Yet another 240V soldering station thread

[GoneTomorrow]

So, I'm looking to upgrade my current fixed temp mains pencil soldering iron for something a bit better, now that I have a nice new big desk to put my electronics stuff on, and can start to get a bit more serious now.

I'm in New Zealand so need a 230/240V soldering station. Would like something temp controlled, and as per Dave's recommendation. Buying locally is mostly a tad expensive, but since the USA is out (110v) I'm kinda limited.

Basically currently I have my sights set on the Hakko FX-888D (big surprise there). Mektronics in Australia currently have this for AU$168, which is basically NZ$168 currently, and I can get away without GST or any import duties completely. Only problem being that shipping is $60, so I'd be looking at about $250 to get the station, three additional tips and the rubber thing (why not) to my door. Bit of a tough pill to swallow.

So what are my other options for a decent soldering station? What's the reliability of the Hakko like? It basically needs to not fail at all since returning imported stuff is basically a no-go.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

[Zero999]

I'm in the UK and just bought a US Hakko because it was cheaper and I didn't want to risk a fake Chinese 230V model. I run it off a 110V transformer. It works quite well. I'm still on the original tip and it's had over 1500 hours of use.

[GoneTomorrow]

I'm in the UK and just bought a US Hakko because it was cheaper and I didn't want to risk a fake Chinese 230V model. I run it off a 110V transformer. It works quite well. I'm still on the original tip and it's had over 1500 hours of use.

If it's one with a digital readout, is it fixed in degrees Fahrenheit? Looks like, on a genuine one at least, the units are changeable.

The one I can get from Aussie is a genuine one (well, should be, it's from a very reputable professional supplier), and there's probably not a lot of difference once I get the US one (NZD is much weaker against the USD than the AUD), get it shipped here, and add a stepdown transformer or mod in a 240V primary transformer.

Will probably end up doing it, as long as some other better option doesn't get suggested, while the exchange rate is in my favour 

[Psi]

i'm using a aliexpress (or might have been ebay) 230V hakko FX888 and the only issue i had was it blew the internal fuse once (within the year since i got it).
As far as usability soldering and quality go, it's top notch.

It feels more like an unauthorized production run than a clone. It really does seem to be made to a genuine hakko standard.

I paid US$99 + 20 shipping.

I could look up the seller if you want. I'm seriously considering buying a second one.

[Zero999]

I'm in the UK and just bought a US Hakko because it was cheaper and I didn't want to risk a fake Chinese 230V model. I run it off a 110V transformer. It works quite well. I'm still on the original tip and it's had over 1500 hours of use.

If it's one with a digital readout, is it fixed in degrees Fahrenheit? Looks like, on a genuine one at least, the units are changeable.

The one I can get from Aussie is a genuine one (well, should be, it's from a very reputable professional supplier), and there's probably not a lot of difference once I get the US one (NZD is much weaker against the USD than the AUD), get it shipped here, and add a stepdown transformer or mod in a 240V primary transformer.

Will probably end up doing it, as long as some other better option doesn't get suggested, while the exchange rate is in my favour 

Yes, the genuine ones work in both °C and °F. I went for the US version because I already had a 110V transformer, so didn't need to buy one.

It's good to have an isolation transformer anyway, so you could get one with two 120V secondariness. Connect the secondaries in series for 240V which can be connected to an Australian socket for test purposes and wire the centre tap to a US socket to give 120V for the Hakko.

[GoneTomorrow]

i'm using a aliexpress (or might have been ebay) 230V hakko FX888 and the only issue i had was it blew the internal fuse once (within the year since i got it).
As far as usability soldering and quality go, it's top notch.

It feels more like an unauthorized production run than a clone. It really does seem to be made to a genuine hakko standard.

I paid US$99 + 20 shipping.

I could look up the seller if you want. I'm seriously considering buying a second one.

So that would be about NZ$160. If I was to omit the tips and rubber thing, the Aussie one comes to like $220 ($60 more). That's getting the point where I'd just rather spend the extra for a known genuine, vs something a bit unknown.

While a lot of people have reported no issues with the counterfeit models, especially with genuine heaters and tip,s I'm a bit of a sucker for things I know are genuine, get a nice warm fuzzy feeling 

[Shock]

Just a heads up, tequipment.net has the FX888D (110v) on special for $84.46 at the moment, the eevblog discount might apply as well. Not as good as the Frys $69 special but hey at least they will ship.

Paying $100 for a fake FX888D seems a little excessive to me. Is the extra $60 or so for a local genuine one really that hard to cough up? The fakes have got to be worth $30-$40 max.

[GoneTomorrow]

Just a heads up, tequipment.net has the FX888D (110v) on special for $84.46 at the moment, the eevblog discount might apply as well. Not as good as the Frys $69 special but hey at least they will ship.

Paying $100 for a fake FX888D seems a little excessive to me. Is the extra $60 or so for a local genuine one really that hard to cough up? The fakes have got to be worth $30-$40 max.

I fully intend to get a genuine one. Still just a bit bummed about how much extra the bloody 220-240v versions are compared to American 110v ones (I could buy like four of them at the Fry's special, for the cost of getting 1 genuine 230v to my door  )

But, it has to be done I guess. Seems like there's nothing better in the ~$200 range.

[Monkeh]

Seems like there's nothing better in the ~$200 range.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermaltronics-TMT-2000S-K-Soldering-Station-Metcal-MFR-1110-MFR-1161-/261819629234

Yes, shipping will cost a packet.

[apelly]

I feel your pain. I got my fx888 from element14 I think. I seem to recall it was closer to NZD250 at the time.

I recently got a JBC iron from a crowd in Nelson. I seem to recall it was under NZD500. But it feels like twice the iron too. If you think you can stretch for a JBC they're definitely worth a look.

If you're interested I'll try and find the company for you.

[GoneTomorrow]

I feel your pain. I got my fx888 from element14 I think. I seem to recall it was closer to NZD250 at the time.

I recently got a JBC iron from a crowd in Nelson. I seem to recall it was under NZD500. But it feels like twice the iron too. If you think you can stretch for a JBC they're definitely worth a look.

If you're interested I'll try and find the company for you.

That's a good price. They want $264 for the 888D now, and that's excluding GST, so $303. Since I can get the 888D, three additional tips of various styles, and that optional rubber scraper thing for $250 from Australia, may as well. Need to bite the bullet soon before the dollar craps out (either that or I'll buy it and it will shoot up another 10 cents )

Seems like there's nothing better in the ~$200 range.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thermaltronics-TMT-2000S-K-Soldering-Station-Metcal-MFR-1110-MFR-1161-/261819629234

Yes, shipping will cost a packet.

Shipping: $76.83 (approx. NZD101.79) USPS Priority Mail International  . Shame that the Hakko's can't be multi-voltage like that station.

[Monkeh]

Shipping: $76.83 (approx. NZD101.79) USPS Priority Mail International  . Shame that the Hakko's can't be multi-voltage like that station.

See if you can arrange for cheaper shipping.

It blows the Hakko out of the water.

[TSL]

Shipping: $76.83 (approx. NZD101.79) USPS Priority Mail International  . Shame that the Hakko's can't be multi-voltage like that station.

See if you can arrange for cheaper shipping.

It blows the Hakko out of the water.

I just watched a youtube vid on the Metcals and I'm amazed!!

Totally blown away with how it handles soldering on large copper planes.

My biggest problem is that the RF stuff I work with is often soldered into tinplate boxes or output devices with their big arsed source or emitters soldered to huge ground planes.

 I've had to get a gas iron out on more than one occasion just to get the PCBs out of the box. These Metcals' look like they'd make short work of it.

I'm going to take a close look at the budget to update my station.

regards

Tim