Recommended desoldering station?

[a.d.a.m. baby]

Rob, Steve, anyone.. care to comment or make a recommendation? I've heard the Hakko ones are the way to go, but I have no experience with this type of tool (I do use a Hakko solder station for my repairs etc). They look to be about a grand. Altronics have a cheap one for $380 or so, by Micron.
Are there ongoing costs with these things?
Fairly serious money but I seem to be kept busy repairing or modding all my old darlings, so probably worthwhile in the long run - and will save time!

[Futureman]

Thats so funny.. I'm also looking for a desoldering station.

[ghengis]

I have a micron one from altronics and to me it is so much better than wick, solder sucker or anything. Others more qualified I know use solder wick quite amazingly, but I just don't get it! The only issue is that you have to remember to keep cleaning out the old solder, and never turn it off full of solder as it then has to heat up the whole mass so that you can clean out the vacuum. I am still on the original cartridge after about 4 or 5 years of lightish use (they come with 3). As I said, I pull the solder out of the steel wool after ever session I use it. To me it is way worth the investment especially if you are re-capping a desk or other equipment.

I just looked and they are on special for $329 at the moment... good buy I reckon.

cya
Ghengis

[Chinagraf]

I bought a cheap one called Aoyue from a place called cutter electronics (cutter.com.au) a few years back to do my console. I've done over a thousand desolders with it and it is still going strong. Cutter don't have them listed on their site anymore, but
if you get in touch with them maybe they still sell them. I think it was about $300.
Hakko is the ultimate but I couldn't afford one at the time.

[a.d.a.m. baby]

Thanks people!
The micron is a one-shot piston type isn't it? I think continuous action might be better for big ICs, which is the main target (agreed, I don't get on with wick either, but for just a few joints the manual sucker works fine).
What action is the Anouye?

[Chinagraf]

Continuous. Variable heat as well and also has a variable heat soldering iron as well.

[ghengis]

Thanks people!
The micron is a one-shot piston type isn't it? I think continuous action might be better for big ICs, which is the main target (agreed, I don't get on with wick either, but for just a few joints the manual sucker works fine).
What action is the Anouye?

Re: the micron, it is continuous. Imagine a vacuum cleaner attached to a soldering iron - a lot less suck though. You put the nozzle over the solder/lead, wait for the solder to melt (the head of the gun is 350-400 degrees) then pull the trigger which starts a small vacuum pump. The pump runs as long as the trigger is down. It usually only takes about 1 sec though. It is not like a solder sucker single shot...

cya
Ghengis

[Futureman]

On the cheaper side, I was looking at these

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... K:MEWAX:IT

[irecord]

I have a Hakko 808 desoldering gun with built in vacuum pump which has been excellent for recapping a large console. Its a cheaper option than the Hakko 474 with seperate gun and pump and perfect for this type of work. The size of the gun may make it difficult to get into tight spaces, but with modular channels hasn't been a problem. Farnell do it for around $600 include the optional holder.

Regards, Peter

[rob]

I've had most of 'em

I now have a Hako 474. It sucks hard, longer and stronger than anything that has gone before it.

and....that has to be a good thing.

There are consumables : filter pads, the collector spring thingy and occasionally tips

another area where you get what you pay for....

[Brent]

The Hakko 808 is good though it sounds like an over-excited hyperventilating cow on heat. Tips are about 26 bucks, filters cheap. The Denon SC7000 is supposed to be good too.

We had the Micron here for about 18 months before it died. It's actually quite good for a cheapy, ours got a really severe workout refurbing a 60 odd channel console and held up well. I wouldn't use it on anything too delicate though, it can quite easily change model number on the fly to a Tracklifter 2000 if you get lazy with reflow/heat transfer prep.

The 474 is great if you want to pay for it.

Brent Punshon

[no-fi]

I was kitting out a new soldering workstation at work last month... settled on a hakko 701 (and an 801 for SMD reflow) I love these bits of gear, and have had them both before.... but haven't manned up to buying them for myself at home.

it's very hard to beat hakko gear for their combination of quality and price..


mike - if you get the micron I'd love to have a go with it and see how it compares. if it's any good, for a few hundred I'd buy my own desoldering gun to save taking boards into work from time to time...
:-)

[rick]

i have one of those altronic 300 buck jobbies
its better then not having one but its just not very good compared to the real thing.
i have been meaning to buy the real thing one day .. i wish i had the first time :(

[Kurt]

Bearing in mind that I'm pretty shit at electrickery wrangling and don't do it much, but what's wrong with a $2 roll of wick stuff? Always works for me, though as I said, I don't do this stuff a lot.

[JulienG]

Bearing in mind that I'm pretty shit at electrickery wrangling and don't do it much, but what's wrong with a $2 roll of wick stuff? Always works for me, though as I said, I don't do this stuff a lot.

I'm also a big wick user, but my next big project will be my first real custom job and justifies a new iron (current iron can then be given to a friend to introduce him to the concept of better then the cheap orange things), a Hakko is the top of the heap these day.

Wick is slow, can cause overtemp issues, and on larger components can be impractical. It's also just a pain to physically deal with.

A desoldering station is just quicker, and more reliable at the job.

[Kurt]

I have a cheap orange thing ;)

Bearing in mind that I'm pretty shit at electrickery wrangling and don't do it much, but what's wrong with a $2 roll of wick stuff? Always works for me, though as I said, I don't do this stuff a lot.

I'm also a big wick user, but my next big project will be my first real custom job and justifies a new iron (current iron can then be given to a friend to introduce him to the concept of better then the cheap orange things), a Hakko is the top of the heap these day.

Wick is slow, can cause overtemp issues, and on larger components can be impractical. It's also just a pain to physically deal with.

A desoldering station is just quicker, and more reliable at the job.

[rick]

i bought a expensive new iron about a year ago
F@#$ing revelation ... i dont know what i was doing hanging on the old one i had
i thought hell it works ..

but i had to buy a new one to find out it wasnt working :(

i got into the whole silver solder trip and had to get a more controllable hotter one then that
and wowie ..!
i am converted

as always with audio stuff find the best you can afford

then buy the next model up :)

[wez]

just reviving an old thread, as i too am now on the hunt for a desoldering doovalacky.

i'm never going to be able to afford a hakko, so just wanted more feedback on the cheaper ones. any more opinions on the altronics/micron unit? and i'd be curious to know if anyone has bought one of the cheapies on ebay, like this one - http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Desoldering-Stat ... 4819wt_883

i'm guessing duty cycle would be the biggest worry. but then again i'm not a tech, just a schmuck with 100 or so IC sockets to replace (yes i bought an MCI). did the first few with the manual pump but that's getting pretty old.

alternatively... anyone in melbourne want to rent theirs out for a few days in exchange for a slab of coopers pale?

[Barney Loveland]

We have the Altronics/micron one in the workshop, has been good so far.

[rob]

the main key to reliable operation of any desoldering iron is maintaince.
Keep the barrel clean, empty the solder catcher regularly, replace the filters etc etc

[Chinagraf]

I have this obsessive compulsive / nervous tick thing with cleaning the barrel, where I poke the wire cleaner down the barrel, give the trigger a squeeze, then pull the wire back out and wipe it with my hand.
I burn myself everytime, unless I focus and stop myself doing it. Of course, could be I am just incredibly stupid too.