Soldering Equipment Recomendations

[Pilsner73]

I was thinking about buying a new soldering iron/station for use on any repairs and upgrades I may do with old computer equipment and wanted some advice.

 

Currently I have a solder vacuum (radio shack), and a Weller butane soldering iron which is nice but have to refuel all the time and not a big fan of the fuel smell. From what research I have seen Weller and Hakko are respected brands that make good products. Now they sell the traditional soldering iron, soldering stations, guns and more. Some people want to be able to control both the voltage and temp to the soldering iron, where others feel voltage control is ok, and some others just want a good soldering iron that heats up well.

 

Main uses of soldering equipment would be computer/electronic equipment repair/upgrade, possible wiring like speakers.

[jamesk]

How much do you want to spend?

 

It sounds like you need a Iron, Desoldering Gun and maybe a fume extractor? I prefer a digital temperature display, because I deal lead and lead free solder.

 

I don't have money to spend on Hakko, but I've had no problems with the lower end stuff. My Xytronic Iron does what I need it too. My Aoyue desoldering gun works fine and can be upgraded with Hakko spare parts. My BlackJack Hot Air system works fine, although my BlackJack fume extractor has bad fan bearings.

 

If I had to buy stuff again I'd buy either BlackJack SolderWerks or Aoyue. There's still plenty more to sink money in like an Oscope, Logic Probe, Dev boards.. etc etc..

 

If I was rich I'd go with Hakko a nice Digital scope.

[Pilsner73]

How much do you want to spend?

 

It sounds like you need a Iron, Desoldering Gun and maybe a fume extractor? I prefer a digital temperature display, because I deal lead and lead free solder.

 

I don't have money to spend on Hakko, but I've had no problems with the lower end stuff. My Xytronic Iron does what I need it too. My Aoyue desoldering gun works fine and can be upgraded with Hakko spare parts. My BlackJack Hot Air system works fine, although my BlackJack fume extractor has bad fan bearings.

 

If I had to buy stuff again I'd buy either BlackJack SolderWerks or Aoyue. There's still plenty more to sink money in like an Oscope, Logic Probe, Dev boards.. etc etc..

 

If I was rich I'd go with Hakko a nice Digital scope.

 

From what I read Hakko seems well regarded but I am not so sure about finding accessories/replacement parts for their products easily. Weller seems to be easy to find accessories/parts for. Also still debating about spending around $100.00 for a Hakko or Weller station or just spend $30-50 for a good soldering iron or the Weller consumer station.

 

As to the fumes I meant the fuel fumes for the butane.

Edited February 12, 2011 by Pilsner73

[jamesk]

 

From what I read Hakko seems well regarded but I am not so sure about finding accessories/replacement parts for their products easily. Weller seems to be easy to find accessories/parts for. Also still debating about spending around $100.00 for a Hakko or Weller station or just spend $30-50 for a good soldering iron or the Weller consumer station.

 

As to the fumes I meant the fuel fumes for the butane.

 

The Hakko website kinda stinks, but I was able to purchase direct from them last week.

 

A fume extractor is not for the butane but the flux fumes that come from soldering. Some don't care about the fumes but I'd rather spend a bit on a fan with a carbon filter just to be safe. Just a suggestion.

[+Nathan Strum]

I've got a Hakko 907 w/variable temp both at home and at work. Never had any problems with either one. That said, I know people who've used Weller forever and like it equally well.

 

For desoldering, I use the cheap Radio Shack desoldering iron. It does the trick.

 

As for the fumes... well that's what makes soldering fun!

[Pilsner73]

 

From what I read Hakko seems well regarded but I am not so sure about finding accessories/replacement parts for their products easily. Weller seems to be easy to find accessories/parts for. Also still debating about spending around $100.00 for a Hakko or Weller station or just spend $30-50 for a good soldering iron or the Weller consumer station.

 

As to the fumes I meant the fuel fumes for the butane.

 

The Hakko website kinda stinks, but I was able to purchase direct from them last week.

 

A fume extractor is not for the butane but the flux fumes that come from soldering. Some don't care about the fumes but I'd rather spend a bit on a fan with a carbon filter just to be safe. Just a suggestion.

 

I went and ordered a Hakko fx-888 yesterday with a secondary tip. Seems Hakko has free shipping which worked out to be about the same price from anywhere else I looked. I had narrowed it down to the Hakko 936 and Weller Wes51, but it seems recent posts some people have mentioned having issues with Weller products and feeling the quality wasn't as good. Hakko is claiming the new FX-888 actually outperforms the 936 model so that decided me, hope it's as long lasting as the 936 seemed to be. I checked with Hakko and though they do manufacture the fx-888 in different color schemes the only one approved for USA use is the blue and yellow model.

 

I've got a Hakko 907 w/variable temp both at home and at work. Never had any problems with either one. That said, I know people who've used Weller forever and like it equally well.

 

For desoldering, I use the cheap Radio Shack desoldering iron. It does the trick.

 

As for the fumes... well that's what makes soldering fun!

 

So from what I am seeing a desloder tool has the ability to heat the solder and suck it up in one device?

[+Nathan Strum]

So from what I am seeing a desloder tool has the ability to heat the solder and suck it up in one device?

Correct. Heat the solder while the bulb is squeezed, then let go and presto - solder's gone.

 

Two things to remember when using it though: 1) the desoldering iron has no temperature control so it gets very hot, so you don't need to leave it in place very long for it to do the job, and 2) tilt the iron forward and squeeze the bulb to blow the solder back out of the tip each time, or it will clog up. I keep an old damp sponge around for something to catch the solder in.

[Pilsner73]

So from what I am seeing a desloder tool has the ability to heat the solder and suck it up in one device?

Correct. Heat the solder while the bulb is squeezed, then let go and presto - solder's gone.

 

Two things to remember when using it though: 1) the desoldering iron has no temperature control so it gets very hot, so you don't need to leave it in place very long for it to do the job, and 2) tilt the iron forward and squeeze the bulb to blow the solder back out of the tip each time, or it will clog up. I keep an old damp sponge around for something to catch the solder in.

 

I already got a solder vacuum from the shack so I'll give that a try with my new solering iron.

[Pilsner73]

Have a question about my Hakko fx-888 that I hope someone can answer. I plugged it in and turned it on and it works but notice the station unit makes noise, kind of like an electric hum, is this normal for soldering stations?

[+poobah]

Have a question about my Hakko fx-888 that I hope someone can answer. I plugged it in and turned it on and it works but notice the station unit makes noise, kind of like an electric hum, is this normal for soldering stations?

 

Mine hums and rattles when it reaches temp (old Solomon station)

[+Nathan Strum]

Have a question about my Hakko fx-888 that I hope someone can answer. I plugged it in and turned it on and it works but notice the station unit makes noise, kind of like an electric hum, is this normal for soldering stations?

Mine is dead quiet, but it's a different model.

[Pilsner73]

Thanks for the responses. I contacted Hakko to see if this is normal or not and they want me to send back this unit to them to determine if it's bad or not. I rather not pay to ship something back that may be fine especially since I just got it from Hakko direct two days ago.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Pilsner73

[+Nathan Strum]

If they want you to ship it back, they should either send you a pre-paid airbill, or a free replacement unit first, then you'd send the old one back in the new one's box (also pre-paid).

 

I'd contact them again and ask them to do that. If they're really interested in checking it out, they should be willing to. I recently got HP to do that with a laser printer that was defective from the moment it was new out-of-the-box. They were going to make me pay shipping on it for repair or replacement, and I thought that was ridiculous for a brand-new product. It took awhile on the phone with them, but finally they either realized I was right, or got tired of me , and agreed to ship out a replacement, and paid shipping both ways.

[Pilsner73]

If they want you to ship it back, they should either send you a pre-paid airbill, or a free replacement unit first, then you'd send the old one back in the new one's box (also pre-paid).

 

I'd contact them again and ask them to do that. If they're really interested in checking it out, they should be willing to. I recently got HP to do that with a laser printer that was defective from the moment it was new out-of-the-box. They were going to make me pay shipping on it for repair or replacement, and I thought that was ridiculous for a brand-new product. It took awhile on the phone with them, but finally they either realized I was right, or got tired of me , and agreed to ship out a replacement, and paid shipping both ways.

 

I feel the same way but since they don't know if the unit is at issue they want it back to determine that. I asked to speak to someone to go over it before doing anything else and they agreed. Yeah if I have to send it back and pay 15-20 bucks shipping cost I am probably going to just return it and be done with it and order a Weller from Amazon or somewhere. But again I'm not even sure what I'm hearing is an issue or just the way it is. I am going to try plugging it in elsewhere and see what happens.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Pilsner73

[Pilsner73]

Just a quick update. Hakko called me yesterday but I was shoveling snow so by the time I got the message it was too late in the day to talk to them. Trying to see if there is a way to make sure the unit is OK without having to send it in. I can live with the noise as long as I know it's not an indication of a real issue.

[Pilsner73]

Just a quick update after talking to American Hakko a few times, they agreed something wasn't right and sent out a new fx-888 to replace the one I had that was making the loud noise. They also sent a ups call tag to send it back to them.

 

The new fx-888 is much quieter, there is still a hum/noise but it's slight especially when compared to the fx-888 unit I first received.

[+Nathan Strum]

Glad to hear it. I'd never be comfortable with a suspect soldering iron.