Your recommended techniques for de-soldering?

You guys who use the FR301, what temperature do you usually set it to?

Since I'm asking, what temperature do you usually use when soldering?
in contemporary times I use 2.5. it's sufficient for doing multi layer boards like PC motherboards.

Hakko FR-301 is great for cap kits. it's kind of abysmal overrated shit if you're doing chips and headers cause the cup gets so hot. I bought unleaded solder to use with it in accordance to what the manual states, it wasn't much better. I actually just hate Kester solder or whatever second class Amazon special they buy at work. at least I don't have to manage my own tools anymore.

the point I'm getting at is I allocate a lot of time to just cleaning the stupid thing. had I not been a budget cut at my last job I would've gone with the $2000 Weller apparatus. it's a "you get what you pay for" scenario. you can buy a lot of paper filters and other various parts that break/melt/burn out for the $1700 some odd difference in price. due to its all-in-one design and overall convenience having the whole thing in your hand, I often will use it for soldering purposes when working on pinball cause it's not as clunky to handle as a soldering station.

if you want further advice, I'm here all week
 
For me, I used to solder to the pins first. Then used my FR-300 to remove the solder. Hot air station for a few seconds and it came right out.

NOWADAYS, however, I do it even better and have never turned back! A friend told me about this no clean soldering flux that's typically used for surface mounted chips. I now just add some solder to the pins. Put some of the flux along each row. And the Hakko FR-300 takes it out in one swoop. EVERY time. I can't remember when I use the hot air station. Don't need it now.

Linky link here:

* I only use the no clean flux when removing sockets or through hold eproms, ram, etc. So, it's lasted for years.

Del


I do the same, except you can do it without separate flux. The solder added to each pin already has flux in it. That's really the key to getting heat into each joint, breaking the oxide crust on the surface of each joint (which is a very poor conductor of heat), so you get good thermal transfer from the gun tip to the joint.

Add solder to each pin, hold board VERTICALLY (not flat on the table), wiggle the pin with the tip of the gun (to break up any oxide on the parts side) and you'll get much cleaner pulls. No extra flux (which only gums up your gun faster), or heat gun needed.
 
I still use my old Weller iron and a soldapult. Been using these for over 40 years or so. I don't work hard, I work efficiently with these.
Rarely a pulled trace or disconnected pad. Easy to clean. Still on the original nozzle (or perhaps the second) but that might need to be replaced soon. YMMV

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I still use my old Weller iron and a soldapult. Been using these for over 40 years or so. I don't work hard, I work efficiently with these.
Rarely a pulled trace or disconnected pad. Easy to clean. Still on the original nozzle (or perhaps the second) but that might need to be replaced soon. YMMV


Word. This is what I'm talking about.

When you get proficient with the single-handed one, you don't even need to break out the full-size DS017 that often.

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I do the same, except you can do it without separate flux. The solder added to each pin already has flux in it. That's really the key to getting heat into each joint, breaking the oxide crust on the surface of each joint (which is a very poor conductor of heat), so you get good thermal transfer from the gun tip to the joint.

Add solder to each pin, hold board VERTICALLY (not flat on the table), wiggle the pin with the tip of the gun (to break up any oxide on the parts side) and you'll get much cleaner pulls. No extra flux (which only gums up your gun faster), or heat gun needed.
I agree with this 100%. (Assuming you have a quality flux like Kester of course or similar).

Also, yes, I typically de-solder vertically as well, so that's a great tip for sure! No need to fight gravity!

Del
 
Adding my own perspective to this religious war...

I haven't touched my FR-301 in over a year. I got tired of it constantly jamming, constantly requiring cleaning/maintenance, and constantly damaging pads.

I now use the Vampire Tools Solder Sucker and Chemtronics Chem-Wik Desoldering Braid. It's been nothing short of a revelation. And believe it or not, I find I work quicker now than when I used the FR-301.
 
Adding my own perspective to this religious war...

I haven't touched my FR-301 in over a year. I got tired of it constantly jamming, constantly requiring cleaning/maintenance, and constantly damaging pads.

I now use the Vampire Tools Solder Sucker and Chemtronics Chem-Wik Desoldering Braid. It's been nothing short of a revelation. And believe it or not, I find I work quicker now than when I used the FR-301.
Feel free to ship me your "worthless" FR-301.

No sense in having it take up valuable space in your toolbox. ;)
 
I got rid of my Hakko and got the Yihua 948. The only thing I don't like about it is the lowest temp is 380c (716F). The FR301 would go down to 650. I never ripped up a pad with the hakko on arcade boards, but bally mpus I did when I was starting.

My best advice isn't which tool to use. Unfortunately this is expensive advice, but whatever tool you use, where you don't tear up and lift traces and pads, and get all the solder removed, is the tool you need. There will be varying opinions on everything.

Every single tool commented on in this thread is a good tool to use, however if it doesn't work for you, then get something else. I can't get the hang of desoldering braid, but I am very good with a desoldering gun, and the soldapullit.

But please figure this out, as there are way too many damaged boards to repair today, that look like someone with a welding tank or blowtorch use it to solder with.
 
I tried other desoldering braids in the past and never liked them. But the Chem-Wik stuff is amazing. I think it's infused with flux?

As with most anything cheap / off-brand stuff just don't work well. By definition, all wick should be pre-fluxed.
I purchased some cheapo wick off of Amazon and it does not work at all.
In the past, I was spoiled at work and had quality Chem-Wik etc available.
To be honest, I was surprised how poorly the "no name" Wick performed.

And, "yes", I'm also a fan of the manual solder-pult and the use of wick for those stubborn filled holes.
It's always a great feeling of satisfaction to desolder an IC and it almost falls off of the board with no damage to the IC or the pads/traces. :)

I have a Hakko and a desoldering station (hot air etc) but I always go old-school desoldering on my repairs.
 
Adding my own perspective to this religious war...

I haven't touched my FR-301 in over a year. I got tired of it constantly jamming, constantly requiring cleaning/maintenance, and constantly damaging pads.

I now use the Vampire Tools Solder Sucker and Chemtronics Chem-Wik Desoldering Braid. It's been nothing short of a revelation. And believe it or not, I find I work quicker now than when I used the FR-301.



There is technique involved with using (as well as cleaning and maintaining) these guns. Otherwise they will not work as expected.

One thing that took me a long time to learn (by making a lot of mistakes, and realizing I was the problem) is that if you are having problems soldering or desoldering, *regardless of the tools you're using*, the issue is almost always a matter of technique. As long as you have functional tools and quality solder (which is key, do not use cheap Chinese crap), everything else is technique.

When pads get ripped, the cause is either not getting enough heat far enough into the joint, and/or putting too much pressure on the pad. This is why when using guns you want to desolder with the board held *vertically*. The tip of the gun shouldn't press on the pad at all. You hover it above the joint, only making contact with the fresh solder ball (which you added first), and the pin itself.

When people lay boards flat on the bench and start grinding the gun into the board, that's when you get damage.

Another area where people have problems (which I see regularly on boards) is not getting heat far enough INTO a joint. If a joint has a power or ground plane on the parts side (or even just a thick trace), that metal will suck heat away from the joint on the parts side, even if the solder side is liquified. This results in not getting a clean pull, because the solder is melted all the way through the hole. You can tell when this happens because if you look into the hole you'll see a silver 'cup' of solder remaining, instead of a clean hole.

So people crank up the temperature on the gun, thinking that will fix the problem. But it doesn't. It just adds more heat to the SOLDER SIDE, which melts the adhesive and results in ripped pads and traces, even though the parts side can still be solid. The key is to get more heat into the parts side.

It's small stuff like this, but it makes all the difference between making things easy, and tearing up a board. But ultimately if you are causing damage, it's YOU that's the problem, not the tool.
 
You really need to find what works for you. I do this.
1. Add fresh solder
2. Clean off any flux left behind, that keeps the hakko from clogging.
3. Use my hakko 301
4. I use a small screw driver to push the pins to make sure they are free.
5. I use small flat pliers to rock and twist the chip, watching to see what pins are stuck, if any are stuck, I then use solder wick to remove any solder holding it.
6. Be patient. It's not a race.

This is my way, it may or may not work for you.
 
The most basic trick for desoldering, is to ADD solder before hand. Then desolder the newly heated/fluxed pins. :big_boss:

100%. It's night and day.

What it really does is break up the oxide layer of crust that forms on all joints after sitting in the air for 40+ years.

This oxide REALLY doesn't like to conduct heat. It's like a huge resistor or blanket, that is preventing heat from flowing into the joint. You can put your gun right on it and leave it there, and the joint will not melt. Break that crust up and you'll get better heat transfer from the iron or gun, deeper into the joint.

The amount of crust on any joint is greatly affected by how the board was stored. Boards stored in damp environments will have thicker crust. The most extreme cases are boards that were stored in sheds, barns, or warehouses where they were exposed to rodent piss (either directly, or just in the air). The crust on those can be so thick that you can't even melt the joints by flowing fresh solder onto them. The solder just balls up and rolls right off. You have to physically scrape or grind the crust off of each joint with an exacto or Dremel, to expose enough shiny metal to get heat under the crust, to break it up.
 
So people crank up the temperature on the gun, thinking that will fix the problem. But it doesn't. It just adds more heat to the SOLDER SIDE, which melts the adhesive and results in ripped pads and traces, even though the parts side can still be solid. The key is to get more heat into the parts side.
Key factor right here.
 
I do the same, except you can do it without separate flux. The solder added to each pin already has flux in it. That's really the key to getting heat into each joint, breaking the oxide crust on the surface of each joint (which is a very poor conductor of heat), so you get good thermal transfer from the gun tip to the joint.

Add solder to each pin, hold board VERTICALLY (not flat on the table), wiggle the pin with the tip of the gun (to break up any oxide on the parts side) and you'll get much cleaner pulls. No extra flux (which only gums up your gun faster), or heat gun needed.
I like this advice.

> - (Optional) A bottle of acetone or Goof Off and some Qtips, for cleaning off the flux after.

Every thread I read has different advice here. Some say it's optional, some say it's required. I used your hated Kester brand (thin) solder and really like it, but I haven't been cleaning the flux off from the solder because I'd read that it wasn't required.
 
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