Cheapo Zeny 862D+ upgrade iron for real Hakko?

[jimmio92]

Hey all,

This is my first post on the forum. I've watched most if not all of Dave's videos and I've got the EEVblog badged Brymen on the way from Amazon as my old Craftsman DMM's display crapped out (and wasn't very good to begin with).

I picked up one of those terribly cheap 862D+ stations with the hot air and iron in one about a year ago, and here's my thoughts on it.

The hot air is surprisingly good. Air flow is controllable, heat is controllable. It overheats a bit on start up, but that's not too big of a problem. Automatically cools off when you set it in the dock (thanks to a reed switch).

The iron however... is a steaming pile. The tips it came with have metal that flakes off on first heating. They do not hold solder AT ALL so to actually make use of it, I have to heat the joint, melt solder onto the tip (instead of into the joint), and then it will transfer enough heat to actually solder. It originally was totally unusable. Tip loose on the heating element, big air gap from the top of the tip to the top of the heating element. Just last night I got it working better by shortening the external tip holder and losing the spacer so that the tip is directly against the heating element. It gets hot fast, and it does seem to be sufficient in power (was able to solder up a KKMoon XR2206 Function Generator kit off eBay with no issues; it has 3 potentiometers with large metal through hole pins to fasten them). The changes I've made to this iron significantly alter it and I seriously doubt it will last like this.

I've determined through much research that this design is a rip off of the seemingly awesome Hakko 907 iron. Upon more research, it seems the Hakko FX-8801 iron is identical as well, differing only by a DIN 6 instead of a DIN 5 with the center pin being there to stop backwards compatibility as it's not connected.

I've found "genuine" irons for the Hakko FX-8801 on eBay for $15USD. From Hakko they seem to be almost the cost of the FX-8801 station ($80USD), which pretty much makes getting an actual genuine iron pointless when I can get the whole real station and not have to muck about with the crappy Zeny (switching from male panel DIN 5 to female panel DIN 6). I do like the idea of everything in one station for space concerns, and the internals of the Zeny are actually fairly decent; iron has got to go.

Has anyone bought the eBay "genuine" Hakko irons and compared with a real one? Any advice for me?

Thanks,
Jim

[Terry01]

I have the Katsu 852D (Hakko clone iron) and I use genuine Hakko tips in it. Works great but there are so many clone irons it's hard to say if you have a "decent" clone or a "junk" clone. I would try it with a genuine tip if I was you as you'll need a genuine Hakko tip if your going to buy genuine Hakko iron anyways. My clone iron with a genuine tip is great for hobby stuff. I also have a genuine FX-888 and there is a difference for sure between the genuine and clone irons. That being said my clone iron with a genuine tip in it does ok, the genuine iron is awesome when you work it hard which is where I notice the difference between the 2.

Hope this helps buddy!

[Shock]

Just buy a genuine T18 tip for it, it's a $5 experiment. If the iron has enough output in the element the tip will work fine. It's all about the tip in most cases unless the station has a bad element or poor regulation.

As for upgrading the iron, I don't think it's worth it. I'd buy a stand alone genuine Hakko FX-888D and count your losses. There is also other clones based on the T12 series but the T18 tips are the cheapest if you run multiple tips and that allows you to easily use the genuine ones.

I like to stay away from all in one products, especially made for China type products it always leads to tears.

[Terry01]

Just buy a genuine T18 tip for it, it's a $5 experiment. If the iron has enough output in the element the tip will work fine. It's all about the tip in most cases unless the station has a bad element or poor regulation.

As for upgrading the iron, I don't think it's worth it. I'd buy a stand alone genuine Hakko FX-888D and count your losses. There is also other clones based on the T12 series but the T18 tips are the cheapest if you run multiple tips and that allows you to easily use the genuine ones.

I like to stay away from all in one products, especially made for China type products it always leads to tears.

I'll 2nd all of the above. All good advice! Cut your loses and buy a genuine 888, you won't regret it! Make sure you get a genuine 888 though!!!   

[KL27x]

Personally, I spent like $220 for a 4 in 1 station, and it just didn't take. I used it for maybe a year and a half, and I never used any of it but the hot air. I stuck to my 888 for the iron. I replaced the vacuum pickup with a standalone $50.00 unit (then upgraded to battery powered Hakko). I replaced the hot air with an 858D. I don't remember what the fourth (in one) thing was, but I sure as heck don't miss it.

I find I have a much more ergonomic workspace with the separate units. Not to mention that the 888D and 858D are both super tiny, to boot. I think the both of them together are smaller than the 862D.

[Terry01]

I find the 888 does almost anything I need double quick. I use the Katsu if I need hot air for anything or of I need 2 irons together for anything.
The Katsu is quite a small unit too so both of them together don't take up much space on my bench.
If there are other irons out there that are so much better than the 888 I wouldn't be able to justify the price just for hobby use. I think for hobby stuff you can't go past the price and quality of the 888 or similar.