Scratchy noise coming from Weller soldering station.

peccary

Well-known member
Hey folks,

I went in the garage to solder a couple of things quickly this afternoon and when I turned on my soldering station it started making a strange scratchy/buzzy noise. This is the WE 1010 station. I've had it for a year now with no issues. It worked fine today for the 5 minutes I used it, but the noise was pretty obnoxious.

Anyone know what this might be and if it's something that I can fix at home?

Here's a video of the sound:


Thanks!
 
Do your kids have hamsters by chance?
No, but I had a hamster as a kid when I lived in Malibu. It's name was Rodeo. I accidentally let it out of the house and it ran away and was almost certianly a snack for a coyote or hawk.

Do you think it could be the ghost of Rodeo, coming to haunt me for eternity with annoying scratchy noises? Seems the most logical answer.
 
Can you open it up and make sure there's no loose connections
I'll probably crack it open next week (were going out of town tomorrow) to take a look and see if it's anything obvious. It was such a unique noise I thought someone might have experienced it before with a solder station.
 
I spy a PedalPCB pick!

My parents got me a hamster for my 12th or 13th b-day. The next morning we had 6. Hamster chick had been knocked up! 4 of the babies grew brown fur like mom but n.5 was gray, bigger and faster than anybody else. One day I put him on a table and he fell off and hit his head. He didn't die but he became very slow. So slow he could never get to the food in time, his siblings would eat it all. I think he died soon after. Eventually we sold all babies minus one back to the pet shop.

Sorry, didn't mean to tell such a sad story. I also didn't help with your issue at all Joe, but do let us know how it turns out.
 
Mogwai!

Huh. That almost sounds like chattering relay contacts. Seeing as how it pulses at a regular interval, I wonder if it has something to do with the temperature regulation.

Does it shift around at all when you use the iron? Do be careful when you open that thing up, could be charged caps in there. Best to check any big ones ya find in there with a meter before ya really start investigating.
 
Found this:


Looks like all the temp regulation is solid-state, most of the interior there is a big transformer.

My best guess is that you've got yourself a lamination lamentation.: As the unit switches the power delivered to the iron's heating element, the transformer needs to supply more current, and the electromagnetic fields generated by that transformer under that increased load make those silicon iron plates in the transformer wanna wiggle and dance

This is normal, and the folks that make these tend to dip the plates in a binder (lacquer was traditionally used) in order to get those things to act as a solid block.

Transformers...more than meets the eye.

So...what has likely happened here is that binder has broken down in spots, and the plates of the transformer are rattling against each other.

As far as how to fix it? I dunno. Maybe you could try re-applying a binder to the plates, but I would recommend doing a bit of homework before trying that. I've certainly never done that.

Again, I could be wrong, but that's a good place to investigate.

Old electrician joke:

How do you get a transformer to stop humming?

You teach it the words.
 
Found this:


Looks like all the temp regulation is solid-state, most of the interior there is a big transformer.

My best guess is that you've got yourself a lamination lamentation.: As the unit switches the power delivered to the iron's heating element, the transformer needs to supply more current, and the electromagnetic fields generated by that transformer under that increased load make those silicon iron plates in the transformer wanna wiggle and dance

This is normal, and the folks that make these tend to dip the plates in a binder (lacquer was traditionally used) in order to get those things to act as a solid block.

Transformers...more than meets the eye.

So...what has likely happened here is that binder has broken down in spots, and the plates of the transformer are rattling against each other.

As far as how to fix it? I dunno. Maybe you could try re-applying a binder to the plates, but I would recommend doing a bit of homework before trying that. I've certainly never done that.

Again, I could be wrong, but that's a good place to investigate.

Old electrician joke:

How do you get a transformer to stop humming?

You teach it the words.
I got a "page not found" error for that link, but I did read on another site that it could be a transformer making the noise - I just wasn't sure what kind of sound a transformer makes (other than the Transformers cartoon sound, I guess 🤣)

As far as being safe when opening it, I will be for sure. In a previous life I did facilities work in a restaurant for a few years and I worked with an electrician as my supervisor. We had to pull apart and fix lots of stuff and I've got an idea of how to keep from frying myself.

On a related note: when I was doing that facilities job (which aside from the terrible manager and hours was a really fun job) we had a few massive water features with the pumps and everything in the basement area that was also part of our workshop. Our compressor stopped working and happened to be next to the controls for a waterfall. While we were trying to find out what happened to the compressor I kneeled down in to a puddle of water only to find out the hard way that the compressor was shorting out. It popped me right in the leg and somehow hit the water feature as well because it blew a fuse for the waterfall that was about the size of a sausage. It bent the fuse box outward when it popped and knocked me back and on my ass. I got a good jolt but was fine, but I feel like I got off lucky there.
 
Thanks @Stickman393 ... often my humor escapes even me.

I had a job building industrial pump/motor assemblages (shop mounts as we called them) as spec'd by their engineer or whomever had the responsibility to order the thing. Some of the accounts were pretty large and were more of a subscription, as I would build the same setups month after month for them. Sometimes, I'd have to be on-site to commission or assist with last-minute coupling adjustments or alignments...nothing really technical. The regional power company ordered a small setup to be installed at a nearby nuclear facility. They specified no commissioning was needed, which suited me fine. A few weeks went by and my supervisor called me into the office....I figured it was about the $50 I had taken from him in a card game that weekend but as I walked through the door his face said something different, like "dammit fig, that was going to be a huge account. did you have to choose this one to screw up"? Turns out, that's exactly what he said! Miffed at his wild assumption, I asked if I could inspect the installation, which it turns out was their idea (insistence) as well. Turns out the folks at the nuclear facility wired the motor wrong. Lord help us all.
 
Thanks @Stickman393 ... often my humor escapes even me.

I had a job building industrial pump/motor assemblages (shop mounts as we called them) as spec'd by their engineer or whomever had the responsibility to order the thing. Some of the accounts were pretty large and were more of a subscription, as I would build the same setups month after month for them. Sometimes, I'd have to be on-site to commission or assist with last-minute coupling adjustments or alignments...nothing really technical. The regional power company ordered a small setup to be installed at a nearby nuclear facility. They specified no commissioning was needed, which suited me fine. A few weeks went by and my supervisor called me into the office....I figured it was about the $50 I had taken from him in a card game that weekend but as I walked through the door his face said something different, like "dammit fig, that was going to be a huge account. did you have to choose this one to screw up"? Turns out, that's exactly what he said! Miffed at his wild assumption, I asked if I could inspect the installation, which it turns out was their idea (insistence) as well. Turns out the folks at the nuclear facility wired the motor wrong. Lord help us all.
Schweeeeeeet!!!! Man, checking the peckerhead on those things is just about one of the most tedious parts of my job, but once every maybe 500 or so I'll find one that someone fucked up. One electrical contractor in particular...actually...they also have a tendency of wiring motorized disconnects like traditional light switches, and shorting L1 to L2 as soon as I flip the switch. Woof.

Shoot, 90% of what we do is close coupled in line stuff...but on larger loops we'll see the more traditional externally coupled motors. We ALWAYS have the folks that sell us the pumps do the alignment on those.

I've spent two whole days trying to do a shaft alignment out at the apple donut round these parts...shim kits, tiny hammer taps, measure, double check, tighten the bolts, re-check, throw my 9/16" ratcheting wrench across the room.

That shit is an *art*. Respect.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: fig
As soon as you move them (forklift, rail hoist, crane, NASA gantry..etc) they need aligning again....kind of like that Datsun 210 I had. If you closed the door too hard the thing would crab down the road, I swear! So yeah, I'll sell it...hold on I did....like 45 years ago...if you're wanting your money back I've already spent it on blackjack and hookers.
 
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