I use a cheap Zhongdi ZD-985 at home, it comes with 2 extra spare tips and it is serviceable; all the parts are available. Even the gun can be exchanged if it breaks. The suction pump is not the greatest around, but it works. Also useful on vintage boards because the temperature can be set low enough to avoid lifting the traces.
It's cheaper to buy it from Ali Express. 10 bucks with postage.
Desoldering gun 30W Dual Use Electric Soldering Iron Tin Suction Sucker Pen Desoldering Soldering Tool|Desoldering Pumps| | - AliExpress
Desoldering gun 30W Dual Use Electric Soldering Iron Tin Suction Sucker Pen Desoldering Soldering Tool|Desoldering Pumps| | - AliExpress
I mainly use a ZD-915 cheap desoldering station but for when away from the bench I got one of those: 30W auto pump
I received and tested above mentioned desoldering stuff. It worked for few hours just fine, then it got cold. I tool it apart, some wires were disconnected. They did not bother to solder heating wire to power leads, just slide in the same tube. Very lousy work. The whole thing reeks cheap and lousy. Not recommended! Avoid. Chinese junk.
I’ve used numerous professional desoldering tools from many well known brands in the past (Weller, OKI, Hakko), but it makes sense only when one needs to desolder stuff in big quantities.
For DIY or small quantities of products desoldering wick braid works perfectly fine. Just have different sizes for different components. If your soldering iron doesn’t deliver enough heat, either use a bigger tip, another more powerful iron, or just add some hot air.
Cheap hot air gun with different nozzles and adjustable temperature / flow control is way better and more useful tool comparing to any good desoldering equipment. My 2 cents
For DIY or small quantities of products desoldering wick braid works perfectly fine. Just have different sizes for different components. If your soldering iron doesn’t deliver enough heat, either use a bigger tip, another more powerful iron, or just add some hot air.
Cheap hot air gun with different nozzles and adjustable temperature / flow control is way better and more useful tool comparing to any good desoldering equipment. My 2 cents
I much prefer using the Haako desoldering gun on my old Marantz board over solder wick and hot soldering iron tips. Better to minimize heating and reheating the solder joints. I can take the Haako desoldering gun and touch the joint for a couple seconds, pull the trigger and vacuum away the liquid solder. Taking a bigger/hotter soldering iron to the joint, especially on older PCBs, is not what the doctor recommends. Avoid lifted traces and broken traces if you can.
I'd be concerned that the solder sucker mentioned in post #1 isn't earthed. Doubly so as it transpires the internal mains wiring is suspect. I bought a similar type of tool where the pump action is solenoid operated. It's a good tool but it wasn't earthed either, so I replaced the mains cable with a silicone 3 wire and was able to earth the metal barrel of the sucker.
Have been using solder suckers professionally and in my hobby activities for close to 25 years.
Solder suckers with Teflon tips work best for me, never had any trouble with them, Silicone tips are a different and not very reliable story.
Solder wicks are a waste of time, effort, etc.
Still a few simple tips when trying to desolder components from a PCB:
-apply fresh solder to the joint to be desoldered before attempting to do it.
-use the right size solder tip
-use hotter tip for shorter period instead of cold tip longer
-if replacing a faulty component, e.g. a resistor or a semiconductor it's better if you can cut its legs off and then desolder
-clean the nozzle of your solder sucker after every attempt to desolder - I mean push the pump of you solder sucker to expel the solder after every attempt
-if not successful after the first try, apply fresh solder and try again, never try it without enough solder
-be quick
-practice
-practice
-practice
oh yeah, and I never use flux.
Solder suckers with Teflon tips work best for me, never had any trouble with them, Silicone tips are a different and not very reliable story.
Solder wicks are a waste of time, effort, etc.
Still a few simple tips when trying to desolder components from a PCB:
-apply fresh solder to the joint to be desoldered before attempting to do it.
-use the right size solder tip
-use hotter tip for shorter period instead of cold tip longer
-if replacing a faulty component, e.g. a resistor or a semiconductor it's better if you can cut its legs off and then desolder
-clean the nozzle of your solder sucker after every attempt to desolder - I mean push the pump of you solder sucker to expel the solder after every attempt
-if not successful after the first try, apply fresh solder and try again, never try it without enough solder
-be quick
-practice
-practice
-practice
oh yeah, and I never use flux.
Last edited:
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.