Soldering iron/rework station help needed

[crl]

I have a cheap soldering iron that I have been using, and it has reached its limit of usefulness and usability.   I want to purchase a new soldering iron, but I also do a lot of salvaging.  I know I could sit there with a decent quality soldering iron, and pick the components off that I need.  However, it looks like a rework station could make this faster, which could be great since I have a growing box of boards to salvage from.  Additionally, I might start using surface mount components, and I know I could do this with a good soldering iron as well.   

I have spent the better part of the week searching the internet, looking at product reviews, and what not to the point I am now dizzy and conflicted.  Part of me wants to go with a two in one station like the Aoyues, and the other part wants to have two dedicated machines respectively.  I mess around with electronics as a hobby and not a professional, and I go at times with projects being on hold.  I don’t mind spending up $300, but I am trying to avoid reaching that limit.

If I go the route of two dedicated machines, I am leaning towards the Hakko FX888D for the iron, but don’t know what budget rework station to get.  I want to avoid ones that I have to open up to make sure they were assembled correctly, and won’t burn my apartment down, and/or electrocute or maim me in any way that isn’t the result of me improperly using it.  I just found about Quick, but the only one I found on Amazon is the 580W, so I am open to suggestions.   As for the multi-station I have seen several Aoyues, such as the 968A+, but have read that the iron is questionable on their multi-stations.  I have also read about X-Tronics, and I think the tips weren’t that reliable, but I can’t remember if the tips are compatible with the Hakko’s.

So any preferences, opinions, input, experiences would be greatly appreciated.

[nanofrog]

Man, that was hard to read.  Breaking it up a bit would have helped. 

FWIW, I prefer separate units, as it allows you to get exactly what you want (within budget). It also has the advantage that if one breaks, you can use the working device to fix the broken one.

Personally, I'd recommend avoiding Aoyue, ATTEN, WEP, and the other usual budget brands, as you can do better in the US without breaking the bank so to speak. Especially regarding the iron (desolder and hot air tend to be more difficult to get quality on a hobbyist budget, but it's not impossible).

So for an iron, go for either the Hakko FX-888D (I'd recommend Kit 4* if you go with this) or a Weller WES51. Hakko has an advantage in tip quality over the Weller (some QC issues with the tips made in Mexico and Bosnia; they may have fixed this, but NOS is still in the supply chain), but the UI not intuitive to use while the WES51 only has a knob and a power switch. BTW, it's wise to add tips at the same time to qualify for free shipping in the lower 48.

For hot air, I own a Quick 861DW hot air rework station (1kW, turbine pump, nice features, and an easy to use UI), and am quite happy with it. Plenty of information in the forum on these if you search (also try 861DA & 861DS, which are the UK & EU versions respectively). Internal photos are posted as well.

Same goes for the Quick 957D for that matter. 

If you can be patient and live with used, that would be another option.  If so, you can hunt eBay until the right deal comes along on quality gear that has enough bits that it will work as shipped (not just the base).

* I'd recommend adding a T18-D32, and either a T18-3C or 900M-T-3CM (both are well suited to drag soldering, the latter being specifically made for that task). You might also want to take a look at Hakko's Tip Selection Page (well worth the time IMHO).

[crl]

I have looked at the Hakko tip guide, and it looks like I was thinking about the right tips. Also it looks like I can get the Quick 957D from Adafruit, which means I would have to me within two days by ground shipping.  Thank you for your input, I am going to wait and see if anyone else posts anything before I go buying.  I also appareantly missed this post https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/beginners-hot-air-rework-stations/?viewresults.

[Samogon]

 Agree with nanofrog in not to buying  universal stations, i regreat that i bought x-tronic 4000 while hot air is acceptible for me and works well, soldering iron is a junk. How i was surprised by hakko 888d it is worlds apart. So now i have x-tronic sitting on my bench with iron removed used as hot air only and hakko 888d as iron next to it.