OK, a few questions:
What nozzles are included with the various hot air rework stations? We have pictures, yes, but they don’t tell the dimensions.
Are the nozzles are included in the original manufacturer packaging, or are they included by SparkFun?
Forgive me - but I thought the dimension drawings picture would be enough. Let me know if you need more.
The nozzles are shipped from California with the rework station. We are moving all shipping in house to have better quality control, but this won’t be permanent for several weeks.
-Nathan
No problem. You have the individual parts dimension drawings, but the actual nozzles included with each station you only have pictures in the plastic bag, not what types they are. I’ve known some manufacturers to ship different nozzles with the stations than they offer separate, and I’m just trying to get the facts straight. I can try to guess which of the set of 8 they are, but I’m trying to not guess wrong 
Looks like I’ll be ordering the hot air station alone at first, and deciding if I want to get the 8 set later (Backups and cheaper anyway)
Doh - sometimes I read but do not think…
I understand your question now!
The 850B and 8502 ship with two nozzles, both have nozzles A1170 and A1130.
The 850D has the same two nozzles plus the A1126 and A1125.
I would recommend trying just the nozzles that ship with the units. We don’t use anything but the simple A1130.
-Nathan
I use the A1125 and A1126 occasionally.
I’d also recommend the A1142 (Bent Single Tip). I use it for about 90% of all my work as it’s great for chip caps and resistors.
Sparky – can you guys get other nozzles for sale on your site?
I wish you’d had the rework station a year ago when I got mine (ebay) as I’d have bought it from you guys instead.
If anyone is interested, I also found a guy with an ebay store that sells virtually ALL the Hakko nozzles at a reasonable price (compared to list prices). He’s located in IA, USA and ships quickly.
I like the idea of the bent tip - would make things easier to watch with the gun out of the way.
We are trying to bring many new products online. I’ll be sure to get the A1142s.
I wish we had them a year ago, too! 
-Nathan
got my 850 today and played with it a bunch. thanks for all the styrofoam…
Its pretty good at blowing those 1206s right off the board with the air turned up. Once I used it for I while I figured out the best (well, better) balance between air and heat. That’s what dead boards are good for. My 1130 tip turned a dark black color after about 10 minutes of use. Is this normal?
By the way, when I first plugged the station in, it started running even though the switch was off. At first I though it was seriously messed up but it seems that was normal - it keeps air flowing after shut off to cool the tip down and finally shuts off. Its probably a safety measure to prevent a power glitch from overheating something. Also, there was a fair amount of fumes initially coming from the barrel (the part you hold, dunno the name). It seems to be ok now.
Phil
Hello -
I believe the 850As have a cooling timer, so after you are done using the unit, turning it off will run the air full blast for a few moments until it cools down (timer elapses).
The unit will burn off any residue from manufacture during the first use. The nozzles will also discolor over time from use. Straight to black is a little bothersome (cheap chrome plating?) but the nozzle should continue to function just as well.
Keep us updated if anything else pops up. How do you like your unit so far?
-Nathan
sparky:
Hello -I believe the 850As have a cooling timer, so after you are done using the unit, turning it off will run the air full blast for a few moments until it cools down (timer elapses).
The unit will burn off any residue from manufacture during the first use. The nozzles will also discolor over time from use. Straight to black is a little bothersome (cheap chrome plating?) but the nozzle should continue to function just as well.
Keep us updated if anything else pops up. How do you like your unit so far?
-Nathan
yeah, it makes sense. My video projector does the same thing when you turn it off. it was the plug-it-in-and-the-fan-starts-running that was a bit startling. There’s a logic to it, though.
nozzle does seem to work ok. I used a couple of the others and they didn’t discolor much at all.
So far, I like it ok. I was able to fix a couple of problem boards I’d made in short order. I’m not sure how much I’ll use it for mounting smd-ics. I’ve gotten pretty good at doing them with an iron.
By the way, I think a far more useful nozzle would be a narrow slit that could hit a row of pins all at once. Probably make soldering/desoldering any IC faster. It doesn’t look that hard to make one, maybe I’ll give it a try.
Phil
Just talked to Pete - our 850A upstairs has a very blue nozzle. He mentioned it turned to the dark side after a long day of work with the unit. Sounds like it’s normal discoloration.
-Nathan
ooh so tell us about the 853+! How recently did you start carrying that?
I like that a lot because of the vacuum pen. Does it ONLY come with the bga nozzle, or does it come with some simpler nozzles too? Do you have a picture of the bga nozzle anywhere?
Nate picked up the 853…I don’t know, I think because it looks cool. And I’ll give you that, it does look cool. But it’s probably way more than I’ll ever need.
I don’t have any other pictures to show you (just getting that one to come out right was a pain), and I can’t remember off the top of my head what else is in the box. If you like, I can try to get some sexy tool pics of the accessories.
Pete
yeah I’d love to have a look at what else comes with that guy. I really want to get a hot air station here really soon, and that one looks like the winner, although I’d really be a lot happier if it came with a couple of nozzles.
ftp://SparkFun.com/web/images/Tools/853_stuff.jpg
Howz that? First time trying to post an image here.
Pete
…hmm…didn’t work.
Apologies for double posting, but I also had a question I wanted to add,
I’m going to be doing a lot of prototype work with BGA parts [228 / 256 pin devices], and I’m looking for the best tool for the job. This is for commercial work, so I don’t mind paying extra for an industrial grade tool.
Basically, my question is will the BGA rework station handle these devices reliably, or would I be better off getting a more expensive one elsewhere?
–David Carne
I have another question about it, can you take the nozzles for the 850 station and use them with the 853+?
We don’t have any more of the 853 and don’t plan on carry the BGA stations - Sorry! The 850 series units sell much faster.
The ouput nozzle on the 853 line is much larger around therefore, the 850 nozzles will not work on the 853 line.
-Nathan
well hey! That makes my agonizing decision much much easier!
I guess I’ll be getting the 850 it’s much more in line with my budget, and I like that it comes with more nozzles, etc.
I’ve been assembling a ton of TSOP stuff lately (and gosh are my boards beautiful, feel free to enquire about the fine bunch of lads that provide my PCBs), and I think I really would be a lot happier with some hot air.
Look for an order from me in the near future
(Assuming you mean our $5/$2.50 PCB deal) You flatter us and then offer to buy more from us! I like my job…
You will be very happy with the freedom that a hot-air station will grant. Being able to remove ICs (salvage) and bumping SMD ICs around (fixing stuff) is a must have these days.
-Nathan
