Hot air station, a few tips for buying

[Moriambar]

Hi,
yes unfortunately this is another "please help me find the best [insert product]". The product today is a hot air soldering/desoldering station.
Why? Because I use a lot of smd components and some could be easier to solder with the proper gun. Also because when I mess up and I have to desolder smd, man that gets messy, and often impossible eg with lqfp packages or such. I also need something to heat shrink the appropriate hs tubes (I cannot go on using candles to do that).

I won't need it on a daily basis (I think), but I thought to buy some nice equipment, which I hope is SAFE (without me having to touch anything, I know of many deathtraps esp. from china.

Some time ago I thought about the Quick 861 DW but man that is pricey… and bought from china could cost ~300€ all the same.
I then thought about the Atten ST-862D which conveniently ships from the EU (I'm in Italy) thus is readily available in ~1week with minimum postage fee.
The same applies for the best bst-863 which also ships from the eu.

So now I'm confused. Do I have to go with the "quick" to have something good enough for my needs? is the atten ok too? It costs about a half… what about the "best"?
Are there any others worth looking for?  Are any of these really bad?

Thanks

[HobGoblyn]

Louis Rossmann does a comparison of the Quick and the Atten

https://youtu.be/wYCmU6jMLo8

I’ve gone for the Atten, Xmas pressie from my loverly wife so should have it in a few hours (although with family here, I won’t get to try it for a few days)

[RayRay]

In my honest opinion, there's no justification to spend an excessive amount of money for a hot air station!
I'd suggest you go with one of the following:

1) Yarboly 858D (42.38 euros, including shipping)
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/33046751349.html
This one's compatible with the stick & twist type of nozzles, and you could optionally get extra ones, such as these:
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005003286834152.html
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005002888837694.html

2) Bakon BK880 (72.8 euros, including shipping)
-------------------------------------------------------
This seller offers EU level shipping (from a warehouse in Czech Republic):
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005003349913481.html
And while it's most likely to be the 220v-240v version, it's not clearly stated in the page, so I'd recommend you message the seller first if you intend on purchasing it. Alternatively, you can't go wrong with this seller:
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005001437003370.html
But the shipping will be slightly higher here (totaling at 85.95) and it'd be shipped from China, so would take longer to arrive.
The two main differences are (in compare to the first) is that this one has a higher level of maximal airflow, and is also compatible with the 850 style screw-on nozzles, and this means that you'd have much more variety of nozzles to choose from, see here for examples:
https://it.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20211224221118&origin=y&SearchText=850+NOZZLE
I'd like to note two other things though (as I have it myself): The base station has a highly annoying, loud internal buzzer, and I'd recommend you open it up and desolder it (that's what I did, because I just couldn't stand it) but each to their own I guess. The second thing to note is that it only comes with a Chinese manual, but you can find operating instructions on the following video (refer to the English subtitles):


Overall, either would serve you well, and both have their pros and cons. Both also use the standard, removable IEC cable, so you don't need to worry about using an adapter aor replacing the plug, just use a local IEC cable (if it doesn't come with your native one). Also, apart from a hotair station, a good microscope is a must for SMD soldering/desoldering and definitely makes the job easier! I'd suggest you refer to the following thread for suggestions (unless you have one already):
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/low-budget-microscopecamera-for-smd-solderinginspection/

[Moriambar]

thanks for your replies.
I'll probably go with the bakon then.
Cheers

[rpiloverbd]

Hakko hot air station is also good.

[bostonman]

I have a Hot Air Pencil 852Dplus but can't find it anymore (https://s.alicdn.com/@sc04/kf/HTB1nNEBXPDuK1RjSszdq6xGLpXaK.jpg_300x300.jpg).

I've used it about ten times and think it's great.

One thing to remember is not to bang it down hard when it's hot because the thin heater elements can crack. Hot air guns and this pencil I always set down very soft and let it cool before putting them away.

The ONLY issue with hot air pencils I've experienced: when trying to remove an IC (or a component) where you need two hands to tinker with removing/placing the IC should it fall out of place, you run out of hands to also hold the hot air pencil.

I'd like to print a 3D bracket that has a rack and pinion allowing me to mount the hot air pencil and move it up and down to pull away the heat allowing me to handle the hot component.

I found something on Thingiverse, but believe it's not for a hot air pencil. I'm uncertain of the size, so I never printed it; or really bothered to address the need for it since I seldom use the pencil.

[wraper]

Hakko hot air station is also good.

Overpriced and worse than Quick.

[wraper]

thanks for your replies.
I'll probably go with the bakon then.
Cheers

It's an utter trash Compared to Quick and Atten ST-862D. Fan it the handle by itself means it's not good. Half of the power, 20% of the max airflow. Not to say such stations have problems with airflow stability on low setting, and vibrate in the hand.

I have a Hot Air Pencil 852Dplus but can't find it anymore (https://s.alicdn.com/@sc04/kf/HTB1nNEBXPDuK1RjSszdq6xGLpXaK.jpg_300x300.jpg).

It's an outdated station with a membrane pump. Not even close in performance to Quick and Atten mentioned.