AIXUN T3A Soldering Station Review ll JBC iron comparison 

"Design inspiration" is quite the understatement, I'd say.

During some temp and calibration troubleshooting, I spoke to our regional Hakko vendor, who's also a distributor for JBC. They told me you have to goop a really chunky blob of solder onto it when measuring temp using these sensors, and that it's the same for JBC (and Pace) too - to get any actual useful readings. These cartridges can overshoot and bounce around _a lot_ when not doing so, because even the tiniest of pulse, ripple or noise can cause significant temp deltas when there's practically nothing there to sink heat. IIRC he compared it loosely to revving your engine in neutral in your driveway, while expecting results and readings as if it was on a dyno. And st least from my own subsequent testing the way he told me to, it _seems_ this was good, honest and fruitful information. By adding a big'ol glob of solder, it _somewhat_ simulates a small but realistic load. And the temp results from that will also be much closer to those performed in actual soldering use. Those are IMO the most _useful_ readings to have and calibrate (by), especially if your work has very tight tolerances and require rigid validations. My own testing and sample group does no strong statistics make, but at least anecdotally, among roughly 25 T15 (same as T12), T30 and T9 Hakko and C210 and C245 JBC cartridges, the vendor suggested method was confirmed accurate with repeatable results, by sticking small sacrificial thermocouples into flowing solder joints, for comparison to the "tip thermometer" readings with a big glob of solder applied. This also explains why these "tip thermometer" sensors are sold cheap and in 10-packs; they are considered highly sacrificial and disposable. Because you commonly only get 2-3 readings before it's done for when completely enveloped in solder

Update about Aixun T3A. Turned out it does support also T12 handles and tips. So you can use T3A station also with T12 tips which open doors to vast array of specialized T12 tips for affordable price. Good feature for many of us, because some specialized JCB-C245 compatible tips cost a little fortune. I now use T3A station with both T245 handle for C245 tips and T12 handle when I need T12-1401 and T12-1402 tips who in C245 equivalent have eye-watering price.

I have the same version as you and have been using it for the last few months and its FANTASTIC. Congratulations at getting to 100k subscribers, not bad for a NZ farmer.

Thanks a lot. I was looking at new iron to supplement my Hakko FX-888D. Was looking for looking for something inexpensive like KSGER T12. But I decided on this one. 2 days into using it, I am putting the Hakko on the aftermarket for sale. Already spent $250 in nice genuine JBC tips/cartridges. Can't believe how good this iron is. And yes, I used your affiliate link.

Awesome upload once again sir. Im homeless and trying to learn repairs. I did get the ts80 you did review but it is little to light for bigger ocb repairs. Money being really really tight. So these reviews are priceless to me. Thank you.

My AIXUN T3A/T245 just arrived - purchased based on your review. It is awesome. Thanks so much for highlighting this excellent product! :-)

Thanks for this video. I order myself the full set. It was Total: € 191,23 with tax and shipping from AliExpress to norway. But hey, it's worth it.

Ordered mine when you published this, just arrived very excited

Being fair I was looking for a soldering station. Thanks for testing, now i know what to buy.

This is awesome for the price. I was considering a much more expensive ERSA iron but I only need it for light use so I think I'll be getting an AIXUN now.

great video. Nice to see some real world comparisons. I've been using "grandad's" iron for 35 years. My old Weller has never failed me. I've been interested in these new style irons but never was convinced I needed one. I see now the difference. I'll be upgrading but I doubt that whatever I buy won't be working 30 years from now. Nor will I be able to buy replacement parts as I can my old Weller. I guess soldering stations are disposable now, like everything else.

I ordered mine a few days ago...can't wait to get it. Also ordered some OEM JBC tips from a US authorized vendor. Will be testing the clone vs OEM tips to see how they perform against eachother.

Early T3A firmware didn't implement overshoot feature. It was the genuine JBC which introduced overshoot in the later version. T3A follows then.

Thanks. I made my decision after your film. The 20th in row T3A(245) review i watched. Thumbs up as usual.

Great video. I really appreciate the scientific way you approached measuring the performance. I just ordered the latest JCB CD-2BQF before seeing this video, but I had my eye on that for some time, already. Can't wait to use it!

thanks for this review, I was looking for a new soldering iron. and this one has potential

Ordered one Aixun T3A, so really looking forward to comparing it with my KSGER T12 :)

Thank you, I was looking for this T3A tests for some time now, and I was expecting this exactly results.

That looked awesome! Great review

I have burnt out a few tips already. (T245-A and T3A base). Heating is all in the tips and this little unit cranks the power in to them. Two of my tips (cheap import ones) are now open circuit and wont heat up at all. FYI I'm also using the latest firmware update and it still overshoots, they get cooked when first removing from the base station as the temp screams up. I also have a cheap 35W iron, a duratech TS-1380 and a little TS100 (my favorite).

As always and forever I love your work and especially your excellent presentation pedagogy Thank you for sharing

Great review like the detail and the calibration issues.

there is a 1.25 firmware now that fixes the graph issues on the home screen. also we ordered in a dozen for the shop and 2 have really bad light bleed from the upper right corner of the display. a few others are a bit brighter there but those have a bright spot there. otherwise nothing to complain about with these

I really really like my Pinecil and use a solder gun for heavy jobs. My Pinecil heats up in less than 15 seconds. The Pinecil runs off of 12-20VDC so I have mine connected to an 18V Ryobi batttery.

Brilliant loved the Fire bit

Thank you for sharing such a detail review.

honestly I never expected that an electric iron would be able to take on pipe. I have soldered a sheet metal drain pain before but that was a tip that went onto an Acetylene tank fueled system and had a chonker of a tip.

Amazing test, congrats

That microscope looks really cool and useful for small solder work

Wow, I have also the Jabe UD-1200 clone one that works very well but I am going to order this one too...

I'm currently happily using my TS80P for bench PCB work. Gotta say the first thing that took my eye was that really nice stand! I wonder how it would work (or not) as a TS80P stand?

Yes it can solder some beefy stuff but not as well as it should with the available power. The overshoot would suggest that either firmware control or build of the tip is not rigt.

I have a Weller soldering station that I purchased in 1984 that still works as well as it did when new. I used it the other day and had no issues. It seemed expensive at the time, but now that I look at my decision, I have no regrets.

Best comparisons ever.

Awesome review. Gonna get one.

Just a suggestion for the power test. Use a wooden shunt between the copper pipe and the vice. Otherwise nice one.

Very good vid after you download the updated sofware was there any other improvements?

I purchased based on this video. I couldn't be happier with the unit. It works incredibly well and also works with original JBC tips with is a huge plus.

Massive parts must be soldered with massive tips and powerful soldering irons - the laws of heat transfer have not yet been canceled!

very nice video

Thanks for the review. (Also a rural nzer) Looking at the newer T3B . You reviewed 245 handle but many of the bundles offer the 115 and 210 handles. What's the difference?

Would have been interesting to see the comparison (especially heat up times and the "raw power") with a Pinecil V2 with a short tip (6.2 Ohm vs. 8 Ohm for the old ones).... Especially since I'm currently owning a TS-100, Pinecil V1 and soon also a V2 (I already have the new tips) and other older irons... But I must say this unit also seems interesting due to it potential raw power. Yes I probably have an unhealthy obsession soldering irons. I blame it on having a 25W iron as a "kid", the kind where you change the tip temperature by adjusting the temperature of the universe or actually using the bloody thing.

I like the copper pipe test. It's an objective, repeatable test.

Thank you for video. Is it soldering iron holder compatible between this two stations? Connectors are the same?

Be nice to see the insides. The first thing I did when I got my KSGER t12 stations a few years ago was open them all up. They were surprisingly well-made inside come up with everything properly terminated, ground where it should and shouldn’t be, and everything was done properly although I did swap a few of the bigger shittier filter caps. And I think I added heat sink compound between one of the transistors and heat sink because it was dry and barely touching the heat sink. I haven’t touched my jbc or pace equipment very much at all since getting the KSGER irons. Not because the newer ones are a lot better or anything. But they are definitely on par. And I don’t have to worry about ruining a $50 tip or damaging really really expensive soldering equipment if I make a boo-boo mistake. That pace station when I bought it new was about $1200 for the all in one thing including the tweezers the hot air several different irons and desoldering pump. And I bought another one on the used market and it was still pretty damn expensive about five years ago. I really like the KSGER t12 stations. Even some of the cheaper basic ones are pretty nice I didn’t buy the basic ones I bought the ones with the big thick 10mm billet aluminum and engraved faceplate, aluminum machined torch handles, with the modern STM 32 hardware and software utilized with also the most up-to-date board revisions. . I think they run about 80 bucks delivered for the nicer ones like that. But you can get pretty much the exact same thing it just comes with a plastic handle, and a regular extruded aluminum case that also has a much smaller old screen on the front that’s harder to see. But they are about half the price running about 40 bucks apiece according to where you get them. Anyway… Would be cool to see the inside of the one in your video both brand-name and knock off and see how it compares.

Thanks for the video and the links Nice job all kidding aside💯

Nice review / comparison.

Great video. I’m a novice and have a 2-in-1 yuhiu but feel it’s cause me issues while working so looking for something better/stronger. Do you have a video showing how to calibrate an iron without all the fancy heat tools?

Thanks for the review.

Great review. Thanks

In the last 45 yrs i have used either weller or Antex & they are ok, however, 10 yrs ago i inherited in a MetCal which is the best thing ever. I think its made in California & the psu is in fact a high frequency psu !!! Bizzare.

I really enjoy your videos 👍🏼🏁💯🍻 Which version of this iron is the best?

Can this unit be run from both 110V and 220V? Since I have seen that they sell a "110V" version and a "220V" version, or is it only one unit that handles both voltages ?

Which one do you recommend for general hobby, Aixun T3A, T3B or the miniware?

Excellent video!

Is the JBC far better then the hakko's 888D/FX951 and weller's ? ( new ). Also where would you recommend a good value microscope soldering station? like yours

All we need now is a port of IronOS with options to tune PID values and this will be a best bang for a buck for a long time.

Hi thanks for the video. can original JBC 245 handles used as well? I have a spare t245 handle with some original tips on stock. Thanks

Hi your video on buck boost converter was great bit green on these My question is I have 3 40ah 3.5 lithium cells if I installed booster to 12.6 it works out roughly 12a Where is running appliance of 12v appliances would be 4a So does that mean it would use 3 times as much power out of battery If that makes sense

I would have used the affiliate link in this case, but I think this is the first time I've bought something before you showed it off. Good review. I'm considering now the T3B as a second unit for finer soldering work (NT115/T115), but wondering if I can use genuine WS140 (micro wirestripper) AT420 (micro tweezers). If the firmware was opensourced it would get a lot more improvements and attention when you have trust in how the code works. Non windows installation would also be a huge improvement. ie Don't make installer binary for platforms allow for trusted existing tools to install and update the firmware. Other issue I got was I didn't get the fancy new stand with mine. :-(

So beautifull Solder Maschine

What was that soldering tip you had at first for the 200 watt demonstration?

you should try the pinecil. dirt cheap, can do 95W and is compact and USB-C and supports shorter tips that heat up almost instantly.

My only complaint with my Hakko T12 clone is how plastic and cheap the handle feels, This will definitely be on my radar for my next iron.

Hi. Are the original JBC T245-A Handpiece is also compatible with this station or only JBC tips?

Wonderful video! Can we hope for a tear down some time? I worry that these cheap knock off irons may pose a fire hazard or not have proper fusing + grounding.

@Schematix have you test the Aixun tips vs JBC? In the Video you used the JBC tips.

Great video thank you! I bought one along with the power supply and they got delivered this week. The process to upgrade the firmware didn't work for me though. It came with firmware version 1.26 and the software was already in English after I installed it. It did aske me to do a software upgrade which only worked after I started the software as administrator. The installed the FT232 serial driver (also as administrator) and plugged in the unit but the software doesn't detect it at all. Windows make a sound after I plugg it in so it must have detected something. I'm not sure how to proceed from here.

I have a KSGER T12 soldering station, can I use the T12 handle that came with it with the Aixun T3A?

Great video.. Any recommendations on US sellers for the Aixun T3A Iron? I can't seem to find anything other than eBay.

I have been using a JBC at my work for the last 8 years or so. At home I still have my (old) cheap Ayoue 936 after 15 years. I use both extensively. From a practical point of view, I personally don't get the temperature tests and calibration. I basically never really even look at my temps. Very quickly you get a feel for how things solder. Or when it's to hot or to cold. Obviously the JBC is nicer, but on a daily practical (!!) basis I consider it more luxury than anything else. The tips of the JBC last a bit longer although they are also 4 times more expensive so that kind of cancels out again.

Where you got handle rubber fitters at 7:28? I haven't them and dressing the handle turned into a little nightmare. Teared first rubber while tried. Succeeded only at second time when found that it is possible to roll the rubber over the handle. Ouch.

What cartridge is being used when the copper pipe is being soldered?

Great video

Alat yang bagus

I just bought one of these stations on your recommendation, I will let you know how I get one. Cheers from Ireland.

Hi mate, do the jbc handle work with aixun station?? I'm thinking about buy a set of jbc AM120 hot tweezers and hopefully save some bucks. Thanks!!

Like it, thanks for sharing :)

About the Firmware Update Tool: Windows SmartScreen's source of complaint is not that the publisher is unknown. I run loads of "Unknown Publisher" software at work without setting of SmartScreen. That being said, it could still be a false-positive, I had quite a few of those too (also having publisher info which I assume means it's signed). After all AV is just a fancy word for Magic Voodoo feelgood vibes for the compliance auditor.

Would you recommend the bst-933b/UD-1200 or the aixun t3a?

What do you think about the Miniware TS80P Soldering Iron or similar?

Very nice looking. I wonder if you could use the DC output port as a DC input port? Get 50W out of it with a 12V car battery, which could be good in a pinch on the go. Now I’d like to see a cheap temperature calibration sensor that doesn’t require calibration out of the box.

Any thoughts on the new T3AS? The aixuntech website has it featured.

How much Amps does this soldering station use? I noticed you mentioned it but I think that's for the branch of the station, isn't it?

5:39 16:00 TIP: if you ever need to translate chinese or japanese, use google translate for mobile phone and camera view to point to text and translate automatically in real time...

Hi there, thanks for the great video. Just one question, what is the difference between the AIXUN T245 and T245-A AX hand piece? Thank you in advance and best regards

8:06 I would say that no it doesn't. That's ignoring the outrageous overshoot on the Aixun, which isn't something that shouldn't be ignored. Your shots showed the JBC to have no such issue. Aixun needs to work on their PID control software. If it overshoots initially, then it will probably also have problems when the thermal resistance of what you're touching changes i.e. when you touch it to a workpiece. An interesting product and seems good for the price, but I'm not going to sell my JBC and buy an Aixun. I get that later on you did a separate test about overshoot, but my point is that overshoot and accuracy aren't completely independent factors. I don't mean to sound overly critical; I'm just worried that it would dump way too much heat into something sensitive, even if only for a second or two.

hey schematix, appreciate the video review. i couldn"t help but notice your interest in larger tip sizes, especially being a farmer yourself. therefore did you know about the t470 handle and tips? because my impression seems to be they share the same heater and thermocouple pin arrangement in the tip, and therefore should be electrically compatible between t245 and t470. unlike the smaller c210. so my question is this: can we simply just buy ourselves a t470 handle as an extra accessory and plug it in? because this may give an even higher performance for larger tip sizes. which could be useful. best wishes

It is a shame that the Aixun does not seem to be available on Amazon. I'm not fond of waiting 6 to 8 weeks, the currently quoted time in your affiliate links. I did find others who were quoting 3 to 4 weeks with air shipment. That still seem a bit too long. I'm thinking of going with the KSGER T12 station that I can have in 1 to 3 days from Amazon. On the other hand, for a bit less money, I can go with the older technology Weller WE1010na which is NOT made in China, is very reliable, and genuine OEM tips are also readily available for about $7 each.

What unit would you recommend for a budget of around 80$US and preferably from AliExpress as I'm in Thailand.

14:25 That's not happening because the station is not recalling the previously calibrated values, but just because it does that. The values match exactly just because the station now uses the previously set calibration to heat the iron to a particular temperature, so, it assumes that whenever it thinks it heats the iron to let's say 100 degrees, its temperature is actually 100 degrees. And if it's not, then it has to know how much off it is compared to the current (=the previously calibrated) nominal temperature, not how much it's off to some initial or previously calibrated value, which it's not using anymore to control the heating.

Impressive video 👍👍👍👏👏👏

Good job. I have noticed that the wattage ratings for the tips is much lower than the ratings of these soldering stations. If you make a straight wattage calculation based on 24V and the resistance you come up with that rated tip wattage, so if it were somehow turned on continuously it is rated for it. But, since the temp is controlled by a sensor there is no reason why a much higher voltage couldn't be applied and regulated as the element is not going to burn up until it reaches it's melting temperature. That's what it's going to take to push the wattage these stations are rated for. Or, they should offer tips rated for high wattage at 24V (if that's the control voltage). It definitely was impressive though. When I searched for a price a few came up at $39 😀 once I added the details it jumped closer to $180 🤣 Ok, I'm cheap and it's a hobby. I'll start saving my change and look under the seat in the cars.

One welding station can meet your different welding repair needs-AIXUN T3A Intelligent Soldering Station

A great. Would like to see a video how you build the 5 pins connector on the back and put a round on/off swich on the front)

Wonder how bad the overshoot is compared to a T-12. With great speed comes great overshoot. The big question is price & availability of tips compared to the T-12.

Did the firmware upgrade change the overshoot or your calibration?

Do you have a link for the JBC tips that fits on this soldering station please and thxs