Question about unsoldering small components?

arcaderookie

Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2010
Messages
521
Reaction score
1
Location
Tennessee
I am not sure if I am posting this in the right place, if it's not Sorry about that. Now back to my question. I was wanting to know a good way to unsolder some small component off of a board. Just need some pointers. Just heard I can mess up a board if I don't do it the right way.


Thanks in advance
 
I am not sure if I am posting this in the right place, if it's not Sorry about that. Now back to my question. I was wanting to know a good way to unsolder some small component off of a board. Just need some pointers. Just heard I can mess up a board if I don't do it the right way.


Thanks in advance

I just heat it up with soldering iron and use a solder sucker
 
Ive always had good luck using solder braid, just make sure you dont leave the solder iron on longer than a second or so if you can help it and remove parts while the solder is hot. Also for stubborn solder that doesnt want to melt fast just add a little more solder. The solder braid acts like a wick and absorbs the hot solder and it sticks to eat making it easy to remove. Some folks are scared to use it and if your not careful when you solder (no matter what method you use) you can pull up a board trace or contact. Atleast get you a good solder station that you can dial in your temps with so you know what youre workin with. Just remember touch and go and dont stay on the board with a hot iron long. Wait a few seconds and try again till it melts but dont keep trying in one attempt.
 
really depends on the component and how it's attached to the board. There are components that are through mounted and surface mounted. There are some components that are more sensitive to heat than others. How you work with the component in question depends on what it is. Although generally for most of the classic games you work on adding a hot iron and using a solder sucker or braid it the method you will use.
 
I use a manual desolder pump or solder braid. Just depends on what I'm desoldering. A tip I would recommend when using the solder braid, is to put flux on the braid before using it. The flux helps pull the solder into the braid. Just something I've found that helps......
 
Soldering wick has never worked for me, but I did buy the cheap stuff. I also bought a cheap sucker but then got a nice Goot one (almost identical to the Edsyn Soldapult). If you get a solder sucker, don't be afraid to put the tip right up close to the soldering iron. You want to get that sucker on top of the melted solder and hit the button as soon as you pull the iron away or the solder will solidify again. The sucker tips can take the heat and you can get replacement ones anyway. That said, I'm loving my new Hakko 808. If you're planning on doing a lot of desoldering, I can't recommend it enough.

PS As Zork2 says, flux is good for desoldering. Get yourself one of those flux pens. And adding new solder to a stubborn joint can help the heat transfer.
 
Last edited:
I usually use braid. I haven't tried a soldapult, just the crappy one with poor results. On stubborn older solder I use a flux pen on the braid and it comes right up. - Barry
 
Want to thanks everybody that replied to this post

I want to thank everybody on there tips and suggestions, on what I need to look for and do.. I have some more questions. If I was wanting to buy a soldering gun, solder braid, solder sucker, and flux pen. What are some good brands to buy and what brands to steer away from.


thanks again for all the responses
 
Last edited:
Depends on how much money you want to spend. To start out, I would get a Weller WLC-100 soldering station and a Soldapullt. I'm still using those after many years (the same ones), so they will definitely last a long time. I use liquid flux, so I can't recommend the right flux pen.

If you have more money to spend get one of the temperature regulated irons from Weller, Hakko, or Metcal. If you want something really nice, get a Metcal.

Oops. Gotta run. I'll write more later!
 
Look at Weller for a decent soldering iron, and get yourself an extra tip or two to keep handy. As for de-soldering, on the cheap, I'd get another Radio Shack red-ball-solder-sucker any day (the IRON with the red ball, not just the red ball itself - $9.99).

If you're willing to invest in some decent tools, I'd recommend the Hakko 808 for desoldering (you have NO IDEA now nice this thing is compared to a solder sucker), and a good Weller iron like a WTCP or something simliar. They're a little pricy but well well well worth it if you plan to be in this hobby or do a decent amount of soldering. Fixing things will actually be fun instead of a chore.
 
I use a Weller WESD51 Digital station. Love it. That and solder braid is all Ive ever needed and Ive restored 4 pins and who knows how many arcades.
 
Braid works and isn't bad, but don't buy the cheapest stuff. I found a handful of rolls of braid at a local hamfest, only to find out it was USELESS. Didn't work at all. Bought some new stuff from MCM and it worked fine.

Even if you have a Hakko or decent desoldering tool - braid is good to have on hand, especially when you desolder an IC and its still slightly soldered on top. Simply tuck the braid against the leg and it'll clean it up.
 
Some components must be cut out and then what is left unsoldered out. Such as, a three leg transistor. It is best to cut off the legs, then unsolder each one out after. A chip, best to cut the chip out, then unsolder all the legs.

I use all Radio Shack stuff as well and have yet to ruin a pad or trace, or component, because I know what I am doing. My iron has two watt/heat settings and the heated solder sucker works just fine.

Sure solder stations are the best but if you are not going to do a lot of this work, the Radio Shack stuff works just fine. Keep good clean tips on each too.
 
For solder suckers, I'd go for the Edsyn Soldapult or the Goot lookalike. I think there are other ones that look pretty much the same as these, and if they're from a reputable maker they're probably fine. My soldering iron is a Dick Smith digital station of the same type as the Xytronic 137 ( http://www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/137ESD.html ). This station is available under several different names, and I think you can use Hakko tips with it. It was cheap but I've found it just fine. Hakko and Weller consistently get good reviews and Metcal gets rave reviews (though you pay for it).

I can't recommend a brand of solder wick but I would say don't get the cheapest no-name stuff. However, my flux pen (and my solder) are of the cheapo generic brand type and they work fine.

Cutting components is a handy way to desolder them (providing you don't want to save the components, of course), but with a bit of practice you will be able to pull complete components with a solder sucker. With a proper desoldering station, you shouldn't need to cut components.
 
I use a Weller WESD51 digital soldering station. Digital readout, you can dial in the temp between 350 and 850 degrees, the pen is nice and light weight and easy to manuver. Very nice iron! I think I picked it up on Amazon for like $125? Best money I have spent on a tool for this hobby.
There are probably better irons out there, but I'd say this one gives you a pretty good bang for your buck.

The manual Desoldering pump I use is a Weller 7880. It is ok, it does the job, its a little big and clunky though....
The solder wick that I like the most...so far.....is the crap they sell at $hit Shack...
Its not too bad, all though I've only tried 2 other kinds.....
 
Some components must be cut out and then what is left unsoldered out. Such as, a three leg transistor. It is best to cut off the legs, then unsolder each one out after. A chip, best to cut the chip out, then unsolder all the legs.

I use all Radio Shack stuff as well and have yet to ruin a pad or trace, or component, because I know what I am doing. My iron has two watt/heat settings and the heated solder sucker works just fine.

Sure solder stations are the best but if you are not going to do a lot of this work, the Radio Shack stuff works just fine. Keep good clean tips on each too.

Really? Why would you cut the legs off of a transistor? Generally speaking they fall right out after removing the solder. It seems like that would be a lot more work. I've resorted to clipping the legs on chips before when I had a hard time getting the last bits of solder. But generally speaking, I've regretted it and just wished I would have spend a bit more time and pulled it properly.
 
Really? Why would you cut the legs off of a transistor? Generally speaking they fall right out after removing the solder. It seems like that would be a lot more work. I've resorted to clipping the legs on chips before when I had a hard time getting the last bits of solder. But generally speaking, I've regretted it and just wished I would have spend a bit more time and pulled it properly.

On a three legged trans, I sometimes cut each leg and pull it out from the other side. Then suck out any solder that is left. That's all I mean...

And usually I am replacing components not reusing them, thus a crappy Scanbe chip socket is best to dissassemble the socket first, then pull each leg socket out. These things just work best for me I guess...
 
Last edited:
you guys and all your fancy stuff.

This thing http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062731 works great for caps and just about anything else that is not surface mounted, that is all that MOST people need. I get a new tip for mine about once a year, and a new unit about every 3 years. Sure there is no temp control but it warms up in about 2 minutes. then just unplug it when you are not using it.
 
Back
Top Bottom