EEVblog #1114 - NEW TS80 USB Soldering Iron Review

Review of the new 18W USB-C TS80 temperature controlled portable soldering iron.

TLDR; Highly recommended, money well spent if you need a portable iron solution, but you need a QC3 battery pack.

#TS80
#Soldering

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[Eman]

I'm not entirely sure I understand why they are using QC3.0. Since they have USB C it seems like it would make more sense to use USB PD. This would also be a major power advantage given that USB PD can deliver up to 100W (5 amps at 20 volts). Though USB PD is supposed to be a very flexible standard which may be harder to design a soldering iron for.

[cmj]

The TS100 is for those that do a lot of RC stuff in the field, it is well suited for use with a LiPo battery pack. It is a matter of what you need. I have a TS100 that I purchased as a fine work soldering iron and it works well for this task. I have a 24 volt 3 Amp power supply to run it. In the field I use a butane soldering iron and it works really good, no wires at all. As long as you have some butane refills handy it will run as long as you want.

[horrovac]

* says how open-sourced firmware would be pointless as the stock one works just fine
* proceeds to complain about stock firmware refusing to work without quickcharge power supply

[saxonian]

I've got me a TS100 a few months ago. It is also portable. There is a power cord to hook it up to a lipo. What I do like is the design of the TS80, especially the shorter working distance and the grip.

[chaos.corner]

Here's an interesting thought (to me). USB QC and PD can deliver up to 20V. This is well above the minimum operating voltage of the TS-100 so it could be converted to be pretty much equivalent with a dongle. Bonus is, you can still use it with a real PSU up to 24V if you'd like.

[Hackinside]

Luckily Youtube can not reproduce smoke, otherwise we needed to use a fume extractor to watch it. LOL

[GadgetReviewVideos]

I believe the third party firmware for the older model was updated to work with this model also. This will give you much more options and better control including temp calibration. I would use that firmware, it has a good reputation. They use the USB programming interface from the STM chip, no need for any separate programming pins.

[moox]

Okay you can't say "they didn't supply a manual" when it has instructions you threw away in the beginning

[JennyEverywhere]

My TS100 is perfect. I have an Anker power bank that will provide 5, 12, or 19v through a coaxial plug, so I can run the iron off the battery. It's a 20, 000mAh battery, so it'll do the job for a while. I use the old stand from my Weller on the bench. It has the little well in it for a sponge, and I keep the little bucket with the gold metal scrubber thingie (like a Chore Boy sink scrubber) next to it. I got a big bag of sponges for the thing for a few bucks from Banggood and it's excellent.

I built a couple of radios with the TS100. For the second one, I replaced the standard conical tip with a really long and thin chisel tip. I also have another, longer and thinner conical tip, as the one it comes with is a bit chunky for small parts.

I agree with the prevailing sentiment that the use of QC 3.0 was weird.

[MMuraseofSandvich]

Couple of things about this iron.
Get yourself a quality QC3 battery (Anker or Omnicharge) and you have yourself a really nice portable iron.
There's custom firmware on the same GitHub as the TS100, so if you're not into the default firmware, you can get the open-source one with some better features.
A few months ago they finally released a line of different tips, so you're not stuck between a conical tip or a chunky screwdriver tip. I got the TS-BC02 which is a hoof tip. It took forever to get here because China and COVID-19. They're nowhere near as varied as Hakko or Weller RT tips, but there's more than enough for most hobbyists.

[hillct]

To answer the question you posted, the plastic barrel/sleeve that unscrews at the tip end, is presumably meant to accommodate alternate/replacement grips. It would be a particularly good candidate for 3d printed TPU textured grip. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see a nice silicone grip for sale at some point as well.

[ChadForquer]

I use the 100 for all my kit building. Love it.

[martinda]

Great review. Looks like a lovely object. My only gripe about irons in general...I used both an 18W and a 25W Antex iron for twenty years, and they were brilliant. No temperature control or fancy knobs, just a quality standard iron. In 1990 ish I did get a better iron...Yet I still have those ancient Antex irons and they still work.

[philippstenkamp]

Really like the idea of the TS80, but wouldn't change my TS100 for it.
A TS100 v2 (or TS180?) with Type C USB PD in addition to the barrel jack would be very nice.

Still don't get why they limit the TS80 to Qualcomm Quick Charge. Yes, right now it has a greater adoption by powerbanks and chargers, but every 2018 ultrabook / MacBook comes with a USB PD charger. Google recommends phone makers to ditch proprietary charging standards like QC in favour of USB PD, as it is part of the official USB spec.

[brendondrew]

I have been using one of these in the field doing wire joints in the feild, usualy run it at 250*C joining 14/0.20 cables and is absolutly excelent.
The screwing collar is good for getting the tips out when it is hot (the newer TS80P has a spring loded thing). I run it with a 10Ah QC3.0 power bank and get days and days out of it with intermited use. I found being 'cheaper' the cable it comes with is a bit on the thin side. I use an 'armored' cable from jaycar and have gotten higher power. Its a great feild iron but not something i use on the bench

[AlienRelics]

I noticed quite a while ago that most soldering irons waste most of their heat by radiating it away from a long heating element.

Way back in the dark mists of time, when Heathkit was still a going business and they had a store in the Phoenix area.... I bought a tiny 12W soldering iron from them. It had a very thin heating element. The tip fit over it like a split sleeve with a spring steel ring holding it tight.

It soldered at least as well or better than my 35W soldering iron. And it was much more comfortable to use, as the 12W iron didn't have as much heat radiating away from it.

[unicornflesh]

"good grip to tip" thx for the tip dave

[dukeeod]

I have had my TS80 for a few weeks and I think it rocks!  the only down side is wht you mentioned about not working with power pack.

[stevenspmd]

This will iron be next on my list!! I just got a KSGER station from Amazon and its pure awesome for the price. My weller wes station has now been relocated to the parts bin.

[Mommotexx]

4x18650 batteries in series would make the TS100 portable too. Have been using a 4s battery pack for a long time