What is your opinion of Yihua?

[kraio]

Hello! I'm new to this forum, and to the hobby of electronics in general. Seeing as my interest in the hobby has taken off, thanks to the likes of Dave Jones and Louis Rossmann, I decided it would be a good idea to invest in some equipment. One of the brands that caught my eye was Yihua, due to their budget prices and seemingly decent build quality. A specific model I had in mind was the:

    Yihua 992DA+ https://www.aliexpress.com/item/YIHUA-992DA-3-In-1-Hot-Air-Rework-Soldering-Iron-Station-Smoke-Vacuum-BGA-Soldering-Station/32814010462.html

My question for you all is: What is your opinion of Yihua? Do you think they are a reputable brand? What do you think of the station I linked?

^{I realize that these irons are Chinese knockoffs; They aren't Wellers or Hakkos, but they seem to be the "best" in terms of quality (as far as knockoffs go).}

[JackJones]

As far as Chinese brands go, I've always considered them to be decent. My first soldering iron was a Yihua 908d, it is nice and compact and I never had any trouble with it.

Personally, I'm not all that keen on these multiple in one stations. They just seem a bit bulky, and if one thing breaks you're stuck with a half working station and you need to buy a replacement for the other half. That's just my personal opinion, I'm sure some people prefer them like that.

[VEGETA]

Hello! I'm new to this forum, and to the hobby of electronics in general. Seeing as my interest in the hobby has taken off, thanks to the likes of Dave Jones and Louis Rossmann, I decided it would be a good idea to invest in some equipment. One of the brands that caught my eye was Yihua, due to their budget prices and seemingly decent build quality. A specific model I had in mind was the:

    Yihua 992DA+ https://www.aliexpress.com/item/YIHUA-992DA-3-In-1-Hot-Air-Rework-Soldering-Iron-Station-Smoke-Vacuum-BGA-Soldering-Station/32814010462.html

My question for you all is: What is your opinion of Yihua? Do you think they are a reputable brand? What do you think of the station I linked?

^{I realize that these irons are Chinese knockoffs; They aren't Wellers or Hakkos, but they seem to be the "best" in terms of quality (as far as knockoffs go).}

let me tell you that they are nice. I have Yihua 908D station and it is just perfect, get extra tips separately for 5$ and you'll be fine.

I would not recommend a pricey Chinese one like this because if you're gonna pay such a price, then getting a Hakko is better. Also, I wouldn't recommend a multiple-in-one solution like this... it is better to get them separately and might be even cheaper. Remember that it takes a lot of space and 95% of time you would only need the soldering iron of it.

[kraio]

Personally, I'm not all that keen on these multiple in one stations. They just seem a bit bulky, and if one thing breaks you're stuck with a half working station and you need to buy a replacement for the other half.

Perhaps you can use the working half to fix the broken half? 

In all seriousness, though, I respect that point of view. Personally, I am not too concerned about bench footprint, like I know some people are. Right now, I don't even have a bench to occupy ;-;

[james_s]

A lot of those midrange Chinese units are pretty similar, generally they'll do the job.

I don't like combination units either though, separate makes more sense in almost every case. Most people are going to use the soldering iron 95% of the time at least and only need the hot air once in a while. With a combined unit you're stuck dragging the whole thing around whether you need it or not, and you can't upgrade just one portion.

[kraio]

I wouldn't recommend a multiple-in-one solution like this... it is better to get them separately and might be even cheaper.

I don't like combination units either though, separate makes more sense in almost every case.

Since the consensus seems to advise against the "n-in-1" units, do you guys have any recommendations for a hot air station and a soldering station that are decent in both price and performance? I'm looking to spend ~$200.

Also, I apologize if asking a question in replies is against forum rules or anything..

[JackJones]

For the hot air station, I've had an 858D for over a year. Only costs ~$40 delivered so pretty cheap. I don't use a hot air station every day so for the occasional use it has been very good. It is sold under many different names, including Yihua but I suspect they might just be all the same, just rebranded.

For the iron you might just be better off buying an original Hakko FX-888D. Although I hear the 936 clones are pretty good too. Or perhaps look into the stations sold in Aliexpress that use the Hakko T12 tips. Those are the more modern type of tips and work much better. I don't know what the quality is though, I've never used one myself.

[Shock]

Stay away from cheap all-in-one stations it will end in tears. That stations iron is from their Hakko 936 clones at heart which a $50 Chinese T12 clone will out perform.

My advice would be spend your $200 or so on the Pace ADS200 120W station. If you look at the stations features there is nothing else like it on the market and it's perfect for fine smd through to high thermal mass work. If buying from tequipment.net you can use the eevblog 6% off code (plus they do free shipping) just make sure you order a tip with your purchase.

For hot air a $40 or so a Chinese 858D hot air station will be fine or you could save up for something more expensive if required.