Alternatives to the Hakko FX888 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 09:55:07 am
content: I was just thinking. Are there any alternatives to the Hakko FX888 in the same price range or lower. Should I buy the Hakko straight away and not buy cheaper ones?

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 10:06:49 am
content: In Australia, you'd probably be hard pressed to get a lower price name brand iron than the Hakko.Dave.

author: hacklordsniper
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 10:38:55 am
content: And whats wrong with HAKKO FX888? Its a great soldering iron worth much more than it costs.

author: vtl
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 11:01:28 am
content: The Hakko FX888 is a great iron but I think its very poor value for money for the 220V version. The cheapest I've seen it is around $145AUD which is just ridiculous. I think the 110V is around $90USD which is a decent price.I recommend this one which I've reviewed:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=4007.0Great iron, accepts standard Hakko 900M tips. Chinese made but works well. Sure, the real Hakkos have a better heatup time but its not worth paying 3.5x the price for it.

author: hacklordsniper
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 11:20:32 am
content: Replacing the transformer inside the unit will cost 0 $ since 90 % of hobbyists will have a suitable transformer in their junk box.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 11:29:12 am
content: Quote from: vtl on December 15, 2011, 11:01:28 amI think it's worth it, every cent.You usually get what you pay for.Come back in 5-10 years time and see if you still think your cheap no-name ripoff was a good deal.$150 for a top quality soldering station with a solid industry reputation is ridiculous?No way.I paid more than that for my Hakko 926 25+ years ago. It still works as good as the day I bought it.Dave.

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 11:35:45 am
content: if it was only $150 where I am I would buy it straight away But here the distributor wants $240,- for the 240V version.

author: samgab
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 12:12:40 pm
content: I think the FX888 is worth it too. I just bought one a few weeks ago, and it's made soldering so much easier! Having good equipment really helps.I'm in NZ, and had to pay top dollar for it too (240V/50Hz version), but I'm glad I bit the bullet and got it.

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 08:51:45 pm
content: I don't like the idea of spending 170 on an iron that's supposed to cost 90...

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 09:27:18 pm
content: Quote from: MintyCondition on December 15, 2011, 08:51:45 pmNot many would, but you need to work through your alternative, buying something of a lesser standard for $90AU is probably not your best or most economical long term option. It's $80 how much pain do you wish to go through for $80? Suck it up, is probably the clever option.

author: DonRon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 09:43:20 pm
content: A soldering station is one of the absolutely basic tools we need to do our electronics stuff. Using a good and well known tool - proofed by a lot of people - is the best way to get good results. I think it's the wrong way to save money at that point - but that's only my opinion.(And I have to say, that I am only a hobbyist with some experience - also bought several cheap tools when starting and regret it! Lot of pain with that cheap stuff)Cheers,Ronald

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 10:08:10 pm
content: Quote from: DonRon on December 15, 2011, 09:43:20 pmAbsolutely agree with you now!

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 10:20:00 pm
content: And I really like my FX-888. I even find myself looking for things to solder just so I can use it

author: RCMR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2011, 10:30:40 pm
content: Yes, if you've never had a top-quality soldering iron you won't know what you're missing.As I've said elsewhere on these forums, I imported a 110V unit from the USA and bought a $50 230->110VAC transformer locally. Saved a good wad of cash over buying the 230V model and because the 230->110V transformer is bigger than the iron needs, I'm now able to run a 110V power-strip along the back of my bench for the other 110V gear I've got. Well worth it.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 04:45:24 am
content: Long time lurker here and fan of the eevblog videos... finally decided to create an account.I was planning to buy a Hakko Fx-888 but couldn't find 230v ones on eBay, so I went looking for a distributor close to me, ideally in this country where i live, Romania.So it turns out there is one company, gave them a call and basically they said they only deal with companies but they can make an exception. Initially, the price was 140 euro + vat, which is 24% here, so 174 euro in total, plus about 6 euro in shipping costs. For reference, 174 euro is226dollars.I replied to their email saying I felt the price was rather high and they were nice enough to lower the price to 119 euro +vat, or around 192 dollars.So you can see how it would suck for some, as I can get one from US for 99$ + 53$ shipping and pay about 15$ for a replacement transformer. I would probably have to pay the VAT at customs but generally the people employed there are not that strict with packages for regular people.In the end, I bought a Hakko 936 off eBay for 79 dollars and free shipping, from an Israel seller.

author: codeboy2k
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 05:45:54 am
content: Quote from: RCMR on December 15, 2011, 10:30:40 pmI have to agree with this statement. I used to use the simple 25W fixed temperature irons. About 6 years ago I bought the WESD51 from Weller, and it's a great experience to solder with that.It heats up fast, I can control the temperature, it's lightweight and feels great to hold, easy to maneuver it about the board, etc.I also have a Hakko 25W iron and it feels better than most fixed-temp 25W irons that I've had, but it's more bulky than the pencil tip of a soldering station.I absolutely love the Hakko brass cleaners. I use those with my Weller station, instead of the wet sponge it has in the holder.If I buy another station, I'll probably go for the more modern Hakko FX888. There are far too many negative comments on the web about the downhill quality of Weller stations lately,and Hakko stations are revered.

author: hacklordsniper
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 05:56:21 am
content: Quote from: codeboy2k on December 16, 2011, 05:45:54 amUnfortunately lately we had quite alot of problems with Wellers lately (even their WX2 most expensive station did not even work as designed (i wonder how it passed QC control))I slowly sold all my weller stuff and replacing it with Hakko and im amazed what quality i get for the price. I can say for hobbyist or somebody needing a soldering iron 8 hours a day the FX888 is a perfect companion.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 09:22:12 am
content: Quote from: MintyCondition on December 15, 2011, 08:51:45 pmAnd it's different from all the other stuff we in Australia have to pay extra for, how?Try and buy a genuine Fluke meter in Australia until recently when they were forced to drop their local prices.Yeah, some prices here suck, but paying less and getting crap in protest is not a wise option IMO.But YMMV.Dave.

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 09:33:44 am
content: Don't worry Dave the boys here helped me change my opinion.

author: ben1066
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 05:37:27 pm
content: Where would you recommend to get a Hakko FX888 in the UK?

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 05:53:51 pm
content: Quote from: RCMR on December 15, 2011, 10:30:40 pmIt is a great idea. Luckily, I have no need to do the opposite (convert 110V to 220V).

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 05:59:55 pm
content: Quote from: ben1066 on December 16, 2011, 05:37:27 pmA quick search turns up this company:http://www.dancap.co.uk/

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 08:10:09 pm
content: Quote from: ben1066 on December 16, 2011, 05:37:27 pmAs far as I know, Dancap are the only UK stockists. They don't seem to deal in anything apart from Hakko kit, so presumably they have some sort of exclusivity agreement to protect their interests.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 09:13:47 pm
content: Dancap are authorized distributors, along with Grosvenor - they're the guys I called here in Romania, well the local offices of this group.From :http://www.hakkousa.com/buy.asp?Partner=Internationalhttp://www.grosvenor-group.com/products.php?level=36shows the Hakko products and they have the phone numbers and emails on the right side, so I don't know.. give them a call and see what price they can offer you....

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 09:41:39 pm
content: Does anybody know, do online dealers give you warranty?

author: Semantics
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2011, 09:42:22 pm
content: Quote from: codeboy2k on December 16, 2011, 05:45:54 amAnother agreement. I remember wanting to get started in electronics 20 years ago and trying to assemble a kit with an old firestarter. I had never tried to do that before and I was so bad at it that it turned me off to electronics altogether. Eventually I came back a few years ago thanks to the maker movement and even with great tutorials I was still crap at it until I got myself a proper iron.I don't care if it's placebo effect, to be honest. It's nice to see things working outside the old breadboard.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2011, 01:17:55 am
content: I'm not going to join the Hakko lovefestThe only time I had anything to do with Hakko was some years ago,in an assembly situation.(I was supposed to be a Tech,but most of the job was as a glorified assembler)!I can't remember what model Hakko we used,but they always seemed to be battling to do the bigger jobs.(Not huge jobs,just the larger connections on through hole PCBs)Commonsense would have been to have a couple of Weller WTCPs for these bigger jobs,& use the Hakkos for the rest.The tips supplied were the conical ones,so this may have been most of the problem.They also had UNI-T multimeters which were pretty useless.It was a horrible place to work,so maybe that has caused my rather jaundiced view of both these products.VK6ZGO

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2011, 02:07:56 am
content: Quote from: vk6zgo on December 17, 2011, 01:17:55 amI can assure you that the FX-888 doesn't suffer from that problem, especially if you use a properly sized tip. I've used it to heat up a whole banana plug to soldering temperature so I could melt solder inside the well where the wire goes.

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 17, 2011, 02:17:31 am
content: The thermal performance of the FX888 for the money is hard to beat. The only reason you would want a higher performance station is if you do alotof soldering of high thermal mass items like connectors or large ground planes. The thermal recovery of the 888 is very impressive but you have to realize it is limited to 70 watts of output. A station like a JBC goes to 130 watts if necessary to maintain tip temp. That is why their performance is so good on heavy joints. If you are doing normal mass joints that don't need more than 70W to maintain tip temp the 888 will solder just as fast and for a lot less money.

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 19, 2011, 01:17:21 pm
content: Quote from: MintyCondition on December 16, 2011, 09:41:39 pmLocal ones? Of course -http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A00109