Budget soldering station

[Horryhop]

Hello, I am looking to get a budget soldering station to replace my jaycar soldering iron that cost $10. I have been looking at the yihua soldering irons, they look ok for the amount of use they would be getting from me. I would like to spend around $60 aud, but if it was a quality soldering iron that would last, I would be happy to spend max $100 on it.

[RobertBG]

I bought a yiha'ish thing from China and a real Hakko iron that plugs into the cheap station and I'm quite happy.

I probably could have made it even cheaper by sourcing my own power supply but I needed it ASAP.My plan though is to source my own supply and make a nice mahogany case/station for my office desk.I'll probably order the parts on my next big order but I want something I can leave the base on my desk and it wont look out of place 

[fra.gherard]

at home i have an ersa i-con pico. i really like it, 3 fixed temperatures or only variable temperature, a lot of tips. 15 second to reach 320 C.
at work we bought some days ago an hakko fx-888d, is cheaper than ersa, but is very slow to reach the temperature, and you need to set an high value of temperature to have good solder.
the era handle is smaller than hakko, but hakko is comfortable anyway

[ElectricGuy]

http://www.batterfly.com/shop/hakko_fx-888d

[bitseeker]

My plan though is to source my own supply and make a nice mahogany case/station for my office desk.

Post photos when you finish that! Sounds great.

[Horryhop]

Thanks everyone, i have found the 853d Link:eBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3in1-DC-Power-Supply-Hot-Air-Iron-Gun-SMD-Rework-Soldering-Station-853D-11Tips/172086806982?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140106155344%26meid%3D7bad2931ef3e47ea95b269146e9124fa%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D271537244226 and i think it will work well. What are your thoughts?

[RobertBG]

Thanks everyone, i have found the 853d Link:eBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3in1-DC-Power-Supply-Hot-Air-Iron-Gun-SMD-Rework-Soldering-Station-853D-11Tips/172086806982?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140106155344%26meid%3D7bad2931ef3e47ea95b269146e9124fa%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D271537244226 and i think it will work well. What are your thoughts?

Link is not working for me 

bitseeker,Not to derail the OP's thread but I most likely will make a thread somewhere and post it.I'm trying to find a nice dial and temp gauge with a look close to my barometer I keep on my desk.Chances are I'm going to have to custom make a electro/mechanical gauge of some kind,but other than that it is pretty straight forward.

Here's a guide similar to what I plan to do that may also be of use to the OP in case he wants to look into building his own
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Soldering-Station-1/ 
It's nothing new to build your own,I just want to put a classy/classic nautical style to it.

[bitseeker]

if it was a quality soldering iron that would last, I would be happy to spend max $100 on it.

If you're not opposed to buying a good used iron, I've used a Hakko 926 for many years. I'd recommend picking one up.

Here's a guide similar to what I plan to do that may also be of use to the OP in case he wants to look into building his own
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Soldering-Station-1/

Thanks for the info, Robert. Looking forward to your build as well.

[Horryhop]

Thanks everyone, i have found the 853d Link:eBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3in1-DC-Power-Supply-Hot-Air-Iron-Gun-SMD-Rework-Soldering-Station-853D-11Tips/172086806982?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140106155344%26meid%3D7bad2931ef3e47ea95b269146e9124fa%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D271537244226 and i think it will work well. What are your thoughts?

Link is not working for me 

bitseeker,Not to derail the OP's thread but I most likely will make a thread somewhere and post it.I'm trying to find a nice dial and temp gauge with a look close to my barometer I keep on my desk.Chances are I'm going to have to custom make a electro/mechanical gauge of some kind,but other than that it is pretty straight forward.
Here's a guide similar to what I plan to do that may also be of use to the OP in case he wants to look into building his own
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Soldering-Station-1/ 
It's nothing new to build your own,I just want to put a classy/classic nautical style to it.

Hmmm, that is odd I will repost the link here Link: http://bit.ly/1RtZLar. Testing the link, looks like the shortened version works

[Horryhop]

if it was a quality soldering iron that would last, I would be happy to spend max $100 on it.

If you're not opposed to buying a good used iron, I've used a Hakko 926 for many years. I'd recommend picking one up.

Here's a guide similar to what I plan to do that may also be of use to the OP in case he wants to look into building his own
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Soldering-Station-1/

Thanks for the info, Robert. Looking forward to your build as well

That would be ideal, but I have not been able to find one new or used for under $239, which I saw on a ebay auction

[SuzyC]

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/picking-a-soldering-station/msg840456/#msg840456
Build your own Hackko 888D with a few used parts and only a few bucks for the 888D handle with 5 tips.

[bitseeker]

There's also a schematic, PCB layout, and BOM for the Hakko 936 at http://www.mmccs.com/mmarc/n0ss/index_general.html . However, the Instructables that Robert posted looks like a good project if you're OK with doing some programming in addition to the electronics.

[bitseeker]

Thanks for that 888 project reference, Suzy. I hadn't seen that one. Looks like there's plenty to choose from. 

[Horryhop]

I cant build a soldering iron as the soldering iron i am replacing died, which I think is odd as it only got 4 to 5 h of use

[SuzyC]

Horryhop,  order the 888D handle, breadboard the simple controller circuit for the HACKKO, then use the old transformer you have from the dead iron, and you are in business to solder to make a new station.

[RobertBG]

Horryhop,  order the 888D handle, breadboard the simple controller circuit for the HACKKO, then use the old transformer you have from the dead iron, and you are in business to solder to make a new station.

Good idea but I'd figure out what failed first and if you need a iron for assembly you could easily suffer through a few joints with a cheap plug in to the mains style iron   I have a cheap Weller I found in a sale bin for a few bucks.It is a pain to use for more then a few simple tasks but plenty useful enough to keep in the garage or assemble a iron,connect a few wires etc.

[Venomis]

You can try the den-on ss8200, I think that is a good soldering iron...

[Audioguru]

I have a Weller temperature controlled soldering iron that was not cheap but it was worth it because it is always at the same correct temperature and it has lasted for 52 years. So it has cost only about $1.00 for each year. A cheapo soldering iron usually is too hot so it vaporizes the rosin which makes poor joints. Also its tip burns up soon. The soldering joints are perfect and the tip lasts for years.
I have never needed to change the temperature of my soldering iron. Its temperature is determined by its tip, not by a Mickey Mouse light dimmer that does not control the temperature.

[relic38]

I have the YiHua 853D with the hot air reflow and a simple power supply built in.  It works good, but my only issue is it now takes a long time to warm up. 
When I first got it, the warm up was quite fast, maybe 25-30s.  Not sure what changed to make it take so long now it's at least 90s to get to 370C.

[YU2]

Hello, I am looking to get a budget soldering station to replace my jaycar soldering iron that cost $10. I have been looking at the yihua soldering irons, they look ok for the amount of use they would be getting from me. I would like to spend around $60 aud, but if it was a quality soldering iron that would last, I would be happy to spend max $100 on it.

The cheapest you could go but have a modern technology is search for the "Hakko T12": You can buy this kit for a start, than make your own box or buy one and a power supply: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Soldering-Iron-Station-Temperature-Controller-Kits-for-HAKKO-T12-Handle-/381511733009?hash=item58d3df0f11:g:g5UAAOSwFqJWljL9

Personally I have Yihua 862D+ combo with the hot air and it's pretty decent, soldering iron is very good.

[nealz]

I bought a Radio Shack solder station pro. It's no bad for the price. My next solderiron will definetly be a Hakko ~$250.

[aidan2496]

Hey,

I purchased a Rhino Tools soldering station that works well but, the first one I received didn't work at all. That also happend with Dave's desoldering station. I did see a video from a Youtuber who was talking about the tools he used. He had a soldering station that had been working for over 2 and a half years. It was around $50 EUR. I would just have a look at a'lot of reviews and possibly go into an electronics shop that sell decent quality items for a pretty good price. Hope this helped!

Soldering Station:
http://astore.amazon.de/great043-21/detail/B00N7JU5P6/280-9720732-8787619
Video:


Thanks,
Aidan