I’ve got a Hakko FX-901 Cordless Soldering Iron and I love it. I was reminded how much I love it when Donald mentioned it in Maker Update #37.
I got mine about two years ago after using one at the Be A Maker space. I stick a set of rechargeable AA batteries in it and I’ve usually got it ready to go when needed. Oh, while you can find it on Amazon for about $32, I got mine from SparkFun where it’s usually $34.95 but you can sometimes find it on sale for $24.95, which is an awesome deal!
The one thing I don’t like about it is the replacement tips. Right now a Hakko T11-B Tip for FX-901 is $24.95. Yeah, that’s the same cost as a new (on sale) iron from SparkFun. Hmmm…
I know some people really like the butane soldering irons, and they can be found for cheap, but I prefer rechargeable batteries to dealing with butane fuel. Also, I’ve flown more than once with the Hakko, and bringing AA batteries on a plane is not an issue. :)
2 replies on “Hakko FX-901 Portable Soldering Iron”
Do they take some sort of special tip with a resistance heater element in it? Otherwise, I’d be curious to see if cheaper tips can be adapted to work.
I had the “fancy” RadioShack battery-powered soldering iron years ago, but it didn’t have a true tip that heated up — it did a sort of arc welder thing with electricity. And I fried a few ICs that way. Plus, solder wouldn’t stick to the tip and it took a few seconds to work, only if it was making contact between the two halves of the tip. I really don’t recommend them — it was a bad soldering iron all around.
Matt, I’m not sure how the tip works, though I’ve seen a few on eBay for under $20. I’m tempted to grab one to test and to have on hand as a spare.