Favorite method for desoldering?

[jcoffin1981]

This is for the gurus who build and customize their own boards:  I was wondering what your favorite desoldering technique was?  I almost ruined a board, mainly because of my lack of experience and super cheap tools I was using.
I was heating the switch contacts until the solder turned to liquid and then applying the solder sucker.  This trashed the PCB.  Maybe the iron shold have been applied to the blob of solder but not the contact?  I also had to turn up the heat because the tips were almost instantly corroding.   

I have found that soldering wick is much preferred for me.  It seems to work at lower temperatures and there is much less chance of overheating components.  It works great; it just sucks up the solder like a sponge.  I'm surprised it's not more popular.  I'm far from an expert, but I have learned enough where I could probably desolder and solder an entire board without messing anything up and I'm looking forward to my next project. 

[jdcarpe]

Hakko 808.

Or iron and  Soldapullt. Then wick, if needed, to finish.

[retrochick]

Hakko 808.

Or iron and  Soldapullt. Then wick, if needed, to finish.

This. I heat the solder blob at around 700F and use a solder solder sucker. Then a solder wick if needed.

[Jedi]

Bought the Hakko and never looked back.  You could take your time with the solder wick tape and do a reasonable job but with the Hakko you're done in a second and the board looks like nothing was even on there.

[DreaMagine]

Unfortunately I don't own a proper desoldering station at home, so I usually go with solder wick to do the job. It can still be a major pain though without a solder-sucker gun, especially after you've had the chance to use one before.

[TalkingTree]

Soldering iron and pump.
I use a small tip and I start heating the component pin. When tin melts I move the iron to the soldering pad of the PCB.

[jcoffin1981]

I will never get enough use to justify the purchase of one of these Hakko machines.  But a wick alone would take forever on an entire board, so I have to become more efficient.

[SpAmRaY]

I love my 808.

[richfiles]

LOL, ninjad by the jd himself!  )
The Hakko 808 was one of the greatest soldering related purchases in my life... I makes EVERYTHING easier! 
The multiple Hakko 936 and 927 stations I own are the OTHER best soldering and solder related accessory purchases I've made in my life! 

I can't praise Hakko enough for their soldering and desoldering tools!

I love their stuff so much, I'm building the guts of a Hakko 927 digital soldering station into the controls of my desk mounted Kerbal Space Program controller (that my Danger Zone keyboard will slip into). I literally will have a din socket on the front edge of my controller, a toggle, and the soldering station controls right in my desk! You know, in case of soldering emergency! You never know when you'll wanna solder up something at your desk instead of your workbench! 

Just gotta figure out WHERE to fit the controls for the thing now! Also need to find green LED displays with the same common (anode or cathode) to replace the stock ones, so it fits my Kerbal/Apollo capsule theme.

Did I mention i like my Hakko 808? I've used better, like a Pace (forget the specific model), but you can't beat the portability of the Hakko. The Pace has to be attached to a compressed air supply to function. The Hakko 808, you just plug in. That's it.

[user 18]

I have an old Weller system very similar to the 808. Absolutely love it, makes desoldering so much less painful than with wick.

[jcoffin1981]

With the standard iron, by  the time you have liquified the solder and positioned your sucker, the solder has already cooled somewhat, so you  have to be super fast about it.  I was leaving the  iron on the contact too long which is part of the reason I  melted the pcb.  There is a learning curve  here.

[TalkingTree]

With the standard iron, by  the time you have liquified the solder and positioned your sucker, the solder has already cooled somewhat, so you  have to be super fast about it.

It's safe to put the pump near the hot iron.

[jcoffin1981]

Is it necessary  to hold  the iron tip on  the contact, or  can you hold it only against the ball of solder?  Heating the contact is what fried my board  (iron was too hot of course).

[Connly33]

Unfortunately I don't own a proper desoldering station at home, so I usually go with solder wick to do the job. It can still be a major pain though without a solder-sucker gun, especially after you've had the chance to use one before.

Pretty much what i do, though i would probably use a desoldering station enough to pay for itself. But for the time being i just use a large wedge tip and a good solder wick, and hope that there isn't to much i have to desolder lol.

[jcoffin1981]

Unfortunately I don't own a proper desoldering station at home, so I usually go with solder wick to do the job. It can still be a major pain though without a solder-sucker gun, especially after you've had the chance to use one before.

Pretty much what i do, though i would probably use a desoldering station enough to pay for itself. But for the time being i just use a large wedge tip and a good solder wick, and hope that there isn't to much i have to desolder lol.

I have to say, the  chisel tip and the solder wick works great. And that dip does  not seem  to burn out  like the  rest of  them.

Unfortunately I don't own a proper desoldering station at home, so I usually go with solder wick to do the job. It can still be a major pain though without a solder-sucker gun, especially after you've had the chance to use one before.

Pretty much what i do, though i would probably use a desoldering station enough to pay for itself. But for the time being i just use a large wedge tip and a good solder wick, and hope that there isn't to much i have to desolder lol.

[HoffmanMyster]

Hakko 808.

+1

Had a Hakko 808, sold it when I needed money and wasn't desoldering.  Bought a Hakko FR-300 when I needed one again, and it's even better (quieter, lighter, has indicator LED and power switch).  Each joint takes ~3 seconds to desolder (for either tool).  It's so easy I actually wouldn't want to desolder with a "regular" technique anymore.  )

[sean]

Using a solder sucker is definitely not the best solution, but it's the cheapest and will do a good job at removing the solder.

[TalkingTree]

Is it necessary  to hold  the iron tip on  the contact, or  can you hold it only against the ball of solder?

You have to liquify all the tin you want to remove, so, yes, you have to heat the pad as well.

Heating the contact is what fried my board  (iron was too hot of course).

Perhaps you heated the side of the pad, causing the pad itself to raise up from the board.

[smknjoe]

iron and  Soldapullt. Then wick, if needed, to finish.

^

[tronbeaver]

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FR-300-FR300-Desoldering-Tool/dp/B00KWM69C4

$259!  You guys must be made of money.

[HoffmanMyster]

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FR-300-FR300-Desoldering-Tool/dp/B00KWM69C4

$259!  You guys must be made of money.

I am an adult with a job that desolders a fair amount of boards.  I'm willing to spend a bit of money to turn a multi-hour job into a 15 minute job. 

I wish I were made of money. 

[Rayoui]

A good solder sucker and some wick for cleaning up the stubborn joints is more than sufficient for most applications and certainly the most cost-effective unless you are doing high-volume desoldering. I can afford the FR-300 but hard to justify for the amount of desoldering I do.

http://www.amazon.com/Engineer-SS-02-Solder-Sucker/dp/B002MJMXD4

[radish]

i found the most cost effective solution to be copper wick and rosin. make up for everything else with skill and practise. pick up an old stereo of the curb to desolder.  worked for me when i got started.

[Melvang]

For me by far the best method is the edsyn soldapult from geekhackers.org

[Jin]

I use hakko FX-951. Its really good

[henz]

Or iron and  Soldapullt. Then wick, if needed, to finish.

This or if im not going to salvage the pcb, then i just heat while i pull. much faster

i plan to buy some kind of vaccumer, the soldapullt is tiresome for my thumb

[wockytocky]

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FR-300-FR300-Desoldering-Tool/dp/B00KWM69C4

$259!  You guys must be made of money.

Christ, thats more than any keyboard I've ever bought!

[Melvang]

http://www.geekhackers.org/collections/soldering-tools-and-supplies/products/edsyn-gh-ds017gh

[jacobolus]

If you keep an eye out on ebay, there are sometimes great deals on used desoldering stations. A fancy desoldering station costs $500+ when new, but if you buy used you can get them for $100–200.

[MrRooks]

Desolder gun all the way. I bought a cheap Chinese clone of the 808 on ebay for $110. It's been working great so far. It saves so much time, it's awesome.

[CPTBadAss]

Hakko 808.

Or iron and  Soldapullt. Then wick, if needed, to finish.

Same thing for me. I prefer not to use wick at all though. 808 is definitely my go-to tool for desoldering though.

[RickyJ]

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FR-300-FR300-Desoldering-Tool/dp/B00KWM69C4

$259!  You guys must be made of money.

I am an adult with a job that desolders a fair amount of boards.  I'm willing to spend a bit of money to turn a multi-hour job into a 15 minute job. 

I wish I were made of money. 

This.  I repair a lot of electronics on the side (mostly automotive), and my 808 paid for itself on the first job I used it on.  I don't know how I went so long without it!

[redbanshee]

Im going to vouch for a slightly cheaper option to the 808 that has treated me extremely well over the last couple years. The S-993. Extremely easy to clean, and in my experience reliable.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361165556271?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[ImAWildDeer]

I would agree with a lot of the people here, the Hakko FR300 is nuts for desoldering. While it's not a cheap tool, it saves so much time.

[Leslieann]

I tried a cheap Soldapult, and it was garbage. I even modded it for more suction and while better, it still was not great. Trying to get it on the joint fast enough was always a challenge.

I have a normal Weller that I use to heat a joint, then I use a Radio shack iron with a suction bulb built in (I paid $16 for it). Clunky, but so much easier than a pen sucker. I've been tempted to hook it to a suction pump.

[Rayoui]

I started out with one of the cheap solder suckers and had a lot of problems with it. It was a nightmare to use. I picked up an Edsyn Soldapullt and it made a world of difference.

[briancvrrbs]

So far, Soldapult has been putting in work! The only thing I need help with is desoldering SIP sockets on a board that has a plate without switch top removal access. I've had to make a few patches on my boards because I i can't completely remove the solder from the SIP socket leads

[Leslieann]

I started out with one of the cheap solder suckers and had a lot of problems with it. It was a nightmare to use. I picked up an Edsyn Soldapullt and it made a world of difference.

That video also shows a tip I didn't consider at the time I was doing it, and that is, add more solder, especially lead based. Makes it so much easier. The newer stuff doesn't heat or flow as well.