ZD-8968 Hot-Air Soldering Station Review: A Budget-Friendly Workhorse or Just Hot Air?

The ZD-8968 KIT combines a hot-air soldering/desoldering station with a set of soldering helping hands in a single package. Inside the box, along with the helping hands, you’ll find the hot-air station with the gun attached. The base station has a glossy black carbon finish, resembling the ZD-8965 desoldering station that I reviewed some time ago. While lightweight, it remains stable and doesn’t slide when pressing its buttons.

The hot-air gun is connected to the base station via a one-meter-long hose. It appears to be a standard hot-air gun, identical to the one used in the VTSS230 rework station, which I also reviewed. A standalone metal holder for the gun is included, though it feels too light for my taste—you often need both hands to remove the gun from it. The gun comes with three nozzles: 5 mm, 9 mm, and 12 mm in diameter.

The ZD-8968 includes two power cords: one with a European right-angle plug and another with a UK-standard plug.

The printed manual (English only) consists of three pages printed in tiny characters on a single A4 sheet.
 

ZD-8968 Hot-Air Station Features & Performance

The ZD-8968 hot-air station is rated at 300 W and can heat from 100°C to 500°C (212°F to 932°F). A push button allows switching between °C and °F. According to the manual, it features accurate and stable temperature control. Indeed, after turning the device on and picking up the gun, the temperature begins to rise and responds well to adjustments. Once the target temperature has been reached, it remains stable.

The display shows the actual temperature in light-blue 7-segment characters. When you press one of the Temp buttons (‘+’ and ‘−’), the target temperature is displayed. However, since the device is responsive, the set temperature and actual temperature will usually be the same.

The station has one programmable temperature preset, which should be sufficient for most users. Setting the temperature is quick and easy—when holding down a Temp button, the value increases in 10° increments, making adjustments in °C mode faster than in °F mode ;-).

The fan speed is adjustable from ‘Lo’ to ‘Hi’ in eleven steps using two dedicated push buttons (‘+’ and ‘−’).

As mentioned earlier, the gun responds to movement. When picked up, it starts heating, and the display shows “Heat On.” When placed in its metal stand (pointing upward), sleep mode activates. The display shows “Sleep.” In this mode, the fan continues running until the gun cools to approx. 80°C, at which point the fan turns off, restoring quiet to your lab. A spinning icon on the display indicates fan activity.

To give an idea of the heat-up speed, I tested the system in sleep mode with the target temperature set to 500°C and the fan at its lowest speed. The display initially showed 56°C. After removing the gun from its stand, it took 106 seconds to reach 500°C. After placing it back in the stand, it took a little over four minutes to cool down to 80°C, at which point the fan shut off. The ambient temperature was 18°C.

Soldering Helping Hands (ZD-11P)

Now, let’s take a look at the ZD-11P soldering helping hands, which complete the kit.
 

The setup consists of a metal baseplate with slots on three sides, allowing up to four flexible gooseneck arms with alligator clips to be mounted. The clips are covered with heat-shrink tubing, preventing them from biting too hard into a board.

A fifth flexible arm is included to hold a flashlight (included, but the required 1.5 V AA battery is not). A metal rod with an articulated clamp is also provided to secure the hot-air gun.

The base measures 210 × 133 mm, but the usable workspace is smaller when the gun is clamped in place. The effective working area shrinks to about 160 × 100 mm, and the vertically mounted gun doesn’t fully cover the area. However, it can be tilted, although moving the workpiece may be easier.

The flexible arms are 20 cm long and can hold relatively large workpieces. That said, larger boards are best placed directly on the bench. The hot-air gun can be rotated away from the base, so boards don’t necessarily need to be placed on the stand for the helping hands to be useful.

The assembly is very stable—it doesn’t slide easily or tip over, as long as the gun hovers over the base and not behind it. The arms are easily repositioned, and while the included flashlight feels flimsy, it is still practical.
One issue to note: when the gun is clamped in place, it will not enter sleep mode, even if positioned upright. A spring-loaded clamp would have been more convenient than the included screw clamp, allowing quick removal of the gun so it could be placed in its stand for sleep mode activation.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the ZD-8968 KIT offers a functional hot-air station with responsive temperature control and a helping hands setup that can handle small to medium workpieces. While some minor design choices—such as the lightweight gun holder and lack of auto-sleep in clamp mode—could be improved, the kit remains a solid option for those looking for an affordable hot-air soldering solution.

Would I recommend it? For occasional use, definitely. But for heavy-duty work, a more robust hot-air station and higher-quality helping hands might be a better investment.