Solder sucker

[docbob52]

Dan loves a solder sucker for desoldering.  It works great the first time, but almost, always it soon clogs up.   I use it clogs up.  What is the secrete ?

[Paul Birkeland]

Push extra, extra hard on the actuator to push the clogged goop out the tip.

[galyons]

Push extra, extra hard on the actuator to push the clogged goop out the tip.

+1, plus be prepared to occasionally unscrew and clear tip and tube.  Better suckers also allow the tip to be replaced as usage tends to melt it down a bit.

Cheers,
Geary

[Doc B.]

These suggestions are with respect to the plunger type of solder sucker. If you bought one of the squeeze bulb types, the best way to use it is this -

1)Take the squeeze bulb solder sucker in your right hand.
2)Center it over a trash can.
3)Instead of squeezing it, just let it drop into the trash.
4)Go online and buy a plunger type solder sucker.

[corndog71]

I've been using the squeeze bulb kind for years.  I keep a short piece of 16awg solid core copper wire bent into an L shape with the bulb for clearing the tip.    A small screw driver can work too.

[Jim R.]

I have to agree with Dan's instructions for the bulb type :-).

I have an aluminum tube type with a teflon tip made by Weller and it is absolutely the best one I've used. Lots of suction power and a nice trigger release. It has still never clogged on me in nearly 10 years now. I don't rememberr how much it cost, but it was worth every penny.

-- Jim

[Natural Sound]

I prefer solder wick. But that's just me.

.

[2wo]

I have them all, I have never been able to get the plunger ones to work that great and end up just using wick.

This is my solution...John

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=372-202

[Loquah]

I find the wick really difficult to use. Maybe I'm doing it wrong!?

Because of that I'm preferring the plunger style, but wick (if I could work it effectively) would be better for those tight spots and when there's less solder to grab.

[Natural Sound]

There isn't anything tricky about using solder wick. Just make sure you snip it back after every joint or two. I've seen guys wind up with a couple inches of used wick before cutting it off. That makes it unnecessarily difficult to use.

When I used to do a lot of board work I opted for a de-soldering station. It was super nice with a self contained vacuum pump and variable temperature. I would have to partially disassemble the tube assembly once a week. More if I was doing a lot of prototype boards. The bad thing about it was that it cost around $900. You might say a little out of reach for DIYers.

[Mike B]

I use a plunger.  All the techs used plungers in production.  Nothing sucks solder out of a PC board hole better than a plunger.

I still have the one I bought 20 years ago.  I don't use it much.  Better to take the time to do it right the first time than to suck solder.

Really, have some patience, don't be inna rush.  Read the instruction, verify the part, position the part, read the instruction again, look at the picture and visually verify, read the instruction again to make sure you have to solder and there are no more connections to do.

Then solder the part.

If this sounds like a lotta work and takes too much time, think about the time required to unsolder the wrong connection, hopefully you don't damage any part in the process, clean up the crap and do it right.

If you do damage a part, highly likely 'cause it takes way more heat to unsolder than solder, you need to get a new part.  In the time that takes you could be listening to glorious music instead of posting here re "why don't my kit work"

Avoid rework, take your time, do it right the first time. 

Patience -

[Loquah]

Good points, Mike. In my case I'm having to use the solder sucker to undo someone else's work - someone I'm helping out due to some slight patience / attention to detail issues. 

Natural Sounds, I think you solved my issue - I haven't been snipping it into small sections, but using an end of the wick while it's still connected to the whole roll. I'm guessing it's channeling the heat away too fast into the rest of the roll. I'll start snipping off just what I need to use each time. Thanks for the tip!

[Grainger49]

I have used both.  I have a nice aluminum tube, Teflon tip with a big button trigger on it solder sucker now.  It is the second one I bought.  It is nice.

I believe those who are having trouble with the solder wick are not heating the wick.  Cold it won't pick up anything.

You place the wick on the solder you want to remove, place the soldering iron on top of it.  Since the wick is copper it will sink a lot of heat and it takes longer than you expect.  But once the copper heats and transfers it to the solder it will wick it right up.

[Tickwomp]

I learned a long time ago that if you don't keep the solder sucker clean, it will drop tiny bits of solder powder on your work as you bring it in and get it positioned.  Not a big deal really, but adds to clean up later. 

[ironbut]

I found myself doing lots of rework of circuit boards a few years back.
For the most part, I use a combo of plunger types (kept clean) and solder wick.
Different types of joints require different techniques but generally, the bigger it is (and the more solder there is on the joint), the more you should "wet" the joint with a tiny bit of fresh solder before you try and suck it out.
You don't want to keep heating the joint too long or you take the chance of damaging the trace or lift the pad.
I think the toughest are boards with "through holes" where it isn't just a pad but the hole and the component side are also plated.
For these and multi footed components like IC's, I use some stuff called ChipQuik. It's made for removing surface mount devices like computer CPU's.
Ever looked at one of those things! It looks like there's 50 legs or so!
ChipQuik is a system that adds a "wetting agent" that keeps the solder flowing longer at a lower temp.
Seldom used but man, what a great product when you need it!

http://www.chipquikinc.com/