ZD-8915 (SS-331) conversion from 18V to 24V - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2021, 09:47:45 pm
content: Some 19 months ago, I bought a ZD-8915. In a local store even, but it is still China stuff.And at first, I was very happy with it. Still am, despite what I am about to write, would buy again.But I started to get small annoyances. Being:- Very loud FAN. I thought it was broken.Like many others, I replaced the fan nearly instantly, but that did not work. Below I explain why.- Power switch on the backHas been moved to the front a while back.- Extremely slow heatup time. 10 minutes to 400C (which is really only 350C)Main mod for this post.- Temp is off by about 50C (edit: now also fixed)- Bad sleep mode. Handling does not keep it awake, I have to hit something with the gun- I may eventually also add a delayed vacuum valve, as I have seen others also do.So, it turns out the noisy fan and the slow heat-up time are related. The problem is, it has a 24V heating element, a 12V air pump, 12V Fan; But a 18V power supply.So putting a 24V 90W heating element on 18Vyields only 50W. And indeed, checking consumption that is what it takes.That is the slow heating explained.Furthermore, the 18V is dropped with 2 ceramic 1R5W resistors to 12V for the airpump. Very wasteful.BUT, the 12V cooler fan is on the same resistively dropped 12V rail as the Airpump.Ergo, it is nearly always running on 18V !!Only when you run the pump does it drop to 12V, but I never noticed the fan sounded better when the pump was running. You know, with the added pump noise.And when the pump does not run, then voltage barely drops, so the full 18V over the 12V fan.Yeah, that will make it sound as if it is about to explode alright....And finally, not very critical, but also a bit silly:The control board is running from a 78L05, is again from the 18V, but again resistively dropped to 15V.The resistivity dropper is inside the PSU even, so it needs two extra leads out of the PSU. Not sure why. Maybe the 78L05 gets to hot from 18V, but not from 15V?The Mod:I modded the PSU from 18V to 24V by tweaking the resistor network around the TL431AA voltage reference.Adding a 68K resistor parallel to the R8 resistor (24K Ohm) yielded 23.5V output. Which is good enough, especially as the capacitors are only rated for 25VNext I added a cheap DC/DC board to convert the 24V to 12V, and will now feed all 3: airpump, control board and fan, without any resistive dropping.I did test if the board could handle a continues 2.5Amp for the Airpump. Not that the Airpump runs continuously, but to be sure...From the PSU, I removed the thin 15V red/black leads for the control board (the resistive dropper for that was inside the PSU), as well as the 18V thin black/white leads for the airpump. And instead added proper (thicker) Red/Gray wires. The reason for the odd Red/Gray color combo is that the original colors were also odd.For example: two of the black wires of the PSU were +18V, and one black wire was GND.... Go figure the logic of that....So anyway, as I did not want/need to change the Black/White wires to the Iron, I kept Black as +V, and chose different colors for permanent 12V and permanent 0VCode:original new meaningBlack (thick) Black +18V (now +24V) for Iron (unchanged)White (thick) White PWM switched ground for Iron (unchanged)Black (thin) Red +18V (now +12V) for Airpump/Fan (now also Control board)White (thin) Gray permanent groundRed (thin) -- +15V for Control board (removed)Black (thin) -- ground for Control board (removed)Orange (thin) Orange opto-coupler to Switched Iron groundGreen (thin) Green opto-coupler to Switched Iron groundThe power distribution board also was slightly changed. Basically, I removed the two large resistors, and re-used their pads to create a +12V and 0V point for the control board wire. Not too hard, see the images.Now the device heats up much faster, draws the listed 90W while doing so. And the Fan sounds more reasonable.I may still changed the fan for an ultra-quiet one.Mods I may make in the future- Replace Fan by more quiet one, and add internal shroud for more logical airflow(but the airpump is noisy anyway, so maybe not)- Tune the pots on the control board to see if I can make the temp readout better(did not touch them yet)done- Add small vacuum delay valve in the handle, so the suction comes in with more of an initial burst.Something like this:https://youtu.be/j8LMdIZuDywbut nicer looking)- Put a relay for the AirPump, rather then running 3A over the tiny conductors and microswitch of the gun.- Link the sleep/shake input to the trigger switchOr not. After all, it is working, and I do not need to wait 10 minutes anymore every time I want to use it, so I may loose interest.Anyway, let me know if you have suggestions, of if you thought this useful.Have a nice day.PS: if someone knows why my inline images are not working, please reply or even dm me.

author: Andy Watson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2021, 10:16:33 pm
content: There are some odd design choices in these units. I traced-out the circuit of my 331B version here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/using-a-proskit-ss-331h-on-110v/msg2283177/#msg2283177It appears that all version use the ZD-P150 power supply module.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2021, 10:35:06 pm
content: Nice schematic. I did in fact already found that a few days ago, and used it, thanks.So does your SS331 also have a 24V element, or is there a special/unusual 18V element in it's gun?Edit: also, your schematic has a 6-pin connector, my device has a 7-pin one. And I cannot find any wire for the shake sensor in your schematicNow, it was mentioned by the seller (local shop) my device was a new version with sleep. So likely that is why I have an extra pin.I did not focus on that while it was open, and the device is closed and back in its place now.But it does indeed have sleep and wake. Be it I have to give it a rather hard tap to wake it.but thinking about it, having a new version, new handle, who knows, maybe I also have a different heat element. It would explain why I see no-one else complain about the slow heating.

author: sam_sam_sam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2021, 02:21:31 am
content: cybermausI have several ZD-915 that do not have the sleep function on them so I do have that featureBut I have to ask you about the modification that you did to the switching power supplyYou know that it has a +5 volt rail but did you know that it also has a -5 volt rail Zener diode with a 1 watt resistor how warm does this resistor get with the extra voltage to this deviceHow well does this modification work and how often do you use it for hours at a time or a few times a week the reason I am asking is I might want to do this modification on mine but senses you have already done it I just wanting to know how well is holding upHow badly does the temperature over shoot or under shoot the set point

author: mjongh
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 21, 2021, 02:15:00 am
content: I have opened up my ZD-8915 to do this great mod.It has a slightly newer version of the power supply (V4), which uses different values for the feedback circuit resistors.In this version you need to add an 6K8 resistor parallel to R8 to end up at roughly 23.5V.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2021, 09:29:44 pm
content: Cool. Thanks for the feedback on the newer version.It cursory looks like all your values (in this section) are divided by 10.Maybe they done that to make it less susceptible to noise.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2021, 09:58:15 pm
content: Sorry, I missed your questions. Not always checking every day.Quote from: sam_sam_sam on February 19, 2021, 02:21:31 amI am not aware of any -5V rail. Can you provide more details on that?I do remember a input voltage divider, so the CPU knows the input voltage, probably as some sort of power-good signal. But I would not call that a rail.In case you mean that one: It is now getting 12V instead of a varying 18V~15V, so any such resistor would get less hot.Quote from: sam_sam_sam on February 19, 2021, 02:21:31 amIf I am honest, I use it sparingly.When I do use it, I am happy to have it, but I am only an occasional hobbyist, and also nowadays more stuff is surface mount.So if there is a 1W resistive dropper somewhere that I did not notice, and it is getting 24V instead of 18V, I may indeed not have noticed it breaking yet.But as stated, I did not notice a -5V rail.Quote from: sam_sam_sam on February 19, 2021, 02:21:31 amWell, I have not done laboratory quality testing on that. Just a cursory check with my temp probe.But when doing that, I noticed that even with the 24V, there is still a delay before the read-out temp reaches the tip.I can already hear the regulator starting to modulate (you can hear the high pitch of the switched PSU), while the heat at the tip is still creeping up.As a result, there is no real overshoot.Undershoot usually happens because the gun goes to sleep while I am using it, which usually leads to me cursing and whacking the handle to my desk to wake it up.But now at least it goes back up rather quickly.The whole sleep shake sensor is rather silly. Unlike a normal soldering iron, this device has a usage trigger-switch.The engineers messed up when they did not realise they could have used that instead of adding a shake sensor with wire and connector.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2021, 03:32:48 pm
content: Additional note after checking Andy Watson's schematic:I still do not see your -5V rail anywhere.And additionally, the new 24V goes nowhere except directly to the Iron. So it should not matter unless if inside the PSU itselfHowever/Indeed: I do now see inside the PSU a Diode/Resistor combi D1/R1 (not a Zener) at 360 Ohm / 2 WattThat indeed would get 1.6W instead of 0.9W. Should be OK, but had I seen it while I was in there, I may have modded it.But still 2W is more then 1.6W, so should be OK.Then again, not even sure what this diode/resistor is supposed to do?Provide some minimum load when the Iron is not driven, so the PSU does not over/undershoot every time the FET switches?

author: sam_sam_sam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2021, 04:32:30 pm
content: This is a Zener diode setup and it is used for the controller board which when I saw this I thought it was a odd but I know this because I am going to run this until on 24 volt battery pack and when I tried to use this way the temperature part of the controller would not work and you have to have this circuit for it this purposeBut you also have to use a SCR setup for a 3D bed table heaters and a PWM controller for this to work correctly I just have to use a computer battery pack module and reconfigure it for 24 volts and this project would be finishedThe temperature over and under shooting is a lot better but you do give some speed to how fast ( the results are not bad ) it gets to the temperature that it is set to but on battery power you do not want the overshooting to be at a minimum to conserve battery power because it runs at lower currentI have read that these Desoldering Gun have a life of about 500 hours but I seem to get more hours than this but when they get to about 1000 hours of use they have tendency to clog more often and the wire cloth covering turn black and when this happens you running hours left are very limited time for a new gunOne note about running it at 24 volts the heater element will not last as long because the more current it pulls and not a good option when running for hours and hours at a time I have thought about running this unit on an external switching power supply before and might still do but I have a selector switch to switch from 12 volts to 24 volts for turbo boost but only use this when doing double sided circuit boards with wide ground planes but so far I have not found the right switching power supply for this purpose yetOne note that this is a failure but does not happen very often at least with my experience is temperature sensor failure and you will know that this happen because you will see — — for the temperature reading results but the heating element will still get power and destroy the heating element there is no fix for this failure as far as I know I have even tried to remove the temperature sensor wires from the gun but have not been successful in doing this

author: SergeDr
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 18, 2021, 05:07:51 pm
content: Thank you Cybermaus,Thank you Andy,I got hold on this desoldering station a few days ago and changed it according to your info.Just one thing: has anyone noticed the U09 status on the display at power on?This is probably normal since my device is working normally. Just to be sure.B.R.Serge

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 06:33:56 pm
content: Just checked. Indeed.First a all-elements-on screen test, then u09 for a second, then displays the temp.I am assuming it is all as it should be.

author: giovannirat
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 07:59:48 pm
content: Same behaviour on my station.Probably indicates a firmware version. v09

author: SergeDr
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 22, 2021, 05:48:44 pm
content: Nice, Thanks.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2022, 02:30:01 pm
content: Since someone is making this topic active again form me via PM's, a small update:Eventually I did get a few clogged nozzles. Not too bad, but still.Once the solder oxidises, no heat or prodding moves will move it.I find that a long thin drill however still makes short work of it.So I advise getting one of these (from here, or ebay, or whereever):https://www.eleshop.nl/reserve-reinigingsboor-voor-nozzles.html

author: HumbleDeer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2022, 04:11:59 pm
content: Let me revive this one while I do some mods too!The newer units branded ProsKit no longer have the zener/diode installed nor the -5 0v +10v used as neg/pos. The red-black wires that feed the LDO on the mainboard are now connected to the -5v (black) and +10v (red).The motor on my pump is actually a 24v motor (1*). But as the manufacturer has measured, the increase in vacuum from 12v to 24v is marginal, especially given how low quality the pump is inside. Still, I decided to do some silencing mods to the pump.The pump is no longer run in reverse, red being red this time around. But for some reason they run the tubing realllly far. That puts the vacuum "pull" at the rear of the unit and requires a tube going to the front. While the 'out' is just bare, causing a LOT of noise! Presumably this is to space the tube from the front, so it doesn't have to kink upwards. But the rubber mounts of the pump are flexible enough that you can shift it backwards quite a bit. Then, you can reverse the pump too, putting the exhaust at the rear and intake at the front. Cut the tubing to length, and use the remainder on the outlet, then coil it as much as possible (or use another piece of tube.) This acts as an acoustic transmission line, dampening at least some of the noise.Here are some pictures so far as well as some pictures of the main board while I'm at it.*1: There is a SKU label from ProsKit, and a Mfr label underneath. In both cases, 20200825 is the date of production; 25-08-2020. The common "555" gives me clues about the motor used; it's likely just a standard "555" motor, like an RS555. I wonder how much quieter it'll be when I eventually end up modifying it with a brushless motor or just make my own controller/driver entirely.SKU label:QJT-555SPH20200825Manufacturer label:www.cdmmotor.comCDM-555-37040DC24V 20200825

author: HumbleDeer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 03, 2022, 01:40:47 pm
content: Update to what I ended up doing:Did the power supply voltage mod on the TL431 circuit to bump the voltage to a solid 23.8vCreated a trigger exclusivity circuit that halts the heater during pump action. The unit shuts down without. It's simply a BJT stealing the current from the LED in the phototransistor that drives the mosfet. On the drive side (on the blue pcb) I added a BC NPN w/ 10 ohms base resistor, resulting in just enough current flow through the original currenet limit resistor, that the voltage drops below the opto's Vf.Broke the Sleep Mode trigger to where before it would never go into sleep after the first time soon after turn-on, it now goes to sleep and never wakes up. Methinks adding a trigger-tied Sleep Release wouldn't be bad, so that the handle trigger also signals to the unit that the handle is used (instead of the sensor in the handpiece, which seems to awfully squeel along with the PWM of the heater mosfet!) I haven't investigated what broke the trigger but it's likely to do with either a loose wire, or that I fiddled around in the handle in the search for where the squeel came from (which turns out, doesn't come from there as a source!) I did swap two wires that were reversed according to the manual in terms of thermocouple reference ground used. But that may actually have been intentional in the first place, who knows. I also don't.... really at all remember what the config was before I fiddled. D'oh!

author: GrievousAngel
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2022, 10:15:55 pm
content: This is an older post, however is an excellent source of ZD-915 electrical (the best I have found).I noticed this post during my ZD-915 gun and power supply replacement project. Wish I had seen this earlier. Anyways ...I have a 120VAC to 24VDC @ 6A switching power supply (AC-DC2406) and a DC-DC 24V to 12V @ 6A converter (adj Step U/D & constant I). I also have a new 24V desoldering gun (948) w/ proper 6 pin plug. My plans are to feed 24VDC to the new 948 gun w/ a 24VDC heater element), then feed 12VDC to fan and pump and front panel. My concern is what to do with C+ and C- wires (GRN & YEL) and the +10V and -5V wires (RED & BLK) as their PCB markings are not real clear other than they go to the front user interface PCBs! I also purchased (2) small adjustable DC-DC converters (set to 12V to 10V) and a (set to 12V to 5V) if needed. Understand that the OEM power supply will be replaced as in gone.After reading the post, it becomes apparent that I need to reach out for assistance and suggestions.I am also considering adding an 24V mini air valve to create a pulse of vacuum when trigger is activated (using the internal vacuum hose as an accumulator). Has anyone installed the impulse air valve with satisfactory performance? How do most get around the negative of running the pump all the time? I do not want to run the pump continuously, however ~1 sec of 'spin-up' time would be OK. Suggestions?Hoping to get this thread going again ...By the way . . . I am new to EEVBlog. This is an awesome EE and DIY forum! Happy to be here.GrievousAngel

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2022, 07:25:52 am
content: Quote from: GrievousAngel on October 15, 2022, 10:15:55 pmReplacing the power supply completely is not entirely so trivial because (as you noticed by the GRN&YEL wire) it is not only a power supply, but also the high-current switch for the iron.They mostly likely combined the two so that they could do with only one heat-sinc. So if you replace the power supply, you'd have to build your own high current switch.It there a reason you plan to completely replace the power supply? Is tweaking the pre-existing one to 24V not sufficient?Quote from: GrievousAngel on October 15, 2022, 10:15:55 pmI never did get around to that. Still think it would be a good idea.However, I would not have the pump run continuously. Instead, I'd add a small buffer-vat (10 cc of air or something, and a dual action trigger to the gun switch.So if you press the gun switch half way, the pump starts, "fills up" the buffer with vacuum, and then you press the switch further and the "vacuum is released"The way I plan to do it was even mechanical, not a electrical. Have a small pneumatic valve hooked the trigger, making it an mechanical air trigger, more then a electrical switch, however have a microswitch hot-glued to it for the dual action.My reason was not even the wear of the pump, but the noise. I do not want that thing blaring all the time. But I guess wear is also a good reason.Mind you, if you do run it continuously, you do also solve the GRN&YEL wire problem, as it means you do not need to switch the pump, just have it on the whole time.Still, I would not recommend such.

author: GrievousAngel
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2022, 11:33:46 am
content: Well ... After installing the new PS, it became apparent that C+ & C- is the TC feedback to the PS in order to control iron temperature. I am at the point of (just for kicks) trying locate a TC control module that could placed between the new 24V PS output and iron heating element, using C+ & C- to control the new module that drives the iron. leaving the front panel as is. Does this sound reasonable?What type / class of signal is passing via C+ & C- (between the PS and the front PCB) to control tip temperature?I had plans of using the mod'd ZD-915 as my 'other' desoldering station, since I located a good used Quick 201B desoldering unit. Has anyone compared the Quick 201B to the ZD-915 w/ 24V/12V mod installed?Thanks for the feedback.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2022, 09:43:12 pm
content: Quote from: GrievousAngel on October 17, 2022, 11:33:46 amAs you can see in the schematic by Andy on the 2nd post of this thread, the C+/C- wires as you call them drive a optocoupler, which drives a big FET.Best duplicate that part of the schematic.

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2023, 03:19:09 pm
content: Hi, I did the modifications and they appear to work fine, at least the voltages are OK.But, when I attach the gun though, the machine is starting up and shutting down in a regular pattern every second or so. I managed to get it to work by running the pump during this time, after a while the machine just stayed on continuously and I could do some desoldering without problems. Unfortunately, the problem came back the next time I powered the machine on.This makes me think something tries to detect the voltage, and because of the modified voltage, it shuts the system down. I have no idea where I should be looking for the problem though. Could you give me some hints on how to troubleshoot this?

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2023, 06:56:18 pm
content: That is a bit weird.Powering on/off like you describe most likely would come from the logic pcb.The 18-now-24 V goes to the logic board.The logic board in my case was fed from a 15V separate wire from the PSU that was also resistance dropped from the 18, but on the board itself dropped to 5V with a &*05Is this still the same in your more recent model? Can you check what voltages you are feeding the logic board, and if indeed the input goes directly to a 7805?If so, feeding it 12V should be completely fine. Maybe your 12V is not stable enough, measure it continuously while you are using the device.

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2023, 01:26:01 pm
content: Hallo Cybermaus,Thanks for the response! I will do some measurements to see if the 12V is good, the front panel did work on 12V from my bench supply. Would the the front panel logic be switching the whole unit (including itself) off?Interestingly if I leave the machine flashing (switching on/off) for a bit (20 times or so), it will end up working continuously, and switching it off and within minutes on again, it will work well immediately.Only after leaving it to cool down (or drain some cap somewhere) it will restart with the self-on/off behavior.I'm starting to think the PWM module is tripped to do an automatic shutdown for some reason, there are some voltage/current safeguards on the chip (according the the datasheet, if it is the same chip as in the linked schematic)Anyway, I have some probing to do! I'll report back if I find a fix.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2023, 03:23:59 pm
content: To repeat, I would suspect the 12V rail, and its stability, more then the logic board.How are you generating the 12V? What device/module are you using? Is it powerful enough?Afterall, the PSU itself only does 18V. Now that you modded it, 24V, so you must also have added some sort of step down to 12V right?

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2023, 11:13:38 pm
content: You're probably right, I've used a "Buck Converter XL4015 5A" to be sure it would be up to the task (from an online shop in NL). In operation it shows up as 12.0 volts on the meter. It has 3 lights, 'green' is on all the time meaning there is less than 400 mA output current, so probably no problem there.This device has a variable amp limiter, I've now tried to increase that threshold with the potmeter a lot, preliminary results indicate this may be the culprit.Ok that didn't help...

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2023, 07:02:05 am
content: Well, if it shows up as 12V during operations, astable12V, than that would in fact rule out the 12V module.But then I am out of idea's.

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2023, 10:45:36 am
content: Thanks for your help, I've scoped the 12 V supply and the (now) 23.5V supply, they both look stable, nothing dramatic, no spikes or the like.I'll have to have a good look again, it's difficult to analyze because the fault goes away in around a minute, and does not return until after quite some time. I guess I'll test by heating up some parts and see if operation resumes to be normal. I also saw some sloppy solder blobs (no doubt coming from me) on the shell of one of the 'twin' electrolytic caps, I'll try to desolder it and measure if all is still OK there. Would be nice to have a desoldering station for that job

author: alxtr1bal
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 09, 2023, 07:03:57 am
content: Hello guys;I did this cool modification on my old station i bought some years ago , the PSU is the same version as OP. So i now have a steady 12v (from 23.5 to 12v with the converter) that powers the board with the switches for fan, display and pump.My problem is that the temperature of the heater never stops ! it goes over 500, then the display says "Error" , but the heater continues to heat (even becomes red !!) ...What could this be related to ? psu (opto isolator ?) , or the control board part ?

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2023, 06:00:45 pm
content: You could have al look at the green wires, these go from the control board to the optocoupler

author: Beau Geste
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 12, 2023, 10:44:00 am
content: PLS HELP!the vacuum pump of my SS31 no longer works! I tested the current on the pump and it is only 4 volts. What could have happened? Any advice and/or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

author: Beau Geste
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 12, 2023, 05:09:30 pm
content: Quote from: alxtr1bal on February 09, 2023, 07:03:57 amHi,I had the same problem. I solved it by buying another control board. Probably the fault is in the TL7805 and TL431 voltage regulators. Check them with the multimeter if they are OK or not .However, the control board does not cost more than 30 euros.Ciao

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2023, 05:18:52 pm
content: Ok, my saga continues, but now I've been silly: I've tripped the breaker in the house because I mistakenly probed pin 4 to ground on the oscilloscope ground - mixed up the pin order apparently. Or the fscq1565rt was broken. If not, now it is certainly broken, and the NTC decapitated itself with a bang.So, I'm now going to order the fscq1565rt, from AliXpress because that's the last place that sells these ancient chips.I'll have to keep my eye on the expenses, so I don't spend too much before it's better to replace the unit

author: alxtr1bal
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 15, 2023, 09:00:48 am
content: Quote from: Beau Geste on February 12, 2023, 05:09:30 pmCiao thereThanks for the suggestion, i'll check that !Do you remember where you bought the control board replacement?Thanks again

author: alxtr1bal
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 18, 2023, 03:32:34 pm
content: Hello guys, just to let you know, i replaced on my PSU thedouble schottky diodemosfet (that was shorted) (by a FQP50N06) , and the optoisolator for the temperature (that was shot) (by a pc817).Working again.

author: Spawn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2023, 07:29:48 am
content: @cybermausthanks for posting this information.I ordered a ZD-8915 couple of weeks ago from Eleshop, but it was in backorder and I had to wait 2 weeks before it get delivered, meanwhile I came across this topic and I also planned to do the modification.Yesterday I opened up the ZD-8915, and it has (again) a newer version power supply (ZD150-PQ32/15) and it is still a 18V power supply.Took a picture of the resistors around the TL431A, but it was hard to get a nice picture, it is buried between higher components, so far I can see it is now R20 which needs a parallel resistor on it, the value is 2K4 and I think it needs a 6K8 resistor parallel on it for +/-24VI am not that great with this kind a stuff, can somebody please check for me if I got it right with the R20 and the parallel resistor?The other problem is getting in there with a soldering iron to solder another resistor, since there is no room at all for the iron.I hope that my picture is clear enough.

author: Beau Geste
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 18, 2023, 05:14:40 am
content: Quote from: alxtr1bal on February 15, 2023, 09:00:48 amSorry for the late reply. Yes, I bought the control board on Allegro.pl.https://allegro.pl/oferta/plytka-sterujaca-wyswietlacz-lcd-niebieski-zd-8915-11026793876?reco_id=17400eef-221e-11ec-9f46-0c42a1097bde&sid=041047f9c36843e364ecb91b45c568a2755aa386fe7

author: Beau Geste
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 18, 2023, 05:16:19 am
content: Quote from: alxtr1bal on February 18, 2023, 03:32:34 pmGreat! You can't go wrong. When the temperature is out of control it's either the Mosfet on the PSU or the TL7805 and/or TL431 on control board

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2023, 01:17:51 pm
content: Quote from: Spawn on March 13, 2023, 07:29:48 amHi SPawn. No one got back to you? Sorry, but I have been busy, not paying attention to eevblog.Anyway, the picture is really too fuzzy. If you want some advise on which resistor, you'd really have to try and get a clearer picture, where we can see what is connected to what.

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2023, 07:57:34 am
content: Hi, just getting back to the subject of the intermittent startup, that appears to be fixed!. Briefly, the ZD-8915 was not starting immediately but instead switched on/off all the time with a time interval of about 1 second.It turned out it was due to the VCC of the FSCQ1565RT (the 5-pin chip PWM chip attached to the heat sink), that starts up with power from a capacitor to begin with, but later gets its power from a winding of the main transformer. The transition to that second state failed because of a cold/damaged solder joint of capacitor E5, in my case.Apparently the capacitor got warm during the startup attempts and made contact so operation would resume after 20 times or so. A power cycle of the device would switch on immediately but the fault returned when everything cooled down.Sorry to say that didn't actually fix it, admittedly I tried without the gun attached. I think I'll just reverse the voltage mod, but at least the fan and front-end are now running off a stable supply. Guess the high voltage took some part of the power supply out of specKudos to Andy Watson working out the schematic, for the 8915 there is one difference I found for my version (v4): the bridge rectifier is not 4x 1N4007 but 4x 1N5399, which are rated 1.5A instead of 1A.

author: radiofan
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 26, 2023, 09:07:08 am
content: FYI, I recently solved the intermittent startup problem on my ZD-915. I replaced E6 and D9 with a fast recovery diode (1N4937) and it is working again. I increased my heater voltage a tad, to 20V.Much thanks to @Texmisure forthe circuit diagram.

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2023, 11:09:39 am
content: Thanks for the information!Could you explain what you did exactly? Did you change E6 with a better component, higher voltage or a different capacity?And, you chose to not go to 24 volts, but only 20, do I understand that correctly? Did you think it was too much on the PS?I did notice that running the electronics, fan and pump with a lab power supply, would go up to 2A @ 18 V, I thought that was a lot, maybe something went wrong there as well.

author: radiofan
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 31, 2023, 09:56:54 pm
content: Yes I replaced E6 with same value but slightly better spec (10uF 50V 105C). I think the original was failing at a certain voltage. The fast recovery diode helps it charge.I didn't want to raise the voltage too much in case it triggers an over-current or over-voltage error condition, which also results in continuous resetting.

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2023, 01:26:52 pm
content: Ok, I've been looking at my stocks and don't have any 10uF caps, but I do have 22uF. Do you think there is a reason not to use that?(Sorry for being so intermittent, I don't have too much time to spend on this "lengthy project")

author: radiofan
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 23, 2023, 06:24:47 pm
content: You should use the original value of 10uF. They don't cost much and they are useful to have as spares.

author: vdtoorn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2023, 11:18:36 pm
content: I did try the 22 uF, it did work but the 'tempo' of the switching was a bit slower to my mind. I will change it back and get me some fresh 10 uF as well.I did find that 'simulating' a startup delay on the buck/boost converter after powering up everything worked fine as well, so I started considering a MOSFET startup delay, but I'm done with this project and want to start using the tool! Measuring the temperature of the PWM module showed around 100 C or something (not on the heat sink) a bit high for my taste. I get the feeling this modification is not right for my version of the power supply. Undoing the parallel resistor made the problems go away, so I'll just have to live with a slightly longer heat up time. The fan is nice and quiet though, so I think the DC voltage conversion is a great addition.Thanks a lot for thinking along, and I hope my remarks may help others if they experience the same things. I'm quite the noob, so this has been a learning experience as well.

author: Mouse69
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 26, 2023, 09:22:03 am
content: I've done completed several mods to my Duratool ZD915, which has been in bits due to building work on the house for far too long..Reverse the PSU (remove it's cover), mains wires routed down the centre, between pump and PSU (otherwise they would get crushed by the cover)Reverse the pump and shorten the internal tube to the filterIncrease the PSU voltage to 23.5V, I used a small multiturn pot attached via cables (no room to solder to the board easily)Changed the 2200uF 24V caps to 35V caps (just in case)Remove the dropper resistor board and use a buck converter, protected by a diode from motor back EMF (which has a snubber on it now)Using a Hakko nozzleI have measured as best I can the pumps suction force:

author: radiofan
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 26, 2023, 11:24:34 am
content: I opted to keep the resistor board for the pump and add a low-power 12V regulator for the fan only. So the pump works as before and it is much quieter now.TBH, I don't see much advantage raising the voltage. I don't have a problem with heating up time.

author: HumbleDeer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2023, 11:47:49 pm
content: @cybermaus It's time to revive this thread againIn your original post you noted you'd like to link the sleep switch to the actual trigger switch.Do you by any chance know which wire was connected to any/the sleep detection wire? What was the colour of this wire? Is the sleep wire active-high or active-low? I'm positively tired of the station going into sleep mode and not waking up until I raise/lower the temperature.Quote from: radiofan on June 26, 2023, 11:24:34 amThe higher voltage on the heater element also gives it more power in response to temperature drops. It keeps up better with changes and drainage from a joint being heated.

author: burro
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2023, 01:53:27 pm
content: My two cents on this soldering station (probably not what you want to hear)So I live in the US and purchased the SS-331H they sell on Aliexpress, Banggood, etc. and I have been testing it and it performs extremely poorly. The 350c you see on the screen is a fake temperature, in reality the gun only gets to about 240c (measured by a thermocouple). Basically unusable.I thought that there was something wrong with the gun so I sent an email to Pro'skit support. They basically told me that I am SOL and that the reason why the gun was not heating up properly is because the SS-331H is designed for the chineese market (230v) and that it will never heat up properly. They said that the one I had to buy was the SS-331E (the white unicorn nobody can find), well it turns out you can find it now. They only have one authorized distributor int eh US which is Eclipse and Eclipse sells it to other US retailers. The station basically costs $211 however I has able to fin it for $179 with free shipping. (google it if you are interested, but finish reading this first)On the other hand you have the Japanese brand HAKKO FR301 which according to every video I have seen online performs better than any Chinese made station (including this one used in Europe with 220V) and costs $166, on top of that it is built with quality materials and parts that will have to be replaced less often, so what I am getting at is why in the world would anybody buy this station?It is not worth doing all of these modifications and creating a frankenstein that in the end is going to cost you even more and not designed to work with 110V and might even shorten the life of your heating element.Just buy the Hakko and call it a day. I wish I would have done that since the beginning now I am stuck with a $150 paper weight.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2023, 04:03:16 pm
content: Quote from: HumbleDeer on November 09, 2023, 11:47:49 pmWhen I need it, it is usually just because I am desoldering just one connector, one wire, one THT component. SO I turn it on, desolder, and turn it off again to avoid wearing the tip.So the sleep practically was not the problem I expected it to be. So sorry, I never did anything other than as shown in first post.Quote from: burro on November 15, 2023, 01:53:27 pmWell, info that the device is basically not useable in 110V countries, if true, would absolutely be what people should hear.Please reconfirm if that is what you meant.And also, it depends on how often you use it. For me, in a 230V country, a hobby user, but also THT is getting less common anyway, I am quite happy with it.Would I, or others, be happier with a proper brand? Like would I be happier with a Volkswagen instead of a Yugo? Sure, if I can (or want to) spare the budget. But maybe a Yugo can do the job well enough.

author: Hardlife
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 10, 2024, 09:32:12 pm
content: Hi,i have same circuit like User Spawn...(newer version power supply (ZD150-PQ32/15) - still 18V)Because i am not a pro- can smoebody please help me to identify the right resistor for manipulation?@cybermaus?I attached better pics...(R21 and R22 = 472)Thank you,Hardlife

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2024, 10:18:21 pm
content: I've been staring at it for a while, and I think I agree with @shawn: R20 which needs a parallel resistor on it, the value is 2K4 and I think it needs a 6K8 resistor parallel on it for +/-24VOr alternately, replace the entire R20 with1 1K8 resistor (or 182 in numeric)Mind you, its been a long time ago, I barely understand what I did back then, and most importantly, I cannot measure any if the lines are connected to the rest of the board I think they are.I am basically just trying to map the old to the new from the picture, and to be honest, there is one resistor too many.Maybe for safety, you can first put a parallel 22K resistor to it or so, and see if the voltage rises to 20V

author: HumbleDeer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 27, 2024, 10:37:03 pm
content: The universal input supply shouldn't have any trouble running from 110v. It's a flyback, so it's built to be fairly proactive in compensating for loading or duty cycle requirements. Furthermore, the universal power supply models are actually rated for 110v, so it would be a grave oversight to have it not actually work properly.Mind you again, changing the output to 24v will increase the power draw quite a bit. A resistive element doesn't scale its current draw back in response to a higher voltage. You may need to implement an inhibit signal for the heater that pulls it down/off when the pump runs.

author: leohobb
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 23, 2024, 06:00:53 pm
content: Hey thanks i advance for the work you have done. On my zd 8915 with no sleep function the psu is ZD-P150 V 2.0. It output as u say 18 volts output. my fan witch voltage is no problem for since my fan is rated at 36 volt, is moved to the top with one bolt and a stand of 5mm on top of the supply shield cut a hole for fre air flow into the supply, stand of make it blow air direct on the sides of pump motor.also drilled some vent holes on the side where the air can get out. One thing would like to know, with the parallel resistor to get 23.5 volt. the added one 68K? and on the board a smd 24 k ohm?. would not the power take the path of lowest resistance? in other word would not most power go true the smd one? it cant be much current anyway. i am about to order lots of components from digikey for div project i have cooking. Thanks again.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2024, 06:18:21 pm
content: "would not the power take the path of lowest resistance? in other word would not most power go true the smd one?"If nothing else, electronics is about maths. Every variable weighs in on the result; even if most current will flow through the lowest resistor, both resistors weigh in on the total result.So I suggest you start with some videos on resistor calculations.So as to the "power take the path of lowest resistance", that is a common saying, but not strictly correct.Current takes all available paths in parallel. Again, watch some videos on resistor calculations.As to "ordering a bunch of stuff from digikey"I suspect you may be soewhat at the beginning of this skil/hobby, which if fine, everyone was at some point, (in fact, still a noob myself, on account of only playing with it every so often) but unless if you have money to spare, don't spend too much on expensive individual components from an expensive supplier if you are not at that skil-point yet. Find some maker stores to buy some kits.

author: HumbleDeer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 12, 2024, 05:37:34 pm
content: To corroborate and elaborate upon the reply given by Cybermaus:The electricity does take the path of lowest resistance, because that's a fairly arbitrary figure of speechIn reality, the electricity flows through all paths, but when not all of them are equal resistance, one path will be preferred. The electricity does not, however, decide to not flow through the higehr resistance path at all. After all, that would imply electricity has sentience of some kind.Concluding this, I can solidly assert that electricity takes every path at all times, and the amount of current that flows over a specific path is directly proportional to its resistance. The "amount" relative to the other parts will as such be proportional to the other parts. Read: two paths of 1K ohms are both equal percentages of the total resistance (500 ohms). That means the current flow through both resistors will consequently be proportional to that, i.e. half through one, half through the other.

author: sam_sam_sam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2024, 03:02:33 am
content: Yes I am revisiting this post because when I had made comments on this post I had not found a switching power supply that would be suitable for this particular purpose of this particular device but one day I was surfing the internet on EBay and found a seller that had some unusual switching power supply high current version and unusual voltages as well so I decided to try one and see if it could be done and how well would it workI going to update my post about modifying the switching power to a much better switching power for the dual desoldering / soldering station with the sleep feature on this model ZD-987 you have to modify the original power supply board you have to cutoff and discard the primary switching power supply section and use a 18 volts @ 20 amp switching power supplyThe last picture is the completed project the first one is the testing of the modified original secondary switching power supply board for the other voltages that are required for the station to work properlyIn one picture I showed the modified original secondary switching power supply boardI have probably have run this new switching power supply for at least 20 hours or more now and have had no issues since I modified the power supply for this device

author: sam_sam_sam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2024, 03:45:37 am
content: HardlifeI do not think this is a good idea and here is why the original switching power supply is marginal at best because I have had switching power supply failure in the past this was my motivation for doing this project in the first place because the desoldering / soldering station was decently made for hobbyists grade but the switching power supply to me is a joke at best even if you recapped before use does not keep it from having a major failure of the switching power supply either it retrying to power on or just dose not turn on either because the switching power supply regulator or switching power supply transformer failure or combination of both situations

author: sam_sam_sam
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2024, 02:10:41 am
content: Sense I had done this update I ran it for at least another 50 hours or maybe even a little more than this and so far no issues whatsoever have appeared

author: wasyoungonce
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2024, 01:03:53 am
content: Quote from: burro on November 15, 2023, 01:53:27 pmI just purchased one of these Proskit SS-331H...a few weeks back (arsetralia). Yes I need to reposition the pwr sw and I agree the tip temp is misleading. It flowed solder poorly on the tip I needed to turn it up I think its the design and thermistor sensor is no where near the tip. Poor design....see pics.But I had no trouble de-soldering a corroded DB15, the tip pad area is a good size so thermal contact is good (apart from wrong temp reading). It sucked all solder out. Yes the collection glass chamber is poor it need brass wool stuffed into it as Mouse69 did.I turned it to 340C...it de`soldered well but i did note the tips didn't melt or had difficulty melting my iron tip cleaner "stuff in tin". it seemed to dump temp easily.Attached is pic i removed a corroded DB15 and used it to suck out the rear holding mount tabs. I did need to add another iron to get the temp to flow the solder ...but the 311 sucked it all up easily. But adding another iron is common in de-soldering world. My old one needed this occasionally.So I'm happy that its works confused why it didn't melt the tip cleaner easily but it does its job. I think I need to do what others have done...raise the voltage from 19V DC to 24VDC.There is no way to fix the temp tip difference between tip and PTC..the design on this is poor. But hey it works ok for me, Sucked out all DB15 pins' solder in one go easily. But the acid test will be multilayer PCBs.FWIW...things I found it had some good some not so good points. At least parts are cheap. Oh the leads get in the way over the bench. Need to be put on a shelf above work area. Would I buy it again....yes! A Hakko FR300 (the FR301 looks slightly better on tip contact) is $760 AUD this proskit was purchased to $200 AUD. The Hakko FR301 design on tips is almost the same as the Pro'skit. So I wonder if they have this temp offset similar issue?https://www.hakko.com/english/products/hakko_fr301.htmlOn this....does anyone know the sleep time out setting...can I change it? The manual is poor.cheersBrenedit: I wonder if I can fit Hakko tips to the Pro'skit. I'm a little unimpressed with the tips. They look the same.

author: Zephyr
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 09, 2025, 11:31:38 pm
content: Quote from: cybermaus on December 12, 2023, 04:03:16 pmI know this is an old thread, but it seems to be the archive for info about the SS-331 desoldering station. I recently ordered one of these, the "direct from China" variant, and opened it up to check the power supply. While the external case of the desoldering station is marked as "230V", the power supply internally is clearly labeled as "100V-250V", and I checked that ONLY that one power supply connects to the AC line, which IS the case here. The desoldering station works just fine on 120V power here in 120V land, zero problems.Bill

author: Andy Watson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2025, 12:10:44 am
content: Quote from: Zephyr on September 09, 2025, 11:31:38 pmYes, this appears to be the case. The units all use the same power supply module. What changes is that the purchased package contains a mains-cable that is fitted with a plug appropriate to your locale.