Hakko FX-901 Cordless soldering iron - worth it!

[BadMouth]

Got tired of dragging an extension cord out to the driveway to work on car stuff, so I ordered one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX-901-Cordless-Soldering-Iron/dp/B00FZPUA28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418353213&sr=8-1&keywords=hakko+battery

I was ready to be disappointed because I had one of those cold heat soldering irons in the past and it was useless.
(I know, different technology, different concept)
This was Hakko and I love my FX-888, so I figured it couldn't suck too bad.

Runs on 4 AA batteries.  According to the graph on the back of the package, it looks like normal alkalines will last 50-60 hrs minutes  before the heat drops off significantly.
Ran a stopwatch app on my phone when I turned it on.  It only took 25 seconds to get hot enough to melt solder.  Seems plenty hot enough for electronics and small wiring (14ga or smaller).
Reflowed some tiny surface mount micro usb connector tabs with it.  Wasn't planning on using it on stuff that small, but the pointy conical tip got in there without touching the next pin over.
Impressed so far.  The plastic feels a bit cheap, but it's definitely worth $32 for the hassles it will save me.

[Generic Eric]

Wow. Most times a basic unit is $12 to $20.  $32 doesn't seem a bad deal.  Will you use rechargeables on this?

[yotsuya]

Damn, thanks for the tip, BM. I know what I want for Xmas.

[Slippyblade]

Maybe 50-60 minutes.  Definitely not hours.  I actually had a bit of a convo with customer service at Think Geek about that since the email they sent out about it claimed HOURS instead of minutes...  Needless to say, it meant minutes.

[BadMouth]

Will you use rechargeables on this?

No.  No more often than I'll use it, they probably won't be charged when I need them.
Been picking up Duracel AA in bulk on Rakuten.  IIRC, they're dated best used by 2019.

Maybe 50-60 minutes.  Definitely not hours.  I actually had a bit of a convo with customer service at Think Geek about that since the email they sent out about it claimed HOURS instead of minutes...  Needless to say, it meant minutes.

The email I got from Sparkfun (which prompted me to buy it) also claimed hours.  Must not have noticed that the chart on the packaging was in minutes, not hours.
That's quite a difference.  It's still very good for my purposes, but I'm much less impressed with it now.

From the Hakko website:

Alkaline batteries : 60 minutes
 Nickel hydrogen batteries (2150mAh) : 120 minutes

[Nephasth]

No smoke extractor? Pass.

[yotsuya]

No smoke extractor? Pass.

[pbj]

Cold wave irons do alright with me.  I just toss them into machines owned by friends and family that I know will haunt me again someday.  That way there's always a 'good enough' iron laying around.  $10 insurance.

[Nephasth]

Won't pay for jerky, but gives away $10 tools... Just keep one in your vehicle.

[pbj]

Won't pay for jerky, but gives away $10 tools... Just keep one in your vehicle.

Who says I paid for the tools?

 

[Nephasth]

You did. "$10 Insurance"  If you didn't pay for it, what the ---fudgesicle--- is the point of mentioning a price?

[pbj]

You did. "$10 Insurance"  If you didn't pay for it, what the ---fudgesicle--- is the point of mentioning a price?

So that the peasants that pay for things know what they're getting in for?


In the future, should I type slower so you can understand?

 

[Nephasth]

Or just stop typing out your ass. That'll work best. 

[yotsuya]

Neph gotta PBJ. PBJ gotta Neph.

[Slippyblade]

I wasn't complaining about the heat time, to be honest.  Just pointing something out.  Even 60-120 minutes is awesome as long as it heats up well.  I was holding off on getting one till I saw a review. 

[pbj]

Neph gotta PBJ. PBJ gotta Neph.

I don't even get what point he's trying to make.  Yes, there are a couple of games out in the wild that are still kinda-sorta owned by me.  Seems like whenever I visit, they need something tweaked.  Keeping a coldheat soldering iron tossed in the cabinet makes my life easier.  We all like saving money, but if spending $10 means I don't have to make another 6 hour round trip, I'm spending the $10.

This forum is getting ridiculously hostile lately.  Lots of snark, very few projects. 

 

[Nephasth]

This forum is getting ridiculously hostile lately.  Lots of snark, very few projects. 

 

Well, if you don't like it, you could always leave. Oh, wait...

[lilshawn]

have a Weller BP645. (same ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- different pile)

it's good for quick stuff out of the way when i don't feel like dragging out the iron.

a good set of duracells or energizers are a MUST. no dollar store batteries need apply.

not enough thermal mass for anything big/heatsunk. but wires and leads are fine.

[eds1275]

no dollar store batteries need apply.

Since you brought up dollar store batteries, are they good for anything? I always see them but never buy them. One time I was in a store (not dollar store) and bought this huge box of duracells for cheap. I was so excited, and my friend was like "I've never seen anyone so excited about powercells before." I look again, and sure enough he was right. I had a big box of power cell batteries that looks almost exactly like duracells. They were absolutely horrible. Generally I will buy name brand, usually energizer and then when they aren't good enough for their intended purpose they go into a drawer to be used in remote controls. This was probably 10 years ago and I've just stayed skeptical.

[lilshawn]

low current applications are about all they are good for.

remotes, clocks, cheap LED flashlights... kids toys that you don't want to listen to for forever.

you can search the big box stores (walmart/target/costco etc.) and sometimes you can find deals on big packs of name brands. 25 pack of AA's made by energizer or duracell for 12.99 is not uncommon. better than the 12 bucks they often want for a 6 or 8 pack.

all in, buy yourself an expensive set or 2 or 10 packs of good high quality NiMH batteries (avoid old ass NiCad). the bigger mAh, the better. (like 2700mAh and up) for your high drain devices (like the soldering iron and remote control cars, cattle prods) and use the hell out of them. It'll cost you 100 bucks to get started, but they very quickly pay off if nothing but in the reduced frustration of digging for more batteries.