Wep 852d+

[spleenharvester]

I've ordered one of these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soldering-S...ct_top?ie=UTF8

I've read about some of the safety issues with hot air stations before - should I open it up before I use it and check for anything?

Also, are the tips fairly generic for these stations? If so where can I find replacements? (one review said the hot air nozzles are too large and the iron only comes with one tip)

[awyatt2]

Re: Wep 852d+

I have a yihua 852d+ the green wire was fused and that's safety ground in the us so I put the fuse on the white wire. mine is a 110v not 220v.

[llonen]

Re: Wep 852d+

Those look to be if I remember correctly to be hakko tips, so there is no shortage of after market cheap tips available, as to the station itself would be one I would choose.

[momaka]

Re: Wep 852d+

I've read about some of the safety issues with hot air stations before - should I open it up before I use it and check for anything?

Any cheap tool that comes from China should be opened and inspected, IMO. They build these stations way too quickly in the sweat shop, and sometimes miss things or do a bad job with putting them together (my solder station had a wire badly pinched on one of the edges in the transformer in it, which is grounded - it worked, but was clearly a concern).

I also suggest keeping these hot air stations unplugged when not in use, particularly if the heating element for the hot air nozzle is only switched through a TRIAC (which in my 852D+ is). Reason I suggest that is because if the TRIAC shorts out, the heating element will come on without the air turning on, and this WILL cause the hot air nozzle to catch fire - seen it with my eyes twice now (though luckily not on my 852D+).

Also, are the tips fairly generic for these stations? If so where can I find replacements? (one review said the hot air nozzles are too large and the iron only comes with one tip)

Yes, the soldering iron tips are generic Hakko 900M -type. And by generic, I really mean low quality crap. Chances are, you will find that iron almost useless, or at least a lot less powerful than a well-made regular 40-50 Watt wall-type iron. So if that Wep 852D+ is anything like my KADA, it would only be useful for the hot air. On that note, I am (or was) quite content with the performance of the hot air on my KADA station - plenty of airflow and heat to remove small SMD components, and even enough to remove BGA RAM and chipsets with a bottom heater.

[redwire]

Re: Wep 852d+

Be extremely careful, these chinese soldering stations are terrible for electrical safety.
I've seen hot and neutral reversed, so (unfused) hot went right through to the hot air wand (connector) all the time, even with power switched off! Super dangerous.

[budm]

Re: Wep 852d+

I have a yihua 852d+ the green wire was fused and that's safety ground in the us so I put the fuse on the white wire. mine is a 110v not 220v.

White wire is Neutral (IF they wire it correctly), the fuse should be on the incoming BLACK wire.

[spleenharvester]

Re: Wep 852d+

Thanks everyone. I pulled the WEP 852D+ apart and it all looks OK to me, fuse is on the correct wire for my country (UK, brown/live), wire colours are correct as checked with continuity tests. Some of the soldering isn't exactly A+ but nothing obviously concerning to my eye. Can't speak for how good of a tool it is though, haven't used it yet.

[momaka]

Re: Wep 852d+

Either way, don't leave it plugged in unless it has a mechanical On/Off line switch that directly disconnects the live from the station (or preferably a double-pole switch that disconnects both Live and Neutral).

[spleenharvester]

Re: Wep 852d+

Used it to replace a DC jack earlier - my first in a while :-) seems like a really good station for the money. Time will tell if it holds up reliability-wise.