FR-301 Portable Desoldering Tool

Good value for someone who knows what they are getting. Yes, this is the eastern Japanese version. Eastern Japan's electrical grid is 100v at 50hz. Western Japan is 110/120v at 60hz. Two different power grids on one island country. This can be made to safely work here in North America with a simple, cheap mod. It has been listed here in the reviews, a number of electronics websites like eevblog, and even a YouTube video showing a step by step. You can also use an inverter if you have one, but it should be at least 500 watts at a minimum. The nominal wattage value for this version is approximately 100 watts. However during heatup, it can jump more than four times the nominal value. If your inverter can't deliver that, it will keep blowing it's fuses. You get everything in this version that you do with the US version with exception of the manual. Of course you get the Japanese version of that. This unit works very well for its intended purposes. It's a portable/field desoldering tool. It was never intended to be a bench tool. It is heavy compared to bench based desoldering tools. It will fatigue your wrists quickly if you try to desolder several 40 pin dip chips. I use this on arcade machines that getting the boards to the bench is more of a pita. So I can more easily bring this tool to the machine and it's grat for that. I use a couple of pace desoldering machines at the bench. They are night and day better but used in a different environment because it's the bench. You will want to get a couple of different sized tips, cleaning rods, filter packs, and a hakko 633 stand with the money you save getting this version. You can use this as a one and only desoldering tool at the bench, but be ready to learn it's quirks. It requires more frequent cleaning than a bench model, it's heavy at a couple of pounds compared to 6 to 8 oz of a bench model, and it's balanced very poorly because it needs to have the pump in the unit itself. All of this can really irritate the user unless they are aware of these issues up front. The 1.0mm included tip is a wee bit to large for many leads and you will struggle to make it work. Get a 0.8 mm for things like passive components like resistors, and capacitors. This really is a good value, for a good tool. Just mod it or use a good inverter. If you run it off 120v it will slowly overdrive and kill the pump. The single most complex and expensive item to replace. It's great for bringing the tool to the thing your working on when you can't easily work the other way. ***EDIT*** I just thought I would add in the fact that the heating element is the same one on the American model, and doesn't require modding. It can safely run on 100v or 120v. It's the pump that needs a pair of 300ohm resistors to replace the ones already on the circuit board. Or the power inverter. The pump replacement would have to be the Japanese model if you don't do the mod because of the power differences.

This is absolutely a must-have tool for big soldering jobs. If you work on vintage electronics like shortwave receivers or other classic gear, this tool is for you. It heats up very quickly and has excellent suction power. It is a bit pricey, but it’s worth every penny considering how well it performs. I recently recapped a shortwave receiver, and I honestly couldn’t have done it without this tool. I tried others, and they just didn’t work. Buy this and you’ll see; it’s one of those tools you can’t live without, especially when working on vintage electronics.

This is the 100V Japanese version with a standard USA 2 prong AC plug. If you have a Variac you can obviously set it to 100V and use without issue. After looking inside and testing, it will run "without issue" using 120V, see disclaimer below. It does not come "used", the standard practice for irons is to put solder on the tip before putting in storage to prevent oxidation. Based on the manual there are 2 major heating element part classes, 100V-127V (35 Ohms) and 220V-240V (160 Ohms). This one obviously has the 100V-127V heater. The only confusing thing about this is the OEM replacement parts list for the heater has individual SKUs for 100-110V, 120V, 127V, 220V. The the other main part is the heater temperature sensor but it is spec'd for 100V-220V so this shouldn't be a problem for using with 120V. The important point is since the heater is temperature controlled along with an available calibration potentiometer, the difference between 100V and 120V is just the duty cycle, time on in order to maintain set temperature. Because of this I don't believe there is any harm done when supplied with 120V. The major caveat is that the vacuum motor RPM does scale with the AC voltage. It's not a lot but you can audibly hear the difference even between 100V vs. 110V, it's a higher RPM. I can't say for certain but it could shorten the motor's life but it might not matter in grand scheme of its lifespan. The flip side is you're getting a little more suction, not that it really needs it. The "power supply" PCB is the "same" board across 100V-220V units with the critical difference being 1 or 2 power resistors and their values. Hakko sells the 120V PCB for an affordable amount so any DIYers could attempt to swap it if desired. The AC cord and motor connection are through-hole soldered while the heater is connectorized. Overall the unit is really nice and Hakko does a great job offering replacement parts for basically everything inside. The only negative thing I'll say about it is the power cord is kind of springy and slippery, however it's not too hard to swap it with a new one if you wanted.

Great heat transfer and excellent suction with the appropriately sized nozzle. Super time savor for cleaning up pads and desoldering components. Great selection of tips for different component sizes. I wish I had purchased it sooner for my toolkit. Replacement parts are easily available and not that pricey. Excellent tool.

As mentioned in numerous other 1 star reviews, this unit is for use with 100-volt power. It will not work properly in the US, and you will get 1year of use out of it, TOPS, before you need to replace the heating element, which is hard to source, and expensive. Do yourself a favor and get one from somewhere else, or get a different model entirely. I learned this the hard way.

This makes desoldering (specially through hole) 1000000x faster, better and cleaner. This is a time saver! Go get yourself one! With all the difference size nozzle and quick change, you don't need your old manual pump tool. This is the JP domestic version, it supposed to only work with 100v. At 120v the pump does work at 20% higher than spec, but just think of it a turbocharged pump now. The heating element part stays fine, that part is regulated. You can research this on the internet and find way to mod the unit to spec the same as the US version.

I got the Japanese version. How can I tell? Because the entire paper documents are in Japanese with no additional languages. So, did that make it difficult to understand or use? No, not at all. And There's only a handful of buttons and switches on the device, they all have a very straightforward and necessary function, no weird alt-modes to fumble with so it's pretty easy and intuitive to figure out. Plus it works so good, every time I need to suck some solder off of a joint or trace, or out of a via, this little guy works perfect. No more lost pads, no more fighting with capacitors, desoldering has finally become as easy as or easier than soldering! If you are sick and tired of solder wick for every job, unless this unit arrives broken, you're not going to regret this purchase, you'll only regret not buying a couple of the alt-shaped tips at the same time (at least the slightly wider slotted tip). Oh, and one of the tricks I recently learned is to add more solder to some joints so that the nozzle makes a better seal with the via you're trying to clear. Easy!

Is it a necessary tool for desoldering, no. Does it make desoldering much easier, absolutely, but within reason (You would really only use this for thru-hole desoldering) First thing you'll notice when you get it is that it feels like a kids toy or like you're holding an overpriced hot glue gun. Having said that, it does perform much better than you would initially think. You feel no heat transference when holding the tool, the tip gets up to temperature very quickly and it sucks up the solder really quickly. It's easy to empty out the slag catch and change out the tips with the provided tools. The tool is not too big in the hand, very light, and easy to handle.

Compré la versión japonesa porque es más barata que la de 120 V. Para poder usarla, tuve que abrir la herramienta y cambiar la resistencia de 10 ohms por dos de 270 ohms (3W). Buscando en internet encontré varios videos donde explican el proceso, aunque la mayoría recomienda usar resistencias de 300 ohms. En mi caso preferí usar de 270 ohms, ya que investigando vi que la bomba de succión trabaja a 98 V, y con las de 300 ohms pierde un poco de potencia. Pero igual si prefieren usar resistencias de 300 Ohms funciona ya que son las rresistencias que vienen con la versión original de fabrica de 120 V.

Japanese manual, non-compliant plug, not certified for CSA, but that's typical for a Japanese import item like this. This is not suitable for use in a professional workplace with strict tool policies. That being said, it's very light and portable, genuine Hakko quality, it works great, and it's much cheaper than trying to get the North American equivalent. Worth every penny, zero regrets here.

I am AJEESH from INDIA , KERALA. Super quality product from Hakko. Build quality is superb.

Excelente equipo funciona súper bien, lo recomiendo esta herramienta me facilita la extracción de soldadura más fácil

I know I lucked out with the price. $200 less than retail, but this is the Japanese version, so you have to download the English manual. Still... does what it says and performs amazing.