Aoyue whiplash - all-in-one SMD rework station recommendations?

[Dave92F1]

Any recommendations for a decent quality all-in-one SMD rework station?

This is for a home lab, but a fairly serious one - I'm willing to spend up to US$1500 or so if that's what it takes to get a quality one.

I need an iron and hot air - desoldering (suction) would be nice but I'm OK with continuing to use my old spring piston solder sucker.

My story-

About 8 years ago I bought a Aoyue Int 2702 AIO rework station (1st image).

I know, people say it's garbage. But it WORKS GREAT. (Except for the desoldering tool - that was totally useless.) But the iron is great - heats up really fast, good selection of tips, plenty of power, and the hot air works great. I still have and use it (again, except the for the desoldering tool which I threw away - no loss).

So a few months ago I needed to setup another lab, and bought a Aoyue Int 2703A, which seemed to be the current version of the same thing (2nd photo).

THIS ONE REALLY IS GARBAGE. I don't know why. Supposedly the desoldering tool is "much improved". I haven't tried it.

But 90% of the time when I change tips on the iron I get the message "PLUG", which seem to mean a bad connection to the tip (heater is built into the tips). I have to wiggle the tip for 30 seconds every time to get it to work, and even then it often disconnects while I'm working. And when the iron touches a heat sink, it gets cold and takes a long time to get back to temp - far longer than my 8 year old Ayoue does.

And the hot air volume is pitiful - maybe 20% of what the old model does at full blast (it is quieter, tho). [And, yes, I did remove the shipping screw.]

So I'm very unhappy with it. Somehow the 8 year old one works great, the new one is crap.

I want a better one, and don't want to gamble this time with a no-name Chinese company that's good-today, bad-tomorrow. (A reputable Chinese company would be OK.)

I prefer a AIO box mainly to save bench space. What should I buy instead, if my budget for this is $1500?

[wraper]

The best choice is avoiding all an one completely. You'll get Jack of all trades, master of none.

[Dave92F1]

The best choice is avoiding all an one completely. You'll get Jack of all trades, master of none.

I know, but it saves space on the bench, and avoids 3 power cables (iron, air, suction) and 3 boxes on the bench to get in the way.

I'm willing to trade optimization for convenience. It doesn't have to be perfect, just good. Surely somebody makes a decent all-in-one?

[wraper]

It doesn't have to be perfect, just good. Surely somebody makes a decent all-in-one?

Good quality and cost effective hot air + iron basically do not exist. If looking on good ones maximum you will get is hot air pencil for tiny jobs or something at ridiculous price like $5k (Hakko FR-702), and it still be worse than $1.5k of separate tools.

[wraper]

Quick 713 would be OK all in one. But you'd be far better with Quick 861DW hot air and soldering station from Ersa/JBC/Hakko.

[coppercone2]

why do you call a tool after a painful neck injury? don't buy 

[GreyWoolfe]

I agree with wraper.  Convenience is not a trade for quality.  If your AIO box fails, what do you have to repair it with?  I am fortunate that I have enough bench space that everything is lined up on 1 shelf; 2 soldering stations, hot air and desoldering and this is separate from the TE side of the bench.  Maybe you can DIY a small rolling table that can fit under your bench with a power strip to hold everything.  Roll it out as needed and roll back when done.  I did that for awhile before I decided to rearrange the shelving to get a better work flow that took advantage of the amount of space I had.

But you'd be far better with Quick 861DW hot air and soldering station from Ersa/JBC/Hakko.

+1  I have a Metcal MX500 with wand and tweezers, Hakko FX-951, Quick 857DW hot air and ZD-985 desoldering tool.

[rhb]

I have a 2703A.  It seems OK, but I have nothing to compare with.  Desoldering gun works fine except that it needs cleaning after very few connections.  But everyone appears to be using the same design concept. The design is prone to clogging the tube from the tip and the only way to clear it is with a long drill bit or a torch and compressed air.  The latter being hazardous without eye protection.

I got 3 defective iron cartridges from SRA before I got some that worked. I don't like the cartridges and am hoping to replace that iron with one that has a fixed heater and interchangeable tips.

I bought a refurb from SRA.  Neither cartridge worked.  SRA shipped the wrong eplacement cartridges, so I had a 3rd and 4th round of stuff.  Even then I did not get everything listed in the description. Instead of the tube cleaner I got a 2nd crap handle.

I question whether the design is bad or if it's not simply that the OEM and SRA are very sloppy.  I chose it because I am severely space constrained.

[nctnico]

You can also stack equipment like I did: