A little heads-up about the iron sold at the adafruit store!

[ionine]

It works great with Weller ET-series tips! It even heats up faster. And it's not that bad for SMD soldering!
Great value for the money (and as a first iron). Much <3 to Adafruit Industries!

[adafruit]

thanks for the nte, didnt realize it worked with weller tips - we were hoping to carry something that could do THM but also some big SMT so its nice to hear success

[spschaffer]

Hi,
I was wondering what would happen if you try a tip that wouldn't work with the Soldering Iron. The XY-258 I have came with the Ladyada's Electronics Toolkit, but I was looking to eventually do some SMD work. I looked up XY-258 on Google and found http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe252.aspx, which listed the Soldering Tip Model # 44-415403. This tip is not listed on the Xytronic website, but none of the tips they list on the Xytronic Website are compatible with the XY-258. Anyway, on the palco website, it says that Model #44-415404 is the tip that comes with the XY-258, so I'm assuming that since there's only a digit's difference between the 2 Model #s, they should be compatible.

Anyway, long story short, I'm planning on purchasing the tip from the website, but was wondering if you could tell me what to expect if my assumption's wrong. Should I wear goggles and oven mitts after installing the new tip and plugging in the Soldering Iron? Have Soldering Irons been known to explode? Thanks for any help you could provide.

Scott

[adafruit]

if the tip doesnt work, it just wont fit. You don't have to worry about explosions (although laying an unattended iron on flammable materials can cause a fire!)

[jyohe]

Hi Scott,

Regarding the tips that Palco Electronics sells I received an email reply from them which said:
--------------------------
Use the ones that say USE W/1683C STATION.
The soldering iron you mention comes with the 44-415404 tip.
--------------------------
... so it appears from today's viewing of that site they have seven tips available that are meant for the XY-258.

(Edit): A better place to look for Xytronic soldering iron tips be would be directly on their website ( http://www.xytronic-usa.com/shop/ ) and you'll see that they even recommend "J" solder tips that supposedly last twice as long. With a fuller selection of tips and accessories it might be less restrictive than to go with only what Palco Electronics carries. Look for distributors here ( http://www.xytronic-usa.com/shop/custom.aspx?recid=5 ) to locate who else you can purchase tips from.

Best regards,
Jim

Hi,
{... deleted text ...} I looked up XY-258 on Google and found http://www.palcoelectronics.com/pe252.aspx, which listed the Soldering Tip Model # 44-415403. This tip is not listed on the Xytronic website, but none of the tips they list on the Xytronic Website are compatible with the XY-258. {... deleted text ...}

Scott