Hakko soldering station sucks

[xxngo]

Hi Dave, first I just want to thank you for the great work that you've done with your video blog.  Its really helpful, a lot of info and yes, I've learn a lot from it. Thank you

Now I've taken your advice on Hakko product, that Its good quality stuff.  After watching your soldering tutorial, I've decided to get my self a Hakko soldering station similar to the one that you have.  I even order it from Tequipment that's advertise on your site.

The products looks nice at first glance, The knob spot where you plug in your soldering iron is a little loose, but I have no problem with that.  However the dissappointing part is that it takes forever to melt the solder even at maximum temperature that the product rated for.

Damn it Dave, dont get me wrong I still respect you and the things that you do, but I guess not every advice is a good advice.
Sorry to nag like a bitch about this, Just my way of saying Hi, I'm new to this forum and please to meet everyone.  I hope that I can learn a lot from everyone here.

Thank you,

[dannyf]

there is something seriously wrong. Maybe you got a defective part; maybe you were not using it correctly, etc.

If the station is defective, call the vendor / Hakko and have it replaced.

[wraper]

The knob spot where you plug in your soldering iron is a little loose, but I have no problem with that.  However the dissappointing part is that it takes forever to melt the solder even at maximum temperature that the product rated for.

Two signs of fake Hakko soldering station. Bet you got it from China or at least on ebay. Secondly for most of the soldering jobs you should buy some chisel tips.

[xrunner]

However the dissappointing part is that it takes forever to melt the solder even at maximum temperature that the product rated for.

It's defective - send it back and get a replacement.

[wraper]

However the dissappointing part is that it takes forever to melt the solder even at maximum temperature that the product rated for.

It's defective - send it back and get a replacement.

My guess all replacements are of the same quality at that place  . Even if considering weak heating as a defect, soldering iron must sit tightly in the stand.

[gilbenl]

OP mentioned he ordered from TEquipment.net. I purchased an FX-888 from them and I can assure you that it was genuine and in good shape. Spent a few hundred with them on various items and never had an issue. As others have said, sounds like a bum unit.

[sleemanj]

However the dissappointing part is that it takes forever to melt the solder even at maximum temperature that the product rated for.

1. What tip
2. What temperature
3. What solder
4. How long
5. Post photos

[wraper]

OP mentioned he ordered from TEquipment.net. I purchased an FX-888 from them and I can assure you that it was genuine and in good shape. Spent a few hundred with them on various items and never had an issue. As others have said, sounds like a bum unit.

Missed that while reading. But indeed strange.

[GreyWoolfe]

"Damn it Dave, dont get me wrong I still respect you and the things that you do, but I guess not every advice is a good advice.
Sorry to nag like a bitch about this, Just my way of saying Hi, I'm new to this forum and please to meet everyone.  I hope that I can learn a lot from everyone here."

It is safer to ask before you rant, or, as you say, nag like a bitch.  Advice is advice, it is not the be all end all.  I'm sure the vast majority who own Hakko, me included, have had great experiences and that is what advice is based on-experiences.  Before bashing, realize that there is no such thing as 100% QA.  If so, the $100 soldering iron becomes $1000.  You may have got a defective unit.  I echo everyone else, contact Tequipment.net or Hakko.  You will get your issue resolved.  First, though, make sure that there is no problem between the seat and the soldering iron.  Everyone makes mistakes.  Just make sure you are doing everything right before reaching out.  That connection for the pencil itself should not be loose.  It does get embarrassing when you swear the product is defective only to find out that the product was smarter than the operator.  By the way, welcome to the forum!

added note, +1 on wraper, chisel tips are the way to go, conical tips suck.

[Shock]

tequipment.net sells Hakko FX888D that are at 120V (USA)
So if your using it on 220-240V that might be part of the problem (it's happened before).

Dave also reviewed Hakko FX888 which is an old model.
The newer Hakko FX888D can be decalibrated accidentally if you mess with the buttons. You might want to read this post... https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/hakko-fx-888d-decalibrated-%28doh!%29/

All tips have their uses but a chisel tips are generally easier to learn with for through hole and desoldering. If you have changed the tips you will need to check the calibration as well. You will need to check the best melt temp for your solder. You also need to confirm how big the joint your trying to melt if the tip is appropriate and what temperature you are setting on the station.

As mentioned your opinion on just one problem with a product is inexperience with electronics. Electronics arrive DOA (dead on arrival) all the time, it's very common. But if you get a couple of faulty products in a row (through no fault of your own) that is a bad sign. As you can see above there is a lot of mistakes and assumptions you can make already in just a simple product.

Please set your country.

[dannyf]

It is easy to reform a conical tip: heat it up and use a small sharp plier to bend the tip into a "J" shape. Works very well.

[xxngo]

Wow this forum is awesome, didn't expect to get so many reply so soon.  thank you all, and to answer all the concerning problems.  Im from Canada, yes the product is operated at 120v, chisel tip was use, and I even order 5 others different tips with it, but no conical tip. 

The product rated 850*F which is about 454 degree C and I was just trying to desolder some of the joins on this old sony dvd player.  I had it operate at 600*F(316*C) thought it would be enough for regular solder joins but nope...kept yaking up the temp and tried different settings, but nope.  only at 850F that the solder started to melt but it takes like about 5 or more seconds to get it going on just a tiny join.

damn it I guess it might be a defect product, and yes this is the new FX-888D ordered it about 3 to 4 weeks ago.  Just received it on monday.

Thank you forum, guess I'll be contacting Hakko maybe.

[kezat]

If your solder tip is not clean the dirty coating can be a surprisingly good insulator, make sure your using a clean tip that is pre-tined with fresh rosin core solder. If you had the iron at max temp for any length of time and did not have wet solder apply it can develop a really tough coating that will need multiple cleanings with flux, a wet sponge and the brass wool.

Apologizes if you know all this, let us know what you find.

[katzohki]

Put a little solder on your tip to get things started...

[LabSpokane]

Wet the tip of the iron with a small amount of solder before you try to heat up the joint. You will be amazed at the difference in heat conductivity. I think the temp setting on the irons is frequently relative to the iron and you need to experiment to find what is best. I run my Hakko iron about 700F and that seems to be the best compromise between rapid heating and smoking off the flux too quickly. 850F seems like you'd be immediately carbon-izing the flux,  which as stated, creates an insulator.

[gilbenl]

Watch these videos. I've gone through them a couple times. They're good because they don't just teach you how to solder, they teach you to do it with quality and repeatability. The rework videos are also phenomenal and teach you about different properties of boards, component packaging, mounting, track care and repair.

[sacherjj]

A flux pen is very nice when trying to get old oxidized solder joints to flow.

[amyk]

Apply regular flux-core solder to the tip. If it does not smoke and melt immediately, something is very wrong with your iron.

[xxngo]

Thank you bros, the product is new, all the tips that came with it are also new, my instructor told me that I also have to take into consideration that the PCB acts as a heat sink.  That might be it, but still I wouldnt expect it to take close to 900*F for a small join.

Anyway thank you very much for all the tips I'll see if I can exchange for a new one rather.

[retiredcaps]

my instructor told me that I also have to take into consideration that the PCB acts as a heat sink.  That might be it, but still I wouldnt expect it to take close to 900*F for a small join.

PCB's can have multiple layers and use lead free solder.  Removing a capacitor from a PC motherboard that is 4 or 6 layers can be difficult especially the negative capacitor lead on the ground plane which can be huge.

Some people preheat the PCB so that desoldering is a bit easier.  Patience, flux, cleaning the joint with IPA, adding fresh 60/40 leaded solder and using a 2.4mm or 3.2mm chisel tip helps a lot in desoldering.

[Psi]

Thank you bros, the product is new, all the tips that came with it are also new, my instructor told me that I also have to take into consideration that the PCB acts as a heat sink.  That might be it, but still I wouldnt expect it to take close to 900*F for a small join.

Anyway thank you very much for all the tips I'll see if I can exchange for a new one rather.

If you are unsoldering TH components from a 6+ layer PCB like removing capacitors form a PC motherboard then any iron will have issues with that.
You really need a vacuum desoldering tool to remove capacitors quickly from a motherboard. But there are a few tips,
1) Add a lot! of extra solder to the joint so it balls up and provides a good thermal connection to the joint. Ideally bridge both TH pads so you can heat both up at once.
2) Use a very large soldering iron tip. Ideally something that can touch both TH pads at once.
2) Use max temp (i think that is 550C for the 888) but don't leave your iron at that temp continuously or it will ruin your tip in a few hours. Just set it to that temp to unsolder the component then return it to normal 350-380C


On the other hand, if you are not trying to unsolder a 6+layer PCB and are just doing general soldering work then there is something faulty with your iron.
Or maybe you have the 220V version and are running it on 110V, that would do it.


My FX888 spends most of its time at 380C (716F) which is well hot enough to solder 95% of things

[Paul Moir]

OP says he's working on an old sony DVD player.  I'm guessing single sided or *maybe* double sided.  Something's wrong.

You mention an instructor; can he try your soldering iron?  If not, can you melt solder from a roll (lead solder, 50/50 or 60/40 or something like that) with the iron set to 550 F?

[tequipment]

Out of a few thousand units we almost never have any hakko issues.  This unit is indeed 120V only though.  If you have any issues send me a message and I will take care of it.

Thanks
Evan Cirelli

TEquipment.NET

[Simon]

If new solder melts on the tip with ease then the iron is probably ok. I find that for most desoldering I need to put some solder on the tip. It's like the thing where we put thermal paste between heatsinks and transistors, why ? same reason you need some solder already on the tip. A flat peice of metal will not make much contact at the microscopic level on your rough round solder edge, put some solder on your tip so that there is a hot adaptable surface (melted solder) and the heat transfer goes up many many times. If there are large traces to the part they may be taking the heat away.

[Red Squirrel]

I recently bought a Hakko FX-888d and I can't believe how fast this thing heats up.  Talking a few seconds and it's ready to melt solder.  Yours must be defective. 

On this subject what's a typical temperature to set it at?  I set it to 100C and was able to melt solder but anywhere I read says to put it more at like 300-400C.  That seems too hot as the solder just vaporises when I go to tin the tip.

I come from using a cheap 20/40w electronics frying stick though.  That thing took like a minute to warm up.