Recommend me a hot air soldering station

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 owlart 25 Nov 2020

As UKC knows everything (and has plenty of hot air!), can anyone recommend a reasonable hot air soldering station?

I‘ve happy with SMD components, and have been using solder paste & stencil, but so far I‘ve been using nothing smaller than 1.27mm pitch and touching the iron to each leg in turn. I‘d like to move up a step and use a hot air soldering station to allow me to be quicker and hopefully attempt smaller pitch components too.

I‘m only really looking at a budget of up to around £50. I‘ve seen a Duratool one (D03291) for £41, but I‘m not too sure what I should be looking for.

Any suggestions/recommendations gratefully received!

Thanks in advance.

 Hooo 26 Nov 2020
In reply to owlart:

I have that Duratool one from CPC. It seems ok to me, but it's my first go at hot air too so I have nothing to compare it to. One trick I learned for fine pitch soldering with an iron is to not bother doing each lead individually. Just put a blob of solder on the whole row, then remove the excess with wick. Voila, all pins neatly soldered. It's the same with paste and hot air, you don't need to be perfect as the solder mask keeps it off the places you don't want it. 

I've never tried doing a BGA though.

OP owlart 26 Nov 2020
In reply to Hooo:

Thanks Hooo. I've never had much luck with solder wick, maybe I'm not buying the right sort?

If no-one else has any better suggestions, I might get that Duratool one and see how I go. It's a bit of an unknown area for me.

 Hooo 26 Nov 2020
In reply to owlart:

I couldn't do SMT without solder wick. This one works fine for me https://cpc.farnell.com/chemtronics/80-3-5/solder-wick-rosin-sd/dp/SD00333

Get a tube of rework flux too if you don't have any already, and IPA solvent to clean it all off afterwards.

 Jesus 26 Nov 2020
In reply to owlart:

I use a Duratool rework station at my work. It’s this one  https://uk.farnell.com/duratool/zd-939a-89-3912/hot-air-station-500-deg-c-2...

It still works fine after six years of daily use. So I’d say they are certainly durable. 
 

OP owlart 26 Nov 2020
In reply to Jesus:

Thanks Hooo & Jesus, I'll add that solder wick to my basket. The other hot air station is a bit above what I was hoping to pay, it's only for occasional hobby use rather than daily use. Do you think the one I mentioned (https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03291/hot-air-rework-tool/dp/SD02212) is suitable, or is the station so much better it's a must-have?

 Jesus 26 Nov 2020
In reply to owlart:

I think the one you have linked to would probably be fine.
 

I didn’t mean to imply you should get the one I use at work. I was just trying to say I think that Duratool rework stations aren’t cheap rubbish. 
 

 Hooo 26 Nov 2020
In reply to owlart:

Actually I think it's the slightly pricier D03167 that I have, it's got a base station. I'd definitely recommend one with a base, it's easier to handle. The one I have goes into standby when you put it in the cradle, which is a very handy feature. For the extra £10 I'd recommend that one.

OP owlart 26 Nov 2020
In reply to Hooo:

Thanks, I'd just spotted that one and was going to ask if you thought it was a better bet! It's only £5 over my intended budget so probably worth the extra I agree. I might have to see if Santa thinks I've been good this year!

 jkarran 26 Nov 2020
In reply to owlart:

I just bought the RS own brand one. I have until recently done SMD prototyping down to 0.5mm pitch by hand but my eyes have totally given out and my fingers shake too much these days. Rework was always by heating the whole board to lift off the odd chip or Unpicking legs where possible. I haven't much experience with more controlled hot air but the few times I've used it so far it works great. I think it was a bit more than £50 but I wasn't paying much attention. 

Jk

 Hooo 27 Nov 2020
In reply to jkarran:

RS is great if someone else is paying


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