Weller - a true workhorse of irons
My TCP heating element died after 31 years of use. No problem I have a spare - could I find it? A quick google brought me to Rapid and I was delighted to find they had the 50W element in stock. Ordered Friday night and delivered on Monday with a text to let me know when it was due to arrive. My old TCP was 45W, thankfully I read in one of the reviews that the newer 50W element was slightly larger so had ordered a replacement barrel as well. (Glad I did). Of course to change the element you need a soldering iron so I dug out my Weller gas iron. I hadn't used that for about 10 years and was surprised to see that it was still full of gas. Swapped out the element in the TCP, fitted a new no8 tip (my favourite) and the barrel. Switched on and sure enough within a few seconds I could feel it heating up. Only thing I found disconcerting was that the element initially made a noise similar to boiling water (I don't remember them doing this in my day to day job many years ago). However I tinned the tip and left it for a few minutes while I cleaned my workstation. Then got on with the job in hand - delighted. Only negative thing I have to say is that the larger element & barrel has changed the balance of the iron and after 30 odd years that feels a bit odd.
