Practical test of the Yihua 852D+ soldering station (2-in-1, hot air 700 W and 60 W 900M flask solde

Does the 900 series mainsail have this "60 watts"?
The transformer is poor enough....

I have this station at home, I use it occasionally for lack of space.
I use the Hot Air instead of the tanning machine for heat shrink sleeves and SMD soldering.
The flask has a big drawback for me in that the wire is too short.
A spider on 2.5mm2 wire will not solder with this.

I apologise enormously, but I find the soldering iron test (first two videos) ... unreliable.
Why? And who uses an SMD soldering tip to solder such a large pad? The situation here is similar - a thin tip of the soldering iron, so no wonder you had to wait so long for the tin to melt - just not enough "heat transfer". Use a tip with a wider and more solid tip and the result will be much better. Of course, a lot also depends on the temperature setting, but I don't think I need to write that in this case.
To justify my post, let me remind you that I've had my 900's for many years and, although it's been powered for a long time at an undersized voltage (about 18V instead of 24), with the right arrowheads I've never had to wait so long for the tin to melt.
I know that replacing the mainsheet is not as straightforward as on a T12, for example, but I know from experience that it is not beyond the capabilities of even me - with severe manual limitations. So this is not an excuse; so why didn't the Author replace the mainsail before he started the presentation?
I am writing this for a reason;
Well, I've already had the opportunity to read many times negative opinions about this soldering iron - these opinions are most often written by people who either have never dealt with soldering irons of this series, or just wanted to make a name for themselves in this way....
No offence, but somehow I cannot find any other explanation for such opinions - opinions concerning one of the cheapest (and thus popular) soldering irons on the market. Let's measure our strength by our intentions - explaining: "Let's not require from this soldering iron the parameters as in a soldering iron several times (even) more expensive".
I think that for this price it is a really sensational soldering iron.
In the case of the station, or more precisely, the combo presented here - I have a colleague who bought such a set some time ago (not exactly the same, but of the same design and using the same components). Everything was fine until... The problem is the low quality of the pump - it is not very long-lasting. The problem is its poor quality - in particular a design fault in the construction of the diaphragm (the pump is of the diaphragm type, as the author mentioned, so nothing has changed here, rather?). The diaphragm cracks after time which automatically prevents air blowing - obviously at the least opportune moment.... Nowadays the diaphragms themselves are available as a spare part, but as far as I have noticed the defect that causes the cracking has not been removed. If the Author is interested he can check the way the drive is transferred to the diaphragms and analyse whether I may be right. If so I would advise looking for and buying a few of these diaphragms right away as a spare....
Apart from that - I think that a station like a station - a little bit big for the required space inside occupied by components, and at the same time it takes up space on the desk/table. As for the work, however, I can not have major objections - taking into account the price is an interesting proposition for the majority of "Sunday electronic engineers".
Regards.

I had the opportunity to use such a set.
In fact, it is a howler, it also telephones impossibly. For occasional use, OK.
With more intensive use, after a while the hot-air lost its properties, soldering became more and more difficult.

>>21885685

398216 Usunięty wrote:

Well, I have already had the opportunity to read many times negative opinions about this soldering iron - these opinions are usually written by people who either have never had to deal with soldering irons of this series, or just wanted to make a name for themselves in this way...

Nobody wants to appear. The only thing good about Yihua / WEP / Zhaoxin is the low price. These negative reviews don't come "out of thin air" because people have become so fixated on a cheap Chinese product.... they just come from the fact that this product is of mediocre quality.

I used to work in the service department - actually on a WEP, which is a twin sister to the Yihua. It was fine (and I even soldered a KBC in a laptop with this freak of nature) until the flask literally fell apart in my hand during soldering and I ended up burning myself. Since then I have developed a loathing for this and the twin brands.

I rewelded a Quick 236 on myself - the flask quality was a different league. The Yihua by comparison falls dramatically short. I sold because the 900M arrowheads at SMD are no longer sufficient.
I've converted the Quecko / Quicko / KSGER to T12 standard. Changing to other soldering irons made a huge difference, but again, power is the limit - typically 65-72W max and larger soldering fields or laminates that pick up heat like mad are tiring.
I'm currently rolling out an Aixun T3A on a 245 tip. 200W of power, high precision and even a small tip can handle large spouts of tin without a problem.
In the open air, when a mechanic pulls me off to work on vehicle wiring harnesses, I roll out a "pen" (Chinese, by the way), also on 245 tips. The little device from a powerbank via USB-C pulls 100W of power without a stutter and gets the job done wherever I don't have 230V.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

I think that for this price it is really a sensational soldering iron.

It is not sensational but at best average. And I personally would never recommend it to anyone. If someone doesn't insist on a "2-in-1 combo" then you can definitely go and buy better designs for the same money and with better blades.


Of course, I'm not saying that it's a total piece of junk and a waste of money - for some weekend tinkerer who needs to heat up a thermocouple, solder a wire, occasionally replace a few electrolytes on a board, such equipment will probably be enough. The problem is that, unfortunately, modern electronics has become dramatically miniaturised and such a flask simply cannot cope. The same is true of laminates - this is no longer the era of Unitra-type boards, where touching the arrowhead often killed the path/strip (and the latter gleefully fell off the PCB), but multilayered constructions often acting as a "heat sink". Unfortunately, the high heat capacity of the laminate requires powerful equipment to do anything with it.

From the perspective of -teen years of dabbling in electronics, I would sum it up like this:
Pros:
- purchase price of the station
- cheap as a beetroot and there are quite a few to choose from.
Minuses:
- low quality - and I write this through the prism of a flask that flew apart for me while I was working on the board.
- poor durability - as has already been said here, pumps can fail notoriously (also a familiar theme over the years)
- poor workmanship - for me it is unacceptable for the equipment to vibrate excessively - especially as the rubber cushioning of the pump is not a fortune but as you can see the Chinese have not been able to improve this design for years. About noise it's hard to comment because any hot air will be noisy but it's also known that they are just noisy.
- relatively low temperature precision - this problem particularly affects the hot air in these stations - if you get it wrong, temperature ripples can be as high as 60-80 degrees. In addition, the temperature readings themselves often have nothing to do with what is on the mainsail.
- and for dessert, even in such a piece of equipment, the chinaman made a fool of himself and wrote down some unbelievable values for the air flow, putting in probably the weakest pump he could find.

What you like - some will say it's good because it's cheap. Others (including me) will advise against this type of equipment and recommend that you save up for something better, which at least provides some quality and the declared parameters.... and once purchased, a decent piece of equipment will last for years.

Xenlin93 wrote:

until the flask literally fell apart in my hand during soldering

One swallow does not make a spring....
And seriously - I understand your colleague's resentment of this soldering iron, but (bearing in mind the above quoted proverb) is this immediately indicative of ALL soldering irons of this type? As I wrote - I've had my 900'k flask for a nice dozen years. All I have to do is periodically replace the tips in it. And it wasn't easy at all - less so now, but there were times when it worked several days in a row for several hours a day. Rarely for less than a few hours. For a soldering iron at such a high price and used for so many years, CHYBA (?) it proves something? And - not to make it sound like it's just my example - I have a few colleagues (also from the trade) who also own the same models and use them for about the same amount of time (maybe a little less intensively) and they don't complain either.

Xenlin93 wrote:

398216 Usunięty wrote:

I think that for the price it is really a sensational soldering iron.

It is not sensational but at best average.

For the price ? I will continue to insist that you cannot judge anything without taking prices into account. And for a soldering iron (not even combining it with a station) at that price you will NEVER FIND anything better.
And are there worse and equally cheap? Of course there are. Just as there are better ones, but a lot more expensive. Not everyone who wants to assemble themselves some KiT once a week has to buy a soldering "Mercedes" right away. And on the Forum there are not only professionals - there are also many such "Sunday" electronics engineers or (as I call them) "Young Talented" who like to tinker without much commitment - and thus without spending a fortune.

Xenlin93 wrote:

Electronics has dramatically miniaturised and such a flask simply can not cope. Laminates are the same - this is no longer the era of Unitra-type boards, where touching the arrowhead often murdered the pathway/strip (and it gleefully fell off the PCB) but multilayer constructions often acting as a "heat sink". The large heat capacity of the laminate unfortunately requires powerful equipment to do anything.

I think the Colleague has gone a bit overboard? What is the difference between laminate from 40 or 50 years ago and today? The thickness of the copper is the same, the thermal conductivity of the copper is unlikely to have changed either. The only thing (which you have rightly pointed out) is the different type of substrate - FR4 did exist 40 years ago, but due to cost it was used in more professional equipment. And does a reduction in component size (SMD) require a more powerful soldering iron? With better thermal conductivity in the soldering tip? Rather the opposite - SMD can be successfully soldered with a 15W soldering iron as long as the soldering iron itself does not resemble a nail... GND fields - yes, they require a bit more attention during soldering, but I have already written here what the point is - a pin-thin soldering iron is not for such semi-soldering, and for delicate elements (e.g. SMD), for GND fields or soldering 2.5mm2 cables, a different soldering iron is used - with a large diameter of the working part - and thus providing better thermal conductivity. 60W is not very little for a soldering iron - after all, nobody will use such a soldering iron to solder gutters, but even soldering a laminate housing with such a soldering iron (900'ka) is not a big problem - i write "bigger" because, like any soldering, you simply have to learn it - Yes - certainly a T12 or other soldering irons with heaters fused to the soldering tip will cope easier, but do we solder such things (laminate housings) every day?

As for the HA in this station, I have to fully agree with my colleague. It is not the best solution both in terms of the pump operation itself, durability and temperature and flow parameters.
But - again, the immortal question - does everyone need a several-thousand-thousand-dollar pump?
In my opinion, it is a very good thing that such topics arise and that they generate such passionate discussions; thanks to them, everyone can decide for themselves, if necessary, whether they need a Mercedes S Class or whether a Panda will suffice...

I have had an original Zhaoxin 852D station for 15 years. Other companies made counterfeits (Chinese counterfeit Chinese). It works perfectly. The only problem I've had is that the air adjustment potentiometer died. The compressor is not quiet but nothing shakes.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

One swallow does not make a spring...

Of course it doesn't but these are not isolated cases. We had 4 of them in the service and for pi times door 2 years of daily grind of 8-10h a day 6 cobs flew apart if my memory serves me right. The problem is simply the mounting point at the height of the heater - there is a plastic nut holding the flask together - the nut pops off and it's all over because literally the contents spill out onto the table. Fortunately, a new flask costs 25-35pln.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

nowadays less, but sometimes for a few days in a row it worked several hours a day.

When I was doing my post-graduation work on industrial radio equipment, we had 3 workstations with Quicks 236. These soldering irons were used day in and day out for 8 hours non-stop (and I worked there for about a year and a half) - NEVER did anything break, nothing blew out, none of them had any problems with backlash, lack of power or inaccurate temperature indication. On top of that, they had a claimed power of perhaps 90W so with a spare for 900M arrowheads. And, as you say, it was only periodic replacement of the blades.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

In relation to price ? I will continue to insist that you can't judge anything without taking prices into account. And for a soldering iron (not even combining it with a station) at this price you will NEVER FIND anything better.

Of course you will find one. First of all, the OSS Team T12-X in its revised version. You can get it for under 200pln - you get 75W of power, precision, better quick-change blades. The Quick 969B is also under 400PLN and the quality is a dramatic leap from the WEP.
Ba. Even Techrebal has a C210 arrowhead station on offer with a modest output of around 180W - currently in the region of 320PLN.
So it is possible to buy better equipment at a similar price.

As I mentioned - the ONLY plus of this WEPa/Yihua/Zhaoxin is the low price. And even at this price, looking at the price/quality ratio, unfortunately there is not much to praise here. As they say - Is it cheap? It's cheap. Is it good? It is cheap.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

Not everyone who wants to assemble themselves some KiT once a week has to buy a soldering "Mercedes" right away. And on the Forum there are not only professionals - there are also many such "Sunday" electronics engineers or (as I call them) "Young Talented" who like to tinker without much commitment - and thus without spending a fortune.

Of course - with this I agree. Not everyone needs a Mercedes. But neither does it make sense to buy a Trabant when you can have a Golf for the same money. That's why I pointed out in the previous post - for a "Sunday" tinkerer who needs to solder some THT elements or cables during a repair and heat up a heat shrink on it, even this WEP will be sufficient. For everything else, it is definitely better to think twice and shop around before clicking buy now.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

I think the colleague has gone a bit overboard? What is the difference between laminate from 40 or 50 years ago and today? The thickness of the copper is the same, the thermal conductivity of the copper is unlikely to have changed either. The only thing (which the colleague rightly pointed out) is a different type of substrate - FR4 admittedly already existed those 40 years ago, but due to the cost it was used in more professional equipment.

Ano like if we think in terms of 'this is glass laminate and that is glass laminate'. The devil is in the detail - modern laminates have 4-6-8 or more layers of copper in them. On top of that, some layers are used as dedicated to dissipate heat passively and disperse it over a larger area. I recommend searching for "PCB passive heat dissipation" on google - there are quite a few interesting articles about designing such PCBs.
Getting back to the point - in the age of miniaturisation with increasing component performance, unfortunately, but the struggle with this unwanted heat is increasing. I myself was once so surprised when I was doing a supposedly trivial socket replacement in probably an XBOX console - I ended up in a rather fierce fight with the PCB dissipating heat like mad and making the job considerably more difficult.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

And does reducing the size of the components (SMD) require a more powerful soldering iron?

No. But it does require a soldering iron with the kind of tips that will allow you to accurately approach a 0402 or 0603 size component while holding it with tweezers. In addition, there is a terrible density of components on current boards, so you inevitably need to have this precision to avoid making a wreck by accidentally heating and soldering a component right next to it. In addition, some components are very sensitive to heat - a larger power reserve allows you to reduce the heating time to the necessary minimum. Also, a lot of components on laminates these days are plastic (see all the plugs in laptops) and you can't use the "I'll heat it up longer so the tin on the pad melts" approach.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

Ground fields - yes they require a bit more attention during soldering, but here I have already written what the point is - a tip as thin as a pin is not for such semi-soldering, and for delicate components (e.g. SMD just) for ground fields or soldering of 2.5mm2 cables serves a different tip - with a large diameter of the working part - and thus providing better thermal conductivity.

In general, everything is right. Until it turns out that there are 8 capacitors, 2 transistors and some other additional SMD component at the cable grommet for this cable, and the large tip does not necessarily fit there, and the other side of the laminate is also full of small parts.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

finally no one will use such a soldering iron to solder gutters

Just enlarge it by 10 times and you get (such a joke to loosen things up).

398216 Usunięty wrote:

because like all soldering you simply have to learn it

And that's exactly the truth - even the best tool in the hand of an incompetent person will only do damage.

398216 Usunięty wrote:

Only - again the immortal question - does everyone need a harvester for several thousand?
In my opinion, it is a very good thing that such topics arise and that they generate such passionate discussions; thanks to them everyone can decide for themselves, if necessary, whether they need a Mercedes S-Class or whether a Panda will suffice...

Well, that's exactly what he doesn't need, and it's not because he doesn't have a choice, it's just that that choice has expanded significantly. Today, in the range 200-500PLN there is such a huge choice of soldering stations, power and tip standards that there is simply no point in pushing into a worn-out design from a bygone era - that is why I say that WEP even at the price of 300PLN does not represent anything of value. There are simply better devices on the market offering much more for the same money. It is logical that if a beginner is looking for equipment, we will not give him a BGA machine for 30 thousand zloty or even better to start with, but there is also no sense in pushing him into an archaic type of arrowheads, poor workmanship and working parameters made out of a Chinese finger.

To make things funnier, it's currently quite a problem to buy, for example, a sensible soldering iron - and yes.... even I ended up with a WEP desoldering flask because there is just this market hole - either cheap and weak or a hell of a lot more expensive (Quick is charging 1500PLN for a 90W desoldering machine). After a long analysis of what was on the market I had a choice:
- The archaic ZhongDi 915 known for its breakable guns.
- The slightly newer ZhongDi 8915 (twin of some ProSSkit there) - these again are notorious for the suction tube being too tight and notoriously tin clogging them.
- WEP probably the 942 (but I can't cut my hand off for the model because I can't remember) - slightly more expensive, some reviews just on the web that it's not a tragedy.
- Expensive equipment like the Quick for some ridiculous money.

The WEP was the obvious choice. And surprisingly it performs well. It is a newer version of their equipment in a newer visual appearance, but also with corrections eliminating the errors of previous models. It also happens to be clogged and you have to work hard to unclog it, but for a "more modern" WEP I can't say a bad word about it. WEP also has newer T12 or T245/C245 mainsheet stations, so it is possible to buy equipment from them that is not a relic of the previous decade. But it is up to others to say whether these devices are of better quality than their predecessors.


To sum up - I am also glad that such a thread has been created and one can substantively exchange views on this equipment - surprisingly, unfortunately, the Internet is empty in this matter. I would also like to read other people's opinions on other WEP models (but the "modern" ones - in the new visual design) and equipment from other manufacturers.

And for dessert... a colleague showed off his project. This, to make my point a little better and why I would advise against such an archaic WEP....



I solder these types of structures and it is through the prism of such electronics that I turn my attention to purchasing equipment that is supposed to make this job easier for me

Xenlin93 wrote:

The problem is simply the mounting point at the height of the heater

This is acutely patented by Yihuia or similar flasks. As far as I know there have been several different designs of the flask itself - including the mount you write about. My 900'ka doesn't have a screw - the whole thing is held in place by a nut screwed on the side of the heater. which simultaneously holds the heater itself and the whole plate inside the cradle. - apparently Yiuh's original idea did not work and the flask was redesigned in subsequent versions.

Xenlin93 wrote:

OSS Team T12-X in the revised version. It goes for under 200pln

We have misunderstood again; I was writing about the flask itself - these can be, as you write, "bought" for a dozen or so zlotys max. The station is, of course, an accessory generating higher prices, but even these can vary ... and since we are already talking about the T 12 - the quality of spearheads for them also varies as far as I know - a large disparity in workmanship and, consequently, different resurs.

Xenlin93 wrote:

I once surprised myself in such a way when I was doing a supposedly trivial socket replacement in probably an XBOX console - I ended up having to fight quite hard precisely because the PCB was dissipating heat like mad and made the job significantly more difficult.

Sorry Mate, but this just shows a lack of skill in working with multilayer laminates and lead-free tin. If that socket had been lead soldered you would have desoldered it without a problem...with a desoldering iron.

Xenlin93 wrote:

The devil is in the details - modern laminates have 4-6-8 or more layers of copper in them.

NOT ALL laminates - that's for one thing. As far as beginners are concerned, this is quite important, because mostly no beginner (who has at least a basic knowledge of such laminates) is going to take the plunge into multi-ply laminate - it just requires a lot more practice and additional tooling (for example, a table for preheating the laminate) when working with this kind of laminate. Furthermore, most are at most double-sided or even single-sided laminates.

Xenlin93 wrote:

But it requires a soldering iron with such blades that you can accurately approach the size element

Do you know what range of blades are offered for 90's? Personally, I have a J type for things like small SMD (although I don't take to it now due to age - you have to know your limitations and get on with it). Believe me (or not) these tips are really nothing like the many times more expensive SMD tips from T 12 or related soldering irons. I will immediately run down any potential accusations - the T 12 soldering tips are in great demand and there are better, worse or even completely useless ones. There is little or no difference in price between the different models, so that someone who is inexperienced can be fooled into buying crap and become discouraged for years. I myself have dealt with soldering tips which, after a few hours of soldering, can dissolve in the tin to such an extent that a bite remains instead of the tip. (I have written about this many times in other topics). There are, however, multi-layer arrowheads which, in terms of strength and thermal conductivity, do not cause such problems. I have been using a J-type for about 2 years now and it is a multilayer type (with, among other things, an iron coating on a copper core) and to this day it looks and works like new/ I have bought 10 of them and I think I will be buried with the other 9's...

Xenlin93 wrote:

For this, on current boards there is a terrible density of components so you necessarily have to have this precision in order not to make a wreck by accidentally heating and soldering a component right next to it.

There is an old saying that always comes to mind for me in this kind of situation: "Don't make the father of the children do".... Mate I have been "sitting" in electronics (especially audio) for over half a century and I really know what I am writing about. I guarantee that with the aforementioned "j" arrowhead for 90's you will not have any problems with it. A few days ago (despite age and health restrictions) I was fiddling with just such a densely packed board and categorically had no problems. I'll repeat what I've written before - SELECTING THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE WORK IS BASIC - in this case, selecting the right blade for the job at hand. Especially as there are many different types of blades for 900'tek and you can choose the one that best suits your application. There are soldering tips for 8900'tek which allow soldering of mass fields (or even laminates for the case) and there are also tips especially for SMD.... They are not, contrary to appearances, expensive - for the price of one arrowhead for T12 you can buy even several for 900'tki.

Xenlin93 wrote:

Well, it is not necessary and it is not because there is no choice, but just because the choice has increased significantly. Today, in the range 200-500PLN there is such a huge selection of soldering stations, power and standards of tips, that it simply does not make sense to push yourself into a worn-out design from a bygone era - that is why I say that the WEP even at a price of 300PLN does not represent anything of value.

I guarantee that the owner of a station for several thousand at this point will consider that there is no one to talk to. After all, he has spent so much money on it that he simply cannot claim otherwise.... It's something like an audio geek, like voo-doo worshippers, who believe that a chip lubricated with paste for a few thousand dollars will sound better than an unlubricated one, and that speaker cables (not to mention network cables) have to cost a few thousand per metre to play at all. Of course, there are better stations that are more expensive and there are comparably priced ones that will work properly, but are they better? Or, to put it another way, does this "better" have to be associated immediately with a specific logo on the casing? The campaign against 900-type flask stations originates from the fact that, due to their high demand, many companies have emerged that want to "cook their sausages by the fire" - believing (and, as it turns out, not without reason) that they will sell their "disposables" or other such gadgets only thanks to the fact that they are in the standard of the most widespread 900's. As I wrote when discussing the different qualities of soldering irons - there are soldering irons and stations that are worth their price, and there are also those that you write about. This does not mean, however, that the whole offer of soldering irons or stations of this type is fundamentally bad. You have pointed this out yourself:

Xenlin93 wrote:

I fell for the WEP. And strangely enough it gives a good handle. It is already a newer release of their hardware in a newer visual design but also with fixes to eliminate the bugs of previous models.

If among several apples there is one with a worm you don't have to throw them all away straight away do you? This is what I meant when I wrote about the swallow...
Regards.