I love my Pinecil V2. It was cheaper than my 40W entry level Weller station and heats up way faster. I run it off my Anker USB power supply and also my Anker USB power bank. The power bank only outputs 30 or 40 watts though so I might upgrade that in the future. High wattage power banks are expensive though :/
It’s very likely existing smart soldering pens were the inspiration.
iFixit even mentions they didn’t include a screen like the Pinecil because most people don’t actually mess with the settings that much when they are on the go.
It’s definitely priced significantly higher than a similar setup from Pine64.
…but it also has some significant advantages and features the Pinecil does indeed lack.
I definitely think the Pinecil is aimed more at hobbyists and this iFixit iron is aimed at people who solder all the time, in other words, not hobbyists.
Since the Pinecil is running IronOS, it’s just a matter of time for it to also get the fall detection. And apart from the LED ring gimmick, I don’t see any huge advantages over IronOS.
I personally see the PD for USB-C being 100W is a significant advantage as the Pinecil tops at 60W from USB-C and you have to search for a traditional barrel-plug power cord to get it to max out at 88W.
100W through USB-C and not even having a different power option seems pretty useful to me. *shrugs
I regularly power both my ts100 and Pinecil with a Milwaukee M18 battery and the barrel connector this is super convenient. The display is also convenient. The fact that you need the battery to set the temp seems numb and completely negates the USBC convenience because it means you can’t use any old USBC power source and still change the temperature. The 100w is also pointless because the other two options already heat incredibly fast and have a higher max temperature.
I have a ts100, and the barrel plug is loose enough that it sometimes disconnects in the middle of working and loses its temperature setting. Got a Pinecil to replace it, but haven’t used it much yet.
You do realize that the ifixit solderimg iron also has firmware and that you need to connect it to a computer or their very expensive battery pack to adjust its settings, right?
Firmware was always there in a soldering iron more sophisticated than an old, dumb Radio Shack wall plug iron. That’s how you get good temperature control. Pinecil is just letting you modify it officially.
having to do a firmware update on my soldering iron
You don’t. It works perfectly fine OOTB. Can’t speak for the Pinecil v2 with Bluetooth and the companion app but I have v1 and the software been stable and bug-free enough I’ve never even given a thought to updating the firmware on it
I’m pretty sure you meant this as a joke, and I laughed at the thought of someone making something as stupid as an app for a soldering iron. But then I thought I’d check. Ugh.
Which is a little odd to me, since I don’t think it compares favorably vs either. Maybe against the ts80p because it’s significantly lower wattage and more expensive than the other two.
The TS80P is lower wattage, technically, but the heating element is right up at the very tip, instead of having a heating element inside the handle with a long metal piece transmitting the heat. It gets hot way faster than you’d expect, it doesn’t feel like 30W at all.
It punches way, way above its weight. Unless you’re soldering pipes, comparing the wattage to traditional irons is misleading. Love that tiny thing.
Only problem is that this design necessitates proprietary tips that are relatively expensive. Not a fan of that, coming from the no name Global South Especiale 2$ firestarter irons that are the norm where I am. Not the end of the world, but worth keeping in mind.
The one I bought came with a USB-C cable that couldn’t handle the current though. That was the only real red flag. Shame too, that cable seemed like it was silicone coated and would have been ideal.
Yeah I have a ts80p but it struggles with what I usually solder so I’ve replaced it with a pinecilV2 for mobile soldering which I’ve been happier with.
Have they not heard of the TS100 or the Pinecil?
Both run an open-source firmware and work with any USB-C PD battery pack and still allow you to configure the temperature.
This
Why bother with that when I can use my personal power bank that uses standard easily swappable/replaceable 18650 batteries? (remember those?)
I love my Pinecil V2. It was cheaper than my 40W entry level Weller station and heats up way faster. I run it off my Anker USB power supply and also my Anker USB power bank. The power bank only outputs 30 or 40 watts though so I might upgrade that in the future. High wattage power banks are expensive though :/
That Pinecil has a 30 day warranty? Not a lot if confidence in the longevity of their product.
Here in Europe it is sold with a 2 year warranty, but it also cost nearly three times as much (65 euro vs 25,99)
My pinecil has lasted for years.
Ts80 that runs on qc3 is also very good. It keeps up with my large soldering station in real world use
Considering that they sell one of those, I’m going to assume they’ve heard of it. ;)
It’s very likely existing smart soldering pens were the inspiration.
iFixit even mentions they didn’t include a screen like the Pinecil because most people don’t actually mess with the settings that much when they are on the go.
What they probably meant is they didn’t include a screen because this way they can sell their overpriced battery pack.
It’s definitely priced significantly higher than a similar setup from Pine64.
…but it also has some significant advantages and features the Pinecil does indeed lack.
I definitely think the Pinecil is aimed more at hobbyists and this iFixit iron is aimed at people who solder all the time, in other words, not hobbyists.
Since the Pinecil is running IronOS, it’s just a matter of time for it to also get the fall detection. And apart from the LED ring gimmick, I don’t see any huge advantages over IronOS.
I personally see the PD for USB-C being 100W is a significant advantage as the Pinecil tops at 60W from USB-C and you have to search for a traditional barrel-plug power cord to get it to max out at 88W.
100W through USB-C and not even having a different power option seems pretty useful to me. *shrugs
I regularly power both my ts100 and Pinecil with a Milwaukee M18 battery and the barrel connector this is super convenient. The display is also convenient. The fact that you need the battery to set the temp seems numb and completely negates the USBC convenience because it means you can’t use any old USBC power source and still change the temperature. The 100w is also pointless because the other two options already heat incredibly fast and have a higher max temperature.
I have a ts100, and the barrel plug is loose enough that it sometimes disconnects in the middle of working and loses its temperature setting. Got a Pinecil to replace it, but haven’t used it much yet.
Apparently you can connect the thing to a PC and change the temperature that way
What a sentence. I really don’t like the idea of having to do a firmware update on my soldering iron.
Does it have Bluetooth and a companion app as well?
You do realize that the ifixit solderimg iron also has firmware and that you need to connect it to a computer or their very expensive battery pack to adjust its settings, right?
Yep. I don’t think I’ll be buying one of those, either.
Firmware was always there in a soldering iron more sophisticated than an old, dumb Radio Shack wall plug iron. That’s how you get good temperature control. Pinecil is just letting you modify it officially.
You don’t. It works perfectly fine OOTB. Can’t speak for the Pinecil v2 with Bluetooth and the companion app but I have v1 and the software been stable and bug-free enough I’ve never even given a thought to updating the firmware on it
I’m pretty sure you meant this as a joke, and I laughed at the thought of someone making something as stupid as an app for a soldering iron. But then I thought I’d check. Ugh.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.eduardom.ironos_companion
Oh, I was dead serious. You can get battery drills that come with a fucking app now, I’m not surprised at all it’s the same with solder irons.
Power and temp up and down is just too simple, I guess.
My guess is that the motivation was user feedback and keeping things simple so they’re easier to repair.
Of course they have.
An iFixit co-founder has been responding to questions over on Hacker News:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41521919
It very much sounds like ifixit are actively asking influencers/reviewers to compare it to at least one of those in the videos.
Which is a little odd to me, since I don’t think it compares favorably vs either. Maybe against the ts80p because it’s significantly lower wattage and more expensive than the other two.
The TS80P is lower wattage, technically, but the heating element is right up at the very tip, instead of having a heating element inside the handle with a long metal piece transmitting the heat. It gets hot way faster than you’d expect, it doesn’t feel like 30W at all.
It punches way, way above its weight. Unless you’re soldering pipes, comparing the wattage to traditional irons is misleading. Love that tiny thing.
Only problem is that this design necessitates proprietary tips that are relatively expensive. Not a fan of that, coming from the no name Global South Especiale 2$ firestarter irons that are the norm where I am. Not the end of the world, but worth keeping in mind.
The one I bought came with a USB-C cable that couldn’t handle the current though. That was the only real red flag. Shame too, that cable seemed like it was silicone coated and would have been ideal.
Yeah I have a ts80p but it struggles with what I usually solder so I’ve replaced it with a pinecilV2 for mobile soldering which I’ve been happier with.