I bought on of these from aliexpress, it does get warm but I can’t seem to get it past 185C, and it heats up VERY slowly. Definitely works with 110v, but wondering if it was designed for 220v and just isn’t getting enough juice.
thanks
cancelled my order
he is in California, power is 110v here, that is what he bought
I am also in Cali, and cancelled my order for 110v
Specifically bought the 110v version, and it came with the correct 3-prong US power cord as well. Maybe I just got a bad one. It definitely does heat up. That’s 185C from the front display, it juuuuuuuuuuust melts 63/37, and lead-free won’t budge.
Would be interesting to see if they use more than one heating element. If they use 2-3 elements maybe one is bad. Or a electrical connection is bad. Or they have build in the wrong heating elements (the ones for 220V).
With 300W heating power it should easy reach 300°C. Have you measured how much current it is pulling?
On my selfmade plate i only have a bit over 100W. It takes some time to heat up. But i can easy reach 280°C.
Yeah I should measure how much it’s pulling down. It definitely could just be a bad sample too. It took a very long time to get up to temp, I’m talking over an hour.
I have that exact model and the behaviour you’re describing is not normal. It’s a little slow to heat up, but more like a few minutes, not 30 minutes.
On a related note, if you still have the manual, would you mind posting a photo?
Unfortunately I tossed the manual as well. If yours works then I might be dumb enough to buy another one. I like the size, and if it just got up to temp I’d be really happy with it.
It uses three heating elements
Something not right, ours takes around 15mins to get to 210 to 230C
thanks for that info
have you confimed the calibration of the display?
and, what temperature do you like to use to reflow?
fwiw, here is another 10x10, that has a calibration pot … costs more…
@e1000
Do you have someone that knows his way arround electric stuff so he can check this thing?
Even with only 100W of heating power it should not take 30 or 60 min to heat up.
I only use arround 100W on my 8x8cm plate and it takes about 5min to reach temps above 200°C.
Not locally. I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy another one though. I’m willing to ship the broken one to someone if they’re up to it. Otherwise, it’s getting tossed.
I suggest you give AliExpress the opportunity to send you a working replacement, before you pay twice
Based on McBobs testimonial, I have renewed my order and can share my luck, in about a month…
This might sound bad but I’m not terribly worried about it. I’ve had almost all good experiences with AE, and this won’t change my opinion.
To bad i am to far away. I would try to repair it for you. But i bet here on BLF are enough people that can help.
If its new i would 100% contact AE. Make a short video showing them that it is not heating right.
And if you really want to get a new one, there are for sure people on BLF in your area that would like to check it out and see if they can fix it for themself.
I bought one of those infamous TASI TA8133 lux meters on AE last year. I received the crappy new version and carefully documented how it literally wouldn’t even do what was advertised on the box (can’t measure under 60 lux). The seller countered with an offer to refund my payment as long as I paid for return shipping to China on a $20 item. I had a couple more back and forths with AE’s dispute resolution team and they eventually gave me something like a $2 refund because the colour was “not as advertised” (TASI slightly altered the colour scheme on the crappy new version). The whole process was a joke, and the level of proof they required to demonstrate anything more than the most basic technical issue (e.g. doesn’t turn on) was absurd.
The people in the dispute department are most of the time not tec people. So showing them that a lux meter is not working right is very complicated. Especially when the language problems make explaining even more complicated (they do not understand it if you use to much words or to complicated explanations.
But showing on a vid that the Heatplate did not heat up to 200°C should not be a problem.
Put a watch beside the heatplate set it to 300°C and let it heat.
I also had my fare share of disputes on AE. And sometimes the dispute was closed without a good result for me. But you can reopen it.
I bugged them over and over again. And in the end they refunded the money.
check to be sure you have a 120v unit.
a 240v unit may still heat but will be slow and may not ever reach the setpoint.
if it comes down to the trashcan i would take a shot at fixing it.
so put me down for it.
but i bet you have a 240v unit or if switchable its in 240 rather than 120.