Side by Side Comparison of: Apex Tool Group vs Weller vs Hakko vs ShineNow vs ACE

Shipped very quickly. Works great!!! I really like this brand, reliable, long lasting equipment. I used my previous equipment for over 28 years; I am hopping this one will last for a long time as well.This equipment heats up fast, maintains the tempereature setting, and delivers precision results for intricate soldering jobs. Highly recommend it.

We use these Weller soldering irons and other Weller products where I work. I've always been very happy with them so I decided to get one myself to replace my crappy $10 radio shack iron. I recently used it to solder the electrical components together for my quad-copter build and was very happy. The temperature control is great and is very quick to get to temp. While soldering components/small wire (20-24 awg) to the PCBs I could use a low temp to prevent damage and then could solder the larger 12-14 awg power wire with no problem at a higher temperature. A huge improvement from my old iron that would get so hot that is would constantly smoke out my tips.

Many years have past since I bought this station and it is still rocking.I have used to do regular home repairs as well as fine detail work with fine pitch components.Building my Arduino, Raspberry pi, and general projects has never been so easy and fun.I got different size tips to use with the correct project and the results are very professionalIf you are in the hobby or business of electronics this is a must have.

I really had to talk myself into spending this kind of money for a soldering iron. I already own several irons and several guns but, when doing smaller work, they just weren't doing a very good job. Now that I have this, I wish I had purchased it long ago. The other non-regulated irons and guns I have were obviously putting way too much heat into the solder and causing it to oxidize as well as overheating the surroundings parts and substrate. This tool eliminates all of that and the tip is made of a material that doesn't oxidize immediately after tinning. In fact I've used it for several hours and the tip looks like it did when I first used it. It also shuts of automatically if, you forget and, leave it on. This is one of those tools that you just don't realize you need until you've used it. WELL WORTH THE MONEY.

After my soldering pen finally gave up the ghost, I decided to go for this soldering station and I am really glad I did. I've used it for about two months now and love it. I use it almost once or twice a day. It heats extremely fast and holds the temperature perfectly. The soldering pen itself is very comfortable to grip. I added the Hakko 599B-02 Solder Tip Cleaning Wire and Holder--it fits perfectly in the place where the sponge would normally go (I dumped the sponge) and the two work together well. I debated going with the digital model, but the reviews were pretty mixed on whether that was worth it. I'm not sorry to have purchased this Analog model. Shipping was fast with no problems.

I used the same or very similar Weller model every day when I worked in a major electronics factory about 20 years ago. These things took a constant beating and just kept on going. I've since always wanted one for my own projects and I finally bought one. Wish I did sooner rather than go through so many cheaper irons over the years. The WES51 is very high quality. Solid construction and nice heavy base for the iron holder. Heats up to 750F in about 30 seconds. There is an indicator light that tells you when the iron is at the correct set temperature so you know exactly when you're ready to go. Simple dial sets temp from 350F to 850F. There is a temp lock feature that is enabled/disabled on the control panel with a magnetic pen that comes with it, but I haven't had a need for it yet. Handle is comfortable and stays cool unlike the cheap irons that can get very hot. Safety feature shuts itself off after 99 minutes of no use. Nice heavy duty cord is very flexible and stays out of the way unlike the knarly cords on the cheap ones. Doesn't get any better than this. Makes project work much more enjoyable.

After I left my last Radio Shack iron turned on for two days, I decided enough was enough. This is a great home workbench companion. I opted for the analog version as the reviews indicated this one was more reliable. No complaints on my part. Good for fine work and can handle some largish lugs with heavy wires. The handle stays cool and the heat up after power on is very quick. Not exactly lab quality but much less expensive.

To do any kind of electronic soldering can require different soldering iron settings to get the job done right. This iron has the features to take care of a variety of soldering jobs. So if you are working with small surface mount parts the lower heat settings work great, and if you are soldering a ground wire to a large back-plane turn up the heat - no problem. I have owned Weller adjustable irons like this one and they have had a long life of service >5 years. I would have liked it if the unit came with at least two tips sizes (since tip size can go along with different jobs/heat settings). At least the different tips you can buy are not expensive. I have noted the metallic tinning on the included tip, while good for promoting long wear, seems to be a little slow to make heat contact with PCB solder pads - certainly not a deal breaker. All in all a great piece of technology for good price.

Was looking for a serious upgrade from radio shack crap because I had to repair the motherboard on my $2000 laptop (had to replace the power jack connecter socket). This boy did the trick! From desoldering to finishing touches this is what you need. It definitely has power & heats up fast, just no fancy digital readout. Replacement tips are easy to find, come in different sizes & a cinch to install. Go get ya one!The only problem I had was the shipping. I needed it PRONTO & ordered for next day delivery. Amazon says they guarantee it! but something happened with Fedex & I ended up getting it 5 days later! Be Warned! There is no way to contact Amazon & if you search, you'll find out that they take no accountability for their "Guarantee". Word!

Overall, this is a pretty good deal for a temperature-controlled soldering station. That being said, I had a few small issues with mine:-The little wire stand for the soldering iron did not fit properly into the slot in the base until I squeezed the wire loop tighter with pliers.-The sponge it comes with wears out fast and doesn't seem to clean tips that well (but it's easily replaced).-The tips that fit this station don't seem to tin as well or stay as clean as other Weller tips I am used to. Not sure if that's an issue with the tips, or how the station heats them.-Even at the highest temperature, this station doesn't seem to have the raw power of my 40 watt unregulated Weller soldering iron, even though the station is rated at 50 watts. That's probably not an issue for most users, but I routinely solder onto metal-cored boards. Getting larger tips (more thermal mass) has somewhat mitigated this issue.All that being said, it heats up fast, it feels well-built, and it's a temperature-controlled soldering station for under $100.

We have 2 of these at our shop, the first one has been going strong for over a year now and it gets use daily. It heats up quick and has enough power to get most jobs done without a problem. The first one appears to be an earlier version, because the included stand was black (while the one from amazon is silver), and the packaging is a bit different.The first one worked well enough that we ordered another to replace a less powerful soldering station. We received it quickly, as always, but noticed that the stand and packaging were different from our other unit (like I said above). Set it up that day and used it a couple times since as a backup for when the other station was in use. We've probably used it only a dozen times, and it just stopped heating up for no reason. I suspect that I got a dud, and amazon is very good about replacing it, so I'm not going to knock it.

The analog dial temperature control works well, and the LED indication of heating/maintaining are also good. I've used this with a Weller fine tip to solder as small as 0805 components and as large as TC21 packaged MOSFETs or coin battery holders, and it provides plenty of heat. Having an included holder and sponge base are nice too.My only complaint, and reason for 4 vs. 5 stars, is that the cord right at the base of the iron seems to be really finicky. When you remove the tip you can see 3 very small angled wires (presumably 2 are for the current and the third is perhaps the temp sensor?) that barely stick out toward where they would contact the inner face of the installed tip...messing a little bit with the strain relief rubber at the base of the iron makes this wires nearly retract out of contact. What this means is in use, often when I put the iron into the holder the angle of the cord at the base of the iron is breaking contact to the tip (either actual heating wires or temp sensor) and the LED indicator that should be 'flashing' to show it's just maintaining temp goes out. So I have to bend and wiggle the cord around or rotate the iron in the holder to get it to heat again. It's a minor annoyance...but at the price, one that is a valid reason to remove one star from the review.There is a fair amount of strain relief shielding around the cord there that should prevent something like this, but on my iron I don't know if it just got wrapped too tightly in packing or what, but the rubber is pretty heavily 'deformed' or bent in one direction already, and I don't think I did that. Still, it gets the job done.

This is simply the cheaper model analog to go to. There are better digital units out there with auto shutoff. This unit was a replacement for a previously purchased identical unit that was DOA (Dead on Arrival). We've had 2 units that didn't shut off and the tip got so hot from a malfunction that it melted the plastic of the gun around it and went right through it. It would have been a major fire hazard if the area where it melted wasn't clear. Another unit just recently stopped working on it's own, simply just won't hold the heat but goes up and down in temperature which is very aggravating once you get a solder joint going. I wouldn't buy this again but the older guys in my office want the analog over digital. There are other brands in the same price range that I'd buy before this one. Don't plan to buy again, but now all our tips match Weller only. But, since it does solder well when working correctly, I give it a 3.

After using this soldering station for a year and a half I wish I would have sent it back while it was still under warenty. It is loud. Makes a fluttering noise most of the time it is on. It really dos not solder any better than my WLC100. It fact has some of the same issues. It solders well or it does not. I do not think the Temp. is stable. It is a bit more ergonomic With flexable cord and smaller handle.I would say it is a just Ok station. It works but is nothing special.

the heating is very good.all the parts stand out as normal weller parts except for the metallic parts of the pencil including the tip which seems to be below weller standard

This product I could give it as a three. I believe there is a factory defect on these products. The iron itself has the cord inserts into the iron which is too loose; sometimes it is too loose that it came a little loose that it affects to the temperature on the tip of the iron (temperature drops lower than the setting). We have about ten at work and they all have the same problem.Please someone call the factory to notice about this problem. The size of the cord should be fitted into the iron handle, not to be loosing inside of the iron handle.

I bought one 14 months ago and it does a fantastic job. One I was using it and the tip got go hot that the plastic handle melted and it fell apart, heat was set a little over half.I went on site to get it repaired and it was $75.00 plus shipping, so I bought a new one for $90.00 since I did not which part went bad. So I figure, it cost $6.50 a month to solder.

UPDATEDPower unit dumped maybe a week after the year warranty expired. Cleaned the tips before and after each use, never soldered above 550°F. They just dont last like they used to, maybe it's Apex Tool Group, but my next iron will be a Hakko.

Somewhat disappointed with the overall quality of the product (my expectations were far higher).But very, very disappointed with the "overall purchase". I clearley received an "returned item". The package was damaged and re-packed, with the items loose inside. The point of the tip came bended. Unfortunately I bought it in a trip out of my country so I can't return it and demand for a "brand new" one...

I ordered the Weller WES51 which is supposed to come with a black stand with a ceramic top valued at $50 here:Weller PH50 Soldering Stand and Sponge ESD for PES50 and PES51 Irons by WellerBut I got a grey metallic one in the box valued at $20: Weller PH50 Soldering Stand and Sponge ESD for PES50 and PES51 IronsAll the pictures referenced the black stand, why did I get the cheap one instead???I took a picture of my old soldering iron which came with the black better quality one and on the right the new cheap one.On top of that it's making a light electric noise, and when the LED is blinking there is a noise with each blink.My friend also has one and his does not have this issue.

Bought this to solder cables for R/C airplanes. Has issues getting and staying hot.

This thing was awesome first few times I used it. Now after about it's 4th light home use I have to turn the dial to the max and it takes a long time to get hot enough to even melt solder! I used it pretty infrequently, and it just sits undisturbed on my work bench so I don't think misuse is to blame. Really frustrating, I guess I'll try replacing some parts.

This was the second iron I received after the first was DOA. The current iron has worked OK a few times and now won't heat up enough to melt solder. I've replaced the tip and done everything Weller advises to troubleshoot, but to no avail. Now I'm back to my $20 iron from Radio Shack that works great. For some reason I thought that spending some more money would provide me with a better product, I guess I was wrong.

EDIT - Dropped from 5 stars to 2:It is now April of 2016, and my WES-51 has perhaps 25 hours on it, cumulative to this point. This past evening I went down to my basement to work on my new 3D printer, grabbed my soldering iron, flipped the switch. The green light came on as always and I went about doing the rest of my setup for the soldering. After a minute or so, light was still lit. Odd, normally it shuts off indicating "heated" in thirty seconds or so. Ignored it and put the heat shrink over the wires, so I wouldn't forget it, and went back to the iron. Light was still lit? Pulled the iron out of the stand and waved my hand over it to judge the temperature... couldn't feel anything. Closer. Nothing. Licked my finger and flicked it across the tip. Stone cold. So, after about 25 hours of cumulative use, the soldering station I purchased to be my be-all, end-all solution to needing smoker guns croaked on me, leaving me high and dry in the middle of a job. Went out and bought... you guessed it, another cheap smoker iron. Now I need to figure out what the heck is wrong with this thing. I'm obviously somewhat less than pleased. There is so little operating time on this iron that the original tip is still in mint condition. Awesome. Way to go, Weller.ORIGINAL REVIEW - I purchased this soldering station in March of 2010, based both on extensive research online and on conversations with the staff where I work. We do a lot of soldering, and the WES51 model makes up the bulk of our hand-soldering stations, a total of perhaps ~20 units scattered through the building. The general opinion of the Weller gear I received was quite promising, so I ordered one for my own home shop. Up to this point, the best soldering equipment I had owned (like most people, I suspect) was a series of inexpensive Radio Hut pencil irons.When I received the unit, I was already set to start with a project, namely assembling a "game timer" kit for my church's sunday school classes. I assembled an identical kit the year prior with my old RS pencil iron, and the uncontrolled heat and large tip had made the PCB soldering somewhat challenging. The difference was night and day! Instead of waiting ten minutes for the iron to come up to usable temperature, it's ready to use in ~60 seconds, with thermocouple-monitored tip temperature to keep it from overheating. I used the stock tip, which is just the right size for normal PCB work, although if you are working with surface-mount components or a large number of fine traces, it would likely be worth your time to pick up one of the HUGE number of alternate tips that are readily available. Using this soldering station, the assembly of the timer kit took perhaps half the time it had before, and the quality of the solder joints was a world better. Using SN-63 eutectic solder, the joints pooled and flowed beautifully, solidifying within an instant after the tip was removed. MUCH less chance of burning a component or lifting a pad with this temperature-controlled unit. The extremely flexible silicone base-unit-to-handpiece cable was also much easier to deal with, it has no persistent memory at all and drapes wherever you put it with no attempt to coil up or get in the way. It is also much longer than it appears in the pictures, more than enough to place the base station well out of the way, and just keep the iron and the iron stand up close.Since then I have used it as my general-purpose soldering tool, doing everything from repairing a brass necklace charm for a friend with lead-free silver solder to installing irrigation solenoids. Repaired my father's car control fob just last week after the battery-holder clip came loose from the PCB it was mounted on. That alone saved nearly the price of this soldering station, as I do not think the job could have been accomplished with a less-precise tip and heat control, such was the packing of the components inside the case. The stock tip still is performing like new, take your time and tin the tip after each job (as you should with any soldering iron) and it will last for a very long time. I am still using the stock sponge tip cleaner, although I prefer the brass-wool type that we use at work. Just have not gotten around to ordering one for myself yet, that will likely be the next item I purchase for this, along with a couple more tips of different sizes, just to have handy in case I should need them!I would gladly buy the WES51 again, it greatly exceeds my requirements as a hobbyist user, and makes jobs EASY. Yes, the cost of this tool is ~4X the price of an inexpensive non-controlled pencil iron, but it will perform better and still be in front-line service LONG after all four of those smoker irons have toasted and ended up in the trash. This is tool intended for professionals, and it shows!

Defective unit. The unit was used successfully exactly once by my son, an EE student. The unit was powered off in between uses to prevent overheating. When powered back up, the temperature control of the tip malfunctioned. The control had to be turned up over 800 deg. F to get the iron to heat. Unacceptable. "Hecho en Mexico". 'Nuff said. Returning for refund and replacing with a Hakko unit.

Box was missing the spring and funnel assembly for the stand when it arrived. Attempts to contact Weller to obtain the missing part have been met with utter silence. It's sad; Weller used to be THE name for soldering stations; apparently not any more.

In my impressionable school years, I remember seeing Weller soldering stations on every electronics and science lab bench. It was a grown-up moment, a source of pride, when I bought this soldering station. No more cheap Radio Shack soldering pencil for me.I've used it four or five times in the last two years, two or three hours of use in total. Today I pulled it out to fix a wiring problem on a circuit board. The soldering station wouldn't turn on; the LED just blipped green for an instant and shut off, but the pencil didn't heat up. I walked through all of the diagnostics for the pencil and discovered that the circuit board is bad. Replacing it costs half of the price of a new unit, and that's taking a leap of faith that it won't fail again if some other component is involved. The limited warranty lasts only one year; after that, Apex / Weller will gladly repair it for $60 plus two way shipping, i.e. about the price of a brand new unit from Amazon Prime.That's disappointing. I expected this to last for decades, but I got about 3 hours of use. Ironically, my cheap $5 Radio Shack soldering pencil still works after 30 years.

Missing stickers with model and serial number. Cannot be registered for warranty.

Broken - bought Jan 2014 - out of warrantee. Weller use to be quality product. Used Weller in commercial/military for 30 plus years. This purchase was for light home usage - so much for durability.

Failed after 6 months of intermittent use. No longer heats up. I must mail the product back to Weller for repair.