Cheap Chinese SMD rework station (992DA+ or 995D)

[GnatGoSplat]

I'm interested to buy my first SMD rework station.  I've seen the threads on these things so I know I'll need to QC it myself since the 8yr olds that assemble them don't always get the wiring right.  I've narrowed it down to either the 992DA+ or 995D.  They appear functionally similar, but the 995D is significantly smaller (under half the size of the 992DA+), costs maybe US$10 more, and lacks the smoke absorber.  I prefer the smaller size the 995D and would be fine to pay the extra cost for its compactness, but the 992DA+ seems like a better buy since it has that smoke absorber function.

Is an iron-mounted smoke absorber useful enough to be worth going with the bigger unit?  It seems like a good idea if it reduces cancer risk, but if it's noisy and obnoxious, I could see myself not using it.

Thoughts?  Or is there something else in the low US$100 range I should be looking at instead?

[GreyWoolfe]

A few people on the blog have mentioned that the extractor on iron is a bit unwieldy.  It would seem that way to me by looking at pictures.  I use a Weller fume extrtactor model WSA350 that I picked up used off of eBay for about $40 shipped.  It works well and doesn't get in the way.  I would encourage you to also get separate pieces.  If one part breaks it is easier and cheaper to replace if unrepairable.  Get yourself an Atten AT858D+ and a Hakko FX-888D.  You will spend a bit more but I think you will be better off.  I use the predecessor, the Hakko 936 and I plan at some point to get one of the Attens.  Use a fan to blow fumes away until you can get a separate extractor.  Just my 2 pence worth.

[GnatGoSplat]

I was just thinking again how I want one of these.  Saw the 992DA+ can now be had around $103 and 995D for $110.
There may be separate units that are better than these all-in-ones, but I don't need the highest quality professional equipment since I'm just a hobbyist (after all, 4-months have gone by since first considering one so it's not something I need for daily use).

One other big difference other than fume extractor and size is I've noticed the 992DA+ air gun has a diaphragm pump inside the main unit and a more compact gun, but a larger silicone air tube while the 995D has a larger gun with a brushless DC fan inside (presumably a small cage fan), but a small electric cord to the main unit.  Which is preferable?  On the one hand, a smaller hot air gun would seem to be better to hold, but on the other hand, the large silicone air tube seems like it would be a little more unwieldy than a smaller electric cord.  So I wonder what is more convenient or better design, diaphragm pump in the main unit or brushless fan in the air gun itself?

[cowana]

One other big difference other than fume extractor and size is I've noticed the 992DA+ air gun has a diaphragm pump inside the main unit and a more compact gun, but a larger silicone air tube while the 995D has a larger gun with a brushless DC fan inside (presumably a small cage fan), but a small electric cord to the main unit.  Which is preferable?  On the one hand, a smaller hot air gun would seem to be better to hold, but on the other hand, the large silicone air tube seems like it would be a little more unwieldy than a smaller electric cord.  So I wonder what is more convenient or better design, diaphragm pump in the main unit or brushless fan in the air gun itself?

I'd be very interested to see what the answers to this are. I own an 852D+ unit, which has the diaphragm pump and thick silicon air hose. Personally I really like this design - the hot air gun is light, vibration free, and the hose helps steady it a bit. The diaphragm pump is very quiet. If I ever need to replace it, I've noticed that ones with a brushless fan in the handle are a lot cheaper, but I'd be wary of going to one as the handle looks a lot large, heavier and more in the way.

Andy

[GnatGoSplat]

I found this little blurb on the alibaba site:

*what difference for brushless fan and diaphragm pump?
diaphragm pump the air are focus , airflow are 24~28L/min. brushless fan the air are soft ,airflow are 120L/min.

So the air are focus or the air are soft, that clears it all up! 
But really, even if the max airflow is 120L/min, wouldn't it be possible to reduce airflow to 24~28L/min through the airflow control?

[tarmogr]

For professional work I would prefer diaphragm pump sation. The alibaba explanation is very confusing indeed, but what they mean is that with diaphragm pump the air flow is much stronger, If you try put your finger in front of the air tube, it would be very difficult  to do so without the air leaking out somewhere. But with brushless fan the airflow is vey weak (although greater volume) so with small nozzles like 3mm, the fan is not strong enough to blow significan amount of air through it. So basically the air volume does not depend on the nozzle size and thus the air volume does not have to be that high, 24 l/min is enough.

The great thing about 992DA+ is that you can buy an extra Yihua 907I soldering iron hand piece and use this instead of the included one with smoke sucker tube. 907I iron has a nice rubber grip and soft silicone cable.

[GnatGoSplat]

I ended up getting the 995D last May or June.  I decided compact size was more important because I don't really have a real workbench so I have to move it to my computer desk or kitchen table to work.  Works pretty well, the air gun is very lightweight and quiet so the fan being in the gun itself is no bother.  I haven't used it a ton, mainly pulling BGA parts from junk boards for fun.  Only real uses I've had so far is removing resistors from a junk cell phone circuit board to resolder into my tablet for a mod, and removing a bad eMMC from a broken HTC Droid Incredible.  Have not tried installing a new eMMC though, that may be rather tricky and I was able to hack the ROM to use MicroSD for /data instead, so probably won't need to bother.