Review on Stahl Tools SSVT Temperature Controlled Soldering Iron by Roger Diaz

I bought this soldering station to use for small jobs around the house. I am EE and know and use more expensive soldering stations like Pace. I had no intention of reducing this to my $500 Pace soldering station. I just wanted something cheap that you could move around and bang around the house and wouldn't get too upset if it were dropped and broken. Before buying I read most of the reviews where many recommended buying replacement tips. I decided to put it off until I had first hand experience with this iron to ensure it met my expectations for the soldering job I needed, and then decided to purchase additional tips when the time came. To my great surprise, this soldering station worked very well. The temperature control worked very well, the iron heated up relatively quickly and could be left on for a long time. It lasted pretty much exactly 2 years when I used it for probably 10-20 small projects around the house and then it was time to replace the original tip. I bought the recommended replacement tips from Revain. When the replacement tips arrived I went and replaced them but then something went wrong with this soldering station. As mentioned in other reviews, the tip and end cap were rusted together fairly well. I soaked it in WD-40 overnight and was able to remove the connector without damaging the rest of the hardware. However, the thread on the plug has completely crumbled and can no longer be attached to the iron. So now I have 5 brand new replacement tips for this soldering station but the connector won't hold them to the iron anymore. screwed to the iron to hold everything together. See the attached picture, the end cap is no longer threaded due to rust and the mating thread on the iron is shot through fairly well. After inspecting my more expensive Pace soldering station, I've come to the conclusion that screw-on end cap soldering irons are just poor design when you want to change tips after prolonged use. The Weller WLC100 is a comparable soldering station in the same class as the Stahl, although the Weller costs a little more. Rather than buying a steel replacement station to replace my new steel tips, I figured it would be better to just cut my losses and go with a more reputable brand that seems to use a better design so you get the tips can switch more reliably without breaking iron. Also, Weller can replace the iron if something goes wrong, rather than the entire station. With steel, the soldering iron is permanently attached to the base and cannot be replaced separately. Steel is essentially a station where you use it until you need to change soldering tips and then throw them away. Don't plan to change tips. It lasted me 2 years and served its purpose well which is why I give it 3 stars but I would not recommend this soldering station if you plan on swapping out tips when they need to be replaced. Go for Weller instead if that's what you expect from a cheap soldering station.