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Hot air station for constant use?
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ryanmills:
I'm sorry to ask a question so similar to what has been asked a number of times. I went thru pages in the search but could not quite find the answer I was looking for.

I need to pick up a hot air station for daily use but I have not used one in the past and don't know anything about the brands. I'm a hakko fanboy but their hot air stations are outside the price range I can get approved for. There is a giant mess of hot air stations on amazon but the pricing seems to either be >$100 junk or <$1000+. My experience with cheap irons has me really hesitating on the 858D clones. Some of them are just silly, why would someone want a MP3 player in a hot air station. I don't need 20 cheap tools and arms included. I don't have any use for a dual station, I love my hakko. I just need a single solid hot air gun I can use daily to assemble prototypes as well as fix boards in the future. By chance are there any 858D clone brands that I should lean towards or should I really be using for the higher end rework stations? Ideal budget range was around $300 USD but now I'm not sure if it's worth it unless I spend over $1,000 USD.
ryanmills:

--- Quote from: blueskull on January 15, 2019, 07:52:47 pm ---Quick 957DW or 957DW+.
I have mine since 2014, and it still works fine like new.

861DW is a larger model with higher power and larger size.
It's more a professional unit than a hobbyist unit, for larger boards.

Since I do mostly small (tiny) boards, 957 is more than enough.
I do use it professionally for building professional boards, and I make a living off it.

--- End quote ---

Ohh I had just found the 861DW and came back to ask about it. When you say the 861DW geared to larger boards, why is that exactly? I do have larger boards and I would be flowing a lot of parts on at a time.
wraper:

--- Quote from: blueskull on January 15, 2019, 07:52:47 pm ---Quick 957DW or 957DW+.
I have mine since 2014, and it still works fine like new.

861DW is a larger model with higher power and larger size.
It's more a professional unit than a hobbyist unit, for larger boards.

--- End quote ---
With 861DW you get handpiece of the same size but almost 2 times more max power. You can set airflow in wider range, both min and max. There is no downside other than larger base. 
mvs:

--- Quote from: ryanmills on January 15, 2019, 07:38:13 pm ---My experience with cheap irons has me really hesitating on the 858D clones.
...
By chance are there any 858D clone brands that I should lean towards or should I really be using for the higher end rework stations?

--- End quote ---
858D clones may do the job, but if you consider to buy one do not leave it unattended while mains connected. Heating element is controlled by a Triac, which may fail short due some transient and cause fire.

There some cases known, like this in video:

kripton2035:
my 858d ceased to function after a year and a half of light use. I leaved it plugged to main, and hopefully I was beside it when it started to heat at max power, only the heating element without fan. it could have lead to a big fire if I hadn't unplugged it right away ...
now I bought a 861DW as replacement. more expensive but no comparaison possible...
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