Mouser Solder Wick

Ghostnuke

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I'm tired of buying the tiny rolls of solder wick from Radio Shack, so I started looking at Mouser. There are a bunch of different kinds, but the descriptions are less than helpful. Can anyone tell me the difference between these three? They all look the same to me. Otherwise, can anyone recommend another good place to buy a big spool?

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It sounds like you do a lot of desoldering. Why not buy a used desoldering iron?

Bill
 
I'm still on the roll of wick that I bought about 4 years ago. I find the Soldapult or Hakko 808 work for most of the desoldering I do, so I very rarely use the wick.
 
Yeah I picked up the cheapo desolderer when I was there getting more wick. I guess I'll see which one I like better.

Edit: Thinking about picking up this though (Aoyue 701A+). Anyone have opinions on it?
 
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I own the standalone desolder version of that unit, the 474A+. It simply ROCKS, I love it.

They're both knockoffs of the official Hakko units bearing the same numbers. Since I already own a real 936, I didn't want the combo unit.

Here's the 474A+ : http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-474A-De...ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1309047798&sr=1-4

Buy one NOW and forget futzing around with wicks and bulbs.

Do you know anything about the desoldering capabilities?

I actually dont mind using wick at all. I just would like to find a place to buy a bigger spool.
 
I still using a a Chem-wick 10-100L for the past 5 years. 100 feet of .100
I think it was 50 dollars at the time. Well worth it.

I have several pace desoldering machines but for quick single chip repaires I find solder wick works great.

Cheap solder wick does oxides and than doesn't wick very well cuasing the chip and the pad to over heat.

Sometime dipping the cheap wick in flux before you use it will help the wicking process Kind of messy but it works.

I was thinking of maybe buying this 500 feet roll for $100 off of ebay but that would be a lifet time supply.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chem-Wik-10-500...265?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51978af109
 
I still using a a Chem-wick 10-100L for the past 5 years. 100 feet of .100
I think it was 50 dollars at the time. Well worth it.

I have several pace desoldering machines but for quick single chip repaires I find solder wick works great.

Cheap solder wick does oxides and than doesn't wick very well cuasing the chip and the pad to over heat.

Sometime dipping the cheap wick in flux before you use it will help the wicking process Kind of messy but it works.

I was thinking of maybe buying this 500 feet roll for $100 off of ebay but that would be a lifet time supply.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chem-Wik-10-500...265?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51978af109

I don't know about the one your are linking to, but I once bought 10 small rolls of non-chemwick stuff and it doesn't work worth a darn. I finally gave up and bought a couple of rolls of actual chem-wick with my last digi-key order and it's great.

Even if you have a de-soldering rig of some kind, the wick is still handy for some situations.

About the Aoyue - I have the Aoyue Int 968 (soldering iron + hot air). I originally bought it because it's price beat even the Hakko units. I really use the iron mostly, and unfortunately, the control for the airflow broke after only a couple of uses. So I really can't recommend the thing from a reliability standpoint. Also, I've found it's a little bit of work to find the right tips - I'm unclear whether it uses the same tips as the Hakko, and I've only found one source for the Aoyue parts. Overall, I'd not buy Aoyue again.
 
I don't know about the one your are linking to, but I once bought 10 small rolls of non-chemwick stuff and it doesn't work worth a darn. I finally gave up and bought a couple of rolls of actual chem-wick with my last digi-key order and it's great.

Even if you have a de-soldering rig of some kind, the wick is still handy for some situations.

About the Aoyue - I have the Aoyue Int 968 (soldering iron + hot air). I originally bought it because it's price beat even the Hakko units. I really use the iron mostly, and unfortunately, the control for the airflow broke after only a couple of uses. So I really can't recommend the thing from a reliability standpoint. Also, I've found it's a little bit of work to find the right tips - I'm unclear whether it uses the same tips as the Hakko, and I've only found one source for the Aoyue parts. Overall, I'd not buy Aoyue again.

It's suppose to be a chemiwick roll. I know it doesn't look like one but mine if 5 years old and I assume the package might have changed within those 5 years.

I repair an expensive piece of equipment of a friend . All I ask for was some good solder wick and the cost of the part 47 cents. He bought be 5 rolls of crappy solder wick. I threw them out. Crappy solder wick doesn't wick very well and you can over heat a pad or eyelet so far it will lifet off the PCB board.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/Weller-WDD81X-D...681?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb57ea5c1


I recommend this thing

at $2 a roll (desoldering braid) this thing will pay for itself in no time. :)

I have used weller stuff before but this was 10 years ago but even tho it was more expensive the hot lead would get into the pump system and after a year of heavy use. It was time to replace the whole unit. Maybe they have improve there design since then?

Now with Pace, It does tend to eat tips and the filters are a pain to clean and are not cheap the heating element dies after 2 or 3 years. But that stuff is replaceable. I thought I would never be repair through hole stuff again and out pops old arcade boards.. Laughs.
 
Yeah I picked up the cheapo desolderer when I was there getting more wick. I guess I'll see which one I like better.

Edit: Thinking about picking up this though (Aoyue 701A+). Anyone have opinions on it?

I bought an Aoyue brand "808" and the heating element burned out in less than a month of minor use, not to mention the broken pieces on the pump right out of the box. Save your money and buy the real thing. I've got a real 808 that is a hand me down I bought from chad thats tons better than the Aoyue knockoff crap. I can't imagine the use its been through with all the monitors chad repaired with it in the years before I got it.
 
I bought an Aoyue brand "808" and the heating element burned out in less than a month of minor use, not to mention the broken pieces on the pump right out of the box. Save your money and buy the real thing. I've got a real 808 that is a hand me down I bought from chad thats tons better than the Aoyue knockoff crap. I can't imagine the use its been through with all the monitors chad repaired with it in the years before I got it.

Guess I'll stick with wick. I can't really afford to spend $200 on a Hakko 808.
 
So you guys that have giant rolls of good wick, can you give me a link to where to get it?

Edit: Nevermind, looks like DigiKey has 100' rolls.
 
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