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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
Removing components from circuit boards
Bought this to repair my tv, worked great. Regular pumps with plastic tips are useless compared to this. I used this pump to remove in most cases 99-100% of the solder. Adding a small amount of solder before using the pump vastly increases the effectiveness. The joints that had a little left are best taken care of with braid.
A few negatives though:
The tip will not last long; good for maybe a few dozen joints. RS used to sell iron clad tips which lasted far longer.
Caution!! You must be very careful as this WILL damage the PCB if held over the joint too long. I wish they made this in a lower wattage like 25-30W. Remember: the PCB is much more valuable than components. Use heatsinks whenever possible; I find alligator clips work great, especially the smaller ones for hard-to-reach places.
It works better than a "solder sucker". Continuous heat is applied while removing solder is the reason why this WORKS so well! Removable tip also a plus. TIP: Disassemble head via side screw, lightly q-tip inside with solder paste, blowtorch head while tapping to remove stuck solder.
The time it took me to desolder a power jack on a laptop's motherboard went from what seemed to be forever, to just a few minutes! I wish I had bought this earlier!
I like this tool it gets the job done. I also bought the vacuum that rs also sells like this much better, but don't squeeze the bulb to hard after using always squeeze over a dish of water so the solder is ejected there and not your work.
from San Antonio, TX on 5/5/2008
I was hesitant to buy this thing to start with but have found it to be one of the best products I have ever purchased. I wish I would have had one of these 30 years ago when I got started in electronics. I have used everything from solder wick to $600.00 vacuum pump outfits and this thing puts them all to shame. Solder wick will ruin your part and make you pull your hair. With the expensive vacuum systems I spent more time cleaning them out than I did actually using them. This thing would have saved me hundreds of dollars in ruined parts over the years. I think I am going to buy several of these in case Radio Shack decides to quit selling them. I don't ever want be without this. Honestly, it works that good.
from NJ on 5/3/2008
Great for removing heavy through hole connectors, DIPS. I first bought one in 1988.
Wish I had known about it sooner instead of struggling with lousy plastic 'solder suckers'
I've bought 2 since (only after losing the others!). They are STILL a great bargain too!
I say, get 'em while they're HOT!
This has been one of the best desoldering tools I have ever used. It is very fast, easy to handle, comfortable, and just great!
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
I've bought at least a dozen of these over the years; I keep replacing them because my students take them.
This tool is simply the fastest and best cheap way to remove chips, wires, and other things with leads from thru-hole PCBs. In fact, you have to be fast because you'll damage some parts with the heat if you are too slow.
Unfortunately, the speed and ease of use do lead to the danger that a user will deflate the bulb with the tool pointed unwisely, thus giving whatever a fine spray of molten solder. The target for the spray should be a shallow tray of water or some similarly heat-safe substance that will keep the spray contained. Keeping the tip clean improves both function (more even heating) and safety (more predictable spray pattern).
from Alliance, NE on 1/18/2008
Excellent for desoldering through-hole boards. I had several whole tv's to scrap for parts, and began using a solder sucker and iron, but found this very awkward; then I used desoldering braid (which does also work very well) but you use it up so fast with that many joints it is like throwing money in the trash. I purchased this desoldering iron on advice from a friend, and it works magnificently. It not only increases my desoldering speed, but is easy, completely desolders the joint, and was very reasonably priced. I can scrap many more tv's with this essential tool!
I use this mostly for speaker wiring and some circuit board work. Performs great in both ways. Leaves virtually no clean up at all if any. This thing is great especially in low light areas when you need the other hand for light. Can be somewhat limited when in a tight spot but usually I don't have that to much. Over all it's a MUST HAVE try it you'll see.
from Miami, FL on 12/19/2007
I bought one because I had to desolder approximately 120 through-hole RGB LEDs from their circuit boards, and it was cheap enough to buy on a whim. It was worth every penny. I wish I'd bought one YEARS ago. Compared to a "normal" iron + plastic "solder sucker" combo, it's a night and day improvement.
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
It works great on all sort of boards or posts. I was very surprised in how well it has performed.
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from Pensacola, FL on 11/2/2007
I used this recently to remove a DC jack from a laptop motherboard and it worked flawlessly. I had been using a sucker and iron but wasn't getting far that way. Lead free solder can be tough to remove but this heated everything just right and sucked up the mess before it cooled. Definitally staying in my toolkit.
[3 of 4 customers found this review helpful]
This iron works great to suck up solder, Except that it comes out in very tiny little balls, so they go evrywhere. They are good if you want to Modify it any make something like a Hot Air Soldering Iron.
[1 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
I have been using one of these for years. I've used it to desolder a flyback transformer to repair a TV, for removing relays from boards, etc. It is a one-handed tool, which frees the other hand for using solder braid. I consider this an essential part of my soldering toolbox.
[2 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
There is no better tool for removing I.C. pins! This tool easily removes 20,40 etc. pin dip chips and, leaves the pin holes completely empty; you can then solder in a new ic socket that looks as if the job was done by the oem: factory perfect! This is by far, the best desoldering tool I have ever found!
[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from L on 5/17/2006
This item is good for removing large amounts of solder, it is ackward to use but with practice it will become easier to use, the main thing to watch out for is overheating what you are desoldering, you should use heat sinks and be careful not to burn the components or circuit board traces. It is a good idea to keep the tip of this device clean and tinned with solder to make heat transfer better, it is also a good idea to brush the solder you are removing with flux first. This is only for large solder joints, for smaller joints or to get the solder that this misses you should not keep trying to remove small amounts with this tool, you will only end up damaging what you are working on, once the bulk of the solder is removed use solder braid, if it is a small job dont use this tool, just use the solder braid alone, use flux on make sure your iron has a clean and tinned tip to make the desolering more efficient and make sure not to use too much heat using either method. If you are careful and use it as I mentioned then it is worth the money.