Essential T15 starter tips for Hakko FX-951

[hrbngr]

Hello,
I have seen a few topics on tip choices for various irons, and I was hoping to get a little feedback on a set of basic starter tips for the Hakko FX-951.

Here is a list I put together--mostly chisel tips--as that seems to be the primary recommendation, but I am having a difficult time determining which will be the most useful for a variety of electronic projects--mostly non-surface mount focused.  I should be able to rule some of these out, but I do not have enough experience to determine which ones should stay and which should go, nor determine which tip shape might be missing from this list.

Chisels: (i'm including pricing from TEquipment.net for reference)
T15-D16   Chisel  1.6mm  $10.37
T15-D24   Chisel  2.4mm  $10.37
T15-DL32  Chisel  3.2mm  $16.77

Various:
T15-K  Knife Tip  $16.77
T15-BCM2  Bevel with indent/wave/spoon  $20.97
T15-BCF2  Bevel, 45deg, 2mm $10.37

****T15-1403  Horizontal Knife Blade/Spatula  21.2mm  $82.64  ...intriguing, but the price!!!! (same style in 10.4 or 15.7 is the same price)

Bent:
T15-J02   30deg Bent R0.2 3.5mm  $16.77
T15-JL02  30deg Bent R0.2 7.5mm  $16.77
T15-JD08  30deg Bent Chisel 0.5mm  $20.97
T15-JD16  30deg Bent Chisel  1.6mm width  $16.77



If possible, please take a moment to post your particular favorites--even if they are not for the 951--or any other feedback that might help me or another poster in similar circumstances.

thanks.

[thm_w]

If you are doing through hole work, then you will be fine with the first three. I would switch out the DL32 for DL52 possibly: https://www.tequipment.net/Hakko/T15-DL52/?search=true If you anticipate any really big stuff to tackle.

The J02 bent tip is good for fine SMD work like bridged leadless pins (qfn or whatever), I don't think I would bother with getting the other bent tips.

I would also consider buying clone tips for 1/4 of the price and then re-buy genuine when/if they start to go bad (at least for the non standard ones).
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/KSGER-T12-Series-Solder-Iron-Tips-For-FX951-STC-STM32-OLED-T12-Temperature-Controller-Electric-DIY/918038_32832983190.html

[hrbngr]

thm_w,

thanks for the recommendations--I was strongly considering the D52 or DL52 b/c they don't have a really big chisel or knife tip--this is why i noted the pricey spatula tips that start at 10+mm wide.

I have previously purchased items--mostly flashlights and batteries--from gearbest, banggood and aliexpress, and I am reasonably familiar w/the inevitable wait times, is Aliexpress your choice for buying the clone tips?

Also, is there a certain clone tip maker/brand that is superior to the others, or should I just be purchasing multiple of the clone tips i'm looking for w/the expectations of high failure rates, but cheap prices?

[thm_w]

thm_w,

thanks for the recommendations--I was strongly considering the D52 or DL52 b/c they don't have a really big chisel or knife tip--this is why i noted the pricey spatula tips that start at 10+mm wide.

I have previously purchased items--mostly flashlights and batteries--from gearbest, banggood and aliexpress, and I am reasonably familiar w/the inevitable wait times, is Aliexpress your choice for buying the clone tips?

Also, is there a certain clone tip maker/brand that is superior to the others, or should I just be purchasing multiple of the clone tips i'm looking for w/the expectations of high failure rates, but cheap prices?

Yeah its going to take a while, I just use aliexpress as its the cheapest. I can't comment on the quality of various brands, I am using Quicko for 4 months now and they are working OK. The D52 tip did die within a few days of use, and they sent me another one for free. It was certainly defective from the start as the shaft was not crimped properly, so might have caused it to fail, not sure.

If you want them faster use a seller that offers epacket to USA, for example: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3pcs-lot-T12-BC2-BL-BC3-Series-Soldering-Iron-Tips-for-HAKKO-T12-Handle-LED-vibration/32795825499.html

D52 seems to be the one not DL52. Although there is not much difference (just slightly longer).

[KL27x]

I would suggest for drag soldering you go up in size on your bevel tips to include 3mm. And if only one, I'd take the 3mm.

I prefer F over M, personally. The spoon/indent doesn't add all that much improvement, IME. It reduces thermal transfer because the copper doesn't come down as close to the tip's surface. And it costs twice as much. And it just sorta... well, when it's really full it works similar to a regular bevel. When it's in the flat to concave area of fullness, it doesn't necessarily even leave enough solder to positively tell you even made a connection under a microscope (unless your board is gold plated). So it's kinda not that great. The window of the right amount of solder is not really much larger than with an F tip of the same size. The 3mm BCF will blow the 2mm BCM away in this regard. And, ironically, if you want to use a really huge blob, which I do for passives and SOTs and the like, the F will be able to control more solder than the M, due to the chrome plating on the sides. John Gammel says "BCF3 is an amazing drag solder tip." The 2-3mm F tips are easy to load with the right amount of solder for IC drag soldering. Just put solder on the tip and then flick the excess away. The big boy 3mm one will then make perfect toe filets for days. You can swipe probably 4 to 8 rows of 12 SSOP/QFP pins without stopping. The 2mm will do only 1 row, reliably, without messing around with more solder. SOIC pins/pads suck up a LOT more solder than SSOP and smaller. So the 2mm will be even more challenged if you use those huge parts.

The 1mm BCF is also hella useful for bodge wiring, dead-bugging, and the like.

I prefer my 888, partly due to ergonomics. But also cuz they have 1.5 and 2.5mm CF tips (in addition to the 1, 2, and 3). Can't get enough of these tips. They are awesome. The difference between a 2mm and a 3mm bevel tip is hard to describe in words. It's frikkin huge. There really needs to be more sizes between the two. I actually want a 2.7-2.8mm CF tip, too. Hakko is dropping the ball, here, having this gaping hole in the selection of the T12/15 tips. I probably use my 2.5 the most. It fits in more spots than the 3. But you have to load it more often.

Personally, I don't use any of the chisel or pointy tips, bent or otherwise. Got 'em. Don't use 'em. The bevel tips are the thing for SMD. The pointy tips would be useful if only I had 3 arms so I could apply solderwire while holding the parts with tweezers.
 

[RomDump]

The T12 spatula tips on Aliexpress and Ebay are Hakko fakes and don't have proper Thermal Transfer. It like hit and miss with fake Tips. If you are doing things professionally you may want to use a proper supplier. I paid like $8 CDN for a a T12 spatula tip and thought I was so smart, (when Digikey has the T15 spatula tip for $100+ CDN). Tip is just garbage.

[KL27x]

If you need a spatula tip, the cost is not a concern. It's for cleaning off BGA pads. You probably have a thousand dollars of other related equipment if you're reballing and installing BGAs (with consistent success, anyway). If you're not doing BGA, I wonder what you would be doing with this crazy tip?

purchasing multiple of the clone tips i'm looking for w/the expectations of high failure rates, but cheap prices?

I haven't had T12 iron long enough to answer this, but the knockoffs appear to lose their wetting and the chrome will start flaking off sooner. Some of my fakko tips had broken/flaking chrome, right out of the package. If a real tip is only $10.00, it might be worth going genuine. Genuine Hakko tips (T18, anyway) last a really, really long time with no dropoff in performance.

I can't afford for my station to go down. I have a backup. But I don't stock backup tips. I only have a double of two tips, for my travel iron. 9 years, and I have only replaced one tip. I found out after I ordered it the tip wasn't even broken, lol; it still works fine.

[Shock]

I agree, get genuine tips. Avoiding the frustration of tip going oxidized is worth it in my opinion. My experience with cheap tips is they oxidize faster and wet poorly as a result.

For tip selection my preference:
3 chisels for SMD and through hole (micro/small/medium).
1 bevel for drag/flow soldering (minimum).
1 large high thermal capacity chisel (short and wide enough for soldering heatsinks)
1 blade/knife for wiping
1 fine pointy conical (the shorter the better)

After that you can try an angled or hook tip, additional bevels for different sized jobs, a narrower high capacity chisel for tighter spots.

I posted here how I clean my tips which is fairly standard, follow a similar method and you should hopefully get optimal life out of them.

[hrbngr]

KL27x/Shock,

thanks for advice on tip selection. So, the chisel is a good all-rounder except when doing SMD work--got it.  KL, i remember a T18 tip post where u professed your love for the 2.5mm CF tip and I literally added the BCF2 tip to my post b/c it seemed so useful based on your experience. Since there is no 2.5mm option for T15, I would probably just go ahead and add the BCF3 and make the best of it, i suppose.

Shock, is the 5.2mm tip big enough to be a large/high thermal capacity chisel? ( T15-D52 )  I had also been looking at the ADS200 and they do have a nice 7.95mm chisel, but I'm not ready to beta test that unit for them.

RomDump,
thanks for the advice on the spatula tips, based on their prices it seemed like a good candidate for a clone tip purchase, but i suppose there is a reason they are so expensive.

[Shock]

KL27x/Shock,
thanks for advice on tip selection. So, the chisel is a good all-rounder except when doing SMD

Not the very best option for drag/flow as a flat or cupped surface (on a beveled tip holds solder better). A chisel can do everything pin by pin no probs. For SMD I drag out away or across an open pad with a chisel. I used bevels prior for years for almost everything, but chisels now is just preference.

For the new Pace ADS200 I just ordered, I picked out 0.8, 1.6 and 2.4mm sized chisels. Probably should have chosen a 1.2mm chisel but I got 12 tips all up and had to draw a line in the sand somewhere.

Shock, is the 5.2mm tip big enough to be a large/high thermal capacity chisel? I had also been looking at the ADS200 and they do have a nice 7.95mm chisel, but I'm not ready to beta test that unit for them.

It depends how crazy you want to go, it's not going to get near the Pace Ultra Performance tips, they are 120W and I think the regular tips are 90W. If you are doing something like chassis soldering you can hit it all day with 200W.

I ended up ordering the Pace 5.2 and 7.95mm Ultra Performance (my current largest is a regular 5.2 tip). I also have a Weller soldering gun and a gas iron that put out a lot of heat. The large 7.95mm Pace tip I think is a bargain.

When it comes to the larger tips anyway you just crank up the heat if you need more. You get a feel for how long you need to stay on the joint for melt with good wetting. I'm not concerned with problems on the Pace station at all, I've been around a while and Pace has as well.

[KL27x]

KL, i remember a T18 tip post where u professed your love for the 2.5mm CF tip and I literally added the BCF2 tip to my post b/c it seemed so useful based on your experience. Since there is no 2.5mm option for T15, I would probably just go ahead and add the BCF3 and make the best of it, i suppose.

I'm flattered that you have been swayed by my posts. I figure w/e I say, most people do the opposite.

Take w/e I say with a healthy mug of salt. One of the things that defines how I solder is a stereo microscope. It is a bit harder to negotiate a large tip when you can't clearly see what you are doing. When you can see fine detail, you can cut things closer, using larger tips in otherwise tight spots. Even if and when you accidentally deposit solder in the wrong place, it's no worry to spot it and clean it up. I also do mostly board level SMD soldering. That said, the 2.5 or 3mm is my default first choice for just about anything where it doesn't otherwise really matter. Wiring switches and the odd thru hole job, or the like.  Incredible thermal transfer and minimal maintenance. The residual solder blob always covers the entire wettable tip when not in use, and I let the black rosin flux crust over the sides and I don't care one bit. I've soldered probably a thousand components in the last couple months, and I don't remember the last time I cleaned one of these CF tips. Most tips, the area of the tip you aren't using will crust over, then when you add more solder, it will eventually start to break and fall off. On the CF, you can just grow an "enamel coating" and it doesn't really matter, much.

All that said, the 3mm is the most "magical," if you've never used one of these tips, before. If you happen to have occasion to benefit from it, it will most assuredly leave an impression that will have you buying all the other sizes. They are all useful to me except the 4mm (only available in 900M). That size crosses the boundary of what surface tension can do against gravity. The sweet spot (space constraints not withstanding) seems to be somewhere above 2.5 and definitely below 4.0mm, dictated by the properties of lead solder. This is regarding things like the ability so suck out bridges, mop up solder blobs, and distribute solder very evenly. The way I see it, this size of CF tip is the grand master of imposing your will and exerting control over molten solder. With these tips, bridges are not a mistake. They are just a convenient source of more solder. The 2 still has a lot of the magic, but it's not as impressive. The 1 and 1.5 are useful for different reasons, altogether. They are more of a pain to use, but they are incredible for dead bugging and for tight pitch boards with no soldermask, where taking extra time can save time and frustration (and need for a third arm).

 

[nanofrog]

The chisels linked will be fine. 

Beyond that, I'm really fond of bevels for general purpose use. And as you've indicated most of it will be thru-hole, the 3mm & 4mm versions would be excellent additions (T15-BC3, T15-C4; $10.37 each). Personally, I prefer tinned face only, but the 3mm version (T15-CF3 is also $35.07).

With the bevels, you could skip the knife shape and wave/spoon, as they do quite well for drag soldering. The smaller bevel or knife can be useful for bodge wiring (more precision).

As per bent chisels, you can skip these until you actually have a need (they're more comfortable to use for connectors). Definitely not a critical shape to have.