De-soldering station advice needed

That80sGuy

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I'm thinking of investing in a de-soldering station. I've never owned one..so I need advice on them. I don't need one with lots of bells and whistles..just a basic setup.
 
Those radio shack de-soldering irons are great - especially for capkits.

Just make sure you keep the tips clean after use - or you will run through tips like crazy.
 
What if I wanted to go slightly more than Radio Shack? Is there a more professional brand/model I could keep an eye out for on e-bay or Craigslist?
 
What if I wanted to go slightly more than Radio Shack? Is there a more professional brand/model I could keep an eye out for on e-bay or Craigslist?

In my experience (2½ years working in a PCB factory), the actual professionals don't usually use a desoldering station at all; they use an Edsyn Soldapullt DS017, DS017LS, or AS196 (those models are all the same aside from their color and level of "ESD safeness").

I suppose there are some operations where a desolder station would be preferable (we had Metcal desolder stations at work, but they didn't get used much), but for most things, we just used a Soldapullt (AKA "solder sucker").
 
What if I wanted to go slightly more than Radio Shack? Is there a more professional brand/model I could keep an eye out for on e-bay or Craigslist?

Ha ha, unfortunately there isn't a "slightly more" option. In the $10-$20 price range you're looking at the RS desoldering iron or Soldapullt the next viable options available are in the $85-$100+ range.
 
As with any of these tools, it all depends on the applications you are going to use it for. If you are just going to do cap kits once in a while, the RS cheapie or a soldapulit will work just fine. If you plan on doing board repairs and need to safely remove chips without frying them or burning the traces off, you need to step up to a temperature controlled unit.

This is a common question and a little search turned up the following threads:
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=159945&highlight=desolder
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=155245&highlight=desolder
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=142090&highlight=desolder
http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=133251&highlight=desolder

ken
 
If you plan on doing board repairs and need to safely remove chips without frying them or burning the traces off, you need to step up to a temperature controlled unit.

Or use a Soldapullt (which is a brand name, only made by Edsyn) and a quality iron. Rework was a significant part of my job at the PCB factory, as well as for the other people on my line, and as such, the Soldapullts got quite a workout on a daily basis. If they were causing any damage, we wouldn't have used them. You do have to know how to use them properly, but it isn't hard to learn.
 
Or use a Soldapullt (which is a brand name, only made by Edsyn) and a quality iron. Rework was a significant part of my job at the PCB factory, as well as for the other people on my line, and as such, the Soldapullts got quite a workout on a daily basis. If they were causing any damage, we wouldn't have used them. You do have to know how to use them properly, but it isn't hard to learn.

I agree. There is nothing unprofessional about using a Soldapullt. I use mine a lot, and I never burn any traces off of boards....
I have to admit though, the Hakko gun is a slick rig. Worked great, until it just died on me one day.... Only got to use it a few times. I think the heating element crapped out, but I haven't tried replacing it yet. Desoldering with the Soldapullt takes a bit more time, but it never lets me down.
 
Or use a Soldapullt (which is a brand name, only made by Edsyn)

Point taken, I should have used the more generic term soldersucker.

When I refered to a temperature controlled unit that was meant to cover soldering irons as well as desoldering units. Some of the unregulated ones (both soldering and desoldering units) will hit 900 degrees which will burn the traces off the boards as well as fry the chips. Which is not to say that in the hands of an experienced person, they can't be used safely. It's just that not everybody with a paint brush is a Picasso.

If you are going to learn, you might as well learn with the best tool you can afford.

ken
 
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