Refurbishing an EDSYN hot air station - worth it?

[powerlot]

Hi all

I was generously given an SMD rework station from EDSYN consisting of a base station PS540 and hot air gun "LONER" model 920 CL1380.

Now, it comes with strings attached: It's missing the tip and the calibration sticker says year of '89.

A quick test revealed that when turning on the heater and pump hot air comes out of the gun, but I didn't check it further.

I found the manufacturers homepage, but there's an abundance of parts and I have no idea which one to get

EDSYN Inc.: Search Results

EDSYN is dedicated to manufacturing the highest quality soldering, desoldering, SMT rework and Fume Extraction products for the electronics industry. We celebrate the fact that EDSYN has been in operation for over 50 years and remains a family-owned and managed business in Van Nuys, California.

www.edsyn.com

SMT Rework Tips: EDSYN Inc.

EDSYN is dedicated to manufacturing the highest quality soldering, desoldering, SMT rework and Fume Extraction products for the electronics industry. We celebrate the fact that EDSYN has been in operation for over 50 years and remains a family-owned and managed business in Van Nuys, California.

www.edsyn.com

Questions:
- Is EDSYN a good brand (never heard of it) and model and is it worth trying to refurbish it?
- Which tips or parts would I need after so many years have passed?
- Can I order these in Europe? Shipping from the US is a bit steep.. the page doesn't work which is a bit worrying: http://www.edsyn-europa.de/

I would prefer to put it back into service, but if it's easier to just get a cheaper device which is new and works, it's also fine for me.

Thanks for your advice!



PS: I found a manual, but it seems to be more about a soldering iron than the hot air gun

 

[Chuck(G)]

Edsyn's an old-line brand, so I'd say the thing is worth refurbing.
(Edsyn is perhaps best known for their Soldapullt solder suckers)

 

[powerlot]

Thanks Chuck... do you own any of their irons? While doing some research I found this review from Louis Rossmann. Other than that there's virtually nothing on Youtube except for some commercials by the manufacturer itself.

The brand new one he's got looks still like mine with minor differences (mine has a trimpot under the grip for temperature adjustment). I'm kinda shocked they haven't changed that design in over 30 years and judging by the video it doesn't really perform too well with today's boards.

I would love to hear from anyone who used EDSYN hot air stations if leaving the heater on without airflow is problematic as implied in the video, but seeing as they seem to be a bit stuck in the past I'm a bit afraid of dropping 60$ for a heater element, 10$ per tip and 30$ shipping from the U.S. each time I need replacements

It does look cool with its 60s design but in the end it has to be somewhat worth its money.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Nope, I'm still using my 50-year old Weller TCP iron. No trimpots, temperature-controlled, just has a switch on the power supply (just a 24V transformer). No fancy meters or electronics. Just good old Curie-point temperature control.

 

[Chuck(G)]

It does look cool with its 60s design but in the end it has to be somewhat worth its money.

Why not write the manufacturer and see what they can tell you?

Welcome to EDSYN Inc.

EDSYN is dedicated to manufacturing the highest quality soldering, desoldering, SMT rework and Fume Extraction products for the electronics industry. We celebrate the fact that EDSYN has been in operation for over 50 years and remains a family-owned and managed business in Van Nuys, California.

www.edsyn.com

 

[powerlot]

Thought I'd update this: I contacted the manufacturer during the year and they were very nice. I got redirected to their European division (which were also nice) and ordered one of their tips which I got in a timely fashion.

But I have to admit: it doesn't really satisfy my needs... the heater is 50W according to the label on my model and it's impossible to remove components from modern electronics with lead free solder.

I will probably sell this or keep it as spare and try my luck with something from far east, as I'll only need this occasionally in a hobbyist environment.