What would you prefer - A combined rework station or separate devices? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: jamesmith134
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 05:50:45 am
content: Hello,I want to start soldering and fixing some minor stuff (for fun I guess),And there are many rework stations and soldering stations out there, and I don't know what should I get:A separate soldering station (such as hako fx888) with a separate heat gun (such as atten 858d), or some of those relatively cheap chinese 2-in-1 / 3-in-1 rework stations?(I heard of "saike" and stuff like that)Thanks!

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 06:13:45 am
content: I'm always moving my iron around, as it's often not always best to bring your job to the iron. So the combined rework stations are bigger and messier. I much prefer separate.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 07:07:42 am
content: I never would have said this before my last job,but I'd vote for both!We had a rework station & a Weller WTCP,& the number of times they both came in handy surprised me.I could use the nice little iron on the rework station for fine work,then grab the Weller for bigger stuff where I needed to be further away from the bench.I only used the hot air thingy for heatshrink tubing though,as I didn't like blowing rare surface mount RF caps across the room!I removed surface mount stuff with a pair of El Cheapo "hot tweezers."

author: jamesmith134
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 04:48:21 pm
content: Alright! thanks you guy for the helpQuote from: EEVblog on March 07, 2014, 06:13:45 amI've been watching your videos and I like them! it's cool your'e answering here as well! Haha I feel specialBy the way I did not find a store selling Hakko fx-888 in my country, and in ebay they sell the newer digital Hakko fx-888, would you recommend it, or perhaps you have a list of recommended brands/tools somewhere? (And how is the atten 858d doing so far?)

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 05:54:33 pm
content: I prefer separates.Another benefit not yet mentioned, is should one go belly up, the others still work, and may be used to fix the broken one.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 06:22:37 pm
content: +1 for nanofrog. I don't want to be without because one part of the unit went belly up. Besides, I have not seen a combo that I want both parts of. I might like the hot air side but the iron looks dodgy or vice versa. I have a big enough workbench that having separate pieces is not a deal breaker space wise.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 06:46:00 pm
content: With separate at least you can use the one to fix the other. I have used that quite often.

author: ales22
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 07:33:35 pm
content: With separate units you can upgrade only that you don't like. And if you're looking at Chinese stations, you will change them sooner or later.Do you really need hot air or vacuum desoldering? If you're beginner, you'll use classic soldering iron 99% of time. Why not put all money into high quality branded soldering station and buy hot air later, when you want to do SMD more professionally? Of course, you can solder SMD with classic soldering iron, but SMD ICs removing is the problem. It's one of the few situations when hot air comes handy.And be cautious with ebay, there are a lot of counterfeit equipment and parts, especially Hakko stations!

author: cowana
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 07:53:01 pm
content: I started with a combined hot air/soldering station (a cheap chinese brand), and it served me well for about 6 years.After that point, I was more experienced, and had the funds to buy a proper soldering (an Ersa Icon), which is many orders of magnitude better than the chinese iron.However, to a beginner I would recommend the all-in-one stations as a very cheap and compact unit - then once you are ready to buy proper equipment and have a bit more bench space, separate stations are far superior.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 08:03:23 pm
content: Regardless of what you get having 2 irons and hot air on the bench is a good idea. Put a small tip in one iron large in the other. It saves wear and tear by eliminating the need to change tips and you can do two handed part removal when needed (poor mans hot tweezers).Basically don't sell or give away your first iron you will find a use for it as long as it still works.

author: Dave Turner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 09:45:11 pm
content: I purchased a blackjack bk6000 as a rework unit comprising soldering iron, hot air gun & desoldering gun. It works very well, but it is irritating that the integrated fume extraction for the soldering iron is common to the desoldering gun, requiring a change to the filter and the extractor connection to swap between the units.Had I had a little more space I would have gone for separates and maybe should have done so anyway.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2014, 10:08:31 pm
content: Separate. If you want to upgrade or repair it's an easier decision (learned this in the 80s).I have several Yihua 936 soldering station clones for $15 each (tips are $1). I'll eventually get a few hot air rework stations for $50.

author: jamesmith134
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 08:47:43 am
content: Thank you all for the helpful replies !Quote from: Shock on March 07, 2014, 10:08:31 pmI am a bit skeptic about the cheap chinese soldering stations, are they safe to use, accurate etc?By the way, the Yihua 936 is a clone of other brand, or you meant you bought a clone of Yihua itself?

author: WhiteFireDragon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 09:09:27 am
content: I have both. One all-in-one station, and one separate soldering iron.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 12:02:11 pm
content: Quote from: jamesmith134 on March 08, 2014, 08:47:43 amIt's a clone of the Hakko 936.Yeah it's fine nothing scarey inside.If you are in the US just buy a genuine Hakko 888D they are cheap enough.They aren't cheap here though, four times the price. I wanted a cheap setup where I didn't have to change tips.

author: MasterBuilder
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 12:46:30 pm
content: I bought a combined station for one feature. That is vacuam extraction and charcoal filter attached to the soldering iron. This was essential for me since I previously have gotten sick from solder fumes. Mounting a fan on the workbench would of course be an alternative but I dont think this would be as effective and It would also take up additional bench space.This takes me to the other advantage of the combined station which is that it take up less space and less power points.On the other hand if I was in an large airy workshop with more bench space, I would be going for separate devices.

author: jamesmith134
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 01:33:14 pm
content: Quote from: Shock on March 08, 2014, 12:02:11 pmI am not in the US, so I guess I will try to find an Yihua 936. By the way, what do you mean "didn't have to change tips"? don't you need to change tips anyway? And are there tips for a clone? or it would be hard to find tips for the Yihua 936 now? (or perhaps you can use the real Hakko 936 tips on this one?)Btw, did you buy it from the website at the video you posted - HobbyKing?Thanks again

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2014, 06:44:13 pm
content: I've got a combo hot air gun and soldering iron, a few metcal stations and a board pre-heater. I hate the combo unit because too many cords coming from the same box, as I use the metcals far more regularly, i leave the iron detached and in a drawer to there is less crap on the table.