Swapping heater in WEP 858D hot air station

WEP 858D - cheap popular hot air station.

Bought 3 years ago for ~$30. Lightly used, mostly for desoldering and heatshrink tubes, perhaps total 10 hour of work. Heater silently (without sparks or anything like that) failed last week.

Threaded sleeve at the front + two screws at the back.

Wiring:

• heater
• thermocouple (inside heater element)
• fan
• miniature reed switch, working together with magnet in holder on base unit
• ground

Heater is insulated with glass-like (box on new one says this is actually mica) canvas.

Failed heating wire. As it was broken near the end I actually could try to save it by removing shorter part completely, though it might be difficult to connect this type of wire - low temperature soldering would definitely not be an option.

Thermocouple at the working end of the heater.

New heater costs ~$4 + shipping.

Fun stuff: "Gift" label on the box itself. 

Don't forget to remove piece of transparent tape that is holding insulation together.

Watch out for thermocouple polarity.

Bottom side of the PCB connecting wires.

Heater resistance: 98 Ohm, matching original.