The iron handle does get quite warm if it's left on continuously, but I've never found it to be a problem. It's probably because it's so small relative to the element size, which personally I find useful. Coupled with the extremely flexible cable, you end up with something very comfortable to use for extended soldering sessions. I hate irons with stiff, inflexible cables that make them dangerous to put down on the bench, because the springiness of the cable makes them jump off and land point down on your groin eek

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If I could find it for the equivalent of £50 (about $100), I'd probably snap it up. I can't find it for less than $180 here, though, which is more than I'm willing to pay. Also, it's got a nichrome heating element, and everything I've read tells me that I want a ceramic element


I was under the impression it had a ceramic element like the 988 iron. The older iron my unit has certainly does. Hmm. This page claims it has a ceramic element. Odd.

Interestingly, I can't now find it for that price either, but I'm pretty sure the last time I looked into it the thing was around £50-£60. Perhaps it was a special offer and I didn't notice, or perhaps I'm just wrong wink

pca
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Experience is what you get just after it would have helped...