Best desoldering pump?

[Taylor]

I have a standard plastic desoldering pump. I'm ready to invest in something better. I want one that doesn't ever spit solder bits back out when releasing the catch, one with a nice smooth motion that doesn't ever get caught or stuck while suctioning and not do the job right, etc.

I'd be happy to move up to one of the similar metal ones if it will make any difference, but if there's a top-of-the-line model, that's what I want, assuming it's not $50 or more.

I do have a desoldering iron, but don't particularly like using it and only bust it out when I have to do intense desoldering of pots/jacks, etc. I'd prefer an unpowered pump.

Any suggestions?

[R.G.]

IMHO, there's not much to choose from. Buy one, use it, when it offends you toss it into the bin and buy a new/different one. Spending a lot of money on these is false economy. They're crude tools. Use them crudely, then clean up. Use desoldering braid for tidy, delicate stuff. They're sledgehammers, not dental picks.

[Taylor]

Hmm, that's kind of what I figured, but I was hoping there was a Cadillac model out there somewhere. I never really liked braid. I mainly just need to desolder when I'm working on SMD/through-hole combined boards, and I fill holes accidentally while working on big SMD ICs. So something quick and smooth and not messy would be ideal.

[theehman]

The Soldapult

http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/product-detail.aspx?pn=114-202

This thing is really good.  I use one at work and one at home.

ESD version: http://www.frys.com/product/1520532

[R.G.]

Hmm, that's kind of what I figured, but I was hoping there was a Cadillac model out there somewhere. I never really liked braid. I mainly just need to desolder when I'm working on SMD/through-hole combined boards, and I fill holes accidentally while working on big SMD ICs. So something quick and smooth and not messy would be ideal.

If braid doesn't clear a hole, the problems are usually:
- not enough solder in the hole to heat well
- not fluxed well
- iron not hot enough to make the solder really liquid

It's simpler to whittle down a wooden toothpick and poke it into the hole while the solder in the hole is liquid. Works GREAT on single sided boards, OK on double sided, plated through.

Braid does work very well, but your iron has to be hot enough and have a clean, well tinned tip to get the braid hot enough to make the solder fluid enough to flow easily. This is also what's wrong with most problems with the solder vacuums - not liquid enough solder, caused by flux, solder, heat or iron tinning problems.

[diemilchmann]

i got one from Amazon for $3... it does what its supposed to

[trjones1]

Desoldering braid... learn to use it properly, love it.  I've never had any luck with desoldering pumps, but I've used braid to desolder plenty of board mounted pots, germanium transistors, ICs and pretty much anything else.  It works like a charm, no problems.  I've never understood why anyone wastes time with pumps.  Braid will suck up any and all solder, lickety split.  Just keep it nice and shiny; don't let it oxidize.

[Taylor]

The Soldapult

http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/product-detail.aspx?pn=114-202

This thing is really good.  I use one at work and one at home.

ESD version: http://www.frys.com/product/1520532

Thanks, I'll check that out.

If braid doesn't clear a hole, the problems are usually:
- not enough solder in the hole to heat well
- not fluxed well
- iron not hot enough to make the solder really liquid

It's simpler to whittle down a wooden toothpick and poke it into the hole while the solder in the hole is liquid. Works GREAT on single sided boards, OK on double sided, plated through.

Braid does work very well, but your iron has to be hot enough and have a clean, well tinned tip to get the braid hot enough to make the solder fluid enough to flow easily. This is also what's wrong with most problems with the solder vacuums - not liquid enough solder, caused by flux, solder, heat or iron tinning problems.

I don't really have a problem with braid not working, it's more just that I find it fiddly compared to a pump. Plus, whenever I can substitute a consumable with a reusable tool, I prefer to.

i got one from Amazon for $3... it does what its supposed to

Yeah, that's what I have, and want to replace. For the most part, even the junkiest tool will do what it claims to do, but the extent to which a tool makes my life easier or harder is something to which I attach value. When you're working with SMD ICs, with 50mil or even 25 mil pin spacing, it can screw you up pretty easily when a desoldering pump spits tiny bits of solder out while it's supposed to be sucking.

Desoldering braid... learn to use it properly, love it.  I've never had any luck with desoldering pumps, but I've used braid to desolder plenty of board mounted pots, germanium transistors, ICs and pretty much anything else.  It works like a charm, no problems.  I've never understood why anyone wastes time with pumps.  Braid will suck up any and all solder, lickety split.  Just keep it nice and shiny; don't let it oxidize.

I mentioned some reasons above for not liking braid, but it's also that I'm generally working on very tightly packed boards with very small components. If I was building germanium fuzzes with <20 parts count, I think it would be reasonable to use braid, but for boards with 100+ parts, some SMD, I just plain don't like it. But it's not a matter of me not knowing how to use it, just that perhaps I have different needs and preferences.  

[deadastronaut]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Electric-Desolder-Pump-Solder-Remover-Sucker-NEW-/300391214595?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item45f0b62e03

[Dave W]

The Soldapult
http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/product-detail.aspx?pn=114-202
This thing is really good.  I use one at work and one at home.
ESD version: http://www.frys.com/product/1520532

Big time +1.
Sm. Bear has replacement tips if/when needed.

[R.G.]

Yeah, that's what I have, and want to replace. For the most part, even the junkiest tool will do what it claims to do, but the extent to which a tool makes my life easier or harder is something to which I attach value. When you're working with SMD ICs, with 50mil or even 25 mil pin spacing, it can screw you up pretty easily when a desoldering pump spits tiny bits of solder out while it's supposed to be sucking.
...
I mentioned some reasons above for not liking braid, but it's also that I'm generally working on very tightly packed boards with very small components. If I was building germanium fuzzes with <20 parts count, I think it would be reasonable to use braid, but for boards with 100+ parts, some SMD, I just plain don't like it. But it's not a matter of me not knowing how to use it, just that perhaps I have different needs and preferences.  

You need this: http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/21-8230.

Did I mention that desoldering braid can wipe an SMD pad down to a clean, tinned surface so you can put another one on? Probably not. Same tool takes out DIPs by melting all solder connections at once.

[wakeuptone]

Goot Desoldering Portable, Made in Japan.  Can be change Tip to fit each type of component.

[Taylor]

You need this: http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/21-8230.

Hmm, that looks very interesting.

...and what the heck, maybe I'll give braid a try again. Perhaps I'm being too hard-headed, and I really do just need to work with it a little more.

Goot Desoldering Portable, Made in Japan.  Can be change Tip to fit each type of component.

That looks like a great tool, but at $350 it's beyond my budget for this, sadly.

[greaser_au]

I want one that doesn't ever spit solder bits back out when releasing the catch, one with a nice smooth motion that doesn't ever get caught or stuck while suctioning and not do the job right, etc.

Unfortunately this is the nature of the beast... dogs bark, cats meow, &  solder suckers spit solder chips   You can only ever hope to minimise the hassles. My suggestions from my time in the service industry: 1:make sure they are well lubed *including the rod inside of the tip*  with something like vaseline - silicone grease would be excellent except that it ruins any chance of ever coating the pcb... 2:clean the thing frequently and 3:get into the habit of pushing  the plunger to the bottom 2 or 3 times when resetting it to make sure the tip is clear.

the lube makes sure the pump plunger seals well, & also holds the little chips of solder together (up to a point anyway)

I'd be happy to move up to one of the similar metal ones if it will make any difference, but if there's a top-of-the-line model, that's what I want, assuming it's not $50 or more.

I have always had the small aluminium ones in my toolbox & been mostly happy, but the bigger plastic ones are better. The main limitation for any of these is that they can suck the hot pads right off the board in the hands of even skilled operators.

Can I suggest that before you rush out & spend money on a replacement, pull it completely to bits & clean it ,  raid the bathroom cabinet for the PJ & lube it up, & change the way you reset it, see if that helps. you can always clean the PJ off with detergent or alcohol.

david

[R.G.]

Good points, David!

I realize that my habit is of plunging the rod a few times when I reset the spring is by now almost unconscious.

The plunger style desoldering tubes work best when the end of the sucker tip can be flat on the surface of a blob of molten solder. If they also suck air, the removal is messy, blasting air-cooled bits of solder and flux out. The air flow around the lead being sucked can do the same thing.

One interesting solder removal technique I saw was inertial. A tech I watched would heat the solder in a hole to molten, then whack the board on a table edge and the molten solder would fly out of the holes under its own inertia. Neat trick, but it required keeping the solder molten with an iron almost to the table. Liquid solder is as heavy as solid solder.

[defaced]

Might want to check out low melt solder for smd stuff.
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t23724/

[John Lyons]

I've had this for a couple years now and it works quite well.
The price is nice as well.



http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062731&clickid=prod_cs#

[Taylor]

Yeah, I have one of those. Good for pulling big stuff out of old boards, but the tip is too big and clunky for working in tight smd boards or 3mm 1/8w resistors.

I'm being kind of difficult here, I know.

[Processaurus]

Goot Desoldering Portable, Made in Japan.  Can be change Tip to fit each type of component.

Those are really great.  I have access to a Hakko desoldering gun like that.  Expensive ($200) and overkill for the occasional reworking/repair project, but if you're soldering all day or regularly need to get IC's out of boards with plated holes, it is the cat's meow. 

I bet if one was friends with a studio owner who was recapping their board or other equipment, one could trade some work for the tool...