I swore by my old hot air station for years, but a cheap repair job changed my mind

Last week, a guy brought in a water-damaged Xbox Series S that was a total mess. I figured my trusty old station would handle the board dry-out fine, but the airflow was too wide and I ended up melting a tiny capacitor next to the HDMI port. I had to order the part and it took three days to come in, which really messed up my schedule. After that, I borrowed a friend's newer station with a smaller nozzle and better temp control to finish the job, and it was way easier. I always thought those fancy digital displays were overkill, but seeing the exact temp helped a lot with the BGA chips. Now I'm saving up for an upgrade myself. Has anyone else had a tool fail them on a simple job and made the switch?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarahhart1mo ago

That melted capacitor quote hits hard, sometimes the old faithful gear actually holds us back more than we realize.

leet322mo agoMost Upvoted

That exact scenario finally convinced me to upgrade my own gear.

luna5192mo ago

My buddy's old laptop died right before a huge deadline. He spent more on coffee that week than a new SSD would have cost.