Hot Air Station Review - Atten ST-862D vs YIHUA 959D Can a cheap station compete?

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

If you have issues with this review, or think I've done some things wrong, then you might want to check out a new video I did comparing these two stations and taking into account some of the comments here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5zYdXyci5abqKc You might be right...in some cases.

[@Lexaire]

You have to add fresh solder around the chip before applying the hot air gun. This is done to lower the melting point of the solder.

[@oafirmacionista]

Exactly! Liquid flux and a bit solder of good quality.

[@sokoloft3]

Cant do that with a BGA chip. My 858D wouldn't budge U5000 SMC on a 820-3435 macbook logic board. Its done fine up until that, even changing out a xbox series s hdmi port.

[@DrHouse-zs9eb]

Wrong. The mosfets are soldered with their body, ist like a full surface BGA.

[@sokoloft3]

@@DrHouse-zs9eb I said BGA chip, good luck tinning the pads of one as its physically impossible.

[@bravocortez4087]

Where’s the flux?

[@main_rouge]

You could probably remove those chips even with a cheap station, I'm not saying you're wrong and yes better equipment will certainly help and is always a good investment if you're serious about it but here are a few tips for those with simple equipment: -Use more Flux, people tend to think flux is only to help solder flow and attach but it also helps a lot with de-soldering mostly because it has a much higher thermal conductivity than air, thicker flux is even better in this situation -Add leaded solder or low melt solder before trying to remove component, it will mix with the solder on the board and will really help a lot massively reducing the chances of ripping pads too and is even more important if you see traces of corrosion or really old and dry solder -Try heating a wider area of the board, focusing only on the chip makes it much likely to burn or warp, especially with the better station, what you ended up doing in the end is more like brute forcing your way to success with more heat instead of doing it more gently

[@marcinsmolinski903]

I have to admit that the author of the film is right. I was in the same situation, a cheap station cannot cope with large elements on thick boards. It is simply too weak, it is good for small elements for beginners.

[@M.E63]

What you saying will help but cheap stations can’t do high demanding stuff, good hot air stations don’t require adding leaded solder and to be honest some people don’t like using leaded solder

[@ivan3584]

try on a 7 layers pcb with a cheap station and we can talk about that.. you can put a liter of flux on it

[@tyranix9785]

Cheap stations are no substitute for professional tools. ... With that said, some tricks you can do to help a little hot air heater is use a some good flux on the chip you are trying to remove and a little low melt solder. ... Sometimes old or led free solder just takes way more heat than the little heaters can blow out. So, by fluxing up and creating an low(er) melt solder alloy on the chip you can active better results. ... Making the alloy is easy. Just use your iron to mix a little low melt solder with the solder on the legs of the chip. Get the area nice and hot. Then go in with the hot air machine for the win before the board loses all the heat the iron applied to the board. ... As I said before, cheap tools are no substitution for professional tools. But, there are little tricks one can use.

[@markusaurelius4015]

I had basically this exact same experience fixing a Retron 5 with the same rework station.... I wish I'd seen your video sooner! All the videos and reviews I saw before I bought it said it worked great!

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

I think it works okay with smaller and thinner boards. It did fine with a ps2 slim board. Newer consoles just absorb too much heat for a cheap station like this. The Atten has been fantastic for me.

[@xavierayayaell546]

It does if you know what you're doing

[@markusaurelius4015]

@@xavierayayaell546 any tips?

[@E-raticWarrior]

I have the Yihua station, and it does do the temperature they say it does. It just needs a bit of modding and calibration. I have one, and after calibrating it to hit the set temperature at about 20-30mm away from what i'm reworking. Also, i had mod the handle, the intake vent for the blower fan more than half of it is blocked because of the crappy molding procedure so i just removed it all together so that the blower has no restrictions. Now i don't even have to turn up the air past 6 and i can remove mosfets off of motherboards with relative ease, I can't even turn up temperature to make because it's just way too hot.

[@basilworshipper]

I found this video because im looking for good recommendations for a hot air. I have Yihua 2 in 1 soldering station with fan hot air just like your yihua hot air station. It uses the same exact hot air. I didn't had any problems with it even on thicker boards like laptop and consoles like PS4. It takes like 3-4 minutes to remove the HDMI port with 400 celcius and 80% fan speed. It also takes like more than a minute to take off a mosfet from a graphics card. I wanna upgrade to make my job faster and more pleasant (also I dont like using high temp like 400-410 for electronics it's not good for the component nor the hot air heating element) besides compressor hot airs can blow much more air compared to fan ones and also they are quiter. The problem I've noticed is that you are not using any flux. When desoldering or soldering a component ALWAYS USE flux. It makes the solder melt so much easier and it increases surface tention meaning the solder will flow by itself into the pad without it trying to stick to the soldering iron and creating this ugly spike. This is why you had the problem to begin with. You don't need max temp and max air you need to add flux. Also while choosing flux choose one that doesn't smell. I have this one chineese flux that irritated my lungs and throat and my chest hurt and i've also had runny nose with blood for a week. So get quality flux and smoke extractor to pull the smoke so you don't inhale it. Also I bet that your Atten ST-862D with flux could desolder that mosfet in 20 seconds. Take care improve and learn I believe in you!!

[@TheEli1963]

have quick 857dw it's been 4year's working fine and all board including high end GPU don't set your hot air always max temp, the heater will die fast, just around 400 or 380c lastly always use large nozzle

[@dogukancil5128]

Apply heat around the board a little bit before trying to heat up a location, especially towards the center. otherwise you might find that your board has warped.

[@fuzzs8970]

Since you mentioned Northridge fix i think it would be easier to use low melt solder to remove those chips. Or add some leaded solder

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

I do have leaded solder I use for legs and when reattaching. I haven’t messed with low melt yet but might have to try it out.

[@fuzzs8970]

@@FixMoreWasteLess add some flux too before desoldering

[@jg9002]

@@fuzzs8970 I've seen others add flux for desoldering and never had seen this before. I thought flux allowed for better flow ONTO the joints. But when removing I would think you wouldn't be concerned about how it flows just as long as it melts. Does this really work?

[@fuzzs8970]

@@jg9002 yes adding flux really works for desolderung too. Try it

[@orcoastgreenman]

@@jg9002- yes, in both situations, it helps greatly with heat flow via physical conduction that is much better than air. Good flux also protects from oxidation at soldering temps, up until evaporated away.

[@svetlinbarzev9110]

I had a station similar to yours, that was struggling to do the job on a bigger boards, then I decided to upgrade to something between it and the atten - the quick 857dw+, it was way better, but finally ended up selling the quick and ordered the atten, soon it will be here and I am very excited about it :)

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

Awesome. I’m really enjoying using it. Hasn’t let me down once, which the cheap one did constantly. I’m finding it much more enjoyable when I’m not having to fight the equipment during the repair process. Microsoldering is tough enough, no need to add more complications lol. At least now I’ll know when I’m struggling it’s probably me and not the equipment. Hope it works well for you too!

[@svetlinbarzev9110]

@@FixMoreWasteLess Yes, it arrived and it is great, it's just another level and I can confirm what you've said :) The equipment is important, when doing microsoldering to have quality iron and hot air is a must.

[@M.E63]

@@svetlinbarzev9110what kind of things the 857dw + couldn’t handle ? I use quick 861dw and it does everything but was wondering what things the 857 maybe can’t do

[@svetlinbarzev9110]

@@M.E63 it just wasn't convincing as the atten and your quick (maybe the best two hor air stations on the market) Actually it was able to do everything, but needed more time to do it, the temperature, when measured, was not so stable, this kind of stuff. It is a good station, way better than my first one, which was with the fan in the handle - this one was struggling a lot :) It couldn't handle desoldering basic components, you can melt them before desolder them.. Maybe it is again about the skills, but now with the atten everything just happens without struggle :)

[@M.E63]

@@svetlinbarzev9110 ok I understand, it’s not as powerful as the Atten and the quick I got and fan and heating element probably not as good. I originally started off with the one with the fan in the handle and it was ok on some stuff but rubbish on more demanding stuff, everyone recommended 861dw so that’s what I bought and back then I don’t think anyone hardly had the Atten as I had it years and it’s great, my mate recently tried to do ps5 hdmi port with the one with fan in handle and it couldn’t do it, I been doing ps5 hdmi ports easy with the 861dw, so many people still recommend these rubbish ones with fan in handle and claim they great, I think they rubbish

[@ronrader4798]

From what I experienced the units with the fan in the handle are crappy. I started with one like the 959D, worked it hard when I first got it and it died before 2 weeks. I returned that one and spent a bit more for the Aoyue 852A++. So much better than what I just returned. No matter what you get, work it hard when you first get it, that way if it's a lemon you still have that return window.

[@markusaurelius4015]

Did you try an angled nozzle on the cheaper rework station? I noticed the nozzles were significantly different and I've heard that the cheaper station works better with a different nozzle attachement.

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

The cheap one didn’t come with angled nozzles and the atten ones didn’t fit. It did come with three different sizes but I had no luck using any size to get the big ground planes heated properly to melt solder.

[@markusaurelius4015]

@@FixMoreWasteLess Right. 👍 Im not talking about the nozzles it came with. There’s an angled one I know another KZbin video talked about that he said was basically a must… I’ll have to see if I can find out which one it was for you…

[@stevestorck4788]

A minute of hot-air blasting seems like a LONG time! I have not experienced this issue with my Yihua 959D, but I have had problems with the smaller nozzles working for smaller components. I wonder if you also tried slowing the airflow, because the slower air that passes over the heating element will be *hotter*. There is a trade-off between heating your component enough to melt the solder, and melting things and doing damage, but it might be worth playing around with. That makes me wonder if you compared the volume of airflow between the two units when you had success with the more expensive unit. Believe me, I am absolutely NOT questioning your judgement, or whatever works best for you, but I only intend to bring things up to consider when evaluating these devices.

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

I recently did a newer comparison where I adjusted the air flow and used different nozzles taking into account some of the comments I receive, much like this one. It turned out interesting. I'd say the YiHUA performed better the second time around than it did in this video but overall still took longer than the Atten to remove a mosfet. Also, the fan speed on my YiHUA just doesn't feel nearly as powerful as the Atten though someone suggested cutting holes in the handle where the air intake is to get more airflow. Thanks for the comment!

[@sal8349]

Thanks for an honest review.

[@andrewmcallister7781]

You didnt use any flux, that will make it much harder to melt the solder

[@M.E63]

He did on the one which couldn’t be removed

[@ezwtwrziehag1736]

doesnt matter. a good air station can desolder without flux

[@andrewmcallister7781]

@@ezwtwrziehag1736this would mean you have to increase the temperature, that will apply excessive heat to surrounding components which is undesirable. A good hot air station does not change the physics of the solder, just gives hight flow and higher temperature capabilities. Without flux you will also more get poor solder joints when soldering a new component on

[@megatronskneecap]

I'm not sure what to think of this. I'm a complete noob but even I know that the Yihua comes with bigger tips and you have to add flux to the chips before removing them too.

[@edwardebel1847]

Thanks for this review!

[@kmi964]

Thanks ' winging pom here., we bought one off Amazon in JAN 2024 after so many good reviews on you tube, just after the 30 day warranty had expired it started throwing up EO8 error code. it had done little milage one Hdmi retimer ic on Xbox X series and few heat shrink fixtures, and that was it, then came the unforeseen nightmare of finding an actual support contact no for Atten within the UK thats a joke in itself: then i find out in the small print the heater element is not covered on the warranty ? which begs the question is this known as a common stock fault/issue before the sale ? if it had happened 8/9 months down the line i wouldn't be disappointed so much, but reading so many articles of people having this issue has put me off buying the Atten hot tweezers from Telonic. for me it's about the inconvenience and sheer frustration of support or rather the lack off , imo it's a poor show these failures need to be addressed.

[@debochch]

Can ypu please measure how much ower each unit uses when there are going. This should tell us how much heat each is producing.

[@sammydavis3796]

Will this plug into a standard 110 outlet

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

Yes.

[@ReggeditCh04]

It's easy, Low down your air. More air, more heat dissipated. If you are doing rework solder, you want to melt down that only spot. So, high temp, low air. 400c and 40-50air. Will do anything

[@alf2595]

Thank you for this video. Can you make one for soldering stations? I'm not a professional but I like to repair some stuff like Gameboy advance and I got a Toauto DS90 soldering station

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

That's a good idea. I might work on one. I have a few now that would be good to review.

[@faustsmith]

How did you like this hot air station for working on more dense Apple board and shields?

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

I haven’t personally ventured into MacBooks with it but it seems to work well enough for those who do like Louis Rossmann.

[@usercvnt]

Do you have and bent tips to get more of a direct hit of heat on your tips. I would like to know if this helps your 959d at all.

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

No, mine came with straight ones. Bent might help with trying to get around the microscope. Honestly, I wonder if my 959d was just a dud or if they're all like that. I just couldn't consistently get anything to work well with it.

[@freakazomb]

Great review will definately get one

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

Thanks!

[@amldesh]

Im using RF4 H2.. it 's Good For me... Better than i expected..

[@encapsulatio]

is Atten ST-862D enough for any BGA procedure?

[@yotoprules9361]

Yes

[@nicwilson58]

I notice in your hot air removal video's you had NOT added any flux, THAT is why you had issues removing components.

[@pascalphase2556]

I ordered a RF4 H2, to replace my cheap station (BAKU 878) A nice upgrade i think, wait and see...

[@anothersummer2782]

How is that holding up. How much did you pay?

[@NerdThingsAndMore]

Thanks for the info

[@chol5808]

The iron works great.... so far.

[@CiderPang27]

Flux on the chip and Xbox not an ideal example as the board needs to absorb a lot of heat before the solder will melt. Try it on a smaller board. Bet the yihua works great. My yihua station replaced a Xbox one s retimer chip in no time.

[@chol5808]

I have cheap hot air that will reach 410/20 and then drops back and fluctuates from 280/370-ish. I have a similar SMD on a gpu. going for a better device.

[@oafirmacionista]

I bought a Yaxun YX-891, before I had a Quick 2008, this yaxun is much better than Quick.

[@The8BitHero]

The real answer is the Atten is already a cheap station. The "brand" names like Hakko are WAY more than the Atten.

[@yotoprules9361]

the hakko is also inferior - louis rossmann compared them a few years ago

[@Z-Ack]

Yea if you had the air all the way up than yea its not gonna get as hot as it should.. use smaller tip and low air, high temp..

[@stevestorck4788]

I am curious why I've (lately) been hearing people pronounce "solder" like "sold-er" (pronouncing the first syllable like the past tense of "sell") , rather than the usual "sod-er" pronunciation.

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

I think the "sod-er" pronunciation is the more American way of saying it while "sold-er" is more non-American way. A lot of the channels I watch like NorthridgeFix, Joey Does Tech, TheCod3r are foreign so I think I sort of picked that up along the way. I find I have a tendency to go back and forth on the pronunciation depending on what I'm talking about and who I've watched recently lol.

[@xavierayayaell546]

Shillin for big solder

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

Haha if it was JBC maybe.

[@irishguy200007]

You're not using at least one Rosmann of flux.

[@lord_haven1114]

It’s the station that’s crappy and also that you didn’t add flux

[@3nertia]

This is really disheartening for me, someone who has already bought a Yihua rework station (soldering iron + hot air) and really can't afford an Atten *sigh* At least I can still do some hobby soldering with it

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

Your station is different than mine so hopefully it’s a bit better at removing the larger chips. My cheap one could do small things okay, especially on thin boards, but not great. Good luck with it. It was a tough pill to swallow to buy another station so soon but the difference is night and day. You can find Attens on aliexpress for around $170 if you’re willing to wait for shipping.

[@3nertia]

@@FixMoreWasteLess I also have a hot plate - do you think that could maybe mitigate the shortcomings? Or would that just cause more problems than it solves since it's really for assembly and not rework? Lol Looks like Aliexpress is the way to go but it'll have to wait 😅

[@FixMoreWasteLess]

The hot plate should help raise the temp of the board/area and then you can come in with the hot air on the chip to push the temp over the edge and melt the solder easier. It depends on how hot the plate can get. I’d practice on some spare boards to see how best to use it.

[@3nertia]

@@FixMoreWasteLess Thanks for replying!

[@jg9002]

I was thinking of getting the Yihua as well. Did you have any issues with it or does it work fine?

[@computersrepaircotesaint-l7407]

cheap is expensive

[@Rockstar3T]

😂

[@Cb138inRs]

This video is just... Sadness. Let me break this down for ya kiddo. If you have a hamemr, and a nail, and no matter what you try. You just can't sink that nail in one shot like your buddy gabe. So you get a bigger hammer. and yeah, you can definitely sink that nail like gabe. Say you're at a stop light and a car wants to drag race, is the mazaradi going to win or is the honda with a rusted hood Your arguement of bigger=better is frankly wrong. The guy with the bigger hammer gets carpal tunnel surgery must sooner. Plus, he keeps smashing up the finishing around the stairs. The guy with the mazaradi is you, smoking in the ditch cause you dropped the clutch and gunneed it and lost control. You don't know how to even properly use the tool. You don't know how your tool is even preforming. Im not going to waste my time telling you why you're desoldering them chips wrong. But do comeback once you get a nice burn mark on your next board and I might give you a few tips These videos are just sad...

[@svetlinbarzev9110]

You're kinda right and so wrong at the same time. Got your point, but the comparison you did is so inappropriate. His new station is just way, way, waaay better than the old one and is absolutely more capable than it, the likes of his old one just can't handle some stuff and it is so important update that he did. Or it's up to him to desolder stuff with a hair dryer, it's just about how experienced he is? Hah

[@usercvnt]

Why make such a large rant when you could post the help you claim to have?

[@jg9002]

I was thinking of getting that Yihua 959D, then after watching this video thought it might not be worth it. But then you're comment gave me hope. In your opinion, does the cheaper Yihua perform well enough to remove IC's if performed correctly?

[@geexskill]

@@jg9002 like it's said in the video, the Yihua will work well on small components on two sided boards with no thermal plane. Okay, bigger rework will be more difficult or you'll have to use more flux or low temp solder. the video prove it, the job is done with both stations. I work 80% of my time on small component /simple board and I'm currently looking to buy a cheap station.