Hakko FR300 - do you recommend it?

[alank2]

Over at tequipment it has 5 stars on over 25 reviews which is great, but Amazon shows a bunch of 1 star reviews where it would burn up and stop working in a couple of uses.  I'm interested in one, but for that kind of $$$ I sure want it to last a long time....

[lwatts666]

I had one fail - vacuum pump motor burned out after a few hours use. Was replaced immediately under warranty. Have had no problems with the replacement unit... so far ...

[alank2]

That is basically what a few of the negative reviews said and someone at Amazon posted that the design had issues.  Is it something they have fixed?  If so, how did they fix it?

[lwatts666]

The new device looks identical to the original from the outside. I have not followed Dave's advice to pull it apart, simply because I want to keep warranty valid just in case.

Supplier hinted that there was a batch with bad motors, but would not or could not give more details.

My new device has Mfg date '2015 03 2'. I don't recall the Mfg date of the failed unit, but it was significantly earlier.

[kemal]

That is basically what a few of the negative reviews said and someone at Amazon posted that the design had issues.  Is it something they have fixed?  If so, how did they fix it?

There was a known issue with heaters.  This has been fixed according to Hakko USA.

The vacuum motors are the one part they do not sell.  So if the motor breaks out of warranty, Hakko must do the repair.  Hakka considers it too difficult to install.

[alank2]

What kind of maintenance does this unit require?  Is it easy to do?

[helius]

What kind of maintenance does this unit require?  Is it easy to do?

Like all desoldering guns, it requires clearing the nozzle with a pin after use (insert the pin and activate suction). And keep the tip tinned, obviously. If solid solder forms a blockage in the tip, there is a drill bit to clear it out, although it is not included. The nozzles should be greased when they are installed to prevent seizing, and it's a good idea to remove the nozzle to clean the heater with its own special tool. I think the vacuum pump diaphragms can also be replaced. The collection tube pops out easily and the two filters are inside it.
I haven't had any issues yet with my FR-300, it was made in 2015.02.

[alank2]

Can it desolder even small SMD's?  How does it do on a TQFP32 for example?

[neslekkim]

Can it desolder even small SMD's?  How does it do on a TQFP32 for example?

It's for throughole.. use hotair or tweezers for smd

[alank2]

It's for throughole.. use hotair or tweezers for smd

I didn't know this - I've been using hot air for TQFP - I thought this might be easier.

[neslekkim]

I have the fr300, but I can't see any use for it for smd, would be very difficult to suck solder like that.

The suction cups that JBC sells for their hotair system would be very nice to use for tqfp etc: http://www.jbctools.com/processes-menu-115.html