Bought the above Soldering Station from Jcar about 6months ago.
Typical Chinese product worked brilliantly for 6 months and game over.
Even if I fix it which is not looking likely not sure I want to use it. I expected a transformer inside and a low voltage element. No way! Measured 220VAC on element, small nasty little pc board which I can't Remove without destroying the the pot which is locked in a plastic ring and cannot be unscrewed. LED Appears o/c the barrel gets hot but not enough heat on element. It serves me right. I bought it to replace the Dick Smith one I had for years before it played up. Just thought I would have a quick winge.
Can anyone suggest a safe reliable Soldering Station that I can buy without spending a fortune which I don't have.
Regards Jim

Total Tools sells WELLER still made in Australia,,They sell Cresent too ... Prices start on weller for a 25 Watt at 50 Dollars and 60 watt at 60 bucks ,,Cresent is a a bit cheaper ,, Check them out ! I bought 2 off them and I'm very happy with them .. Pete

Among my numerous irons, I have a predecessor to the TS1620 which I got for nothing among a box of junk at a swap meet and which I use when I want to 'burn' stuff (e.g. solder wires to a chassis). Duratech irons have a reputation for doing exactly what you have experienced. If mine burns out then I haven't lost a cent on it.

Do yourself a favour and buy a good quality iron, such as Weller. I still have my Weller WTCP and PU1A base that I bought in 1970. Like this: https://stevenjohnson.com/soldering/pics/weller-wtcp-bksm.jpg

My fisrt iron as a kid was a Miniscope and they are still making it (but mine was black not orange): https://www.wiltronics.com.au/product-category/miniscope-soldering-iron/

My best iron, and my go to for day to day stuff, is a Goot RX-802AS which is priced at around $550 these days.

Weller is the best choice but about 18 months ago I needed a dedicated SS for SMD prototype work at the office.

I needed accurate temperature because it needs to be able to handle lead-free SMD rework without lifting tracks.

I got one of these, along with some extra fine tips, because I was ordering a few bits from Altronics and needed to bulk out the order to get free delivery. I needed a quick solution!

https://www.altronics.com.au/p/t209-micron-economy-40w-soldering-station/

Anyway, it has been excellent, no trouble with pretty much daily use. It gets hammered by some of the other guys who turn the temp up to max, bend my fine tips and leave it on all night!

Thank you all for your replys.
I do have two Weller irons a 60D which still works well can't remember when I bought it but a considerable number of years ago.
The other is TC201 with the 24 V transformer the element is o/c. I have just ordered a replacement which is what I should have done in the first place.The cost of the element for this cost more than the rubbish Duratech unit I bought to replace it. Again I bought the TC201 decades ago a great product and parts still available. There is no substitute for quality tools.

Yes. we dont always Agree on this foum at Times ,But we all agree on Weller !!! I have 2 Irons I really like , one is a weller and my other little one is a Goot . These things get a good name for a Reason ..... The other issues is you cant get Tips for those cheaper Irons ,,
A good soldering Iron will last years and years

Pete

Yes Weller have some fantastic irons!
my personal favourite is a Hakko 701 which also has a de-soldering gun

Now that's something I wish I had , I really good de-soldering suction gun .. Those little plastic hand suckers are useless and I love my Radiograms , particularly my Krieslers, But hey talk about excess solder in those chassis. I use to suck the solder all out and now I heat the old solder up and poke the lead through the hole when I can I have nice little 11 97 chassis here I'm playing with at the moment. I did a bit on it last night for fun , Nice unit !

Well Pete when you get a de-solderer you'll never look back!
I can't live without it! Hakko do make newer stand alone de-soldering guns. not cheap but worth it!
The 11-97 sure looks like a awesome radio.
by far the most common radio around here is the Kriesler 11-81's

I tossed up between a Weller and Hakko FX-888D ... bought the Hakko ... but be careful not to buy a Chinese knock-off (see Youtube videos). Temperature controlled, different Tips etc.. Should have bought one years ago.