Swapping iron in soldering station - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: duffpl
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 12, 2016, 08:42:50 pm
content: Hello fellow engineers/hobbyists.Recently I've got myself brand new Xytronic LF-3500 soldering station. I am really happy with it however I didn't realize that 150W iron is so huge in terms of tips. Smallest I could get are just plain too big for more precise work. I've checked what is available from Xytronic and there is really nice selection of small tips for irons with lower power ratings. I checked data sheets on Xytronic USA site and it looks they mixed up HF-150 with HF-120 irons and tips that should be matching are too small for iron I've got with the station. (checked that out hard way by ordering some tips just to discover they're for different iron...)Question is: What could go wrong if I would connect 90W or 120W iron to my 150W soldering station? I've checked parameters and all irons are operating on the same voltage and frequency. All of them are 36V/400kHz inductive heaters. I've asked distributor I bought from about such swap but got no answer. I've asked Xytronic USA - also no answer. Finally I've asked Xytonic Taiwan representative. First answer was "No no! Very hard! Iron no work!" and link to lower powered soldering station. After few emails last answer was that they cannot give me warranty for iron used that way and that it will not pass "CE Lab certification" which I presume is that if I would like to import irons for such usage it wouldn't pass European certification. That kinda leaves question in open state.Logically thinking such swap should work since temperature in iron is controlled using sensor in end of the tip. Connecting other way around could be potential disaster - plugging 150W iron to station that is able to deliver current enough for 90 or 120W iron. Too much power would overload supply and *poof*. Soldering station that is able to power 150W heater should work properly with iron requiring less current.I am not expert in soldering stations/inductive heaters/etc. so my logical thinking ends here and that's why I headed on EEVblog forum in hope that someone with more experience could help me with that.Thanks in advance.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2016, 09:08:05 pm
content: Welcome to the forum.You do not state your usage and tip size requirements.Old irons had no temp control at all, just an element that just cooked away at whatever wattage rating it was. They could be used successively but only at speed to keep using the heat available and so prevent the tip from becoming excessively hot and oxidising the solder.Cheap modern stations have the temp sense near the tip and have another couple of wires to feed temp info back to the controller.Even substitution of modern handpieces can be problematic as the sense circuitry is not universal between brands.Most PCB work can be done with 50W or less however they won't do chassis soldering or large lugs that were often found in old equipment.Unless you can cobble some sort of conversion together you may be better off to get another station that better suits your needs.

author: duffpl
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 12, 2016, 09:57:55 pm
content: Basically I need small sharp pointed tip (around 0.5mm) for small joints [http://www.xytronic-usa.com/images/44-413081.jpg] Small chisel/45deg cut for SMD [http://www.xytronic-usa.com/images/44-413074.jpg]. I don't want to swap iron with different brand. Everything would be from LF-series by Xytronic so I guess temperature control should work fine. Tips I got for LF-3500/HF-150 iron are really large. I can do most of work with'em but sometimes it feels like riding V12 Monster Truck on gokart track. I wanted all-around iron with plenty of power so I could tackle desoldering large inductors or elements with heatsinks but went wayyy too far with itI don't wanna spend another 200$ for new soldering station if I could fetch 90W iron for 35$ from different Xytronic station.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 01:44:37 am
content: Itshouldbe OK as long as they didn't do something like rely on the station to limit the power --- putting 150W into a 90W heater is unlikely to be good for longevity.

author: stj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2016, 07:45:12 am
content: check the pinout on the connector is the same before you power it up.

author: Paroidia
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2021, 02:24:57 am
content: Quote from: duffpl on September 12, 2016, 08:42:50 pmOld thread but I figure this will be useful for anyone searching for an answer to this question.The LF3000 (90w) and the LF3200 (120w) use the same handset the HF90 and Quick and Atten uses what appears to be HF90 clones on their 150W high frequency stations so I was always suspicious of Xytronic's claim that the HF90 would be damaged by the LF-3500.So Xytronic recently came out with a 180w high frequency station the LF3300, and it appears to use the HF90 handset, or at least it uses the same tips and the handset looks identical in the pictures. I have one on the way from Jameco and I'll report back when it arrive to confirm.

author: Paroidia
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2021, 03:17:27 am
content: Ok, so the handset on the LF3300 appears identical to the HF90 handset on the LF3200, except for "LHF150" printed on the rubber handle. It appears to be identical, even the coil inside the end that surrounds the tip appears the same, but who knows. In any event there is at least now a 150W rated small handset that will work with the LF3500. Though if you are buying now I'd say just skip straight to the LF3300 and buy the bigger HF150 handset if you also need the larger tips.