are steel soldering iron heating elements generally better than ceramic?

[Jason Dodd]

Looking for a soldering iron I saw one claim, "Has steel heating element
which is better than ceramic." Is this true, all other things being equal?

[2600]

 Every soldering-iron heater I ever took apart had some ceramic hiding inside it somewhere. A heater with an all-metal exterior surface will be more robust if you use the thing to pry stuff loose doing repair work. 

But that's the only "better" aspect in my experience. An all-metal exterior no doubt makes it mechanically tougher. But there is almost certainly some ceramic insulation inside. All soldering-iron heaters must electrically insulate the heater wires from the metal tip. Ceramic materials are on a very short list of things that won't melt, won't conduct electricity but will carry heat flow. 

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