Hot air rework stations?

[nctnico]

If you are interested to upgrade your hot air gun, why not consider the Pro's kit SS969. Here's a review:


It seems ok to me, or at least still better than the atten one...

This is just an Atten 858D rebadge! 

[bitwelder]

This is just an Atten 858D rebadge! 

The only difference is probably only the 'dark theme' of the front panel 

[wraper]

This is just an Atten 858D rebadge! 

Actually it does not look like just another ATTEN rebadge because PCBs inside are completely different from what I've seen in ATTEN teardown. Nonetheless it does not make it significantly better station in terms of operation.

[nctnico]

This is just an Atten 858D rebadge! 

Actually it does not look like just another ATTEN rebadge because PCBs inside are completely different from what I've seen in ATTEN teardown. Nonetheless it does not make it significantly better station in terms of operation.

It could be Atten uses a different PCB design nowadays 

[wraper]

It could be Atten uses a different PCB design nowadays 

PCB quality looks a bit too good to be from ATTEN.

[I wanted a rude username but failed]

Got my Yihua 858D today, looks like a nice little unit.

Tested the continuity of the live pin from the power plug to the fuse and it beeped, tested earth from the pin to the gun it beeped, tested earth to the gun holder (seeing it screws into the case) and it beeped to. So guessing I got a good unit? also the fuse is a F6AL250V.

I also had a look inside the gun and my fan wasn't burnt up like Dave's Atten one .

Edit, I was surprised it was wired with an Aus plug, half expected it to be US.

[Shock]

Got my Yihua 858D today, looks like a nice little unit.

Here is the video on some of the things you can check out, remember it not just Yihua's there is a lot of obscure brands and nameless 858D's now that could have been thrown together by anyone.

Other than that look at the soldering etc, residue on the pcb, it's up to you and your skill level how far you want to take it. Make sure you give it a decent test.

[I wanted a rude username but failed]

I'll probably look at the PCB for shorts etc before I power it on but really it looks like it's well done, the ground point next the the transformer wont budge neither will the one for the gun and at least it's fused properly.

Gonna test it tomorrow to see how accurate the temp is and probably try it out on an old dead SNES motherboard I've got just to get a feel for it.

[Tac Eht Xilef]

Tested the continuity of the live pin from the power plug to the fuse and it beeped, tested earth from the pin to the gun it beeped, tested earth to the gun holder (seeing it screws into the case) and it beeped to. So guessing I got a good unit?

Mine tested the same when I bought it. Mind you, that still meant the neutral (not active) was switched, there was a butt-joint in the neutral between the mains cable & switch that was only partly insulated (hidden under a overtightened cable tie tying it to the rest of the mains wiring & transformer), the fuseholder was noncompliant (& disintegrated when opened), and the earth from mains plug pin to the handpiece measured 6 ohms through the mains lead -> transformer mounting screw -> the painted base of the case -> front panel mounting screws -> board mounting posts -> handpiece cable -> metal barrel.

Rewired it to switch the active, joined & sleeved the neutral properly, replaced the fuseholder with a safe version, cleaned the paint away from the earth mounting screw & added a star washer & locking nuts as appropriate, and ran a separate earth from that point to the board (resistance from mains plug earth to handpiece barrel is now 0.5 ohms).

It's not perfect, but it's now much safer...

[I wanted a rude username but failed]

Well I checked all my wires today and they seem to be good, also checked the resistance from the earth to the gun to, seemed right.

I did a crappy (very crappy) video https://youtu.be/s1nicfEC3pk of the wires and resistance to.

Edit, got bored and decided to power it on, apart from being about 50° over it seems to run well, fans quiet even maxed out which surprised me. Gonna actually use it in the coming days hopefully (if Auspost doesn't break this tube of solder paste ).

[Tac Eht Xilef]

Well I checked all my wires today and they seem to be good, also checked the resistance from the earth to the gun to, seemed right.

I did a crappy (very crappy) video of the wires and resistance to.

Looks like they fixed most of the issues I found - active is switched, board/handpiece earth wired direct to mains earth, etc. I'd still check earth pin to case.

Fuseholder looks like the original one in mine though. There were 2 problems with it:

• The mains active was wired to the side terminal, which can be touched from outside when the fuseholder is opened so is non standards compliant & potentially dangerous. I would've lived with it and replaced it next time I bought some decent panel-mount fuseholders, except…
• When I opened the fuseholder to buzz out the mains wiring (before I opened the case) that side terminal broke right where it left the body, leaving the active lead floating around in the case with the razor-sharp end of the broken terminal exposed. The cap was a bitch to remove, so I suspect overtightening during assembly had almost sheared the terminal which broke completely when I opened the fuseholder.

FWIW, most if not all of the panel mount fuseholders sold by Jaycar, Altronics, etc. are similarly non-compliant & potentially dangerous, as are the majority found in cheap imported crap (why bother selling/using approved parts if nobody's enforcing the safety standards?). I replaced it with a Shurter 3101.0025 which cost ~$3 from E14, vs ~$2 for the Jaycar/Altronics crap.

[I wanted a rude username but failed]

Yeah I noticed the fuse holder is a little crappy, might do an E14 order eventually for the holder, at the moment I'm just happy it didn't go .

I'll probably give it a test tomorrow on this broken SNES motherboard.

[raptor1956]

I received my 858D clone today and this one is a Kohree W.E.P. 858D. Opened it up and all looks fine and tested operation and it appears to be working as it should.  I've not tried any soldering yet nor heat shrinking but so long as the heater and fan is adjustable and there are no quality issues it should do the job like any other of the kind.

I plan on using it as a glue gun as well and am looking into the 3M glue sticks -- not sure if there's more than one kind of 3M glue stick and if so which ones are best with a hot air gun.

Kohree 110V LED Digital 858D SMD Hot Air Rework Station Solder Blower Heat Gun

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ITMPQS2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Brian

[Shock]

How are you going to use it as a glue gun? Aren't cheap glue guns $10 or so?

[raptor1956]

How are you going to use it as a glue gun? Aren't cheap glue guns $10 or so?

I presume your referring to my post and if so then I plan to use my hot air gun to melt bits of glue stick to locate parts as you would do with a glue gun only I won't be using a glue gun.  A hot air gun will provide the heat needed to melt the glue without a drippy glue gun and I already have a hot air gun.

Lots of post here about wonky glue guns the leak/drip or fail so I'll bypass that problem by not getting one.


Brian

[I wanted a rude username but failed]

Finally got to play around with the rework station today, goes pretty good may have to find some more SMD stuff to do so I don't waste all the solder paste.

[AccountRemovedPerUsersRequest]

I am borrowing this thread since I have exactly the same question and arguments. So I have been using 858d clone for years but now it is time to upgrade something more reliable. Even when I have made the unit safer it is still having issues. The main reason I disconnect the 858d today was insulation between shelf and heating unit.

Price point is somewhere around $200 and that is too little for a "known brand" unit. So I am asking what kind of units others have bought since I think I share the budget level and requirements with many others.
Sparkfun 303D could be an option but I haven't found europen model.

br,

A

[AccountRemovedPerUsersRequest]

What is (real) Atten's quality?
https://eleshop.eu/atten-st-8800d-hot-air-soldering-station.html

I like the structure and especially the size.

br,

A

[Electro Fan]

For occasional use this has been good so far:
https://www.tequipment.net/Quick/957DW+/Desoldering-Equipment/Rework-Stations/?v=0
You can add some bent nozzles from Amazon for not much if you prefer those.

[AccountRemovedPerUsersRequest]

This is indeed an option. Thicker cable with air tube makes me wonder tho. The size and performance is just what I need.

A

[Electro Fan]

What is the concern about the thickness of the air tube cable?

[AccountRemovedPerUsersRequest]

Well, the main concern is the build quality. Both Atten and Quick could be options. What comes to Quick specifically, low quality air tube can be stiff.

A

[Fraser]

I recently purchased an ‘as new’ JBC 6040 hot air station but if I had not found that at an affordable price I would have bought the Quick 861DW hot air station. That Quick unit is a bit more than your budget but I believe it will give you excellent performance and a decent operational life. If you spend less, expect to get less. The Quick 861DW appears to be the ‘sweet spot’ for price Vs quality and performance. Do not buy a Quick 861DW clone though ! They can be very different quality. The clues are the lack of “QUICK” branding or incorrect positioning of the branding on the front panel. If you see a Quick 861DW that is new and significantly cheaper than the dealers prices, it is likely a clone and to be avoided.

I purchased a mix of professional and hobby hot air stations and can confidently say that the professional hot air stations are well built but are overpriced both to buy and for spare parts. My PACE hot air stations have a heater module that costs £600  Crazy pricing. The JBC 6040 provides excellent performance but was also a very expensive unit originally and its heater module costs around £250 ! The Quick 861DW heater module is around £50.

On the hobby front, I tried the W.E.P , HACKKO clones and ATTEN hot air stations. The W.E.P. 852D+ has served me well and is a pump based unit with an air hose. The ATTEN 858D unit is the ‘fan in the handle’ model and I decided it was more useful as a heat shrink gun. The ‘fan in the handle’ stations are a little lacking in performance in my experience. There is a reason why professional hot air stations use a hose and air source located in the base unit. I have not personally had any issues with the flexibility of the air hoses. This is not a micro soldering iron after all !

You could do a lot worse than one of the Quick hot air stations that people on this forum have commented on.

[Electro Fan]

Well, the main concern is the build quality. Both Atten and Quick could be options. What comes to Quick specifically, low quality air tube can be stiff.

A

On the Quick 967DW+ the blower is in the chassis and the tube is about 17mm in diameter.  I have the nozzle end of the tube stored on the holder that it slips onto on the chassis.  This requires the tube to bend back on itself roughly 180 degrees with a little less than a 20cm arc.  It doesn't kink but on the 180 bend there is a bit of dimple in the tube but nothing concerning.  I've only had it a couple months or so but the hose feels supple and pliant.  It hasn't in any way inhibited the ability to use the hot air attachments as I move the hose between the chassis and PCB boards.  Overall I'd say the hose feels reasonably flexible.  For $95 it's a pretty good piece of equipment with decent quality that is compact and it seems to perform the expected hot air functions well.

[HobGoblyn]

Do not buy a Quick 861DW clone though ! They can be very different quality. The clues are the lack of “QUICK” branding or incorrect positioning of the branding on the front panel. If you see a Quick 861DW that is new and significantly cheaper than the dealers prices, it is likely a clone and to be avoided.



You could do a lot worse than one of the Quick hot air stations that people on this forum have commented on.

I bought an 861DW clone a couple of years ago. Only used it about 10 times over the two years and it worked very well. Until the heater element failed a couple of weeks ago, finding a replacement that fits has been a nightmare, I’m about to give up and buy a different  air station (funds currently won’t let me buy genuine Quick)