad on the other ones, you have to pay more than the price of this whole station just to replace the element! This one doesn't have any element, you just replace the tip, which you can get at any Radio Shack for a dollar or two tops. And I still have not needed to replace the tip on this one after years of use, since I keep the tip nice and tinned.

This heats up nice and fast, is always reliable, just as good as any of the BLUE ones that cost three and four times the cost that the same company sells, and has never let me down.

Get it now, before they raise the price any more!

Once you get it, it should last a lifetime.

By Michael E. Burton

this item works very well. run it at 50% for most PCB work. this item is a guality unit and has all the power you need. very affordable for a new unit.

By WinCrazy

The Weller WLC100 is a great, if not the best, soldering pencil an electronics hobbyist can get. This soldering station is marketed as a hobby item, not a professional one. Pro models have removable cords and automatic temperature feedback control to maintain a constant temperature under load.

I bought a ST7 conical tip (fine and pointy) because I think the provided ST6 chisel tip is too big for all general PCB work - hobbyist and pro. The provided tip is great for, say, automotive and appliance wiring, switches, etc.

The ST7 tip works great on PCBs when the temp control is dialed to a "2". If I'm desoldering a lead on a non-thermal ("cartwheel", "thermal relieved") pad to a ground plane, then I have to temporarily crank the dial up to "3" or "4". Don't leave the setting this high as it will vaporize and burn flux much too quickly. And, high tip temperatures corrode the tip quickly.

This Weller model has the following advantages over the ZD Electronic Tools "General purpose solder station for the hobbist [sic: "hobbyist"].

1- The foam grip is a bit thicker and cushier;
2- The pencil's cord is removable;
3- (?) The tips may (or may not) be more durable.

Differences between models:
- The Weller station is 2.5X as expensive;
- Weller tips are 2.5X as expensive.
- The tips are similar, but *NOT* interchangeable;
- The Weller pencil's cord is removable;
- (?) The heater control electronics may (or may not) be different.
- Station's plastic color: gaudy orange vs. light cyan (whoop-de-do);

All other characteristics of the 2 models appear identical.

Th WellerWLC100 is a class act, especially for being a hobbyist tool. Similar pro models (heat sensor + electronic temperature control + display) start at 2X the cost.

[...]

  

By Brian Dugas

This is my first soldering station purchase. After reading several reviews on different products, this one seemed to be the most favorable. It hasn't let me down yet. It only comes with one screwdriver tip. I found some extra tips on Amazon.

By Radio Guy

I purchased this needing to do a very delicate (several hour long) solder job, and I needed more than just the little handheld I keep around the house. I used to work professionally in the electronics repair business, but had long since gotten rid of my tools.

This is a very well built soldering station that really holds up. If you are a beginner or professional, you will appreciate the ease of use and nice soldering this station allows you to do. The temperature control makes it great for a multitude of projects.

In short, don't be fooled by the low price. This station will perform as well as any $100.00+ unit out there.

By kght22

excellent iron for small scale work, should last a long time (used to work at a computer store that had several similar irons from weller that were over 20 years old and this iron seems to maintain the production quality of the past). nice and solid, fits in a petty small toolbox along with the gear that goes with it (i grabbed a 16 inch stanley plastic box for about ten bucks). the tip comes pre tinned (someone else mention an issue of a bump on the tip, that is solder, i burned it off almost immediately screwing around with the iron when i got it). if this is your first soldering iron you will need three things to go with it, solder (duh, up to you what you use because that is based on what you are doing with it), flux (also depends on what you are doing with it, but even if you are using rosin core solder you will want to have some flux, it is very needed for proper tinning, most consumer electronics work can be done by coating a surface with flux, loading the tip of the iron with a little solder, and letting the flux do it's job when the solder touches it, if the surface is larger leave the tip of the iron in contact to heat but the flux will still draw the solder out to cover itself pretty much immediately which just leaves heating to make sure of a solid contact), the third thing you will want is some way to remove the solder. braided copper solder wick is great (braided copper covered in flux, it eats solder for lunch but gets fat really fast, so you go through it fast when you use it and it isn't cheap) or just a cheap solder sucker (nowhere near as thourough, and you can get into messes that a cheap plunger solder sucker won't be able to help much with). depends on what you expect to be doing with your "solder sponge". if you are just going to be salvaging components the sucker is the way to go (i am guessing that you don't want to buy a dedicated sucker soldering iron, which is overall the best solution over either other solution, but a plunger sucker, who's only advantage is not costing more money every time you use it). if you are cleaning up small mistakes the wire wick is going to give you the cleanest results. there are also soldering iron style solder suckers that are the best but at least for a one time cost the most expensive, this soldering station can run most iron based suckers with all the same temperature regulation as the iron that comes with the station (it really isn't much temp regulation so much as wattage, but it is worlds beyond what you get out of just a soldering iron, plugging a cheap old school radio shack soldering iron into the base station that comes in this kit would improve that soldering iron's performance all by itself).

anyway as stated, excellent iron for a hobbyist. could be used for (and frequently has been over the years) professional work, compatible with a large variety of excellent solder tips. i prefer not to include this in my reviews, but it is backed with the industry standard name in electronics and hobbyist standard soldering equipment (weller is extremely old and well respected concerning soldering irons, there are tons of professionals who won't even consider using another brand for small scale electronics, although lots of others are just fine). in general i would have a hard time not recommending this to someone who is either serious about learning soldering or just needs a new kit on the cheap to get some stuff done.

the example i received was exactly as expected and functioned great. i received it on the earliest expected day. it has worked excellent for doing some really simple and basic wire to wire and wire to contact solder joints. currently my usage is no more than hobbyist, but my experience is semi-professional (i'm a pc repair technician by trade, a soldering iron isn't that big a part of it, but it is an important thing to know and do well), i state that to say that based on my experience with the iron i wouldn't be afraid to use it every day for hours on end, might need a hair of maintenence but i think it would survive that task for 6 months without much issue other than a tip replacement or three, and likely the handle pad would need replacement. good investment for a pro in a bind, excellent investment for a hobbyist.

By smart shopper

I have had this for several weeks now, and was very impressed at what this can do and at a reasonable price (for someone that doesn't solder for a living)... So impressed, that I came back to write a review! I love being able to repair my own electronics. However, A year ago, my fiancé had spilt coffee on my one year old MacBook Pro. I immeadiatly powered it down and opened it up to clean it out. While doing so, All the connections to the Logic board (main board) were just pop-off, except the exhaust fan wire harness. In my panic to get all the coffee, I attempted to pop it off like the rest and actually broke off the connection on the logic board right at the solder joints (stupid me). Anyways, my (factory) warranty was already up, and the Mac guys said I would have to buy a whole new board to fix it... thats 1/2 to a 1/3 of the cost of the whole MacBook! No way! I tried to repair myself but there were FOUR solder pads, each 1mm X 1mm, and 1/2mm apart from each other (was soldered by robots)!!! ...Far to small for me to do with my previous iron. So I had to give up and for 2 years constantly monitor the temp on my computer to shutdown when it got too hot, in order to save the CPU from cooking itself to death... Couldnt stream media. Basically my $1300 computer was a cheap old laptop... Until I got this Weller Iron! It has such a fine point tip and a shorter barrel than MOST typical irons; I was able to keep it steady and controlled, and solder those tiny joints without much trouble! And now I am on my Mac, typing my review and sharing my joy!

*So, this Weller Iron:
-heats up quickly,
-retains heat in the tip very well, no noticeable wait time in between each soldering task for heat up,
-Variable temp
-Many available replacement tips, sizes and shapes!!! +++
-Shorter barrel length for control and stability
-very comfortable to hold
-Quality materials and construction
-And comes with a nice, not too bulky, station

By Ben B.

A very good station. I found that 75-80% heat works best for most of my electrical needs. I use low-medium heat for shrinking heat-shrink tubing.