My chinese 2 in 1 hot air rework station not heating out of the box. please help - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: shahabmusic
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 16, 2012, 09:40:44 pm
content: Got one of those cheap rework stations from ebay and has hot air and soldering iron both built into one unit.soldering iron works fine but hot air not heating as soon as I took it out of the box. fan works but not heating.I need this to work ASAP as I have my client phone here and needs repairing so sending the unit back to china for a replacement is not a option for me as it takes weeks until I get the new unit in my hands.Please help me fix this crap.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2012, 09:57:03 pm
content: Not sure which unit this is, but clearly you have to do your own repairs. Hopefully, all that is wrong with yours is the wiring for the heater assembly is not properly connected; if not the heater is defective. Be careful, as often such units are powered directly from mains voltage. If this units hot air gun is similar to the Atten 858D, see photos of the heater assembly in the archives and insure the wires are soldered as pictured.

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2012, 10:50:34 pm
content: AS saturation said, it would help to know exactly which piece of crapit is... Someone here might have the same one and be able to help.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2012, 12:16:55 am
content: two in one gets a whole new meaning ...a soldering iron including a first job fixing it...hopefully it's not a bad solder joint... or you'd have a chicken and egg problem ...

author: shahabmusic
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 17, 2012, 05:41:14 am
content: thanks guys for the help.it is HERO 898D if my memory serves me right.Well, after spending whole night on the unit, found a few solder joint were broken inside the unit itself. fixed them with my old soldering iron and it is now working fine.

author: ftransform
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2012, 06:34:20 am
content: lol partial assembly required.At least they gave you the tools to do it! O0

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2012, 07:28:32 am
content: My hotair station has a sensor in the holder. If the hand-piece isn't detected in the holder, it won't heat when it's picked up.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2012, 12:28:49 pm
content: Good to read. Those look-alike models posted on eevblog have had wiring and connection issues. Good to hear it was just some bad joints. Here's the model unit you mention and a list of clones.Quote from: shahabmusic on November 17, 2012, 05:41:14 am

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2012, 01:52:47 pm
content: The good thing about the X-TRONIC #6040 Rework Station shown in the video above is that you can talk to them, they are in the U.S., they answer the phone, and they stand behind their product. I ordered a couple of these this week and they shipped the same day. The only drawback is I don't think they ship to Canada or outside the U.S.A.I'll let you know how mine works after I get it on Monday. I plan on talking one apart to see the quality. I'll also be giving a 6040 out as one of the prizes in an upcoming contest. I'll post the details on this forum next month.

author: shahabmusic
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 01:33:19 am
content: DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF S**T EVER.I just had a few minutes of fireworks with this unit. 350degrees and sensor failed and you know what happened next... it jumped to 600degrees and flames were all around the handle. luckily my room is close to kitchen and could quickly sank it into kitchen sink and rinsed it with water. burned all my fingers now. F**k that s**t. will never ever buy rework station unless I find a well known brand.I waste my $120 and lost two of my finger prints and burned my other fingers.Hopefully someone will see this post before deciding to go ahead with these units.

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 02:14:43 am
content: That sucks. Post a photo of it if you can.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 04:58:21 am
content: Interesting. Seems like a sensor burnout. Never heard of that one before

author: ptricks
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 12:50:54 pm
content: ouch.Bad programming . Anything that controls temperature should default to room temp if the sensor reading either is wrong or not present. Sadly some firmware says things like "if (current < target){increasetemp();}if (current > target) {lowertemp();}There is no handling of if the temp reads 0

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 03:26:23 pm
content: I concur, the handle of this model looks like the Atten 858D type hot air gun. I concur with ptrick too, I wouldn't be surprised if the firmware did not have such a failsafe function programmed.I've never had to try this out but I wouldn't be surprised given the bad soldering encountered by the OP that the sense leads of the heating element to this unit were likely not connected/soldered.FWIW, a name brand reworkstation will run near $1000, so getting something in the $100 range comes with big trade offs. I spent a week troubleshooting my unit before I even turned it on. It had some nasty assembly faults, but once fixed, its been working well.As for runaway temps from a poor sensor and other newbie readers of this thread. First, if such a failure did occur, and a unit simply went to maximum regardless of a setting, it would not suddenly ramp to >600C instantly, so the user has some time to react. In evaluation 400+C is desperately hot, and can be sensed during the test phase when I got the unit by putting my hand about 1 foot from the smallest nozzle and move slowly toward the tip, the hotter it gets the farther you have to put your hand away to tolerate the heat. You can try melting eutectic solder or spot check the temp if not with a thermocouple.Second, to burst into flames is strange, I think something is admist is the assembly again. The heater assembly is lined with ceramic, there is nothing to ignite inside the handle. However, the shaft of the heat gun did have a oily film I presume as a rust retardant or to make it appear shiny. When the unit is first used, the burning of this oily film gives the virign unit an odor than dissappears once the unit has been used. This oil can potentially ignite. Or if the user was using it around paper, the output of the gun past 480C could, at 6" or so, heat anything nearby to flame.So word of warning to any 858D style owners out there, but it can be avoided by due diligence, that's the trade off between $100 and $1000 stations.Quote from: T4P on November 18, 2012, 04:58:21 amQuote from: ptricks on November 18, 2012, 12:50:54 pm

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 03:38:17 pm
content: It's the Yihua ones that tick me off all the time! The yihua ones have a plethora of functionality issues but not really with Atten.Such as overheating constantly (I did my calculations) in a warm area, heating element(s) DOA, weak fan/cheap i actually have to turn my previously alive YiHua 858D to 10 to get anything reflowed, Nasty plastic on the handle but you do know that there's a mica paper on the heating element right? Mica is a fire-retardant and it's quite odd that the one he had did a flame-out and a few months ago died on me after a TRIAC replacement and a heating element change from YiHua themselves!I didn't even get to use it at all after i replaced them two components and it just sat there blinking at me without doing anything! Piss poor qualityI have loads to write hate about it but i've sent it to the morgue (Yes, My electronics morgue! Not the dumpster!)Well really, i'm pretty sure the one he has came from YiHuaAnd well, the company who designed the 858D first was YiHua, atten's just making their own versions which is much better in quality (Issues that concern danger ... i know ... As long as it's functional that's the main topic)And ... warning i might have bought a fake i don't know but some areas are good in quality but the rest of it is appalling just like a Chrysler 300C SRT8,The X-TRONIC stations is OEM'd by YiHua but i think to stand for their products means not slashing quality left and right like YiHua doesI'll get a Atten 858D soon but anyway it's cheap as hell, the Yihua 858D is cheaper about 5 dollars my currency when the Atten model is about 25-30$So yes, that's the real price of the sets going in shopsNot the $100 price tag...

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 04:25:31 pm
content: Yes, know your ills well T4P, I have a WEP model, I think that's a Yihua one too isn't it?When I received mine I gave it a detailed teardown, almost reverse engineering it. You can see in my old photos in the eevblog archives; the sensor leads are so close to the power leads in the handle, some wires were nearly shorted, so it could have cause your and the OP problems with the thermocouple; all that's needed is to clean out the wiring assembly, add insulation or cut a creepage groove, check the PCB for shorts and cold solder joints, once turned on its worked well. I haven't had to replace any parts so far so I wonder if your failures are caused by assembly issues that later kill your parts, other than bad parts to begin with.Yes, the mica paper, that's the "ceramic" I was talking about, but mica is right which strictly speaking is not a ceramic, my err.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 05:09:00 pm
content: That's alright with meAnd yeah, it's an YiHuaI guess it's time to open a sticky with the issues found on YiHua OEM/rebadged stations?

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 05:28:21 pm
content: I found the photos from the archive using google:The above is the handset board as made, before repairs. Yellow and red wire on the right are part of the sensor wires. Note conductive wire surfaces are exposed between all those wires and can be shorted easily; the sensor wires are the equivalent thinner yellow, b, and red wire on the left. The thicker red wires on the left carry mains voltage to the heater, the grey wire on the right carry mains voltage. The blue and black wire at the top are the 24VDC that powers the fan.If these wires are somehow shorted or crossed it would screw up the thermocouple sense and the fan speed and its fairly easy to do if the assembly is twisted when its reinserted into the handle after soldering.Calibration:Per Hakko's procedures, the temp should be read no farther than the diameter of the nozzle opening, here ~ 1cm. Reading 123.9C for setting of 125 if good enough for me!

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 06:53:20 pm
content: I guess after receiving my VC8145 (Yes i dropped my cash and went ahead) i'll be buying a 858D and tearing it down to check for potential faultsBut apparently the 858D i had didn't look so dangerous, i still have the handle here, want a picture?

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2012, 09:27:46 pm
content: Quote from: T4P on November 18, 2012, 06:53:20 pmAny plans for using the empty space inside?http://thegeekway.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/oIMG_1284_1_1.jpg

author: RCMR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2012, 12:48:57 am
content: You could keep your lunch in there -- but only to a limited degree of accuracy and precision

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2012, 07:19:16 am
content: Long-term stability of the lunch is certainly also an issue.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2012, 08:30:10 am
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on November 18, 2012, 09:27:46 pmI can eat an years worth of bento in there!Well honestly speaking i'm not planning on anything but a 12-5-3.3V good quality PSU(Tape drive...) fits in there

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2012, 09:22:30 am
content: Quote from: saturation on November 18, 2012, 03:26:23 pmYes, this does seem like a very curious incident. I'd say getting shocked from improper wiring would be much higher chance than the unit catching fire. I've read stories of cheap soldering irons from DX melting their handles, but catastrophic failure of cheap rework stations seems much less prevalent. I found maybe 3 or 4 mentions online of this failure mode, only 1with picture. This is out of probably hundreds or thousands sold, so I still think this isn't that big of a deal. Just make sure everything is wired correctly and soldered properly before turning on.Also odd is the fact that the OP hasn't posted since...

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2012, 12:37:05 pm
content: Sure please do.Aside, the VC8145 is certainly a strange instrument, but not unlike another Uni-T bench DMM I've seen elsewhere. ,The VC has decent specs on paper. If its true, the empty space wouldn't be so bad; many low cost makes buy chassis off the shelf and use whatever fits best and is cheap.The more reputable Instek 1003 SFG was also designed around a generic chassis and has space to spare too, but not as obsceneQuote from: T4P on November 18, 2012, 06:53:20 pm

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2012, 07:10:12 pm
content: Wires are better inserted on mine but it varies from set to set

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2012, 11:03:42 pm
content: Received my X-Tronic 6040 today. Worked fine out of the box. After running it for a while I opened up the hot air gun. Photos are below. The wires aren't cut too far back on the board and the solder job looks OK. It only took two days to get it directly from X-Troinc with free shipping and they will exchange it for the first 30 days. After that they will repair it for the first year. I actually think it should work pretty good for the price. When I get a chance I will check the temp to see how close it is on the iron tip and hot air.I do like the warning on the top:Quote: "CautionsMust to keep the handle on the holder before turn on the machine!"

author: xygor
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2012, 11:23:42 pm
content: Quote from: SLJ on November 19, 2012, 11:03:42 pmWhat does that unlabeled flush knob in the center do?I think that the up/down sets the solder iron temp when it is on and the air when it is on (correct?), but to which do they apply when both are on?

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2012, 12:11:25 am
content: Quote from: xygor on November 19, 2012, 11:23:42 pmThe thing in the center is a metallic QC sticker that says it Passed.If both the hot air and the iron are on at the same time the select button steps through the three hot air digits and then the three iron temp digits.If you turn down the hot air temp and lift the gun to use it before it cools to the lower temp it gives out quite a loud warning beep to tell you it's still hotter than the setting.*** Here's a warning. *** Always set the hot air gun back in the holster (the heater will turn off) and let it reach the cool down point before you turn it off. Once it reaches 100 you get three dashes and the fan stops. Then turn it off. If you just cut the power and air does not move through it when it's hot your asking for trouble.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2012, 01:10:03 pm
content: Yes, in that rats nest of wires pictured be sure there is no cross talk between wires particularly mains voltage and the low power DC sense wires. As you can see in my photo, the insulation had melted away a bit high up from were the wires are soldered, and who knows what contaminants are on the assembly even on their conformal coating, whether these are conductive or not, or if the crude PCB traces aren't shorted somewhere.Quote from: T4P on November 19, 2012, 07:10:12 pm

author: xygor
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 21, 2012, 12:20:50 am
content: Quote from: SLJ on November 20, 2012, 12:11:25 amHey, thanks. I'd never seen that before there. It looked like one of those flush hard-to-accidentally-turn knobs, not being a 3d photo and all.Quote from: SLJ on November 20, 2012, 12:11:25 amI saw a youtube demo where only one was on at a time. So I got to thinking that you couldn't turn both on. I am glad to see I as wrong and it does something sensible.

author: RamboJj
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2013, 04:08:19 am
content: I personally have the X-tronic 6040 model like others and I really like. I've been using it pretty heavily for a while and it's been great.When I first got mine though it wouldn't fire up the iron. It just didn't respond, so I took it apart and couldn't find any thing obvious so I called the company and they told me to hold on to the unit until the replacement arrived and to keep the iron a few other things that were in the box. Pretty cool of them IMO.The first unit wouldn't even turn the screen on when the iron was flipped on.The second unit that I have now had since about 3-4 days after I reported the first one failed has been running like a beast since. I have run the thing for a good hour at a time and no issues to date. I've checked the wires a few times on the inside of the rework hot air gun and no issues with receding wire sheaths/insulation but I am pretty good about placing it back on the holder when I am not using it. And the iron gets turned off when I'm not using it either, even if it's just for a minute or so. It doesn't take very long for it to heat back up at all.overall I'm pretty impressed with the unit even though I had the initial hiccup with the first unit received.

author: AlphZeta
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 08:23:05 pm
content: I like X-tronic rework station and got a 4040 (did a quick review herehttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/x-tronic-4040-hot-air-rework-station-review/) over a year ago. It had been running quite reliably since.But personally, I prefer the pneumatic pump version (4040) rather than the squirrel cage version (6040). I think the tried-and-true pneumatic pump mechanism might be safer.The only thing I noticed on my 4040 is that once a while, if the solder tip is a little loose, the temperature reading would jump wildly and sometimes would even display "Err" on the LED segments. The good news is that when in "Err" mode, everything is shutdown automatically so whoever was designing the kit was considering all the scenarios.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 11:16:53 pm
content: How safe can it be? And worse, the pneumatic pumps are heavy as bollocks

author: RamboJj
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 11:48:31 pm
content: Quote from: AlphZeta on February 11, 2013, 08:23:05 pmYou raise an interesting point on the pneumatic pump vs "squirrel cage" situation. If you have the freedom of workspace to have the system right where you want it then I can see the pneumatic system having it's benefits but for me the length of cord on the 6040 air rework tool was a good bit longer according to the reviews I read and where I had decided was the optimal location for my base unit to sit it just worked for my needs. That and I have concerns about the pneumatic pump tubing getting kinked and causing me problems. There wasn't a big difference in the price but that with the other things I was reading I thought I was getting the better choice for my situation.I have 2 irons and currently one of them is down with a bad end and I haven't fixed it yet as I have to order a new heating element as I already used up my spare. I tried to swap tips before it had cooled down enough and broke one and the current one that is down is because of well, IDK. it all seems fine but it's not. I think it's just a failure... I might be able to get them to send me a new on but IDK, I'll have to call them up and see what they say. I'm not past my 1 year yet so I will have to see what's up, if prior experience matches up they should hook me up with a new couple of heater elements.