General > General Technical Chat
Does this soldering station look safe to you?
<< < (3/5) > >>
Zero999:
Thank you for heeding the warnings and looking for something else.

Unfortunately I can't help you with deciding on a low cost soldering iron. I also have the same question. I already have a Hako, which is reasonable quality, although I believe the thermostat is no longer accurate and runs hotter than the indicated temperature, but it still maintains thermal regulation. I got the US 120V version, which I run off a transformer, but it's a bit inconvenient.

The only thing I will say is don't cheap out too much. Your best bet is to find something sold by a distributor, or supermarket, under the own brand, which is a rebadged Asian brand and get the original one. The fact a US company is willing to put their name on it shows it's decent quality but the Asian branded one will normally be cheaper, as you're paying for the name and US support. I don't know if this is the case with soldering irons. I'm basing this on the fact there are  rebranded oscilloscopes and multimeters sold by western companies.
Ian.M:
Unless you buy 1st world brand mains powered equipment from a reputable distributer with a 'bricks and mortar' physical presence  in your own country or at least within its economic area, there is no guarantee of electrical safety. 

Chinese resellers are essentially  judgement proof (you don't have status in a Chinese court and they vanish at the drop of a hat) so there is little incentive for their suppliers to respect gwailou electrical safety regulations, knowing its for export, as the chances of it being traced back to them by anyone with standing in the Chinese legal system is minimal, and if the manufacturer does get any pressure from the authorities, it will turn out to be a fake made on an unauthorized 'ghost' shift using inferior materials under the authority of a manager who has since been sacked, and has moved far away and is untraceable or deceased. 

1st world rebranded Chinese imports are not totally trustworthy as unless the 1st world seller/importer pays for 1st world educated Chinese national 'boots on the ground' to perform surprise inspections of the supply chain (which the big names do for stuff made to their designs under contract in China), there is little to prevent their suppliers substituting lower quality goods after the initial batch have been accepted by the seller's QA department, and there is a long tradition of Chinese suppliers doing so if they felt the deal wasn't in their favor or if they 'lost face'.  Therefore, often the first you'll know of a safety issue is when there's a product recall because of an incident which could have or has caused death or serious injury.
janoc:

--- Quote from: forumate on May 04, 2022, 09:47:23 pm ---Oh haha, so the mentioned dangerous Chinese stations are actually Ksger! I thought it was Yihua actually!
I should avoid it then?

--- End quote ---

That KSGER is at least cheap and well documented with all its problems. KSGERs are OK if you buy the one without the integrated mains power supply and e.g. use a good quality laptop power brick with it. Buying anything cheap mains powered from AliExpress is a gamble with your safety, especially when you have no idea what is safe or what is not. Also you have no idea whether what is in the picture is what you actually get - AliExpress (and eBay) sellers often use generic pictures that don't match what they are actually selling, so asking about the safety (or lack thereof) from such picture is meaningless. You need to open the product and actually inspect it (and pray that the main transformer is actually done properly because likely you have no means to test it).

Yihua is the absolute bottom of the barrel stuff. While it may not outright set your house on fire or kill you (even though dangerously miswired tools are not unheard of -  e.g. the soldering iron tip was live!) but anything sold under that brand are copies of copies of others (Hakko, Atten - which is a copy of already, etc.) - and with corners cut and pennies shaved everywhere. The quality is terrible.

Seriously, you aren't buying a soldering station for a year or two, a decent station will last you a decade or more. So invest a bit more money in a good quality tool and save you trouble and aggravation. If you buy cheap throw-away crap, you will need to buy another one sooner or later - either because the cheap junk fails or because it simply won't be able to do what you need it to do (or it even destroys whatever you are building with it!). A decent brand station is not that much more expensive, especially given that you are in the US and can e.g. get original Hakko (which costs a ridiculous amount of money in Europe). Or get the AIXUN T3A/B - those are cheap and excellent. So you won't save anything by buying junk like Yihua.
Shock:
Hakko FX888D station is $104 with free shipping at tequipment.net a little expensive but affordable. Hakko similar to western brands use a linear power transformer, so no probs there.

The chinese make fake versions of Hakko stations so caution if not buying from a dealer. We get also a 6% discount at tequipment.net, code can be requested here.

Probably a better place to get it anyway, check out the tips at the same time, it comes with a small smd tip so it's recommended to get a chisel or bevel tip.
Zero999:

--- Quote from: forumate on May 06, 2022, 08:39:22 am ---Thanks everyone,

I am not experienced indeed so I'm not sure I should start by modifying some high voltage components, even if it's just to put some tape :D
--- End quote ---
I forgot to say it isn't electric shock, but burns and fire which are the main hazards with a soldering iron. The power supply and controller might appear to be perfectly safe, but it's no good if the handle gets so hot it can burn you, or the iron overheats and causes a fire.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
Previous page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod