Could not able to find compatible soldering handle for generic 852D+ SMD station

[suryaputhra]

Hi
I could not able to find compatible soldering handle for generic Max Brand(Chinese)  852D++ SMD rework station which I brought recently.

Pros

Excellent value for money
Surprisingly accurate temperature, measured with thermo couple
Good build quality

Cons
Sometimes Solder station led display blinks, Working on it to troubleshoot.

Coming to point I want to procure one more soldering handle for Max station I tried 936A handle, it heats up but no temp display on max unit. When I connected Max soldering handle to 936A station it heats up but no cutoff.

I reversed the polarity of thermo couple of 936A handle, now Max reads temperature, cuts off at desired temperature setting but due to two dissimilar metals and their resistances the temp shoot up to 30 degrees more than desired temp setting and then stabilises at desired temp, also temp accuracy is out of 30%.

How to solve this issue. Many people said 936A holder is incompatible with 852+ and its variants.

I hope I can not even change ceramic core on Max 852++ because no compatible ceramic core

[Brumby]

This is one of the 'cons' downsides of getting cheap Chinese gear - spares and support are not a strong point.

However, first suggestion - ask the seller who sold this unit to you.

Next - have a look (on eBay for example) for spares for a model 852D - without the 'brand'.  I have a "W.E.P." brand model 852D+ (only one '+' ... yours has two - so it must be better) which has the same controls as yours and almost the same layout.  I would think there is a chance you could find a compatible unit.  Here's a candidate I found: http://www.ebay.com/itm/172279651907
It's less than $3 - delivered, so it's not much of a risk ... but then you don't know if $3 is going to buy you something worth having.


It would be a whole lot simpler if some basic specifications were available on these parts, so compatibility could be determined without such mystery, uncertainty and frustration.  But that is a dream, I fear.

[amyk]

There are only two types of 4-wire 936-style heaters, thermocouple and thermistor. Genuine Hakkos use the thermistor. Search for "A1321" and "A1322" on this forum for more information.

You can start here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/genuine-vs-fake-hakko-936-ceramic-heater-a1321/

[suryaputhra]

Solder station led display blinking problem solved, switch is faulty. Replaced switch with good quality one. Problem solved.