SHOULD YOU BUY A SOLDER REFLOW HOT-PLATE?

[@garthhowe297]

Interesting... I hadn't seen this type of device before. Handy for keeping a pizza slice, or tea, warm while out in the shop.

[@MkmeOrg]

It'll reheat pizza like a beast ;)

[@funkynerd_com]

Thanks for the overview. I just ordered one of these exact hot plates off eBay for $129AUD. I'm about to solder my first SMD board design and was planning on using a hot air gun until I realised that it wouldn't get to the GND pad under the microcontroller, so I decided that I needed something like this. Hopefully I have everything I need now to get it done. Much cheaper than a $1k+ reflow oven!

[@tHaH4x0r]

An easy way to do those ground pads under chips, is when designing boards have plenty vias directly under the ground pad, and leave the copper exposed on the other side. Put the chip on top, solder 1 leg. Flip the board, add plenty flux on the exposed pad + vias. Use your iron (should be a proper one with high wattage) to heat the exposed pad whilst feeding solder. The solder will automatically wick into the vias to the other side, and bond with the chip (works better with added flux). To confirm it is indeed connected, you can flip the board back around, and try to move the chip whilst heating the first pin you soldered. Chip should be rock solid.

[@EgonSorensen]

I'm working on a hot-plate myself (round silicone heating pads - goes up to 240C) mostly for rework, so no. Here's why and a few things I'm focusing on: It heats up (fast), does it also cool down (fast, as in fan-assisted) - I'm sure you don't want to overcook whatever is on it and moving/sliding hot pcb's off a hot-plate can be risky imho. If it could follow the recommended reflow profiles it'd be perfect, but that would require a new controller I imagine. It is shiny, it is slippery. It is without 'guard-rails', it is high - so resting your hands while working on a pcb is impossible. I know the title says reflow hot-plate, but if you only use it for doing reflows- why not just use a regular pot and pan cooking hotplate with a cheap PID controller (posibly with a flat piece of thin metal under the pcb, if the heating element has deep grooves making poor contact with your pcb - also makes it easier to move done pcb's off the heat). Working on something this high without hand-rest is a huge shoulder strain and a big burn-your-hands-risk especially if doing any soldering and/or rework.

[@nathanexplosion743]

What hot plate would you recommend?

[@EgonSorensen]

@@nathanexplosion743 I would (and have) DIY, so I can't recommend a specific brand - sorry. I have worked with an IR/Ceramics hotplate with a metal mesh. Can't recommend those as the mesh isn't flat and 'grips' into the PCB making moving it around nearly impossible if there is components on the bottom side. They also tend to be rather tall, with heat coming from the center - making working around them uncomfortable. I have taken a (ceramic resistive) hotplate normally used for cooking food, disassembled it almost entirely so I could mount a thermocouple against the ceramic disc securely using the already present metallic bracket inside the unit. Then I routed the wire outside, away from any exposed power and high temperature areas inside the hotplate. Securing it to the power cord, and grounding securely. Then I use a PID controller to control the temperature, which easily overshoots in the beginning (if/when the PID isn't tuned) - it will settle after a while. Great for heating ipads at low temps, and can go very high if needed too. The plate is about 1/2 height of commercial hotplates I've seen and a whole lot cheaper. Not that hard to modify, as it 'only' takes a PID controller + hotplate with grounded powercord. What are your needs? If you're only doing small PCB's a large hotplate will be overkill, if you're doing a variety a small hotplate will most likely not cut it. Best of luck!

[@YoutubeBorkedMyOldHandle_why]

Already bought one, and this is despite having already built my own DIY hot plate. This unit is clearly superior to mine, and was really cheap too. The total price delivered was something like $105 CAD. As for thermal shock, I have a sheet of aluminum 180x220x2mm, with a detachable handle on the edge. I can assemble everything on the sheet, lift it onto the pre-heated hot plate, and quickly remove it when done. The extra time it takes to heat the sheet of aluminum and then the PCBs should mitigate any issues. The 'use case' for a re-flow oven is relatively large volume, at least compared with what I'm doing. At most, I'd be working on perhaps 1-5 small boards at a time. A re-flow oven would be gross overkill, whereas a smaller DIY hot plate is just not very consistent. This unit however, is perfect.

[@coderrquitsreality_]

I was gifted this for Christmas! Ever since, I've been stealing chips off of dead components to collect lol

[@isaacclark9825]

Exactly the kind of practical advice I was looking for after watching all those DIY videos.

[@MkmeOrg]

Hope it helped

[@y_x2]

You are right on all point.

[@willymaker5687]

Thanks for the review. Can you comment on the time it takes to heat up? As an example, what would be the expected time to heat up to 200C?

[@roymoran1151]

Is this hot plate sufficient for new board assemblies?

[@arpitchauhan8119]

Can you tell me what kind of heating element use in this hot plate ?

[@gregory9211]

You got me buy one of these.

[@MkmeOrg]

I hope it works well for you. At the lower price they are impossible to beat TBH

[@mathieusan]

with a 350C max temp, I am guessing you cannot do pure tin solder, and have to use lead based solder. That's unfortunate.

[@Pwntatoz]

Are you thinking of Fahrenheit? 350C is more than enough for any solder paste I've ever worked with.

[@ronm6585]

Thanks Eric.

[@JasonLeaman]

Thanks for this Good Video ! Thinking about getting one of these..

[@MkmeOrg]

Glad I could help

[@JasonLeaman]

@@MkmeOrg I hope the device helps i'm sick of hand bombing Melf 0204 & 0207 resistors LOL! They roll away to fast !

[@Hhtfvhrcbgrejkkjhffvbhb]

This unit use for desoldering components???

[@richysradioroom]

I have a 1970"s glass hot plate I use.

[@MkmeOrg]

I watched the second hand stores for some months as that would have been fine for me too. I finally looked on Amazon and this was at $80CAD prime shipped. Tough to beat

[@richysradioroom]

@@MkmeOrg yup...and your temp has to be more consistent than mine.

[@MWDrone]

Would this be a good option for phone repair as well?

[@jellyboy123]

yes to remove phone screens

[@Dawood4]

Any updates on its reliability?

[@MkmeOrg]

Still working

[@agustinirusta1287]

Hello, I am a Latin American subscriber, can you put the subtitles in Spanish to your cubesat videos please

[@MkmeOrg]

I dont speak Spanish sorry

[@T1g3rch3n]

@@MkmeOrg I think he meant 'enable auto-Translate'

[@kekekeernest8920]

Please what's the input voltage ⚡

[@MkmeOrg]

110

[@kekekeernest8920]

@@MkmeOrg I bought a 110v and my country uses 220v, please advise

[@PRO100_TAYFUN]

нихрена не понятно но интересно )))

[@manuelr7121]

dude they sell electric stoves at a local store for like 15 dollars ....ima buy that instead