Elenco - SL-5K-40 SL5K40 Solder Station Kit with 40-watt Iron

***EDIT***So I see several bad reviews from people saying things like "this is a kit", "it needs to be assembled", or "you need to have already have a soldering iron to build this kit".First off this station is list with the word kit right in it. Second, the description points out that you have to build the station, and third it makes it clear that you can use the included iron to build the kit.On top of all that, it's an Elenco product. For decades Elenco has sold electronic kits for vocational and electronics engineering schools. This is intended to be a learning tool.I'm at a complete loss in understanding the negative reviews as I can't believe so many people just bought it based on the picture and didn't read a single word in the listing or description.***EDIT***A couple of decades ago, you could find many base units like this little Elenco SL-5k. The purpose is to control the wattage in elcheapo aka -"firestarters" type soldering irons that plug directly into the wall. That was when a decent variable temp soldering station could cost several hundred to a few thousand back in the 70's and 80's. This system offered good value for the non professional. But here we are in the next millennium and thats no longer the case. Now days you can buy a Hakko FX-888 for about $80.00 (or any of the 936 clones for about $40.00) and get an iron that a pro can make good use of.So whats the point of this cheap unit? Well, Elenco has been selling it in one form or another for almost two decades and its targeted at students to use in labs for EE courses. But the hobbyist can still make good use of it. There are times when one doesn't want to travel with their Metcal mx500 or even down to the lowly Hakko units (only lowly compared to PACE, Metcal, etc) and risk losing/breaking them. This little station is light weight, easy to build and take down for travel, and lets you use any cheap (sometimes free) soldering iron that you would normally toss in the trash. Just plug it into the back of the base unit, set the temp, and your good to go. Any standard 2 or 3 prong 110/120 volt soldering iron will work, up to 300 watts. This makes it a great option for artists who do things like stained glass work, and don't want to make do with stations for electronics work.I find it a great option for going to a friends house to do work and leave my more costly soldering stations at home. I also use it for any lead free solder jobs as those destroy tips like no tomorrow and I'd rather kill the tips on cheap/free irons then my good tips which only touch good old 60/40 or 63/37 tin-lead. The base is made of a good quality poly-carb plastic and can take a travel beating. The whole system can be built with the included iron and solder in a few minutes (an hour if you are new to soldering). This version is the 2010 rev-e and has reduced the PCB's parts to 6-7 components. It also comes with that crappy lead free solder. I would recommend using a decent iron and lead solder to build the base station with.Mine was missing the sponge. I've sent Elenco an email for a replacement, but they can be found on places like ebay for $3-$4 for a 5 pack and free shipping. I also got this unit when Amazon was selling them for $20.00 last month, so it made it a much better deal. The few remaining adjustable soldering iron temp controller like this on the market tend to sale for between $75-$150, so this is a decent deal. Quick and simple to build and decent quality components so it will last for some time if take care of.A quick note about places the stickers on the unit. The glue is that real strong type that instantly adheres to whatever it touches and once its on, you will mess up the sticker trying to pull it free. Take your time in trying to line it up, as you only get once chance. Start from either the left or right sides of the sticker and use a credit card (or something like that) to slowly push it down and force out any air bubbles as you go. Look up how to apply decals on youtube and you will get a better idea. Again, just one chance to do it right. This is one thing that Elenco should have done before it got boxed up. I didn't have any problems, but I can see how somebody who has never done it before could mess it up and then be very annoyed.To finish up on the review: Its a great portable/leadfree station and could even work as a backup station, but its best to have a backup that uses the same tips and heating elements as your primary station. The 40 watt iron that comes with it is a rebaged Weller that uses plug tips. Not one of their better designs, but if you want you can find the tips at places like radio shack and all over the net. It only comes with one conical tip. Personally I find those to be rubbish. I prefer small chisel tips for 95% of my electronics needs including SMD as the provide far superior contact for heat transfer. Old style conical tips simply cant work as efficiently as small 1.6mm style chisel tips can. But its not junk, and you can find replacement elements and tips for it. It doesn't have to be the over priced Elenco parts. Look at the Weller options and you can find the correct parts and save a good bit. Like the majority of plug in irons, its a bit big and not the most comfortable to hold for long periods of time.Also, if you do use the included iron to build the kit then don't forget the very first thing to do is tin your tip and tin it well. If you can, use real leaded solder. As the iron is heating up start putting solder on the tip. Don't wait for it to get to maximum heat first. Remember the base unit isn't built yet, so the iron will be running flat out. The factory tip is only tin plated and needs solder ASAP prevent the early onset of pitting/corrosion. Just hold the solder to the tip as soon as you plug it in and in a few sends it will melt to the tip. If you have a brass sponge, then use it instead of the wet sponge as the watter sponge causes thermal shock and wipes off most of the solder. Once you have tinned the tip and sponged it, do it again. Then do it a third time and leave the solder on the tip at that point. This keeps it from cooking off the tin plating on the tip. When you are ready to solder, wipe off the tip again and put some fresh solder on to do your work. Given the full tilt of the iron being plugged directly into the wall, you will want to finish up all your connections as soon as you can, so have everything laid out in order and be ready to work quickly. Using this method will greatly save the life of the iron and tip. While its not the greatest iron out there again, its not junk.The picture shows the old version of this kit which had a wire type iron holder. This 2010 rev-e kit comes with the new black-box style holder that has a few vents running horizontal along the long axis. It looks much better than those cheap wire holders. The box tube is made of metal and the portal for the iron is plastic. The paint seems to be high temp and doesn't come off onto the iron and the plastic portal doesn't melt with casual touching when removing or inserting the iron. Looks like the did it right. The whole unit and included iron store easy into the retail box and its a nice heavy cardboard so its good to carry and store itSo its not a good choice for a primary or secondary station. Again, try to get a secondary that uses the same tips and elements as the primary station. Its good for making use of cheap irons, high temp irons for art and woodworking, and working with lead free solder for its price. It is ESD safe as long as the iron you plug into it is wired to the ground point. Many cheap imports only have the ground lug on the plug because they buy the plug in bulk and its already there. They simply don't use the lug though. The Weller iron with this kit does use it however. The little rubber feet are screwed on and will not peel off like many rubber feet.

The product is OK, however a bit of a pain that it has to be assembled first, including the soldering of the board. I did not, however come with the holder on the side. It was going to be more trouble than it was worth to return, so kept unit and found another holder in the junk bin

Works pretty well

Did not realize that it needed assembly. Took an over an hour to put together.

The construction is good quality. The assembly instructions are thorough and easy to follow. Lots of good information in the manual for people new to electronics and soldering.

Have to assemble and solder kit together

If you like to build your own, this is a fun project and it is a really decent soldering iron.Two hours build time. I'm really slow.

This is a kit. You will already need a soldering iron to assemble this kit. It looks very cool and retro, but after assembling, I cannot recommend it. It only gets up to 750 Fahrenheit, so it's the same as most pencil soldering irons. Get a Aoyue 469 Variable Power 60 Watt Soldering Station instead, or just buy a higher quality station for around $60.

Perfecto fácil de ensamblar y calienta bien lo que más me gustó es que puedo usar cautines que no vienen con estadio e igual los regula este modelo aquí en México ya totalmente ensamblado era comercializado por radox y proam yo siempre había querido este modelo pues actualmente manejo un similar de la marca máster cuyo modelo es igual al de Steren pero el que tú ensambles tú propia estación de soldadura no tiene precio De mi parte está totalmente recomendado.