Hakko FR-300 Great tool and some bad....

super98lsc

Well-Known Member
I recently purchased a Hakko FR-300 prior to starting my CA-3000 rebuild. Great tool works great. Until the xxxx heating element failed within the 1st month. :mad: Hakko opened a case for me and said to send it back they will repair it under warranty but it will take nearly two weeks. I ordered an element and swapped it myself for 65.00 bucks just because I have zero patients. According to Hakko these units do not have a high failure rate but I am now nervous.:sigh: My temp settings were fairly low for the work I was doing on the pass throughs, caps, transistors etc. Anyone else experience reliability issues with thiers? I did ohm out the element and the element failed not the temp probe section. You guys will get a laugh out of this... I was not about to finish my transitor swaps using a soldering wick as I was spoiled by the gun, I snagged my small MAP torch out of my shop and used it to heat the tip of the Hakko up to the temp I needed then desoldered the components. Unless your really skilled with welding/torches I really DO NOT reccomend anyone else do this.
 
DUDE you are INSANE in a really cool kinda way.... LOL
I have had a total of 1 heater element failure in my Hakko 808 and I have had it 7 years ( or more ) .. I left it on HI for a 3 day weekend at work , unattended and the AC failed in the shop OOPS
 
I wonder honestly if I left mine on overnight in the lab and forgot. Hoping that is what killed it prematurely. I did back the temp calibration down some. The dial states that setting #1 is 660F which was closer to 900F going on both my temp probes. I dialed it back. Yikes 3 days that might wear it out faster rofl.
 
I've been using one of these Radio Shack Cheapies for years. They work surprising well and you can't beat the price.

I think I've gone through three of them. They work good for awhile but the heating elements fail and the tips don't last long. The tips are replaceable but when the heating element fails you need a whole new iron. I've kept the desoldering head and am looking for a better quality iron to use it with.

- Pete
 
900 Holy MOLY I keep mine ~450F and I have to be really QUICK or I'm lifting traces…
if it is TRULY 900 somethings broke!
 
I've had an Hakko 808 for 3 years and while I'm not running it 5 days a week in a shop, I've done a couple full recaps with the gun on for 5-6 hours with no heating element issues. I'm with Super...I would have bought another element before I'd be without it for two weeks.
 
I heard great things about the 800 series guns. Hence why I did not hesitate to purchase my FR300. I wish they would just RMA the damned element for me so I have a hot spare without shipping away the entire gun. I did reset the t-stat calibration as it was WAYYY hot. I should have checked it before ever using it as it likely was off from the start. I trusted they had factory calibrated it ... err... nope...
 
Back
Top Bottom