Weller 40w to 80w - can I just plug and play?

[kratonwatch]

I have this small 40w weller station that has served me well so far, but I’m looking for a more powerful wand. I found weller sells an 80w wand and I’d like to just plug it into the station and be on my way. Can I just plug the 80w wand into this station? Pic of the side of the unit seems to confirm yes

 

[Johnny b]

I don't know what wattage my wand is but it's definitely a plug and play!

 

[kratonwatch]

I don't know what wattage my wand is but it's definitely a plug and play!

I guess I should have chosen my phrasing better LOL!

 

[LipoShirly]

Not sure why this caught my eye this morning, thought I could give you a quick answer. nope..... this has to be the worst documented tool ever. I just spent the last 20 min trying to find anything on this unit and came up empty. My guess is that you are correct , the 80W pencil should work just fine. The controller is most likely an old style SCR type power controller that simply moves the turn-on point of each cycle as the knob is adjusted, similar to the light dimmers that were popular in the days of filament light bulbs. So instead of 1 = 5W and 5 = 40W ( I think its non-linear because of where it starts on the 60Hz sine wave ) 1 = 10W and 5 = 80W ( duh... I actually picked my calculator up to solve that). We use something similar to control non-critical heating elements, no feedback temperature for control, just turn up the knob a little to increase heat. A small box with the SCR circuit and an outlet runs couple hundred bucks, I may look to the weller unit next time we need to replace one.

MSC 5/2/24