Hakko FX888D-23BY Digital Soldering Station FX-888D FX-888 (blue & yellow)

Great iron. Durable and dependable.

While I had read all the really good ratings and heard good things about this brand and model, I was surprised how sturdy everything was.

Worked like a champ over several audio amplifier and preamp rebuild projects, a couple of reel to reel tape recorder recapping jobs (Im a hobbyist), but its just so hard to get it to work right lately - mening for about the last year and a half. Ive bought nearly all the tip sizes HAKKO makes for this, have the temp maxd out at 750, do the usual tricks of cleaning tip on scouring pad, wet sponge, wetting the tip with solder before using to ensure heat is transferred quickly to components and MAN does it get annoying waiting for parts to heat enough to get the solder onto the leads. Moreso lately than even a few months ago, it seems. Even SMALL SMD components are hard to solder with this. Ive read similar complaints from others; for the price, youd think it would WORK, and KEEP working, but lately Ive been pulling out a 50 year old 40 watt iron more suitable for wood burning and it gets the job done faster, heat sinks I use on component leads dont get nearly as hot, and it works better on those large fiberglass THICK copper trace boards on things like amplifier power supplies and heavy wire leads on rectifiers and power transistors as well. Ive built and rebuilt innumerable guitar/bass amps, stereos, preamps, many a heathkit kit in my time, thinking the units Im working on lately are smaller traces, smaller leaded components in crowded boards this would be the wise choice, I chose poorly. I gave it 3 stars for temperature control and stability - the unit SAYS 750 degrees the whole time, never varies. Solder with MP of half that temp (0.022 AND 0.031 flux core) both hard to melt, sometimes right after cleaning, wiping, Ill stick the solder right against the tip of the iron and count the second or two it takes to melt, then it doesnt stick. Yes, I use the Hakko tinning compound. Even 4-0 steel wool. A real PITA. This came highly recommended to me from a well-known tech (in some audio circles) and its been a major disappointment. Maybe its time for a new heating element. But failing after just 6 months use, when other irons decades old still work well (but unregulated, fewer tip size choices). Seriously, I wouldnt recommend it.

Im an electrical engineer, and while I dont do a lot of soldering in my day to day work, I am capable enough. I decided to make an Arduino-based quiz show timer for a couple of youth organizations with whom I work. I had a cheap soldering station that I had bought a decade and a half ago. It was OK for crude soldering, but I wanted a more capable station. After reading several reviews on a few different stations, I decided to go with the Hakko FX888D-23BY. I have been very happy with my choice. The station is organized nicely--the iron rest is small enough that it can sit right next to my work without getting in the way. The digital temperature control is nice, and the iron heats up almost instantly. The station also has two modes of operation--manual or preset (adjustable) with two to five presents. I have been using the preset mode with two presets--this allows me to switch quickly between hot (380C) and standby (135C) to keep my tips from oxidizing when Im positioning parts or checking connections before moving to the next joint. Programming the iron is very easy--if you read the manual. I highly recommend this soldering station!

Well built adjustable temperature this is the one to buy

I purchased this soldering station to replace a crappy Radio Shack 20watt/40Watt soldering iron. I solder mainly for hobby/repair applications and this soldering station is a REAL step up from my crappy soldering iron. Review Update: Ive been using this soldering station for the last 1.5 years. I love this soldering station! I actually look forward to soldering with it. It is really not even fair comparing this soldering station with my old Radio Shack 20watt/40Watt soldering iron. My old iron seemed to take forever to heat up and the tips were GARBAGE. I love that the Hakko FX-888 soldering station heats up from cold in just a couple seconds. The transformer is nice and heavy and has great rubber feet. The power cord attached to the transformer is heavy weight, and as a result, is rather stiff. Even with a stiff heavy weight power cord, the weight of the transformer (plus the grip of the rubber feet) is enough to keep the transformer where you put it. The pencil holder also stays where you put it. The pencil holder is all metal and is nice and heavy. While in the pencil holder, the heated portions of the iron are almost completely covered. The cord on the soldering iron is a decent weight but the cord is not stiff. Its nice and floppy. The soldering tip is amazing and is very resistant to oxidation. By using the sponge and the wire cleaner built into the pencil holder, it is very easy to maximize the life of the tip. The selection of tips that can be purchased and used with this soldering station, in my amateur opinion, is really impressive. I love this soldering station! Using this soldering station and proper soldering techniques, I am able to consistently produce high quality solder connections without overheating components.

I see that you are in the review section, youre probably on the fence about this purchase. So was I.... I did the same thing that you are doing now, reading the reviews. I still wasnt sure it was worth the money, after all, you can get a simple soldering iron for less than 20 bucks at home depot right? Let me tell you.... I have never experienced a soldering iron heat up from room temperature to 750 degrees as fast as this one does. The temperature is stable, the iron itself is balanced and easy to manipulate. The temperature is easily set and will stay stable on this one. I have never had an issue with it. Best of all, you dont have to turn it on and wait for it to heat up. It heats up in about 8 seconds from room temp to operating temp. I use it on all kinds of projects from Ham radio stuff (antennas, electronics etc) to motor controllers and battery BMS. Pull the trigger you wont be sorry you did.

Ive been soldering for about 55 years and am an electronic hobbyist. In the 50s, I had a Weller gun. It looked like a gun, had a trigger like a gun and worked fine on radios and TVs that I worked on. As electronics got smaller and more sensitive to overheating, I switched to a Weller or Unger iron. I think one has since bought the other. These irons and 1/8 tiplets served me very well for many years. The only problem was that the tiplet would eventually break and need replacement. They are threaded but it is impossible to get the old one out unless you drill it out. Too much work so I just bought a new heating element and put in a new tiplet. My tiplet broke and I decided to search the internet. Perhaps someone had by now figured out a way to replace the tiplet without drilling. No luck, but I kept seeing replies that essentially said toss your Unger and get a Hakko soldering station. If youve looked at soldering stations, you will see that prices are all over the place with some too expensive for a simple hobbyist like me. I think you could find something for less but then I dont know if it would be as well rated. So, I purchased this unit. I really dont need precise temperature calibration so I just set the dial in the middle. The reason that I like temperature regulation is that the the iron heats up extremely fast, about 15 seconds to melt solder. Im so old that I cant afford to wait 3 to 5 minutes just to solder one joint. Temperature regulation also ensures that the iron wont cool off if you have several joints to solder. I also like the very small handle and very flexible cord. The smaller handle gives you better control when you have to very accurately position the tip. It wasnt clear which tip the unit came with so I ordered a D16 chisel point separately. I was afraid it would come with a pencil tip which I dont like because its sometimes hard to put enough heat into the joint. It did come with the small chisel tip I prefer so I should have waited to order the extra tip. The two tips will outlast me, Im sure. Lastly, the base unit comes with a sponge and a metal cleaning wire which looks like a cross between a Brillo pad and a wad of metal shavings. This seems to work pretty well. Ive always just used paper napkins to remove excess solder and clean the tip. This is not a perfect process as sometimes solder goes places where you wish it wouldnt. Like, I have a solder-splash shaped tatoo on one foot. The quality of this unit looks very good on the outside. There is an article online which shows how to modify this unit so that the light on front indicates ON as well as Tip Heating. As it is, the light only shows when the tip is heating so one might be concerned about leaving the unit on because there isnt an ON light. I wont make this mod because Im very careful about leaving stuff powered. The point here is that the article gave me a chance to see what the guts of the base unit looked like and it also looks to be of high quality. Soldering is not that hard, but there is a learning curve. I would recommend this unit to beginners as well as experienced solderers because it just makes it more easier to make precision joints where connections are closely spaced and parts are more heat sensitive. If youre just soldering railroad track together, you dont need this. For IC and microprocessor work, this unit will save you time by not having to rework cold or bridged joints.

This is my first soldering station and I may have burnt myself lightly (completely my fault haha), but it gets the job done amazingly, even with my unsteady hands.

So I’ve used many soldering irons over the years, but never had a “nice” one. This thing is insane! Reaches 899f in under a minute, roughly 45 seconds. And the temperature hasn’t dipped one time over the time I’ve used it. The interface is super simple to set, it’s almost dummy-proof. Would highly recommend, this will be the last soldering iron you’ll ever purchase. It’s just so good.