Hakko FX-888 vs 936

[senndogg]

i am in front of a choice.
-a genuine new 220V 936 from the seller of the Japanese lot. i contacted him and he said that he had a new one somewhere, found it and listed it for me. i have bought it but not paid yet. 150$ (postage included and 5 genuine tips)
-he told me to wait because a lot of new genuine FX888 was coming these days. he claims that he has worked with both and the 888 is 10 times better. it is 30$ more expensive, and i need a 220-110 adapter also. this would also come with extra tips for 180$.

question is, is it worth it? 30$ less and the ease of just plugging it into the wall for 936, against the proclaimed supremacy all over the web of FX888... is this that good?

[mariushm]

Re: Hakko FX-888 vs 936

The FX888 is not ten times better.

It has just about 5 watts more power which means it reaches the temperature and recovers a few seconds faster which is not making a difference in normal usage.

The tips are also compatible between 936 and fx888, the new ones for 888 are just a few mm longer. They can be used with 936, just being a few mm longer the temperature is slightly off - like.. you preset the heat to 350c on the knob and you actually have 325-335c on the tip.

Really, it makes no difference, the solder melts at 215c for lead free but you keep the solder iron at 300-350 anyway so that it recovers fast and there's a heat reservoir in the iron, so being +/- 10c off is not an issue. (and you can open it and adjust the accuracy with a potentiometer inside if it really bothers you)

If it's the genuine Japanese with micro controller it's a good buy, i'd say stick with that one, too much bother with ac adapters for very little benefit.

[senndogg]

Re: Hakko FX-888 vs 936

thank you mariushm for the feedback. yes, its the japanese one, i was browsing some threads and found good feedback for this seller so i think i can rely on it.

[senndogg]

Re: Hakko FX-888 vs 936

bought it! now waiting for it to be shipped with the 10 extra tips.

[smason]

Re: Hakko FX-888 vs 936

bought it! now waiting for it to be shipped with the 10 extra tips.

Sweet. You won't be disappointed.