Hi Doug,

I second to this but not all the small solder pumps are made equal. I think the Engineer SS-02 is the best one. It has a replaceable silicone tip so it won't melt and it will adapt better to whatever you try to desolder.

Here is a nice comparison from the manufacturer's website:


Luis

Some great stories and even a few good tips for tools! Thanks.

All these stories about using a inappropriate tools for an electronics job reminded me of the flip side - using an electronics tools for a non-electronics job. I tried using my Yihua 898D+ hot air rework station in the kitchen, but I wouldn't recommend it. I will blow all the sugar off the top of your crème brûlée and make a right mess.

I thought bigger would be better, but I find I use the smaller one far more often.

That's not a solder sucker, this is a solder sucker!

It is possibly the solder sucking tool itself. With the tool I'm using, if I push down the plunger, I can feel the air draft caused by it from more than 30 cm away. With that, solder has little chance of not being sucked up, provided it is positioned ok, and the solder is fully melted. On the other hand, with a different manufacturer solder sucking tool, it is a lot more hit-and-miss.

The solder sucker should cleanly suck all the solder in one try. To get this to happen, the suction tip needs to be very close to the molten solder - essentially touching, and almost no air gaps around the suction tip.

The iron tip generally gets in the way of getting the suction tip to an optimal distance, so you need to remove the iron and quickly position the suction tip properly before triggering the suction and this needs to happen while the solder is still molten.

Often you will need to add solder to the area before trying the suction process - this is to add thermal mass so the solder stays molten long enough to get the suction tip in place.

It takes some practice to get a feel for how much solder is needed to stay molten and how hot your iron should be, and exactly how close the suction tip needs to be, and how fast you need to be to get a clean shot.

It will help if your work-piece is securely held while you work the tools.

In my experience, the worst tool to use for most electronics projects is a community college lab partner. The one I was issued handed me a VFD he had just wired up so I could inspect it before we plugged it in. While I was holding it in my hand, out in front of my face, he plugged the power cord in! Unfortunately, I hadn't had it long enough to notice he had wired 240v power into the output terminals and it exploded. Fortunately, I was wearing gloves and safety glasses.

Solder Braid has flux in it already but I find by adding a bit more onto the onto it on the side you apply the heat from the Iron super charges it, it will let more solder pull through into the Braid/Wick. I figured this out in desperation when I had a weak iron trying to remove something that had Lead Free Solder.

My Solder Station is a cheap Circuit Specialists STATION-60. I think it's a cheaper variant of the old Hakko 936 that you see floating around eBay. Some day I'll buy a real Hakko FX.