*panic* heater on WEP 937d hakko clone broken, which replacement will work?

[johnwohl]

Wouldn't you know it, the one time I have a time sensitive project my soldering station malfunctions.  The station itself is marked WEP 937d and from what I gather, it's a pretty good clone.  After about a year though, it's giving me sensor errors (S - E on the screen) and incorrect temps.  I need to get a replacement fast but with no where local I have to look online.  There seem to be a bunch or styles available, all claiming to be compatible and besides that, how to I tell which ones are any good?

I'm looking for either a genuine hakko element that will work, or a clone that is good quality has worked well for others.  I don't want to have to do this again soon.

In the picture you can see what the current one looks like.  On the board it says YH936B-5.

Any help is appreciated.  I tried to search but I guess I don't have any idea what I'm looking for.

[Bored@Work]

from what I gather, it's a pretty good clone.

Apparently it isn't, because:

After about a year though, it's giving me sensor errors (S - E on the screen) and incorrect temps.

I need to get a replacement fast but with no where local I have to look online.

If it is THAT important, buy a complete new station. So you know everything fits.

[poorchava]

It's not heater,  it's the sensor.  Heater failure would show as 'H-E'.  You need to dismantle the handle to access the sensor. Disconnect the sensor and check with continuity checker.  If it tests positive then it quite possibly may be a wiring issue,  which can be relatively easy fixed by simply running 2 new wires to  the station. If the sensor itself is bad then you can simply hack in an external thermocouple placed in front of the nozzle. It's most likely K-type,  but might as well be J-type.

[amyk]

WEP is a rebranded Yihua. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Soldering-Station-Iron-Heating-ELEMENT-50W-for-YIHUA-YH-936-937D-898D-852D-852D-/271379031614

(The entire station doesn't cost much more, however. )

[johnwohl]

from what I gather, it's a pretty good clone.

Apparently it isn't, because:

After about a year though, it's giving me sensor errors (S - E on the screen) and incorrect temps.

True. 

I need to get a replacement fast but with no where local I have to look online.

If it is THAT important, buy a complete new station. So you know everything fits.

Ok, well what would you suggest?  I have a hobby budget of $100 per month non compounding.  Can you suggest a station around that price that would be better than what I have?  I could be wrong about the way these things work but isn't the sensor in the heating element?  If it would be cheaper I would rather buy a nee heater or the whole handle than replace the base unit if it is working fine.  I honestly just don't know exactly what I need or how to locate the good quality clones vs the really cheap stuff.

[PedroDaGr8]

You can get a genuine hakko fx-888d for under $100. It's been below $70 twice this year.

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[johnwohl]

You can get a genuine hakko fx-888d for under $100. It's been below $70 twice this year.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

Cool!  Where did you see them for below $70?  I might try and get by with my 30 watt for the time being until I see a good deal on one of those. 

[sleemanj]

That looks like a typical 936 heater element (and the board is marked 936, so there you go).  There are two varieties of the ceramic element.  The A1321 and the A1322, determining which you need can be accomplished by checking the resistance of the element or temperature sense wires.

See this post of mine (and indeed the entire thread).

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/genuine-vs-fake-hakko-936-ceramic-heater-a1321/msg236594/#msg236594

[PedroDaGr8]

You can get a genuine hakko fx-888d for under $100. It's been below $70 twice this year.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

Cool!  Where did you see them for below $70?  I might try and get by with my 30 watt for the time being until I see a good deal on one of those.

Frys and frys.com

The first time it was $64.99 and in store only. The second was $69.99 with free shipping. Since it's from Frys you know it's genuine as well. It was actually cheaper than done of the fakes.

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[amyk]

At that price you can get 4 Yihuas and use one to fix the others if it breaks...