What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

[diif]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

I have been using 60/40 flux core solder, i had radio shack brand, but it ran out and i picked up some from mouser AiM brand
ok it is not out but i have about 2 inches left

What temp would i use for say the usb socket on a motherboard and for a simple single sided board if i were going to use a solder sucker to extract the solder
where should i get T12 tips from (i would probably just end up using one style tip for everything)
I assume there are fakes out there i want to avoid

I have been told my solder work looks good by a student studying electrical engineering
he thought i had had training or been taught and i used was using good solder double sided prototyping board and a bad tool, so i guess i am not bad (but it could just be the solder...)
I can make stuff but not take them apart with what i have


* i have not decided against getting a de-soldering gun (ZD-915), just weighting options, pros, and cons

I have my iron on 400-450 usually. I'd flood the socket pins with cheap solder and then use a K tip to heat the mass and pull it out. Or use hot air.
All T12 tips are "fake" unless they are genuine Hakko. Aliexpress is the place to buy non genuine but good IMO good enough quality tips.

[momaka]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

What temp would i use for say the usb socket on a motherboard and for a simple single sided board if i were going to use a solder sucker to extract the solder

For motherboard use, you probably won't be able to use a desoldering iron (solder sucker) at all. I've used one of those more expensive (about $150 a few years back) desoldering guns with a built-in pump (might have been a Weller, I don't remember), and it sucked - pun intended - for working on motherboards. You are much better off getting a powerful iron with a big tip and flooding all the pins with solder at once, then pulling the port out.

With a large T12 tip and 60+ Watt iron for it, you should be able to tackle almost everything at 350C. I can probably count the number of times on my fingers when I had to crank the temperature up above 350C on my CSI 2900. Most of the time, I set it to 320-330C.

* i have not decided against getting a de-soldering gun (ZD-915), just weighting options, pros, and cons

I don't want to steer you away from it, but I think a desoldering iron/gun has a rather limited use. Most importantly, you'll be limited to through-hole components *and* desoldering only. But what if you need to solder back a large component?

Also, with a powerful iron, you can often remove SMD components. Actually, I very often use my CSI 2900 station along with my 30W RS iron to remove TO-252 SMD MOSFETs from motherboards. It's both quicker than hot air and I don't heat much of the nearby components. I've used this same method to remove SO/SOIC/TSOP chips with up to 16 pins.

So overall, I think you may find a powerful soldering iron (be it temperature controlled or not) more useful than just a desoldering gun/iron.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

* i have not decided against getting a de-soldering gun (ZD-915), just weighting options, pros, and cons

If you are looking for one

You can look at eBay uk and you should find one just make sure that they ship to USA because some of them do not

I have had some for many year and for the most part I have been happy with it

On a scale of 1 to 10
1 being the worst piece of equipment I have ever seen
10 being the best piece of equipment I have ever seen

I give the ZD-915 newer version of this model I give it 7.9 ( on boot up it will show the following “ U 3 “ )

It looses one point for tips being cheap quality

You have to clean the tip often
and sometimes the tube that goes through the heater has a tendency to clog up due to the flux crystalizing and becoming very hard if this happens take a 1/16 dill bit and carefully drill it clear

If you loose suction check the flat washer in front of the tube washer or the tube washer in the front and one in the back also check the filters the one that goes in the tube and the one on the front of the unit

Also as side note if use the Desoldiering gun a lot the suction pump looses it suction to point that it will not pull out all of the solder out of a hole on the board this happens after a few years of use
( I have two of my units that this has happened to but I do a lot of soldering work )

Also another side note if you have the clear plastic tube replace it on site buy the repair kit and change all of the parts that go to the clear plastic tube

The clear ( plastic tube ) tube design is the worst I have ever seen seen on a scale
1 to 10

I give this a “ -10 “ here is why
One the filter does not have a place in the plastic tube meaning that there are no tab to hold it in place inside of the tube instead there is a flat thin metal disk and shit-e spring to hold it in place that is hard to put in the right place in the tube holder and lock in place


It looses another point because replacement parts are to find in USA

It looses another 0.1 point because you should recap the power supply board
They use unknown brand of caps

I hope this helps

[megaraider]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

@evilkitty:
Everyone is trying so hard to help you… but in the end it's up to you to make choices and move along.
After all the good, cheap and proven suggestions from everyone on previous posts
I do think it's time for you to get hands on the job, i.e., buy the tools and use them.

(...), you can improve your soldering skills a lot with practice - and for this, you just need to spend more time doing it and learning to use the tools you have.

Temperature set and all other important details come with practice… there's no absolute guide for that.
(of course there are rules to follow when soldering, don't get me wrong. But you are not salvaging parts or soldering sensitive parts thought)

(btw 60/40 leaded solder from chin@ is cheaper than a candy)

Good luck.

[stj]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

https://www.aliexpress.com/

https://www.banggood.com/

[evilkitty]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

I have been using 60/40 flux core solder, i had radio shack brand, but it ran out and i picked up some from mouser AiM brand
ok it is not out but i have about 2 inches left

What temp would i use for say the usb socket on a motherboard and for a simple single sided board if i were going to use a solder sucker to extract the solder
where should i get T12 tips from (i would probably just end up using one style tip for everything)
I assume there are fakes out there i want to avoid

I have been told my solder work looks good by a student studying electrical engineering
he thought i had had training or been taught and i used was using good solder double sided prototyping board and a bad tool, so i guess i am not bad (but it could just be the solder...)
I can make stuff but not take them apart with what i have


* i have not decided against getting a de-soldering gun (ZD-915), just weighting options, pros, and cons

[momaka]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

I use a £20 Bakon 950D £2/£3 T12 tips and Chemtronics braid.

While I don't have any experience with the Bakon 950D or any other of those "portable" soldering stations, I do absolutely unconditionally agree with you that T12 tips are a GREAT idea.

I myself have a Circuit Specialists CSI 2900 75 Watt soldering station that uses T12 tips and I absolutely love it. It's actually made by Aoyue, and they have the same model station. You don't need the same exact station per se, but you do need an iron/station that is rated for 60-90 Watts, as megaraider mentioned.

The tips matter, too, of course. T12 are not alwfully expensive ($3-10 a tip, depending on the tip type and/or where you get it), and they tend to last a long time. I have three T12 tips, but almost exclusively use a 5 mm bevel tip for just about everything (that is, large solder jobs).

When it comes to removing ports from a motherboard, I've done that many times with my CSI 2900 and the same 5 mm bevel tip mentioned above by simply flooding all of the port's pins with solder at once. Not only that, but I was able to do this with very crappy high-melt temperature lead-free solder too.

So if that Bakon 950D station is any good as diff recommends it, I would suggest you try that first with a large chisel and/or bevel tip - preferrably 3-5 mm in width. For SMD work, I suggest getting a spoon-shaped tip (they have those for the T12 tips as well). However, for very small SMD components, I find it easiest to solder/desolder with my 30 Watt Radio Shack iron, on which I have ground its tip to a spoon shape.

As for solder wick - I only use that to clean up a board after removing BGA components. For everything else, I hate using wick. As eccerr0r, you need expensive wick/braid if you want it to work well. Either that, or good flux to put on the crappy braid... but then you end with a ton of flux fumes (I hate that, so that's another reason I avoid braid/wick in general).

As for a desoldering iron (vacuum pump type), I have a Radio Shack 45W iron with a hand bulb mounted on the iron. It works for single-sided PCBs and very occasionally for thinner two-sided PCBs. But for motherboard and multi-layer boards, it is useless. Really, I only use it when removing transformers and rectifiers from older ATX PSUs and flybacks from TV boards.

I also have a vacuum / desolder pump. I used to use that before I got my 45W Radio Shack desoldering iron, but it's usually a bigger PITA to use than the RS 45W iron. So I rarely use it now (every once in a while, I might use it with my 75W CSI station).

So the bottom line is: get a 60-90 Watt soldering iron. It doesn't have to be temperature controlled (in fact, if it uses 900M tips, AVOIT IT), but if it is, then look for one with T12 tips. Also get some decent flux. Genuine Amtech is expensive and hard to find genuine, but works great. Kingbo is a cheap Chinese no-name stuff, but it works decently well (though the smell could drive you a bit nauseous, especially when the flux gets a few years old). I also have nice Rosin-based MG Chemicals flux, but that's only suitable for soldering and desoldering through-hole components (not good for SMD or BGA work at all).

And finally, get some 60/40 leaded solder. Leaded solder help brings the melting point of lead-free solder down, so you can solder/desolder it more easily. Not to mention you get great-looking solder joints. For SMD work, though, I do prefer Lead-free solder, as most LF solders tend to "smear" a bit less.

All in all, soldering is a bit like art. You can have a great artist with crappy tools still produce decent art. And you can also have a bad artist with great tools produce very bad art. So the tools will only do so much for you. Unlike art, though, you can improve your soldering skills a lot with practice - and for this, you just need to spend more time doing it and learning to use the tools you have.

[evilkitty]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

Hell yeah! Using a 'decent' solder iron, 60W - 90W, you'll be able to use a de-soldering pump with no issues but it requires some practice.
However for non rounded pins it becomes harder as it must be done in steps.

What would be a decent unit? IMO i do just fine with the crappy iron i have for building stuff, but it is near useless for repairing, yea i can replace a cap in a low grade product or two, but that is about it
I do not want to be locked into a crap quality tip (EG the stock tips on 4$ irons, that are good for at around 3 uses)
i do not want to be locked into a expensive tip, if i can use a piece of solid core wire in a pinch that would be great (i just cut the wire as needed to get a usable shape)

Doing omelets without eggs...
Keep in mind that on top of the de-soldering gun price you have parts that need to be replaced e.g.: tip, filters, repair kit... How often depends on the use.
[see @sam_sam_sam post ]

I was aware if that

[megaraider]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

On the note of using de-soldering bulbs and the better spring powered tool my issue is the solder cools well before i can get the tip on the joint, is this cause i am only using a 30w tool (...)

Hell yeah! Using a 'decent' solder iron, 60W - 90W, you'll be able to use a de-soldering pump with no issues but it requires some practice.
However for non rounded pins it becomes harder as it must be done in steps.

I would very much like a de-soldering gun, but there is one issue, i hate to spend money

Doing omelets without eggs...
Keep in mind that on top of the de-soldering gun price you have parts that need to be replaced e.g.: tip, filters, repair kit... How often depends on the use.
[see @sam_sam_sam post ]

[evilkitty]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

I would very much like a de-soldering gun, but there is one issue, i hate to spend money
I can find a ZD-915 for 119 at amazon

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

that exact model for 60-100 (ZD985)?
what retailers would have it at said price?

No not for that at the moment they are out of stock again ($119.00) + shipping (ZD-915)

Now eBay has one for $159.00 + $21.50 for shipping

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vacuum-Deso...m4383.l4275.c1

Now the ZD-915 the newer model has a better temperature controller that solved a problem with the ( older version ) switching power supply it would turn ON the gun heater before the power supply became stable it would sometimes shutdown and restart a few times when weather was cooler

I would highly recommend that you buy one of Desoldiering Gun units

Buy extra tips, filters and at least one repair kit ( kit come with one spring , one tube , one front tube washer , one rear tube washer , one flat washer ) if you want or need the eBay link for the parts please ask)

[evilkitty]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

On the note of using de-soldering bulbs and the better spring powered tool my issue is the solder cools well before i can get the tip on the joint, is this cause i am only using a 30w tool, would i be able to use one of those effectively if i had a decent quality soldering pen with a adjustable temperature?

[Fast Alpha]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

i know K tip, i have one - and 6 other tips too.
K is good for use with desoldering braid, but not throwing a lot of heat into one place.

So I need to use a pencil tip, not the one with it. Is it faulty the soldering station. Looks like a laptop power supply unit.

What about that flux, how do you use it on the sticks on the motherboard.
Any help or advice you can give. I soldered and repaired my speakers with a 3.5mm jack plug. It was okay for that.

What is happening?

[megaraider]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

Since equipment money seems to be of the essence in your question and you are not salvaging parts but removing them you ought to be practical and resourceful.

Nevertheless you will need a good solder iron at the very least. This doesn't mean expensive necessarily but rather powerful, somewhere in the 60W to 90W power range, to deliver enough heat, and equipped with a decent tip.

The main approach will be to grind away all portions of the component so you only have to deal with one pin at a time, followed by removing each pin and the solder leaving the circuit board hole clean.
Since you don't get along with de-soldering pumps, and experience is of essence especially on grounded pins, apply enough heat to the pin, from the solder circuit board side, to melt it entirely followed by a dry blow.
Tip: Adding a bit of newer solder is helpful upon starting to apply the heat.

I still use this rudimentary method, yet efficient, when faced without my fancy tools or not in good mood (and this is not synonymous to damaging the circuit board neither leaving any burned or scratch marks).

[stj]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

i know K tip, i have one - and 6 other tips too.
K is good for use with desoldering braid, but not throwing a lot of heat into one place.

[Fast Alpha]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

https://www.banggood.com/

Go here and search for the tip. K tip what is that.

[stj]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

K tip,

wrong tip for the job.
the error means a poor connection between the tip & handle usually.
far too hot too - 330-380 is enough.

[Fast Alpha]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

Here are pictures of the tip and some how the soldering station is now showing this error code 5-E/S-E!!!!!

I had the temp to 450c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiuQHn115UY

Looks faulty product.

From another forum

bakon 950d, isnt that pretty much a repurposed laptop power supply with small t12 controller added?
open it up and measure voltages

I also have the chip quik flux.

[stj]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

what tip type and what heat setting?

[Fast Alpha]

Re: What is a good de-soldiering iron/tool?

I use a £20 Bakon 950D £2/£3 T12 tips and Chemtronics braid.

I used that on caps on a motherboard MS6340 ver5, and it did not do anything to the solder, I used the braid. I got no transfer of heat.



http://uk.farnell.com/chemtronics/40...5mm/dp/9599509

This for use with lead free solder ?