sudomod

I'm looking for recommendations for a respectable entry level-ish hot air rework station.

I see that someone posted a similar post back in March, but not only is the post a bit old but our situations are probably a little different.

I've been interested in picking up a hot air rework station for some time now, and since most of them I'm looking at run around $200 I'm leery of biting the bullet. It's not that I think it's an outlandish amount, but rather that it's more money than I want to put into something that might be an atrocious waste of money. More importantly, I'm also looking to avoid any additional reason for my wife to grumble at my hobbies.... for some reason when I dump money into something, say it's crap, and then dump more money into a replacement.... she gets annoyed. Go figure!

At any rate, if any of you have a sub-$200 rework recommendation I'm all ears.

I use something like this since many years:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/700W-Pu ... 984e939b-3

You can get consumables e.g. heating elements as well in the web for this maschine.
The solder iron is well managing for example solder the pi to the mintypi board.

Here’s one very similar to the one I use 3-5 times a week (assuming you live in North America or somewhere with 110 mains):

BACOENG 110V Digital 858D SMD Hot Air Rework Station Solder Blower Heat Gun

If you search for any rework station with an 858D in the model number, you’ll find them all to be nearly identical to each other and all sub $75.

They heat up fast, the air speed is adjustable, and they do the trick. They auto cool down when you put the handle back on the receiver, and the temperature is digital controlled with a readout of the current temp.

The only complaint I have is that the cord from the control unit to the handle is a wee short and it’s hardwired, so it doesn’t disconnect (I like my workbench super organized so I disconnect things and put them in drawers when not in use).

In my moderate experience, I would buy one of these or a very professional VERY expensive setup with more precise controls and tolerances, but nothing in between. The $200 ones offer almost nothing more than these, especially if you’ve already got a decent soldering station.

I would be careful with cheap stations like the 858D; http://www.williamosman.com/2015/12/dan ... t-air.html

This unit may have a wiring fault which is incredibly dangerous, potentially deadly, and a fire hazard.