On Tue, 26 Apr 2016 22:39:36 -0500, Jon Elson
wrote:
bitrex wrote:
Is there a better way to do this?
I have a Pace machine with a vacuum pump in it, and a hollow soldering tip.
It does an amazing job of desoldering parts even from multi-layer boards
with heavy copper planes.
Agreed. I have and use an old Pace:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/pace-desoldering-station.jpg
Note the gas brazing tip cleaning tool. You'll need it. There's a
glass tube inside the handle which also needs to be cleaned. The
vacuum inline filter also tends to get clogged every few years and
will need to be replaced. However, an automobile fuel pump filter
also works.
Pace desoldering stuff on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=pace+desoldering
Generally, after using it, the parts just fall
free of the board. The trick is you heat the joint for about 6 seconds,
then "swirl" the tip around the hole once, and then keep swirling while you
hit the vacuum pedal. The vacuum pump can pump for a lot longer than the
plunger-type solder sucker. Usually I take 1-2 full seconds of vacuum while
swirling the tip, this gets ALL the solder out of the plated through hole.
When you do this, the swirling of the desoldering tip wiggles the end of the
component lead, making sure all the solder in the hole is extracted.
Yeah, that works but I do it a bit differently. I "swirl" the tip
around to get the last bits of solder, but I don't try to clean the
hole at this point. Once the part is removed, I either make another
pass with the vacuum pump, or I clean up the mess with an ordinary
soldering iron and a mechanical solder sucker. The problem is that if
I use too much vacuum, the solder gets cold, turns to dross, and is
then difficult to reflow or remove.
This works about 10 X better than the desoldering suckers, or even the
hollow-tip irons that have the vacuum plunger built into the iron.
I have several soldering irons with hollow tips and either a bulb or
mechanical vacuum solder sucker attached. They were a waste of time
and money. The Pace vacuum desoldering station works the best.
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558