Electronics > Beginners

X-Tronic XTS-8080 -- Is it safe?

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wraper:
Here you have your reviews. https://www.tequipment.net/Quick/861DW/Desoldering-Equipment/Rework-Stations/
People usually don't buy soldering equipment from Amazon anyway, especially if it's not sold by amazon itself but 3rd party sellers.

KL27x:
I have a combo X-tronic station. It is one of the fancier models. The only things "wrong" with it, is low quality plastic in the handpiece. The plastic will undoubtedly (IMO) eventually break from heat exposure. If you use it a lot, I put the over under on 3 years. This is very common in the clone stations. The plastic used in the real Hakko is something that the cheap cloners don't really care to spend on. The real hakko also has a overmold closed cell sovent-resistant foam grip that is super durable and reduces heat escape/transfer and which doesn't wear out and doesn't get slick from sweat or get sticky when you get flux on it.

The construction and internal soldering and grounding of the case were completely fine on my X-trronic unit. I wouldn't worry about it burning my house down anymore than I take care to unplug or switch off from the outlet any heat gun when I'm not using it.

I would note that the heater in the hot air station died after very little use. It lasted maybe a year or two, but I barely used it. It came with a replacement, which i installed. Also, this thing had the worst unboxing smell I've ever experienced from a made-in-China device. The moment I opened the bag, the smell of cancer was overpowering. It was the kind of smell you leave on the front porch for a couple days before you bring it in the house.

I have an 858D that cost $30.00, and I have used it 30x as much as the (retired) Xtronic, and it is still working fine with no maintenance. I've never used a Quick, and I'm sure they're great. 1000W is probably a lot more power than most of these cheap units. But the 858D does everything I need, ATM. For soldering iron I am very particular, and I use a genuine Hakko. But for something you are going to put away when you're not using it, I can imagine a combined unit might be handy.

With any tool/equipment you use frequently, it is hard to go backwards. But for a first station, you could do a lot worse than the X-tronic stuff. Overpriced, maybe. But if you already bought it, use it 'til it breaks. Or until you get a job/situation where you need to use it daily and you want something that will make things easier, for ergonomics or power or reliability, or whatnot. But any hot air station should be switched off when not in use. If the handle gets knocked off the cradle (or the sensor goes out of whack), then you will have a problem.
 

JJST:
Guys, please try not to get too upset with my brother (I know he can be terse, even dense at times) but he is a good kid, and he is working hard trying to learn.
I really didn't want this to devolve into an argument, so let's focus in on the point here:

Point A: We all realize that the X-Tronic is a Chinese unit, that is not on par with a name brand piece (such as the Hakko or Weller that I hear everyone mention).

Point B: This is a unit that he is going to practice and learn with, and put away when not in use. It is not something that is going to sit on a desk all day. Which is why he wanted a space-saving combo unit.
 
Point C: The main question that (admittedly) I had, and my brother didn't really care about at the start, was whether this unit was SAFE to use -- not whether it was as good as a Hakko or Weller that costs four times as much money. Obviously it can't hold a candle to those.

So assuming that my brother doesn't do anything exceedingly foolish such as leaving it plugged-in and unattended (like the video on the first page), and takes all of the usual precautions that one would take when soldering (whatever those may be), would this unit burn up in his face?
In other words: Is it a physical hazard, above and beyond a typical soldering / hot air unit?

Can there be at least somewhat of a consensus on this?
And if the answer is YES the X-Tronic is a hazard: then can someone recommend good quality (read: SAFE), equivalent stations for around the same price (in USD)?

Regards,
-- James

KL27x:
I think if he can unplug it and stick a multimeter between the metal housing/air-nozzle and the ground pin on the power plug and verify continuity, then he's fine. Better yet, open it and make sure those connections are not going to fall apart, easily. Then just use common sense.

There is a shock hazard, if the insulator between the coil and the housing/nozzle is burned through. The ground connection is there to trip the breaker, in case this should ever happen. Beyond that, hot air stations have a heater that can get hot enough to melt and ignite stuff when something goes wrong, period.

JJST:

--- Quote from: KL27x on October 31, 2018, 10:18:04 pm ---I think if he can unplug it and stick a multimeter between the metal housing/air-nozzle and the ground pin on the power plug and verify continuity, then he's fine. Better yet, open it and make sure those connections are not going to fall apart, easily. Then just use common sense.

There is a shock hazard, if the insulator between the coil and the housing/nozzle is burned through. The ground connection is there to trip the breaker, in case this should ever happen. Beyond that, hot air stations have a heater that can get hot enough to melt and ignite stuff when something goes wrong, period.

--- End quote ---

Okay, thank you.
I honestly don't know what your instructions mean, so I will pass it onto him if he hasn't seen your post already, and let him deal with it.

Regards,
-- James

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