Best soldering iron?

We use JBC here.

I like the response time of the iron tip. When soldering, the tip temperature does not drop as much as the Weller's we used to use.

I like the ease of changing tip sizes.

I dislike the cost of replacement elements. The tip and element is one piece. If the operators are careless they mess up the tips and you cannot get them to tin properly. With the Wellers that wasn't as big of a cost as with the JBC's. We keep reminding the operators about proper iron care and this has reduced the rate of consumption.

Jerry

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JBC is a great performer, but tips can get a bit expensive. If you are working smaller parts like 0402 and 0201 capacitors, go with the JBC Nano Station. We have 3 stations, each with dual Nano soldering irons. The balance of our stuff is H*kko For more generalized soldering go with Weller, Cheaper up front and tips are less expensive as well. Based on experience, I would put JBC up there in my top 2 irons. (Weller is not in that group.) Interesting that you arrived at a decision between basically a Rolls Royce and a Fiat. Good luck!

Just my opinion and $.02 worth.

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We have used JBC soldering stations many years without any major problems. Handpiece is lightweight and comfortable to use. Tips are bit expensive but worth of money. Go Nano for 0402 and smaller and HD for massive part soldering.

JBC CD-2BB Soldering Iron Teardown: http://youtu.be/PjEYI5WsLBI

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I like my JBC. I don't like the price of the tips, especially when you need 2 for the tweezers. The tips last a long time though. At one point JBC had a problem with the tweezer tips dieing early, but they appear to have fixed that problem.

I also have owned Weller stations. I recommend JBC over Weller, by a lot!

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