Cheap Hot Air Rework Stations-opinions

[bkahuna]

I used to use a Hakko 850 that worked great, but I no longer have access to it. Anyone using one of the cheap Chinese knockoffs like Aoyue, Madell and others?

I know "you get what you pay for", but it really wouldn't be used all that much, and I can't really afford a Hakko unit right now. Just wondering if anyone here has any experience with the cheaper alternatives, positive or negative.

[Techknowman]

At my job, we have a Madell 850D we use very regularly and it has worked without fail for over a year.
It gets used 3 to 4 times a day or more.
Gets plenty hot to rework leadfree solder.
Has a lot of available tips ect.
I'm considering getting one for me personally at my home shop.
.

[bkahuna]

Thanks! That's the kind of feedback I was hoping to hear.
Anyone else?

[defaced]

Never used it, but MPJA.com has some stuff. Spark Fun electronics also has some recommendations on their site. Their opinion, if I remember right, is that the expensive ones aren't worth their price because the cheapies are about as good.

[bkahuna]

For anyone interested, here is an update:
I ended up purchasing an Aoyue 850A++ from CML Supply. I used it the other day to remove 9) 28 pin SOICs from a Yamaha digital mixer. The removal process went very smoothly and was completed in about 15 minutes.

The A++ part of the model number is significant in that some of the earlier models were not temperature controlled, but are still available for sale on Ebay.

I did test the temp stability with a thermocouple, and the temp stayed stable over the whole range of air flows. The only weirdness I noticed was that sometimes turning up the heat increased the air flow as well. This might be telling me that the temp I had set was too high for the airflow selected and the unit was protecting itself from overheating, or maybe the controls just interact somewhat(?).

Overall, I'm very pleased with it. It's already come in handy, as I'm sure it will in the future. For $99.00 and free shipping, I think it's well worth it. Granted, I could use something like chip quik, but that stuff is expensive, even in bulk. It looked like I was going to spend nearly a hundred dollars to get a decent amount of it, and when it's used up, it's gone. Hopefully I'll get my $99 worth out of the hot air station. (fingers crossed).