Hakko fx951 soldering station

[tawfiq]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy a new hakko fx951 soldering station and I was checking different websites for pricing. Please note that the country I am from, this make/model is not available anywhere, so I have to get it from overseas.

Now, when I checked different websites,  it seems that US amazon offers the lowest price which is around US $235 including a 1.6mm chisel tip. But amazon UK site offers it for £285, which is almost double the US price and on top of that, UK amazon offer is without any tip! The same model also available from one of the singapore supplier at a price range from S$614, which is close to the UK amazon offer. Again, Singapore offer does not include any tip.

Why and how US amazon offers it at this price? Is it because they are tax free? Or it can be a fake Chinese copy? Besides, the UK offer mentioned it is Genuine Japanese make.

On the other hand, US model will be 120v AC mains and we have 230/240v AC mains here, so if anyone knows insite of this unit whether if it has a 230 volt tap in the transformer and if I can just change the connection in the board and it will be able to take 230v AC or not, please let me know.

Another issue is - the tip, the US model and website says they are T15 series and UK/Singapore sites say they are T12, is it different in US models or its a mistake?

These are 3 links for reference

US Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX-951-Soldering-Station-T15-D16/dp/B00OBQGLGG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1432563987&sr=8-2&keywords=hakko+951

UK Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00SRQ53MO?me=&ref=olp_product_details

Singapore supplier
http://sg.element14.com/hakko/fx951/soldering-station-digital/dp/9677933?ost=hakko+fx951&categoryId=800000004978


Any suggestions/comments would be really helpful and appreciated. Anyone knows the actual price?

Thanks.