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Does anyone have any experience with the Hakko clone soldering irons? I need a new small soldering iron and would love to buy an older Hakko but they don't seem to be available here. I always wanted one when I was younger.

And the reviews of the clones are giving me second thoughts.

So, anyone have first hand experience with one of these (or the other models) ?

This is the one I'm looking at.

Whatever you get, be sure that it uses a commonly available tip. From what I've read, several of the Chinese irons seem to use odd size tips.

Not sure about that one, but bought this about a year ago. Only used it once, but like it.

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Digital-Soldering-Station-Switch/dp/B07YSCBZ4F/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?gclid=CjwKCAiAlrSPBhBaEiwAuLSDUIM-zDBpNpYcdhnaPRpDskXWZR6msQuF3-qKsiUgaiVuWVvDJ0rSnRoC2LsQAvD_BwE&hvadid=409950011452&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9016676&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=12767213259270508097&hvtargid=kwd-856643311678&hydadcr=17099_11234971&keywords=yihua+939d%2B&qid=1642991462&sr=8-3-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFWTElaSjBRSTVRNUEmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA4OTExNTkzRkU5OUpNU0tFWkUyJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyNzIzNjIxQjc1NVgwOFJOVlBMJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

How much is it? I saw some on HobbyKing, $25 to $50. Give it a try or look for a used 936, I have used mine for years now.

I have two of them....very reliable....they read in celsius....480 max temp celsius.....of the two I have....several years old, one gets a tick hotter than the other

juicedcoupe wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 9:32 pm Whatever you get, be sure that it uses a commonly available tip. From what I've read, several of the Chinese irons seem to use odd size tips.

Thanks for the tip..... (bad pun intended) ..... that's not something I've heard of so I'll look into it.

THEYTOOKMYTHUMB wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 9:33 pm Not sure about that one, but bought this about a year ago. Only used it once, but like it.

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Digital-Soldering-Station-Switch/dp/B07YSCBZ4F/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?gclid=CjwKCAiAlrSPBhBaEiwAuLSDUIM-zDBpNpYcdhnaPRpDskXWZR6msQuF3-qKsiUgaiVuWVvDJ0rSnRoC2LsQAvD_BwE&hvadid=409950011452&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9016676&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=12767213259270508097&hvtargid=kwd-856643311678&hydadcr=17099_11234971&keywords=yihua+939d%2B&qid=1642991462&sr=8-3-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFWTElaSjBRSTVRNUEmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA4OTExNTkzRkU5OUpNU0tFWkUyJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyNzIzNjIxQjc1NVgwOFJOVlBMJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

That looks like a more upmarket version compared to the one I was looking at. Did you only use it once because it broke?

Diamond Dave wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 10:00 pm How much is it? I saw some on HobbyKing, $25 to $50. Give it a try or look for a used 936, I have used mine for years now.

I don't know how much it is to be honest, from a guess somewhere in the $55 range which is dirt cheap for a soldering iron. Some of the Hakko clones are like $25, so how good can it be for that? I'd happily pay a little bit more for a Hakko if I could find one readily available that is a 220v version and wasn't $150+ to ship.

I watched a video where they compared a clone 936 to a Hakko 936, and aside from taking a little longer to heat up and recover, and not being calibrated properly (30* off) they said it wasn't a bad unit.

coxbros1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 10:54 pm I have two of them....very reliable....they read in celsius....480 max temp celsius.....of the two I have....several years old, one gets a tick hotter than the other

That's good to hear, what model?

I have been using this one for the past 11 months. No real complaints at all about it. The spool holder on the side is worthless, but I keep the tray there to hold a few extra tips, and drop hot tips into if I need to make a change mid project.

I have only ever used 40/80W Wellers prior, so I can't compare it to a nice Hakko.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082HP4513/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

The one I linked didn't break. I just haven't been wrenching much since I bought it.

"That's good to hear, what model?"

The 937D just like in top pic

I think I'll order the YiHua 937D tonight when I get home. The YiHua is almost twice the price of the generic one that I posted a picture of in this thread, one would hope it's better quality since they put their name on it.


Still, a Hakko with the card slot would be much cooler though

This is the hakko I have and it's been great. https://www.amainhobbies.com/hakko-fx888d-esd-safe-digital-adjustable-temperature-soldering-iron-station-hakfx888d-rc-p/p248449

mikea96 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 7:10 pm This is the hakko I have and it's been great. https://www.amainhobbies.com/hakko-fx888d-esd-safe-digital-adjustable-temperature-soldering-iron-station-hakfx888d-rc-p/p248449

That's a current one that has replaced many of the older models.




Well it's done, I hit the BIN button so we'll wait and see what turns up in 2 months.

morrisey0 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 11:03 am I have been using this one for the past 11 months. No real complaints at all about it. The spool holder on the side is worthless, but I keep the tray there to hold a few extra tips, and drop hot tips into if I need to make a change mid project.

I have only ever used 40/80W Wellers prior, so I can't compare it to a nice Hakko.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082HP4513/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I have this same unit, so far it's been well worth $50. I too have only used 80W Weller prior and nothing else to compare to, but this unit is much better.

Hi RJ,

I have a YiHUA 878 and it has been great, no problems, been very reliable.

http://yihua-soldering.com/product-1-2-1-hot-air-rework-station-en/147657/

The manual that came with it has all the spare parts listed, and there are plenty of parts available on E bay.

Bought a packet of tips as I needed a chisel tip for removing through hole capacitors.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/131174378522?hash=item1e8a9a2c1a:g:7TI

Have been teaching myself board level repairs from watching You Tube videos.

Been busy recapping vintage mother boards and graphics cards, repairing vintage mother board battery trace

damage, replacing barrel batteries etc.

Cheers, Dave.

This topic was posted just over a year ago, covering all the same bases. I covered the blue solder station linked above in fair detail in this thread. I've used it a lot and it has far surpassed my expectations for a rather inexpensive unit.

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=45700