The best BUDGET desoldering station? Let's give it a try

About 6 months ago, I bought this budget de-soldering station, the Yihua 948, and in the mean time, given it a fair bit of use. But considering it's built to a budget, how has it lasted?
In the video, we take a closer look at the Yihua, give it a good clean, and put it to test to see how it's still performing, and see if it's as good a buy as it seemed at first.

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[darkintelligence]

I'm getting into restoration of retro consoles/controllers. This vid gives me a lot of motivation to learn.

[eric]

Thank you for the video. Mine should be arriving tomorrow. You demonstrated cleaning better than all the other videos I have watched including taking out the tube. Keep up the good work!

[DustinWatts]

It still remains a mesmerising thing to watch!

[treadmillrepair]

I have one Yihua 948, I been using this desoldering for two years without any major problem, I don't leave my desoldering power on for long periods, I have my trusted Hakko 808 in perfect working condition, the Hakko heat really fast and is powerful.
Some days ago I bought one WEP 948d iii still waiting for it.

Best Regards.

[pacmanlives]

Thank you for this video. I just picked one up for some projects I have in mind and made my decision based off this video

[bryanobrien]

Mine came with two of the ceramic fiber filters installed from the factory and it totally plugged up at the inner end of the metal vacuum tube before it enters the glass tube . I heated it up and it won't melt the clog, I guess that I'll try turning the heat up and taking one of the filter elements out . Weird thing is that totally plugged up, the grip gauge was only moved about a quarter . Very helpful video .

[joshmiller]

I have a soldering station almost identical to yours. It served me very well for about three years until the pump started to make a very unusual buzzing sound. I paid $120 for the station back then and I purchased a Hakko 301 to take its place for $220. I see immediately where the extra money went. The build quality and overall use is flat out better. I’m a fan of growing into my tools especially if I’m unsure how often I’ll be using it. Great insight.

[Thewolverine]

i have been using the big bulky solder sucker and it does the job eventually after pushing the button but i am not happy with the size or weight of it so i am definitely going to give this one a try,
thankyou for the video

[Warpig]

Good review. You are right, you have to look at the use case. An occasional hobbyist doesnt really need a $300 tool, but a pro might.

[JohnLeePettimoreIII]

one bit of kit that i liked to keep at my soldering stations was a small dish containing either a copper pan-scrubbing pad, or some steel wool. very good for giving the tip of the (de)soldering tool a quick scrub to remove any sticky solder.

[robbiesz]

Can you make a follow-up to this, but desolder from a board with leadfree solder and where some of the pins are on the ground plane? I can wick up solder from pins not a problem, but I struggle to do it with leadfree solder on heatsinking pins. I find that increasing the heat / heat time burns the flux and the solder mask easily.. that's why I would consider buying a station like this. thanks!

[dultijh]

Thank you for this, I like you, dont need to use it 8hrs a day but only here and there.I am not a pro. and I think that tool is just what I need.If you had an affiliate link in your description you could get paid! But thank you for the info.

[envoycdx]

Cheers, new subscriber on the back of doing some research on desoldering stations.

[Florin]

Short and girthy heating element, it has a more thermo mass and with a shorter tube you get less clogs. Maybe replacing that conic spring with a straight one with few loops and put in top of the splatter plate a copper wool will help you can clean it faster and change less often the filters. Cleaning will be replacing the wool with a fresh one. I regret my Pro's Kit SS-331H which has a longer an thinner heating element, which means less thermo mass and lot of clogging. I think I have to mod it and replace the heating element with one similar to yours, shorter and girthier.

[sma]

I have 2 Cub monitors also (and a Duratool). Great minds think alike !

[Kevinrichardsonministries]

Thanks for this Great Video. Simple and to the point. Very Good Camera shots !! I've had this unit in a shopping cart since yesterday while doing research (which is how I found you) as to the quality of said unit. I'm heading to check-out NOW, as I found it for $73.00 U.S. Thanks Again... Subscribed.

[LeoJorgensenDK]

I am just doing a little test here, thanks for the video, the test is that i need to figure out if my comments gets delete for some reson.
Thanks for the video Simon, always nice with some easy understanding entertainment.

[Stelios.Posantzis]

5:00 There ought to be a nose adapter for de-soldering multiple in-line pin components like these.

[donaldsowers]

After all the looking and studying, I came back to the 948. I watched this video two to three times and came up with the same conclusions that he did. I'm not a professional (at anything). I will use it a few times a MONTH and if it takes some of the aggravation out of de-soldering, it is well worth the price. I'm 77 and it will probably out last me. I bought mine today.

[TimsRetroCorner]

There definitely seems to be a lot more clearance with this tube than the one on my ZD-915. Mine is a real struggle to remove, and even harder to get back in (always worried the glass tube might break, causing a nasty injury). I'd definitely consider switching to one of these, purely from a peace of mind aspect (no way I could ever afford a Hakko!)