Zhongdi products

[ciccio]

I have many  Zhongdi tools, and the all are good for the price.
 
The hot-air ZD939L has about 10 years, the custom-labeled ZD-937 soldering station has about 8 years (I do not us it anymore)  and still works , the ZD-985 desoldering station has one year  and has seen a lot of abuse in recent times without problems.
In the meantime my Weller soldering stations  have given a lot of troubles, and spare parts cost more than a complete chinese station, so I'm going to sell them.
They have been replaced by Chinese T12 clones, that are more powerful, cheaper and less bulky.

I can really suggest Zhongdi, but my advice is to buy separate tools, if budget allows for it.
Best regards

[Mini]

since this discussion haven't helped me much so far.

I said what would be optimal for $150-$160. It would beat in performance and quality everything you listed here. And that fume extraction 992 has is a joke. Not only it obstructs soldering, it just blows non filtered fumes out through hot air gun.

Yes you did. Only problem is that it's in china, but i need one maximum in 2 weeks. I wasn't planning to use that fume extractor, just rip it off.

[Mini]

Are seperate tools more reliable? Everyone recommends to buy seperate tools. And what makes T12 better?

[stj]

seperates are not more reliable, but if one breaks it's cheaper to replace or easier to fix.

as for T12 - do a search.
but put simply, the heater & sensor are combined in the actual tip - the handle is just a handle with a socket in it - and it's 70w (right up in the tip - not in a seperate layer)

[ciccio]

i consider that buying (if possible) separate tools is better not for reliability reasons, but because if one of the tools fails the other are still working..
Consider that a single transformer powers two tools, and if it fails you have two tools down...
Other reason: I have the soldering iron always on, at my right side, and desoldering and hot air stations are on the far side of the bench, but when I need them I can move them near me.
About T12 clone soldering station: they are working  very well, tips are cheap, I'm very satisfied (after some experiments on wiring the kit)
The forum has a lot of topics about T12 clones.
But except for the heat capacity, Zhongdi tools are on the same level.

[GreyWoolfe]

H have a ZD-985 desoldering station for a couple of years now.  Once you understand how it works and its limitations, it does the job quite well.  I would also suggest separate tools.  I have a Quick 957DW and a Hakko/Metcal soldering stations.  Like ciccio says, one tool down, the others work.

[Mini]

I decided to order Quick 957DW+ and KSGER T12 station despite my time frame. I hope it will be better choice than zhongdi which is half a price. Can you suggest me some decent tips for T12? Theres lots of choices... dont know which ones are decent. Maybe you can provide me some links.

[stj]

depends what your soldering or the style your used too - pointy, screwdriver, crosscut etc.

http://www.hakko.com/english/tip_selection/series_t12.html

[wraper]

Can you suggest me some decent tips for T12? Theres lots of choices... dont know which ones are decent.

Do you mean tip style or quality? The best of course are genuine Hakko but they are expensive.

[Mini]

I need something very small to solder QFN packages(yeah i know its soldered with hot air, but i like to do it with iron). I generally like flat ones like C1. With my question i meant quality, how are these aliexpress tips? How usable they are?

[wraper]

For QFN something like 1,5 - 2 mm bevel tip should work pretty well. Also blade tip can be pretty good if it has sharp edge.

[wraper]

how are these aliexpress tips? How usable they are?

Generally they should be OK but YMMV, especially with smaller tips. They are made by many factories thus not all are the same.

[stj]

mine are all from ali and are very useable.

for what your doing, look at a JL02 ond/or a KU

[Claus1]

Hi, i see several people have ZD-939L hot air. I was just thinking about to buy one before i found this thread. They are selling one here in reichelt for 80 euros. Seems very decent prize. Was just wondering is it worth to buy.

[wraper]

Hi, i see several people have ZD-939L hot air. I was just thinking about to buy one before i found this thread. They are selling one here in reichelt for 80 euros. Seems very decent prize. Was just wondering is it worth to buy.

It's not good price at all. Only 20% of max airflow 957DW+ has, weak heater and with of all of this, it does not even have smaller handle. EDIT: it's also louder and due to it caving membrane compressor airflow in not even, thus easier knocks off components. It means that you'll be tempted to set lower airflow to do the same job, making process slower.

[Claus1]

Hi, i see several people have ZD-939L hot air. I was just thinking about to buy one before i found this thread. They are selling one here in reichelt for 80 euros. Seems very decent prize. Was just wondering is it worth to buy.

It's not good price at all. Only 20% of max airflow 957DW+ has, weak heater and with of all of this, it does not even have smaller handle. EDIT: it's also louder and due to it caving membrane compressor airflow in not even, thus easier knocks off components. It means that you'll be tempted to set lower airflow to do the same job, making process slower.

Yes it is not very powerful, but should be enough for smaller SMT components. I have used around 300W hot air station and it seemed fine to me. You don't need higher airflow than it has, it just blows components away. I trust german shops a bit more than ordering from china since german shops have to follow EU and german safety rules.

[wraper]

You don't need higher airflow than it has, it just blows components away

Because it's crap with pulsating airflow. I can use 2 times higher airflow on my 861DS than max 20 l/min of ZD-939L and it won't blow off anything except tiniest parts. You also can hold components with tweezers too until solder melts and then surface tension will hold them in place. My usual airflow is around 50-70 l/min. Or even put large nozzle, set 120l/min and solder stuff which needs a lot of heat. Also I can use higher airflow but at low temperature to solder sensitive things like connectors. And you don't need to order Quick from China, it's available in EU with warranty.

[OZ1LQB]

Claus1
I have tried pro hotair stations that are better but also much more expensive
if it is "only"hobby go for it.it is cheap and i have had mine for 8 or more years and it newer failed.
i got mine here
https://www.komerci.de/shop/loettechnik/zd-939l-smd-heissluft-loetstation-regelbar-temperaturanzeige-blau-weiss
Claus in denmark

[Claus1]

You don't need higher airflow than it has, it just blows components away

Because it's crap with pulsating airflow. I can use 2 times higher airflow on my 861DS than max 20 l/min of ZD-939L and it won't blow off anything except tiniest parts. You also can hold components with tweezers too until solder melts and then surface tension will hold them in place. My usual airflow is around 50-70 l/min. Or even put large nozzle, set 120l/min and solder stuff which needs a lot of heat. Also I can use higher airflow but at low temperature to solder sensitive things like connectors. And you don't need to order Quick from China, it's available in EU with warranty.

Can you give me some links where quick is sold in europe? My google won't show anything(only US and aliexpress/ebay links).

[Magiciaen]

There's several different versions of the 861D (DA, DS, DE and DW). Just a heads up in case you're not aware.

https://www.somersetsolders.com/quick-861da-hot-air-rework-station/p274#prodtabs

https://kaisertech.co.uk/quick861dw-1000w-hot-air-rework-station

[Claus1]

There's several different versions of the 861D (DA, DS, DE and DW). Just a heads up in case you're not aware.

https://www.somersetsolders.com/quick-861da-hot-air-rework-station/p274#prodtabs

https://kaisertech.co.uk/quick861dw-1000w-hot-air-rework-station

I meant quick 957dw.

[stj]

i fail to understand why a hot air station needs the power to inflate a bouncy castle! 
you just need to transfer the heat from the element to the component/pcb a few cm from the nozzle.

and i'm getting fed up watching rossman blowing components across the table, and in one case up into his fume extractor! 

[wraper]

i fail to understand why a hot air station needs the power to inflate a bouncy castle! 
you just need to transfer the heat from the element to the component/pcb a few cm from the nozzle.

and i'm getting fed up watching rossman blowing components across the table, and in one case up into his fume extractor! 

Do you really use hot air? Because "a few cm" distance claim makes me doubt it. Of course it's possible to do with Quick with high airflow set, but with 20l/min without preheating you won't even melt solder unless setting heater destroying temperature. And heaters don't last in stations like ZD-939L when driven to max. Sometimes they fail after just a few minutes. And if  Louis cannot do the job properly, does not mean there is no benefit having more powerful station.
Also higher power means it heats up faster when you take handpiece from stand, thus you do the job faster as well.

[stj]

i use hot air all the time,

to be clear, i'm mostly lifting resistors and transistors - the biggest things would be TSOP flash chips - but your moving the wand around all the time with that.

if your trying to pull large chips - especially bga then you seriously need a real reflow station and not a hand-tool.