A new tool for my Electronics bench
I’ve been saving up the pennies to add a new tool to my collection, and now finally have it. I’ve gone from buying cheap tools, because they’re unreliable compared to good quality tools. My new product that I purchased was a Quick 861DW Hot Air Station. It’s 1000W of hot air which is great for removing virtually all components especially the ones that require a good amount of heat
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The model I decided to purchase was the Quick 861DW 1000W Model from the registered UK Seller Kaisertech on eBay for £250.
I opted out of buying the more powerful Quick 861 DE 1200W Model from Kaisertech for £265. The price difference between the two is neglible where I could afford either. The difference between the Quick 861DE and Quick 861DW is mainly in the available power and the air flow speeds. The Quick 861DW is 1000W in power and has a maximum airflow rate of 120L/min. The Quick 861DE is 1200w in power and has a maximum airflow rate of 200L/min. Both of the Hot Air stations have the same maximum temperature of 500’c.
The main decision for me buying the less powerful model after reading reviews online was that when you place the handle in the holder it ramps up to maximum fan speed to cool down the handle and head quickly. The Quick 861DE model is apparently really loud when it cranks up to full speed, whereas the 1000w model cools down quite quickly.
The 1000w model is also used by professional Electronic repairers, and comes highly rated. So it’s good enough for me, someone who just wants to use it for Electronics Harvesting, Circuits and Repairs.
What comes in the Quick 861DW box?
Aside from the 1000W Hot Air Station, you get a very minimal selection of extras. These are :
Grounding Cable
Presumably for ESD wrist wraps, or mats. There’s a banana jack at the rear of the Quick 861DW Hot Air Station, then you get a crocodile clip, and banana jack at the other end. I couldn’t see anywhere to plug this into on the actual hot air gun, so figure this is for ESD and it simply plugs into a mat or clips onto something for ESD sensitive circuits. As I’m harvesting it’s worthless to me but nice to have.
Hot Iron Holder
This is needed regardless for the hot air station. It serves as a storage device for the hot air to blow into, and because the hot air device is stored on it’s holder. The angle of it helps the Quick 861DW to know when to activate sleep model or cool down (probably a reed switch). The base of the holder has a quick change / nozzle changer, which allows you to change / remove tips whilst they’re hot (in theory).
Nozzle Box
Luckily the Quick 861DW comes with three nozzles to get you started. They’re all straight fitment, you could buy the optional 45 degrees angled nozzles which may make it easier when working with circuits. I’ll probably upgrade to these at a later date, as I find most of the time I was holding the iron at an angle anyway
Nozzles (inside the nozzle box)
As noted above the hot air station comes with three straight nozzles of different dimensions. With the option to purchased the angled nozzles as an optional but recommended upgrade to go alongside them. They’re cheap at £30 too, so a nice upgrade for little cost. The nozzles that come with the kit are NK2084, NK2064 and NK2084. These are all straight nozzles of varying diameters to allow you to focus on the airflow to specific spots rather than heating up the whole areas
Manual and Sticker
A bit meh but it does the job if you need the information you need. You should get one with the device. I may do a PDF upload in the future for this should anyone need a copy for themselves if they loose theirs. Nothing too special really. The sticker is basically for registration of the device and to prove it’s legit, this activates the warranty for it.
Does it work?
I’d say so. I’ve been keeping some old components for harvesting, motherboards and circuit boards. I had some victims and basically removed anything that looked interesting. Capacitors, resistors, USB ports, IC chips, mosfets, inductors, tactile switches. Anything for the collection. Realistically I’ll probably never use the IC chips, because they’re too specific to the device, and I’d probably have to build another using them. At the moment however I was just testing to see if it was capable and also to develop my removal technique on components.
Better to practice with something already dead ey?
The components I will use however will be the Mosfets and Capacitors, always a use for those. I now have a dumpy box for anything I harvest until needed with the IC’s kept in a seperate secure box to protect them
Positives – What do I like?
Build Quality
The Quick 861DW is a very good and strong build quality. It feels comfortable to use, the handle is very well assembled and cool to the touch. I used to have a Chinese Yihua station that I stopped using because the hot air part of this had an earthing fault and tripped my house breaker. This doesn’t have this problem. There’s a screw on connector that covers access to the serviceable parts of the iron, which also functions as the holster in the stand. Good design, feels really good quality
Temperature / Cooldown times
The hot air station rises to temperature and cools down really quickly. I believe this is down to the heater core, it works though, and works well.
Confidence with the Hot Air station
You can really tell the difference when it comes to working with SMD components on this hot air station. Try removing a multileg IC chip using a soldering iron + wick, or big heavy gauge parts with a solder iron + solder sucker. The speed difference is insane. I removed a IC chip with around 40 points in seconds without issue. Using the right tool for the job even makes you feel more professional as you do it, and gives you confidence when working with parts.
Negatives – What I don’t like?
Temperature calibration
OK, in theory the Quick 861DW only needs calibration when the heater core is replaced, but it’s also recommended anyway. I don’t have the calibration kit for it, and suspect it’s not running at full temp on maximum. I found myself removing stuff at 400’c, although this is a new tool for me to use as well. It’s a shame there isn’t a calibration tool that comes with it that can be plugged into the ground strap at the back, or having a built in thermistor on the nozzle to detect the temperatures.
UPDATE : I calibrated my station using my old temperature sensor for my multimeter. The temperature 500’c on the station was actually 420’c in reality. The hot air station now runs even hotter and makes removals far easier now that it’s at a proper temperature. Highly recommend the calibration with a temperature sensor if you purchase one of these.
Nozzles
The nozzles for the Quick Hot Air station are meant to be “friction fit” in design, they’re meant to be easy to push in and remove when working with the iron simply by changing them with the connector. In practice I found that this wasn’t really what happened. I was having to pull twist and tug on the holster quick change with the tip in order to remove it. Then trying to push in the nozzle whilst wobbling it in back and forth to fit it. This is because as metal gets hot it EXPANDS! Obviously you’re going to get a problem, whilst it can be changed I personally think it’s too difficult to waste the time with. So I found myself using a set of pliers to help with the removal to speed it up. Or alternatively using the best tip that works for you in first place.
Power Connector at Rear
This isn’t a major, but I’d rather have a removable connector via an IEC fused panel, rather than a hardwired cable with a seperate fuse. I just like it better when it comes to removing and swapping over cables
Manual
OK, it’s in English, but fairly bland. It does the job but feels poor quality with the way it’s written to me. With an upper average translation to English style to it.
Would I recommend the Quick 861DW Hot Air Station?
Without a doubt that’s a yes. I’ve been finding old parts I want to harvest just for a reason to use it (and to make space), I’ve been needing a hot air station to repair my phones and computer hard drives, so now have the correct equipment for the job
Don’t bother buying cheap rubbish. Buying the Quick 861DW will save you time, and it’s reliable with long term parts supply, great built quality and reliability.
