Catch-22

[someperson]

I have an Aoyue 906 soldering station. I don't do a lot of soldering, but this thing has been serving me pretty well since I got it a few years ago. However, when I went to replace the tip the other day, I found that the heating element inside had crumbled to bits. I have a replacement element on the way (a genuine Hakko one actually, since I figured it might be built better), but I have a problem. The way the iron is built, the wires coming from the heating element are simply soldered in. However, I don't actually have another iron to remove the old and put in the new!

What would y'all recommend doing?

[Falcon69]

borrow a friends, post on your local Craigslist to see if any surround neighbors would let you use theirs, or buy a cheap soldering iron to get the job done. 

[zapta]

"What MacGyver would do?"

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-A-Soldering-Iron/?ALLSTEPS

[MrSlack]

Hahaha been there before. I bought a dremel gas tool from the local hardware store. Doubles up as a hot air torch for heat shrink as well as a soldering iron.

Had an Aoyue 936 for ref and was surprised about this when I took it to bits. Mine came with a spare element though.

[Shock]

Hopefully it works without you needing to modify the station for the Hakko element.
Some of the stations have whole replacement irons for $5-10 on ebay as well, so you could consider that, but again if it's incorrectly wired or the wrong connector you back at square one.

[mikerj]

Hopefully it works without you needing to modify the station for the Hakko element.

Op needs to check this, the clone elements aren't always the same specifications as the genuine Hakko ones.

[someperson]

Hopefully it works without you needing to modify the station for the Hakko element.

Op needs to check this, the clone elements aren't always the same specifications as the genuine Hakko ones.

The manual for the Aoyue 936 (which uses the exact same element as my 906) says that to test it, the heater should measure between 2.5 and 3.5 ohms, and the sensor should measure between 43 and 58 ohms. The manual for the Hakko 936 says exactly the same thing, so I'm hoping on this basis that it should work. I can't seem to find a whole lot else as far as specifications to confirm compatibility though.

[Ian.M]

This wont be the only time your soldering iron fails and if you don't have (or have access to) a backup iron, you probably cant repair it cheaply.

[McGyver] I make cheap soldering gun bits by taking a length of thick solid copper wire, forming it into a hairpin bend, hammering the sides of the bend to flatten it to about 1/2 thickness then filing a diagonal flat on the tip of the bend, reducing the width of the copper at the bend by about 1/3.  The narrow part of the bit forms a hot-spot when you pass enough current through it, which easily reaches soldering temperatures.
They work nicely for rough jobs I don't want to ruin a genuine Weller 100W gun bit on.

Mount a ceramic body terminal block (or other heat resistant connector that you can assemble without soldering) on a wooden handle to hold the home made bit and you'll have something usable. It needs a high current at a very low voltage, so butcher a transformer to keep the mains primary and wind a few turns of heavy stranded insulated wire through the core for a secondary.  The stranded wire CSA needs to be double the solid wire CSA to make sure most of the dissipation is in the tip. 

Start with a single turn and add turns till you get the desired tip temperature while monitoring the primary current to ensure you aren't exceeding the transformer's VA rating.  I'd start with at least a 100VA transformer as that's the typical gun rating. 

Fit a big-ass button switch in the primary circuit rigged as a foot switch to let you blip the power on/off to control the bit temperature.  For extra geek creds, wind another secondary of fine wire with enough turns to run a white LED for a tip light! 

Done right, with some attention to fit & finish, it will be usable enough to be worth keeping for occasions when you need to dump a *LOT* of heat into a joint quickly.  Gun type irons that use this type of bit are never going to be desirable for SMD work, but once you have a bit of practice controlling the temperature by blipping the switch, you'd be surprised how small and delicate a joint you can actually use them for. [/Mcgyver]

Alternatively and more sensibly, as a backup iron, I suggest a gas powered Portasol:
http://www.portasol.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=33
Pocket sized and safe to put in your pocket even immediately after use due to its cap, its amazingly capable for the price.  Its adjustable with an equivalent power level from 10W to 60W.  Every tekky who ever does field work should have a gas iron, and the Portasol is a particularly nice one that you can use all day with confidance.

[someperson]

Hopefully it works without you needing to modify the station for the Hakko element.

Op needs to check this, the clone elements aren't always the same specifications as the genuine Hakko ones.

The manual for the Aoyue 936 (which uses the exact same element as my 906) says that to test it, the heater should measure between 2.5 and 3.5 ohms, and the sensor should measure between 43 and 58 ohms. The manual for the Hakko 936 says exactly the same thing, so I'm hoping on this basis that it should work. I can't seem to find a whole lot else as far as specifications to confirm compatibility though.

Looking at the manual again, I think I made a mistake! While the section for testing the heating element does indeed show those specifications, there's another section under troubleshooting for testing the pins from the iron that shows different specifications for the Aoyue 936 and 936A. The 936A matches the Hakko, while the 936 does not, and these two irons actually use different heating elements. I guess I'll have to get the actual Aoyue part...

I don't like this because I fear it'll just fail again though. Is there any other that might work?

[sleemanj]

The different ceramic heating elements usually go by the product code "A1322" (many clones, temperature resistance ~4R) and "A1321" (hakko and some clones, temperature resistance ~60R) - note that these product codes are for cheap elements out of China.

If you search ebay/ali for A1322 or A1321 you'll find elements.

In fact, if you search for A1322 handle you'll probably find complete handles with elements for a tenner or less, your problem would be solved and you get a spare handle :-)

Note that China is winding down for chinese new year now, so I wouldn't bank on anything arriving until end of Feb. 

[Shock]

There is a bit of info in this thread doesn't go too deep into the differences though.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/genuine-vs-fake-hakko-936-ceramic-heater-a1321/

You might be best trying to source one through where you purchased the station from if reasonably priced and the correct element. Otherwise something like this might do the job, but please at your own risk: http://www.ebay.com/itm/252254261836

Again the problem with getting a replacement handle is while you might not need to solder the element you might need to change the pin out, something you need to pay close attention to.

As you're probably aware the cost of ownership is creeping into the $70 Hakko FX-888D (when on special) range.

[someperson]

As you're probably aware the cost of ownership is creeping into the $70 Hakko FX-888D (when on special) range.

Yeah, a few years ago, when I got this thing, I was very low on cash and just needed something decent that would be cheap. Things have changed since then, and I'm actually considering just getting a Hakko now and selling off the Aoyue after I repair it (after all, I have a feeling I'll run into this sort of thing again in a few years if I just keep going with it). Is there a Hakko equivalent of the Aoyue 906 (soldering iron and heat gun in one unit)?

[Shock]

As you're probably aware the cost of ownership is creeping into the $70 Hakko FX-888D (when on special) range.

Yeah, a few years ago, when I got this thing, I was very low on cash and just needed something decent that would be cheap. Things have changed since then, and I'm actually considering just getting a Hakko now and selling off the Aoyue after I repair it (after all, I have a feeling I'll run into this sort of thing again in a few years if I just keep going with it). Is there a Hakko equivalent of the Aoyue 906 (soldering iron and heat gun in one unit)?

They used to have a similar unit but it was not cheap. I thought about this already and I'd probably buy the Hakko FX-888D (sadly it's not on special) and use the hot air on your original station until it breaks, and the iron as a backup. If you ask tequipment.net nicely in chat and use the eevblog discount you might be able to get the Hakko a few tips and free shipping for $100, anyway work out what tips you want ahead of time and see what they can do.

[Shock]

I myself have separate dirt cheap clone Yihua 936 soldering stations (genuine Hakko tips) and Yihua 858D hot air, plus plenty of spare parts. The Hakko FX-888D is almost double the cost here for 240V so not an option for me.

I prefer to have a separate iron and hot air mainly for the failure and ease of upgrade reasons. Some clones based on Hakko models like the Aoyue in the past shared the transformer so when you use full hot air and the iron at the same time there is a dip in performance.

If I didn't have other things to do I would put together one of these controllers, then use a JBC C245 or PACE TD100 series iron and tips, similar to some of the Hakko models these irons have the heating element in the tip and have super fast heat up/recovery. http://dangerousprototypes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=5264

There also are Chinese Hakko T12/T15 clone controllers, clone irons and iron kits as well so you can get a pretty decent performance for next to nothing if your willing to spend time not money. But for ~$100 the genuine Hakko Fx-888D will get the job done hopefully a bit better than the clone.

[Mephitus]

Yo Someperson, if you are in utah, you are welcome to use my Metcal no problem. Worst case scenario you may need to go to harbor freight to snag one of those hot pokey things I once thought was a soldering iron.