Desoldering gun replacement -Whole gun-

[d3m0]

Hi folks! a few days ago my aoyue 701(the old one) heater element died and I cant find a cartridge replacement. Only could get the one for 701A or 701A+ but they are different and at high prices. So my plan was to replace all gun and then ordered a proskit ss-331 but when I measure pins I realized that temperature sensor is a PTC thermistor while my aoyue station expects a Thermocouple.
So I'm looking for a replacing gun that it is confirmed that has a thermocouple as temp measure. Not matter if heater element has 4 wires or thermocouple is in parallel with heating core. I have a Chinese T12 solder control board that can be configured for using 936 solder types and works well at least with a soldering iron that has also thermocouple inside it.

Thanks in advance!!

[trs]

After many years of dependably adequate service, I finally had enough of patching the rubber bulb on my 45w EGC Desoldering Iron - you know the type, looks like a standard pencil iron, but with an extra tube coming off the hollow-point tip that leads to a (usually) red rubber bulb. Squeeze bulb, place tip over pin, release the bulb and it sucks up most of the solder.

Bought a Hakko FR-301 and never looked back. It's their "entry level" desoldering gun but it has served me professionally for years now with nary a complaint - any issue I've experienced (basic amateur problems like poor heat transfer or clogged tips) have all been due to my own ignorance. Take the time to learn how to use and service it properly (or any other desoldering gun for that matter) and you'll be amazed how much value it will bring to your quality of work and to your own personal happiness at a job done once and done well.

Service parts like tips and filters and seals and heating elements (try not to drop yours forty feet down to the floor inside a pipe organ... the falling isn't the issue, but it won't like the sudden stop when the tip hits the ground) are kinda expensive, but they're only "Hakko expensive," not like "Metcal expensive." I know the prevailing opinion on these forums is knock-off parts are cheaper and work just as well, but that's only half true, specifically the "cheaper" part of the equation. Just suck it up and buy the parts from Hakko. It's 2024, and like every decent company they have an online store that makes finding parts a breeze, no guesswork or forum question threads necessary.

Get yourself a Hakko FR-301. As Abe Froeman, the Sausage King of Chicago, once said: "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend it."

[BlackICE]

I agree 100% I got a 301 a few years ago. IMO the 1st project paid for it with the time savings and lower blood pressure compared to what I used in the past, solder wick and spring plunger/sucker. One project was a >$300 pool heater control that had a habit to failing 7 segment LEDs. The replacement I brought fail in only a few years. Now believing that they use poor quality LEDs instead of buying another replacement I just got a 28 pin DIP package replacement LED. With my limited skill level, using solder wick and a sucker my chances of removing it without damaging the PCB were not great. With the 301 in just took a few minutes to remove the LED package.

I also replace all the electrolytic caps on 2 1980 vintage Hafler DH220 amps and a Velodyne HGS18. A breeze to do with the 301. Yes I could have done the Haflers without too much trouble without the 301, but the 301 made is much faster. On the HGS18 I would have been real hard to remove the large filter caps without it because the the large thermo mass.

[d3m0]

Thank you guys for the feedback. I always avoid to get cheap tools but in this particular case I already have the station and want to repair it as cheap as posible because I use it very rarely. I get used to use bismuth low melt temp solder and solder wick. 90% of time still using it, works great even in large 1 row of pins connectors and combined with a wide t12-14xx tip its super easy to do the job.

[BlackICE]

Wow those 14xx tips cost a lot from $103 to $173!


https://hakkousa.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=t15-14

[d3m0]

As the desoldering gun these tips didnt use too much so I bought chinese clones from aliexpress. If I remember well there was around 30$ 3 sizes. Worth every penny....