858D 110V Solder Station, Digital Display SMD Hot Air Rework Station Solder Iron Kit Heat Gun, Tweezers, Desoldering Pump

After seeing mixed reviews from various places, I wasn’t expecting too much from this $40 hot air station. Some reviews said the cord was wired incorrectly but the one I got had the correct polarity. I also expected it to take a while to flow solder but to my surprise it only took a few seconds to release an old usb c port. I’m pleasantly surprised with how well this little machine performs. Hopefully it continues to do well but I don’t expect it to last a lifetime for the price… hopefully I’m surprised again!

I have read and watched some bad reviews and videos on this style of air gun. So going into it I expected to have to do quite a bit of modifications. To my surprise it is grounded properly. Cord is correctly wired for the USA. Air flow is more than adequate. The temperature seems to be pretty darn close. With the addition of a replacement heating element and some well... tools (come on it's not expensive so not everything can be great). It's a nice starter package and worth the money. A lot better than I expected.

The quality is pretty decent considering the unbeatable price. The temperature was quite a bit too hot compared to the display out of the box, but I was able to calibrate it pretty perfectly using a thermocouple and my Tektronix instrument, after that the temperature was pretty consistent across the range. One pleasant surprise was the auto on/off as you put the handle on the provided hook. It also comes with a bunch of handy small accessories, overall very satisfied with the purchase so far although I’ve yet to do some actual work with it, but looking good so far, again in particular at that price. Pleasantly surprised!

Before plugging this in, I ran it through some safety checks. Search for a video called "Safety Checkout of a 858D Hot Air Rework Station" for some tips. This model isn't exactly the same as the one in that video, since this one has a detachable power cable and handle cable, but it should give you an idea of the things to look out for.On mine, the polarity was correct internally, and an initial ground check found that all the sides of the case and the exposed metal of the plug were grounded, but after I opened it up only the back plate was grounded. I think there was a marginal connection from the back plate to the other plates through one of the screws. To fix, I crimped some ring connectors on a piece of wire and connected it from the ground post on the back plate to the one of the screws holding the side/top case to the bottom. (One of these had a nut, which I assume is there because the threads in the bottom plate had stripped out.)When I checked the wiring of the provided power cable, the hot and neutral leads were swapped. I replaced with a different cable I had lying around.One thing to note: when the switch is on, one of the pins on the connector going to the handle is connected to the hot AC line, even if the heating element is off. (I assume they're switching the neutral line.) There's also a ground pin in that connector. So if you have the handle disconnected and touch the pins while the power is on, you might get hurt.I don't plan on poking these pins while the thing is on, so I'm not worried about this.Functionally, this seems to work fairly well. Heats up pretty quickly, cools down a little more slowly when you put it back in the cradle. The range of air speeds seems reasonable to me, but this is my first experience with a hot air rework tool.

I haven't used mine for much yet. But just using it to shrink tubing on wires is a game changer!Heats pretty quickly, not obnoxiously loud, comfortable to hold, controls are quick and direct, with a decent feel of quality, and the whole thing is pretty stable for as narrow as it is. It's very easy to get the tool on the cradle.It does come with short cords. The power cord is almost comically short, but it's just a computer cord, and those probably outnumber humans at this point, so that's an easy fix.The cord connecting the base to the wand is 36". About a foot short, but not a big deal. For what I payed, I love it.

This unit seems to get less than enthusiastic support online. I think it does a good enough job for the very limited use that I have for a hot air machine. It comes with a full set of useful accessories. I have used it to move SMD resistors for ESP32 antenna connectors and remove SMD LEDs to save power on battery powered projects and I think it does a fine job. It is simple enough to set a temperature and fan speed and get the job done. For me it has been a useful to to keep on the bench. With a little practice on some junk boards you can get the hang of it.

I purchased this about 3 weeks ago. I checked the power cord based on other comments and mine was fine. I was initially impressed given the price. It seemed to work good on the small stuff but lacking on the high end temp settings for larger parts. Based on my experience, the temperature setting is way off and the calibration pot is a joke.After the third or forth use, the display and heat feature stopped working but the blower (which runs on AC) continued to run. I was in the middle of doing something and needed it that day and I really didn’t want to go through the hassle of returning it. I opened it and checked the circuit. The board is decent quality and it is an easy to follow layout. I checked a few of the input parts and took some measurements and found the 5v regulator shorted. It was a brand name TO-220 package but was designed without a heat sink. I replaced the part and added a heat sink. It’s working fine now. So far, so good,

Rarely am I this happy with an inexpensive tool but this one is just perfect. I love that I pick it up, it turns on, I set it down and it goes into cool down mode. The temperature seems to be pretty accurate and stable, which is what I need.