Hot Air Station - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Chad.Wagner
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2021, 06:46:35 pm
content: I have an inexpensive China made hot air station. How much better are the more expensive JBC units?

author: bob91343
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2021, 09:16:56 pm
content: What's wrong with yours? I have an 8878 and I like it. About the only complaint I have is the nozzles tend to come loose.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 21, 2021, 01:55:03 pm
content: I think it depends a great deal on which "inexpensive China made hot air station" you are comparing to. Many of the cheap ones are fine for dealing with heat shrink and the occasional hot air rework job, but will be really frustrating when doing regular rework jobs, especially if larger devices are involved.Late last year I got a 1000W SUGON brand hot air station from AliExpress, and it literally blew away the other cheap units that have the blower in the handle. I bought it on the hope it may be up to a similar standard as the Quick 861DW which Louis Rossmann uses and raves about. You just have so much more control over air flow and temperature, and can can get heat into a dense copper area of PCB so much more quickly. A preheater may still be needed on large ground planes or multi-layer boards, but the big box on these units isn't there just for show.TBH, most of my rework is dealling with small passives so I've mostly just used my trusty Weller WD2000M with RTW tweezers that I've had for over a decade. So just before Christmas I got myself a brand new JBC NASE nano rework station (pencil & tweezers). My first JBC. Wow, no other words needed...When I picked that up from the supplier, I got into a discussion with the sales reps and acquired an ex-demo JBC station. It is the works including T245 handpiece, PA120 tweezers, JT hot air, and DR560 desoldering tool (and associated controllers) and I'm pretty impressed. I had previously priced up a new set of JBC tools, and was somewhat shellshocked. So when I was offered the ex-demo kit at a fraction of buying new (although missing a few parts) I jumped. It would be somewhat difficult for me to justify the JBC price if I bought it all new though, as I already have the above mentioned Sugon as well as various Weller, Hakko, and random Chinese brand stations around the workshop.Oh, apart from heat shrink, I also find the inexpensive hot air units are really useful in cleaning up 3D prints to remove any "fur" and the stress marks left in ABS after removal of support material. But I won't be trying to use them anymore for any serious rework.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 21, 2021, 02:02:19 pm
content: JBC offers smaller handpiece compared to Quick 861DW and its cheaper clones with downside of lower maximum airflow. Besides that advantages end.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 21, 2021, 02:15:20 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on February 21, 2021, 02:02:19 pmIn my limited experience so far comparing the Sugon 8610DX (Quick clone) to the JT-T2A, I would agree with that. They are both very different to the "inexpensive China made hot air station" I think the OP was referring to though.The heating elements in the 8858 style handles with built in blower fans just struggle to heat things up. I've been meaing to actually measure the power consumption on one to see how close they are to the "700W" rating they usually list. I have a few including ATTEN, YOUYUE, and KSEGR brands.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2021, 10:14:43 pm
content: Quote from: Kean on February 21, 2021, 01:55:03 pmAgree, any sort of larger device it struggles (large BGAs etc).However, I'm not sure how you have much more control over airflow and temperature? The 858 units have a temperature setting and and air flow setting, and both of these seem to match their setpoints well enough.So the difference in performance, is going to come down to:- wattage- air flow volumeAt low air flows, wattage would not be a limiting factor, so devicesshouldperform similarly. I suspect the main performance difference here is access to more air flow, as the 858 only has a tiny little blower fan in the handle. Whereas your unit has a BL fan with maybe ~10x the power rating.I measured my 858 at ~580W peak, but under normal use its ~300W. As it doesn't need the full power output to hit temperature set point at that specific fan speed.QuoteThe boxes are mostly empty space inside

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 22, 2021, 10:44:42 pm
content: Quote from: thm_w on February 22, 2021, 10:14:43 pmIf you take Quick 861DE, it's not empty at all

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2021, 10:49:07 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on February 22, 2021, 10:44:42 pmThat angle is a bit deceiving, but it does look more impressive than the other units. I would say DW is ~70% empty space.

author: nigelwright7557
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2021, 11:59:13 pm
content: I bought an Atten 858D off ebay and its been brilliant.I think it was about £15 GBP.Warms up pretty quickly and removes SMD (even 100 pin IC's) no problem at all.Solders SMD fine too.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 23, 2021, 10:30:39 am
content: Quote from: wraper on February 22, 2021, 10:44:42 pmSame for JBC, mind you it also includes a suction unit. I posted some photos of inside my JT-2A on another topic.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/jbc-hot-air-station-question/msg3369240/#msg3369240ISTR that I opened up the Sugon to replace the power cord (no IEC socket), but don't know if I have any photos.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 25, 2021, 03:37:41 pm
content: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/jbc-jt6040-hot-air-station-a-look-inside-accessories-worth-the-money/Fraser