Pros Kit SS-331 Universal Voltage Update
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 01. 2020
- Great news! The Pros Kit SS-331 desoldering station does indeed have a universal voltage power supply; meaning it will work from 100V to 250V AC despite what is claimed on the unit, the box, and the marketing.
I show how I came to this realization and a couple easy mods I've done to my own Pro's Kit SS-331 station to make it more usable on my workbench.
Product & original video review links below:
1. Pro'sKit SS-331H Desolder Station:
www.banggood.com/custlink/KDD...
2. C13 Power Cable
www.banggood.com/custlink/vK3...
3. Original Proskit SS-331 Desolder Station Review:
• Pro'sKit SS-331 Desold...
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting RCHelicopterFun.com & my channel which helps me keep creating content. - Věda a technologie
See my full review on this SS-331 desoldering station: czcams.com/video/PuiiZO8Ye70/video.html
Literally purchased the Hippo version 10 minutes ago off Ebay.
I feel much better about my purchase after watching your videos.. thanks mate.
Hope you like your unit as much as I'm enjoying this one. Cheers!
Excellent Video John. The review is awesome and very easy to understand. Your knowledge of the components and the overall build is very much appreciated. It is such a big help to people like myself that just starting. Lots of us cannot afford top of the line gear, this allows us to join the game at an entry level, without the scam of foreign junk. I hope you can continue what you are doing. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
Hello John, just got one of these last week, great addition to the soldering (desoddering for the US readers) setup. Turned it on yesterday and it was making a sound like a rock crusher. Little amount of very light machine oil and its all quite again. When I was inside, I moved the switch to the front, but located it between the two connectors. Thanks for the idea. Cheers from N. Ireland.
Do you mind sharing exactly what was noisy; ie. what you put the oil on? I'm presuming the upper bushing of pump motor because that's about the only item I could see making a noise that would be cured by some oil.
John Salt - It was the little cheapo fan that got very loud and angry ! I peeled back the label, and the tiniest drop administered with a syringe and a fine needle to the top bearing cured it. Now running a lot quieter.
@@alandoherty8279 Nice that they didn't use a sealed motor that you can't lube like some Xbox's and playstations, which is what I got my desolder station for working on.
Thanks for doing this video John. There are so few resources - I think I found 2 - counting yours - that addressed this 110/220 question. Pulled the trigger on this based on your video!
Nice and clean modification that radiates professionalism.
Awesome vid! Thanks for the update on this. I acutually found a US supplier for the SS-331E, but the prices are like 2x more than the chinese dealers.
Just received my SS-331H and it actually came with a 120V C13 in the box. Sweet!
Good to know.
Thank you for this! Glad I can feel comfortable ordering one for myself now that I know it's compatible with 110v.
I bought one thru Ebay, Used a mini toggle on the front panel. Works great on 120 vac. Thanks for the video.
Great to hear
Certainly moving the power switch from back to front was a great thing! I don't understand why the manufacturer didn't realize that the switch behind it is absolutely uncomfortable. As for the cooling fan, I personally think it is more useful to remove the original fan completely, recover a 24v DC fan and power it directly from the switch power supply (18v) without passing through the voltage drop resistors (1 ohm, 5w), and use possibly a step-down to power the vacuum pump motor, completely excluding the drop resistors. But this is just my idea.
I just got the same station from Aliexpress and I can confirm it is working from 120v. I took it apart and verified that PS is 100-240v same model as in this video.
I appreciate all the research John and Dmitry. I can confirm my AliExpress unit SS-331H also had the switching power supply that works in North America. Mine took about 85 seconds to get to 380 but that is close enough.
Just got my unit in January 2023 from AliExpress. Power supply is still universal! My power cord also included a "travel plug" that adapts from the stock cord to the North American type.
Great info. So glad I found your channel. I've been looking at these things for awhile but didn't know if they were any good or not because of the low price. Current price on Amazon is around US$200 so I'll order mine from AliExpress for a little more than half that. I also couldn't find anyone selling a 110VAC version so this is really good info.
And, your channel reminds me of Ave's, except without all the colorful language! Lol.
You did a nice review of this pretty good low prise unit and also this update video is very usefull. Thumbs up !
I already did the power switch modification to the front on the same way you did. I think it is the best place to put it.
I was also amazed about the fan and the airflow. In my case the holes in the back of the housing were almost all blocked completely so behind the little fan I drilled the holes much larger.
And indeed there is no air inlet ! Very strange... To solve this issue, I drilled big holes in the botom of the case near the left front rubber foot stand.
In this way I hope that a little amount of air will flow through the power supply.
Unlike you I don't want to ommit the metal case around the power supply because of possible EMC issues. ( I had some bad experiences with SMPS units )
I get the impression that the SMPS unit does not get so hot at all. So I think we don't have to be too critical about the fan issue.
Thanks, greetings from Holland !
I like the mod, going to do the same, funny it will handle those power ranges, with decent wattage. Since it's been awhile unless I am still buying off the shelf this should hold true. Nice investigation work. I like the video that you did on this solder vac.
On John's good judgment and my faith I figured what's the worst that could happen if it did not work on 120 volts. Having a good supply of the 120 volt power cords, when I got it I plugged it in and it worked just fine. I had been looking at the model E, 120 volt version when I found John's new review (had see his others) on the power supply input voltages. So thanks to John he saved me about $50 which was nice. When I was working (now retired) I had been using these for decades as an engineer. At home for a special project I needed a unit like this rather than the plunger type and solder wick I had been using. The unit is all John said it is and for a home unit does the job. I'm glad I now have it as it saves the board from damage and does a professional job.
I also found the tip was lose when tightened down properly. The cover that slides down over the heating element did not go down far enough to hold the tip firmly in place. So I used some emery cloth on the base of the heating element to smooth it out some. And then used a dremel to slightly hone out the cover at the base. That was just enough to get it to go lower hence holding the tip in place. Don’t know if it was just my unit or others but never used one with a lose tip.
Glad to hear you are happy with yours as well other than the tip issue. Mine didn't have that problem, but good to know about it and thanks for sharing your fix method for any others that might run into it. 👍
Very commendable job. I watched the previous 'unboxing' review (beyond excellent) 1st and I was proper surprised it would not support lower AC voltage for 18v output... ah well.
Very tight fit, lucky for you.
K-Y 😄
Happy New Year mate, hope you and your family are all good, will be watching you next year (lol) pun intended.. stay safe, and keep up the great videos mate, totally a joy to watch.. 🎉🎉🎉🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🎉🎉🎉
Happy new year to you & yours as well 👍🙂
Thanks John for your video's. Excellent content without the extraneous drivel so often found on CZcams. So I have to say IT! You are the Salt of the earth. So sorry!
Thanks 👍
Thank you Sir, great information.
nice expanation John, we think in the same way... me also i was thinking about the same place for the main power on/off switch ,
The only thing i don't like so much in your video is about the fan ... instead to open the existing little holes could be a better solution to open a big hole and put a grill (to protect the fingers accidentally touch the fan). So more air can flow and may be it will be less noisy too.
Anyway... good job!
Hi John ! oops... only saw this video of yours after buying one a few hours ago. Bonus. I can use my (old) 110/220 transformer for something else. Once mine arrives, I'll run the same test you did (and likely open it up to have a look) and report back to confirm whether or not they still ship with this type of switching supply. Thanks for the video !
Hello again John... My SS-331 just arrived from Banggood. Interestingly along with it came (taped to the outside of the box) a physical plug adapter to convert the angled 3 pin Asian (Australian?) plug o a North American 2 pin plug. But no notes anywhere that it would work with 110VAC. But after watching your videos, I simply got a standard computer power supply AC cable and used that with my de-soldering station. As expected (and as you explained) it works perfectly plugged into 110AC without any other changes required. As you did, right after setting it up, I tested removing some parts off of a scrap circuit board. I had to turn up the temperature up quite a bit (around 390°c) to melt the solder on this board. I suspect the solder on this board doesn't have a lot of lead in it... It worked fairly well at the higher temperature. BUT then I noticed (on close examination) that the 2 spare tips they provided were not the same size and indeed both were a bit larger than the one that came pre-attached to the de-soldering gun. De-soldering parts from the same board was a bit easier with the largest of the 3 tips installed. Makes me wonder if we can specify what size/type of replacement tips we want when we order spares ? I am thinking along the same lines as all the different tips I can buy for my old Weller soldering station.
My delivery arrived exactly 14 days after ordering it. The price was higher than when you bought yours... after a year and current market / shipping issues I suppose that's not surprising. They box had 2 dings (penetrations) on arrival. One of which was caused by the AC plug adapter being pushed in because it was taped to the outside of the carton. However it looks like the way the package the stuff into the box is good as nothing inside was damaged.
After my brief usage, the first conclusion I came to was that I was wrong thinking I could wait and tolerate the ON/OFF switch being on the back for a while. I will be soon moving my power switch to the front somewhere like you did QUESTION... from your video I can see that there are 4 screws under the green strips on each side of the front of the unit. How did you get these green cover strips off without breaking them?
The second conclusion was that I was very pleased that I bought this de-soldering station.
Anyway, John THANKS AGAIN for posing the videos on the Pro's Kit SS-331. Your review, demonstration and tests/comments are what made me confidently decide on this unit as my first de-soldering station after many years of using a manual solder pump and/or solder wick. AND again, I'm sorry that I forgot to use your link in your video to buy my unit. Since then I have watched a couple of other videos you posted. I have never subscribed to any CZcams video before. I don't watch that much CZcams unless I'm researching something. But I feel I want to repay you in some small way... and I do like your technical approach in the videos I watched. So I am subscribing to you and will see what you have to present for some time.
Makes economic sense for a company to only have one power supply.
Cheaper and simpler for manufacturing.
Love the switch mod, you can get angled spade connectors if there isn't enough space behind.
Nice mods! I´m doing the same to my SS-331.
Have fun 👍
I have the same one but branded as ZD-8915.There are 2 revisons of it. 6pin pistol plug and 7pin (sleep mode added). I had problems with solder stucking inside the heating element.
I have replaced the pistol form ZD-8925. It has a bigger heater diameter-bigger thermal mass. Now it works great.
Pistol from ZD-8925 has 6-pin plug so it won`t work with 7 pin desolder station, but the front of the pistol can be swaped.
Im adding this info, only if someone has the same problem. If some one is looking for desolder station i recomend to buy newer model - ZD-8925
Yes I have exactly the same issue, the solder gets stuck right at the end where it goes in to the glass container, it does not have enough thermal mass.
I was looking at replacing the gun with one from the ZD-985 (ZD-552B 7 Pin Gun) or the ZD-9825 gun (ZD-553R) But obviously that is a 6 Pin, I was going to swap the cable over and add the sleep sensor, however I can’t find that gun for sale. What part did you replace exactly on yours and do you have a part number?
Hi i have a question the pin 7 on the gun connector is going to ground? thanks for your help!happy holydays
Hello. You do good reviews! You can measure the resistance of the heating element in the gun and tell me its value. Thank you in advance!
I cannot believe that a Chinese anything would have a shield on it that it did not need. The Chinese are notorious for failing EMI tests. I'm planning on getting one of these, largely based on your recommendation, but I will definitely test the RFI levels before I leave the shield off (if anything I was planning on adding more EMI protection)
Moving the switch definitely sounds like the thing to do.
One of the better reviews, very detailed. Thanks. In the first review you could of just used desktop computer cord to see if it worked. Wouldn't of hurt the PSU if it was just 220 volt. Again, thanks for reviewing this. What do you think of the anesty zd 915?
As I mentioned at the beginning of the first review video I did on the 331, I would have happily purchased any of these 3 button Chinese desoldering stations, including the 915. It just happened however I had Banggood points that were expiring by the end of the year and I had to use them up; so this is the one I ordered since it was the only one they carried. The one nice thing however the SS-331 that none of the others have (at least that I know of), is it has an "idle" safety feature where it ramps down the temp to 100C if you don't use it/forget it's turned on. I really like this feature, but that is just me.
@@Rchelicopterfun missed that part, the train was blasting it's whistle. If I remember the reviews right the zd 915 and zd 985 both ramp down.
Good to know.
Thankyou for the information. I wanted to buy one but all I could find is the "H" model. I think I will get one now!
Glad I could help 🙂
I am thinking of replacing the 1 ohm resistors with a 12 volt regulator and a filter capacitor for better motor start up.
I also adjusted it, but I turned the fan. - It's better.
thanks where can I get the manual the ones I find online 12 pages that do not have any of this info. thanks again. I will most likely have to make an adapter or something DIY here I come.
I was told that the only difference between the models is the plug. I was very hesitant in ordering one but the guy at AliExpress confirmed that they run on 120.
I think that model number differentiation is more for the product pack-in cord, which, in my opinion, is quite silly. It would probably be less expensive to produce the unit with 1 cord and slide over adapters, but eh. They might have had to do that to meet some countries' NEC certification requirements or the like.
I thought the same when I saw that the box has an illustration of the plug for each of the models.
Excelente informacion de tus videos , muchas gracias estoy por comprar el mismo modelo y aqui en mi pais el voltaje es 110volts a/c , saludos desde MEXICO , NUEVO SUSCRIPTOR , gracias
🙂👍
can this modify and use soldering iron in place of desoldering gun socket. Some one help me
I know you havent done a further update on this, but how is the thermal mass on the tip of this thing? Will it work for getting relays, and Mosfets out of boards with large power/ground planes?
Continues to work a treat on everything I've used it on so far, plenty of thermal mass.
I am just going to buy the gun and use it with my HIYUH 853 but my station only has a 5 pin connector I could not find the manual with the pin-out can you please post it.
Hi, great review and very interesting tune up, I cannot wait to receive my unit ! Where did you connect the fan ?
Not sure what you mean by where I connected the fan. I just re-connected it into the same socket on the board that I unplugged it from when I took it apart.
@@Rchelicopterfun I'm not a physicist or engineer, but I don't think the fan modification did anything. Both the original and new fan placement pushes air out, and draws it in via the holes next to it, resulting in minimal air exchange between the interior and exterior. How about making some slots in the bottom of the unit, especially under the PSU, block all of the holes in the back except those immediately under the fan (perhaps just with black duct tape on the inside). Or just cut a hole out in the back and mount the fan with a guard. At the same time you could replace the fan with a larger one. Then you'd be drawing air in at the bottom and pushing it out the back.
@@smbrannon After over a year of use, the PS doesn't even get warm with the fan mod I did. Works very well the way it is. Of course, if you want to mod yours a different way - go to town.
@@Rchelicopterfun is the fan really needed? Worth to try running the unit without the fan an see if it's really getting hot or not.
@@MrKvarkk as with all electronics, the cooler they run, usually the longer they last so a fan moving some air will never hurt. Your call if you want to risk running it without the fan or not - I'm leaving mine in.
Hi John, does your device also take hugely long to warm up, due to the fact it has a 24V element on a 18V supply? (drawing 55W instead of 90W) And then a resistive dropper to 12V for the pump and fan? I am considering modding the PSU to 24V, and adding a DC/DC dropper to 12V instead.
I showed in the video the heat up time - I've never had an issue with it.
When I bought mine I had the opposite problem: I needed a 200V version and it was difficult to get so I ended up paying a premium and waiting a long time for the shipping. If I would have known it was the same! Manufacturers create a big disservice to the community by fragmenting the market and allowing resellers take advantage of that. Did you have clogging problems? In my case I had a lot of clogging problems but it may have been due to low temperature settings, I have just started using 380 degrees as you do and I have found that helps but I still have to keep using it for a while now. Thank you for the video and keep up the great content!
No clogging issues at all & it's still working great now going on 15 months. I always make sure to pass the clean out rod through it after every use before turning it off to make sure absolutely nothing is left in the heater tube. I run mine anywhere between 380C and 410C depending on the thermal mass of what I'm working on.
Could not agree with you more on the fragmentation of the market statement. It's "horse crap" 😠 Sorry you too had to pay a premium to get a different $5 cord.
At what temperatures did you experience clogging? Were you using flux or not?
Can it be set to fahren
height? And you didn't have to change any settings when going to 110 volt? Just plugged in the new cord?
@eightofnine9 - Celsius only. Nothing to change for it to work on either voltage - just plug the rascal in and start sucking 😄
Hey John, do you happen to know if the tips for this station are available for purchase?
And what about the tips quality? Do they last long?
I haven't worn out any tips yet in just over 17 months of using this thing; but I generally only use it a few times a month, so it's not getting daily use or anything hard. I've seen SS 331 & ZD 8915 parts (including the tips) on both eBay and AliExpress. Banggood used to have some as well, but doing a quick search didn't show anything?
What was the date code on your unit? I just got one today and its date code is "20070053" (sticker on the back of the bottom surface), which I take to mean the year 2007 (although the 53rd week does seem kind of sketchy).
I'm in the US and am hoping that my power supply will also work on 120V. If your date code is close enough, I wouldn't bother opening it up.
Better use these rubber mounting rivets specifically made for mounting a fan on a case.
What is the voltage to the heating iron? 12V? Is the mosfet you call out simply for turning on/off? Or voltage regulation?
24V. I never scoped it, but I presume it's digital on/off output.
@@Rchelicopterfun Cool. I've just bought the handset, have a pump, and would like to adapt it to my existing station. It supplies 120V to heater. If it is bang- bang controlled, I'm hoping a switch mode power supply won't mind the on/off action. Also, verified by hookup to 24v, it consumes 84W so looks good!
Thanks for posting, but:
Doesn't modification void the factory warranty? I guess since you can fix it, only the cost (to you) would be the parts. However, anybody who wants a unit, but not too versed in repairs is taking a chance.
Of course it voids the warranty. Not that you get much if any warranty when you order most of this stuff China direct. Something also tells me most people that would purchase and mod a desoldering station, a tool specifically made for component level electronics repair, may actually be well versed in electronics repair.
I am curious, where did you check online for the ZD-P150 power supply? I can't find it.
Also, can anyone tell me if the on off switch is just shorting to ground? or is it hot? Also, I want to put a lighted switch on the front instead of the stock one and I don't know if there is a specific voltage/amperage requirement. Please forgive me if I misstated something as I am only recently reacquainting myself with electronics.
Found the specs by doing a Google search. I'm sure it was on ZD's website, but that was almost a year ago now, and I can barely recall what happened last week.
The power switch is controlling the hot line (standard/code practice). It has to be rated at line voltage or higher. If you want to put a 120v or 240v lit switch in, no issue but most also require a neutral wire plus the switched hot.
@@Rchelicopterfun Thanks. I am just getting back into electronics. I used to do telephony decades ago and have forgotten a lot. Is it a no-no to put the power switch on the side or top of the unit. Seems less cramped there? By the way, cracked mine open and found the 100-240 sticker. Sweet.
👍
Do hou have to change the fuse when using it on 110v?
Nope.
They likely just don't want to bother with UL approval etc.
would Hakko tips fit this unit?
No idea.
what voltage the gun works
If you are asking what the working voltage range of the heater element within the gun is, I have no idea. If you are wondering what the supply voltage to the heating element is from the desolder station, it's 18VDC.
nice mods, but the switch for me is upside down lol that would bug the hell outa me "sorry ocd alert", Im from the UK so most light switches are down for on and up for off on a toggle switch, but you were lucky where you placed the switch. Just wondering if there was a real reason they designed it so the switch was at the rear!? I always try to analyse the conversations that would go on, " switch on rear " no " switch on front " 2 designers thinking where a switch should go then going to the big boss and he has to decide and both designers forward there reasons. Maybe its none of that, just fit a switch so we save money on wire ! lol
Here in Canada/North America, electrical code is down off, up on. Backwards from that logical orientation would drive me crazy; but you can mount the rocker switch in any orientation that you want. 🙂 No idea why the rocker switch wasn't on the front out of the box; I didn't design it. Maybe due to certain electrical or appliance codes in some parts of the world; or as you said cost savings - who knows?
Wait so I can use my 331H that I just bought. And I can just plug in a North American plug for 120v? No way!
The price of parts for this thing are ridiculous. That's not a cheap shot, it comes after looking at them on Aliexpress.
Because I'm curious, I had to look at Aliexpress's prices on replacement parts for the SS-331 and I have no idea what you are talking about; unless you meant ridiculously inexpensive? These prices are even better than anything I've found on eBay.
$12.75 USD for the heating element assembly.
$7.12 USD for the 3 set of replacement tips.
$5.00 USD for the 1/4" hose barb threaded cap fitting that FedEx busted on you.
$4.65 USD for a 4 ceramic filter set.
$5.25 USD for the glass tube.
$35.00 USD for the entire gun assembly.
Thanks for mentioning Aliexpress - I just placed an order for a glass tube in case mine ever brakes and a few filter sets. Awesome find & prices - thanks again.
@@Rchelicopterfun Actually that is smart, ordering parts like that in advance and having them on hand. The postal times are still very slow because of COVID, so some parts should be kept on hand. It's mostly the $4.65 for a few pieces of material, $5 for a piece of plastic that should be metal, and $12.75 for the heating assembly that struck me as excessive. I was probably still angry about mine arriving broken when I wrote that. No, I'm not a jerk, and I really enjoyed your video. Best wishes to you. Sorry if I offended.
Never seen anything that incredibly silly, a company that does not know the voltage requirements of a product they are selling. Maybe it's deliberate and they charge more for the so-called 120-volt version that is really the same.