Help choosing a station with a decent iron and hot air gun - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Kahenraz
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2016, 01:42:43 pm
content: I am a programmer with a desire to be able to do some basic soldering for tinkering with PCBs and performing minor repairs for myself and family-- I don't intent to make a profit off of any of this so I'm looking at what solutions are available which are the most economical.Years ago I purchased a cordless battery-powered iron for the rare but simple jobs:https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-cordless-battery-powered-soldering-ironI always hated this thing because the tip would lose temperature easily, the tip would not heat up unless the red button was kept held down with your finger leading to cramps, and expense of batteries. It did its job but I wanted something better.I purchased the following kit to solve the problems from my wireless iron:https://www.amazon.com/Make-It-Soldering-Starter-Kit/dp/B00MI7FYM2This iron was much better than the wireless one but the tips always had trouble tinning and temperature nob didn't have a digital readout which adds a lot of guesswork and usually ends up with me melting or burning something unintentionally.I've recently been watching videos like this:.. and would enjoy being able to work with components of this size, have the ability to remove and replace SMDs, and have the capability of using a hot air gun. Since this is a minor hobby, I've never been able to justify the expense.Fast forward to now and my family has asked me to repair a laptop for them. Disassembly was straightforward and swapping out the keyboard, etc, was easily done. But one of the last part that needs repair is to replace the power jack which no longer holds the plug firmly and may also have cracked solder joints causing intermittent dropouts.Here is a link to the plug:http://www.ebay.com/itm/300758748696I know from experience that I have a LOT of trouble removing these kinds of things from boards as the solder is difficult to remove with my iron and a pump-action solder sucker. The last time I tried to remove similar component I ended up trying to remove as much solder as possible and then prying it off-- which resulted in damaging the board.I would LOVE to own one of these for desoldering these large components but they are expensive:I've already invested about $50 for replacing all of the simply components of the laptop and already have the replacement plug but I don't believe I can remove the old one successfully with the cheap station. Replacing the motherboard would cost about $100 so now is a good opportunity to invest that money into a new station and do the repair myself.I am currently looking at the following as a replacement as it includes an iron, a hot air gun, and is inexpensive:http://www.ebay.com/itm/181139781537I'm also tired of buying things that I end up throwing away as I try to save money. I would be very grateful if some of you experienced folks would consider my situation and requirements and help me make the right purchase.Will this new station be what I need for this repair project and also be able to allow me to do some SMD work in the future? Would it be worth buying a ZD-985 as well?

author: RayRay
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2016, 01:59:28 am
content: Hey Kahenraz!Welcome to the forum.Before I make any recommendations on what you should buy, I'm just gonna just give you some pointers and other useful info.So first off, let's talk about about the usability of a soldering iron vs hot air gun.A soldering iron is used for soldering/desoldering general components, while a hot air gun is used to solder/desolder chips and tiny (SMD) capacitors/resistors/diodes. For your intended usage, you only need a soldering iron. Now, some desoldering tips.First off, never try to just put a hot iron on a joint and expect the solder to melt automatically!When desoldering, you have to first add some fresh solder to the joint (or apply a bit of flux) and then it'd all melt easily (as long as your iron is hot enough at least). Up next, now that we established how to properly melt solder from an existing soldering joint, let's talk about the techniques used to collect that solder (to clear up the joint so you could work with it), you could either use a solder sucker (mechanical pump), wick, or both.Each have their advantages. Now, a solder sucking pump actually works quite well, but a lot of people don't know how to use it correctly.You have to hold the soldering iron with one hand (and use it to melt the solder) while holding the (pressed) soldering pump with the other hand, and put that soldering pump directly on top of the soldering joint (while melting it with your iron) and then push the button in order for it to suck the solder out of it (do not try to hold it sideways or from an angle, that never works right!) now apart from that, after prolonged use, a desoldering pump needs cleaning (you can easily unscrew the nozzle for that), also using solder wick is quite simple, you just put it on the joint, and apply heat with your iron (do not let the iron touch it for too long though, as it can potentially damage the joint, give it a few seconds to see it sucks the solder right, then remove it and see the progress) and if any point you cannot remove the solder wick from the joint (it just sticks to it) then apply some fresh solder on it and then you'd be able to remove it. Now, another remaining issue is clearing the hole!Quite often (but not always) even after you clear most of the solder and (and even remove the component), there's still a bit of it on the inside of the joint (leaving the hole covered), and this part is a bit tricky. What I do is use solder assist tools (which is a set of tools that helps various soldering tasks, it includes a tool for opening soldering joint holes, you just put it from the bottom of the circuit board, hold the circuit board (or use a 3rd party helping hands) and touch the joint with the iron from the top and gently push it from the bottom til it fits in) then just remove it (while still heated) and viola.Now that I covered all that, some recommendations.If this is urgent and you need the soldering iron to be shipped to you as soon as possible, then you can't go wrong with this one:http://www.ebay.com/itm/SP25NKUS-WELLER-Marksman-3-LED-Lighted-Solder-Iron-Kit-25W-120V-/361390819597You could also get these solder assist tools (which as said before, include a tool for clearing up the hole, which believe me, is super useful!)http://www.ebay.com/itm/6PC-Professional-Solder-Assist-PCB-Disassembly-Repair-Replace-Capacitor-Tools-/131905892312Or you could get this kit instead, which also includes some flux/wick/pump/soldering wire as well:http://www.ebay.com/itm/11PC-Soldering-Kit-w-Desoldering-Pump-ESD-Tweezers-Assist-Tools-Wick-Flux-/152202366621Now, if urgency is not important (or you also wanna get higher quality equipment in addition) then I'd recommend the following:Soldering Station:http://www.banggood.com/BAKON-950D-75W-Mini-Portable-Digital-Soldering-Station-with-T12-Tip-p-982824.html?rmmds=searchHot air station:http://www.banggood.com/YIHUA-8858-220V-650W-Portable-LED-BGA-Rework-Solder-Station-Hot-Air-Blower-Heat-Gun-p-1074475.html?rmmds=searchAdditional nozzles for the hot air station (optional):http://www.banggood.com/8Pcs-850-Heat-Gun-Nozzle-Hot-Air-Desoldering-Station-Gun-Mouth-p-930142.html?rmmds=searchTip Cleaner:http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-1-Pcs-Heavy-Duty-Soldering-Solder-Iron-Tip-Cleaner-Steel-Wire-With-Stand-Set-NEW-p-51729.html?rmmds=searchHelping hands:http://www.banggood.com/Rechargeable-LED-Helping-Hand-Soldering-Welding-Stand-Clamp-Tool-With-2_5X-7_5X-Magnifier-p-1111668.html?rmmds=searchBasically, with this device, you can mount the circuit board you're working on, and have both hands free!Just make sure you wrap the crocodile clamps with some electrical tape (or heat shrink) to reduce the odds of it damaging the circuit.This is technically only for small circuits, but you could get like 1 or 2 additional ones and then use em together in order to hold a larger board.63/37 solder wire:http://www.banggood.com/100g-63-37-Tin-Lead-Rosin-Core-0_5-2mm-Flux-Reel-Welding-Line-Solder-Wire-p-989139.html?rmmds=searchI'd suggest you get both 0.8MM & 0.5MM, each can be handy depending on the component you're soldering.Additional solder iron tips---------------- ------------http://www.banggood.com/4pcs-T12-K-T12-B-T12-BC2-T12-D24-Solder-Iron-Tips-T12-series-for-Hakko-Soldering-Rework-Station-p-1068386.html?rmmds=searchhttp://www.banggood.com/T12-ILS-Solder-Tips-for-Hakko-FX-950FX-951-Soldering-Iron-Station-p-1074472.html?rmmds=searchFlux and related accessories-------------------------------http://www.banggood.com/NC-559-ASM-TPF-Flux-Anti-Wet-No-Clean-100g-Cream-AMTECH-Solder-Paste-p-975156.html?rmmds=searchhttp://www.banggood.com/5pcs-BGA-Spreader-Scraper-Silver-Thermal-Grease-Paste-Compound-Scraper-p-931763.html?rmmds=detail-bottom-alsolikehttp://www.banggood.com/2pcs-ProsKit-MS-035-Solder-Flux-Bottle-With-Fine-Tipped-Needle-p-1024756.html?rmmds=searchOther Useful tools--------------------Diagonal cutters:http://www.banggood.com/6inch-Diagonal-Cutter-Pliers-Flush-Cut-Plastic-Soft-Wire-Cutting-Tool-p-1101831.html?rmmds=searchSet of heat shrink tubings:http://www.banggood.com/100Pcs-6-Sizes-Black-Polyolefin-21-Halogen-Free-Heat-Shrink-Tubing-Tube-Sleeving-with-Case-p-1008711.html?rmmds=searchInsulation remover:http://www.banggood.com/Rotary-Coax-Coaxial-Cable-Wire-Cutter-Stripping-Tool-RG59-RG6-RG7-RG11-Stripper-p-1019370.html?rmmds=search(Mainly for thick cables, I.E electrical or network)Solder assist tools:http://www.banggood.com/BK-120-6-in-1-Solder-Assist-Repairing-Tools-Set-for-Cellphone-Electronics-p-1105969.html?rmmds=search(or you could just get em off ebay, this one doesn't really matter)Edit:Just noticed the part where you said that you sometimes ended up "melting or burning something unintentionally" , this should never happen (regardless to the temperature of your soldering iron) as long as you're using it correctly. Maybe you should watch some youtube soldering tutorials just to make sure you're doing it right. A soldering iron should touch the joint (or leg of the component) you're working with, not the circuit board itself, nor should you push it too hard into it. Also, if you can't remove the DC jack after sucking out all the solder, just heat up it's legs from one end, and gently pry it out with the other, better hold it with a small piece of fabric though (or tweezers) so you wouldn't burn your fingers!

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2016, 08:49:35 am
content: QuoteA desoldering station is useless. This connector looks like it might be SMD. You would use a powerful iron and some ChipQwik. Or a hot air station and ChipQuik.If it is thru hole, you are in for even more fun. I might be wrong, but I would think you surely need hot air plus probably a board preheater. If it's thru hole it surely connects to solid internal copper planes, which means huge, huge, huge heat sink. You have to heat a large area of the board, else you will burn the pcb before you get it off.An aside: You do not need a desoldering station. For anything. Unless you have a large batch of thru hole parts to remove on a regular basis, and even then the one you pictured would just waste your time (IMO). This is a single part, and a desoldering station won't even work on it (I think). IOW, a desoldering station gives you zero advantage over a solder sucker (IMO) for anything a hobbyist would do... There is no "interesting" problem where a desoldering station would help; only boring repetitive but simple tasks... And anything a desoldering station can do, a solder sucker can do better (if not faster). But neither would do jack for this problem, anyway. Of course, I could be wrong.But if you need to desolder something thru hole that isn't connected to internal power planes of a multilayer board with no thermal relief/pads.... I would suggest you get a proper solder sucker. Anything by Edsyn will do the trick better than a desoldering station. The "Engineer" is popular around here, too.QuoteI do stuff like this for a living, and I use a $30.00 hot air station and a $100.00 soldering iron. You can afford it.(Hot air: 858D. Iron: Hakko FX 888. These tools work great.)BTW, I had a cheap combo station somewhat like you linked. Only a little fancier and cost of $250.00. It might be in storage... or maybe I binned it. Can't remember. For hobbyist, it will get the job done. But ergos of combined machine is not great for my bench setup. And quality of the iron is not quite as good as $100.00 hakko. Not big deal, but just FYI. Plastics are not as high quality and wouldn't be surprised if heat-fatigue causes failure after several years of use. Maybe worth it, for the cost, though. Also, the heater element does not last forever in these machines, either. I replaced the heater, once. A bit of a pain. I think I will rather buy new $30.00 hot air station every few years.So my philosophy: spend on iron. Go cheap but tried and true on the hot air. You might consider this combo station as a cheap hot air with extra... but you get extra big fat loss of bench space along with it.