Soldering station blues

[jcoffin1981]

I've had a bit of bad luck with electronics.  I purchased a knockoff 936 station and it died the second time I used it.  I purchased a 937 station and the soldering iron does not work properly.  The tip gets hot enough sort of melt solder a little bit, but then solidifies and sticks to the tip.  Fortunately the soldering iron from the dead 936 station works on the 937.

Obviously this is a situation for the vendor to return it or the manufacturer to send replacement parts.  I have contacted them, but who knows when or if they will reply.  If I send it back then I have no working station to finish my project and again have to wait.  Now the unit comes with a spare heating element.  Does it seem logical that it could be damaged and I should replace it with the spare that comes with the unit?  It doesn't seem to be getting hot enough or heating evenly and I can't think of another defect that could cause this problem.  Any ideas?

[Parak]

Hakko clones are generally fairly bad irons, but lower end hakkos are also relatively meh as far as irons go. If you see yourself using a soldering iron as not just a one-off for a single project, but as a long term investment, consider getting something better. For example, as far as chinese irons go, TS-100 is pretty decent for the money with a heatup time of well under 10 seconds. On the downside, there are only 7 tip varieties available, and they are fairly expensive for a chinese iron ($10 or so). There's also ebay as an option, but you're still looking at around $100 for a decent used pro grade station.

[invariance]

As you have done, I would start off swapping the pencils to see what happens.  Does the other pencil function normally, or is it still giving the same result: not holding temperature?

I'm going to guess that there is an issue with the temperature control circuitry in the transformer unit, but swapping the pencils will at least eliminate the possibility of a manufacture fault with the thermocouple in the pencil.

I don't think changing the heating element will make any difference as usually they work or don't.

[jcoffin1981]

My first iron was a 15 dollar plug in pencil with a little temp control wheel.  That was a disaster as it burnt the pcb and my tips.  The generic 936 was great- I loved it- until it didn't work.  Yes the iron from the 936 works well in the 937. I actually like the 936 better. I am just baffled how the new iron can just "sort of" work.  I tried to find something in the pencil that didn't thread correctly or line up, but found nothing.  Yes the old iron works perfectly in the new station, so I think that eliminates the station as the issue.

With all the money and time I have spent on on these items (probably about $140 to 150)I could have purchased a nicer station with a vacuum gun and finished all my projects already.

Maybe somebody has a tip:  my SS-02 soldaput sucker gets clogged ever other spot I desolder.  It seems it's just supposed to eject a nice cylinder of solder when its full, but balls of solder just clog the plastic and don't come out.  I have spent more time taking off the plastic and pushing out solder than anything else.  Is there a secret I'm missing?

I hope this seller refunds me the cash without shipping the unit back.  Even if it worked for a few weeks I'd accept that, but after only one use?  That means that I have to send this other one back too and get one with a working iron.  Boxing all this stuff up for returns is a real PITA.

[Jin]

Original hakko 936 is really good. i m using original 936 but it is easy for any solder works...

[jcoffin1981]

The generic 936 was great, when it worked.  If I was to use it more regularly I would probably just get the Hakko.