I recently bought a small ‘Mechanic i5X Ultra’ hot plate which was/is on ‘sale’ on Aliexpress (see this link: Aliexpress Super Deals - #485 by Wingman) and I just did some quick tests with it.
Here are (some of) my observations:
- It seems to be a bit lower on temps than what it states, although my IR thermometer did read a bit higher temps/hot spots than my thermocouple.
-When it reaches the set temperature it fluctuates around a bit. (6-7 degrees centigrade range from what I observed.)
-The heating element (square) heats the center of the top plate the most, so there is a substantial temperature difference between the center and the (top/lower) edge, but the center hot spot should be big enough to (easily) heat a 20mm MCPCB.
-The UI is a bit “quirky”; when you select the wanted temperature with the ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons, you have to press and hold the ±button quite rapidly to set the temperature, otherwise the screen will revert to ‘current temperature’ quickly. When the temperature is set (with the ±button) you can only change/adjust the temperature (up or down), when you first “cancel” the actual temp setting by press and holding the ‘-’ button first. (Only then you can set a new temperature.)
-It doesn’t need (or has) an external power supply, so be aware of choosing the right voltage when you buy one, since it has a proprietary power plug!
Here are some of the tested temperature settings:
At 100°C:
At 150°C:
At 200°C:
Above 210°C my thermocouple sleeve started to smoke, so the measurement of it’s max temperature (of 260°C) I only took with my IR thermometer:
It seems to reach well above 200°C (at least in the center/hot spot), so it should be quite capable of reflowing LED’s with most solder pastes quite easily.