Heres my recommendation: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker (https://www.amazon.com/Engineer-SS-02-Solder-Sucker/dp/B002MJMXD4/ref=s9_simh_gw_g469_i2_r?_encoding=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=DJZ9ND2S09JDWXZF6AFP&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=a6aaf593-1ba4-4f4e-bdcc-0febe090b8ed&pf_rd_i=desktop)Best solder sucker that money can buy.
https://www.amazon.com/Engineer-SS-02-Solder-Sucker/dp/B002MJMXD4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485185888&sr=8-1&keywords=engineer+ss02
This is one of the more recommended ones that I've seen.
Yeah mine does that too but you sometimes get a 'clogger' that you have to pick out or bend the tip against the plunger so it grips it to push it out. Hows the suction with the softer tip?
I use this Edsyn.
https://www.amazon.com/Edsyn-Deluxe-Soldapullt-Heavy-Vacuum/dp/B006GOKVKI/
I'm not great at using it (even after desoldering every switch in my GH-122) but it does the job better than solder wick ever could. Requires constant cleaning but I'm pretty sure that's true of every solder sucker.
I haven't found that I need wick on keyboard switches. If I missed a little bit, I added more solder and then sucked it all up again. Is this bad practice?
You know i have a roll of wick that perhaps i just haven't gotten the hang of. I find that coming back over something that didn't get a clean suction on it with the solder sucker is still easier and more efficient. I will admit that i did slice a 45 degree bevel in the tip of my cheap sucker so that it sat flush with the board when in use. Just for kicks, i just timed myself desoldering a TKL board and from start to finish it was comfortably at 18 minutes. Definitely not worth it to go from a $5 sucker to a $260 professional iron/sucker combo setup.
Once you go into a setting where your time is more valuable than the money, I bet the Hakko pays off quickly. No need to worry about solder jams every three or four joints. Just go go go. Volume use is where it would be most effective. I imagine people have helping hand things to support delicate things.
Once you go into a setting where your time is more valuable than the money, I bet the Hakko pays off quickly. No need to worry about solder jams every three or four joints. Just go go go. Volume use is where it would be most effective. I imagine people have helping hand things to support delicate things.
I'd be curious to see how much faster someone is with a soldering gun. 18min from start to finish with every switch removable afterwards is tough to beat for a $5 pump. I would be amazed if you could do it in under 10min which would leave you 8 min costing at lets say $242... which by my would be roughly $1800 a hour time valuation? thats insane. :))
It should be quite trivial to get one joint done in a second or two with a good desoldering tool. You can also think it like this: If you make $10 for each board you desolder, you could double your capacity and thus cover the cost of the tool in less than a week after which you would double your income. Of course almost no-one does de-soldering for a living in the western world, but it's something to think about.Once you go into a setting where your time is more valuable than the money, I bet the Hakko pays off quickly. No need to worry about solder jams every three or four joints. Just go go go. Volume use is where it would be most effective. I imagine people have helping hand things to support delicate things.
I'd be curious to see how much faster someone is with a soldering gun. 18min from start to finish with every switch removable afterwards is tough to beat for a $5 pump. I would be amazed if you could do it in under 10min which would leave you 8 min costing at lets say $242... which by my would be roughly $1800 a hour time valuation? thats insane. :))
Once you go into a setting where your time is more valuable than the money, I bet the Hakko pays off quickly. No need to worry about solder jams every three or four joints. Just go go go. Volume use is where it would be most effective. I imagine people have helping hand things to support delicate things.
I'd be curious to see how much faster someone is with a soldering gun. 18min from start to finish with every switch removable afterwards is tough to beat for a $5 pump. I would be amazed if you could do it in under 10min which would leave you 8 min costing at lets say $242... which by my would be roughly $1800 a hour time valuation? thats insane. :))
I don't even think there would be that much difference.
The desoldering gun makes the process very, very simple and predictable - even a novice could match you in terms of speed and efficiency.
I'm sorry to say this, but Hakko is typically known to be the good middle ground. They usually have good performance and no unnecessary bells&whistles.
The expensive stuff comes from for example JBC, whose desoldering station is around 1200+ USD.
Ok i've got 20 switches on the most difficult setup you can attempt... the alps KBP v80. I will say that the new sucker is a bit more gentle but the real improvement comes from the soft tip that i can mash into the joint to try and suck up the solder that inevitably slides down the hole and causes you to rip out the pad/tube from the backside when you pull out the switch. I am still having to crank up the heat to get into the leadless solder, suck up the excess from the top, then using the bent needle tip on my iron... get the stuck solder down in the pcb hot enough to then suck up with the new sucker that creates a seal against the board. I tried using my trusty cheapo $5 sucker and although it was better at sucking up more volume in one pull, its hard plastic tip did not allow me to make a seal to pull the solder back up out of the rather deep PCB.
For those who haven't done a board like this, it is absolutely the most difficult thing to work with. I can totally see why people rip pads on it all day long and give up.
Anyway, just my 2 cents from my first use of this new solder sucker.Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/efUi8hk.jpg)