Review on 🔌 Hakko FX-901/P Battery-powered Soldering Iron by Michael Ringgold

Firstly I have been in field soldering for over 25 years (since I was a child) in the automotive industry as well as many other fields, as well as being ANSI and IPC certified. worked under a microscope to make a living etc etc. Hakko is the industry standard and I had high hopes for this product. Over an hour on 4 AA batteries seemed too good to be true. I've used radio shop style butane soldering irons for field work in the automotive and marine industries (or just in the garage where it's easier than getting an actual iron). They work well but this electric Hakko seems safer and I was happy to try it. That does not work. There is no power. You could solder 18-24+ gauge wire to it. But even 18 gauge will take time. I could see it being used for surface mount, but someone who does this type of work doesn't usually do it in the field. Maybe I'll save it for some kind of SMT (surface mount) emergency. I recommend buying two butane gas burners as in the photo. I had about a dozen of these when Radioshack went out of business, I bought many, many tips, they lasted ten years of heavy use. They chose two so one can be used for the torch tip, which is ideal for shrinking, and the other for soldering. You can also put the cap on and use it as a lighter (but not for long) or just use the tip of the flashlight to light cigars. Anyway, I spent my money on it, so neither have you. Performance aside, the device test is well constructed, I'm not sure what tips it uses, but I can see it's a problem. God bless update: After reading other reviews it turned out that mine might have been broken or the batteries weren't working. Stay tuned for updates (although I still maintain the RadioShack style butane burner they are great. Butane Burnzomatic which I've had no luck with)