It's not just yours. These aren't high end stations. I owned one for about 6 months until the matching hot air station crapped out. I replaced the hot air unit with a Xytronic LF-852D. It's been working very well for several years now.
I also purchased a JBC CD-1BB soldering station at the same time. I can honestly say that I had no idea what it was like to use a good solder station until I used the JBC unit. There is a marked difference that becomes instantly apparent when used the first time.
I have these mounted in the van and use them in the field for the bulk of my SMD rework.
I also have the same Xytronic hot air station as well as a Xytronic 988D soldering/desoldering station in the shop. I bought them as a package. While it seems to be a quality unit and it does hold temp better than the Aoyue, as well as having the added feature of the desoldering gun, it still does not compare to the JBC for soldering.
One of the features about the JBC unit that I like best, besides the stellar temperature retention, is the quick change, hot swappable, hands free tip change design. No waiting for the iron to cool down to change tips.
One word about that though. Do not have the unit powered on and think you can get a tip, held in your hand, inserted before it burns the living crap out of your fingers... You won't. It heats that fast.
I also use a handheld Denon SC-7000Z desoldering tool in the van for through-hole devise removal. http://www.howardelectronics.com/