Desoldering Iron - Radio Shack

[jdl2001]

I wanted to modify my GPS shield to replace male with stacking headers. This required a lot of desoldering and my past attempts have not been great using a combination of soldering iron, solder sucker, and solder wick...in fact, they were pitiful. I read all the various tips and ran across a reference to a desoldering iron at Radio Shack for $10.99 (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2062731). The reviews were almost universally very positive and I picked one up. In less than 10mins, I had removed the old headers. In 4 of 5 cases, the solder was fully cleaned out with one suck, at most 2. As I hope you can tell, I'm happy with the purchase.

I have no affiliation but hope that others that have experienced frustration desoldering might find some relief.

[richms]

Yeah, you need 3 hands to really be able to use the solder suckers with any chance of it working. Still looking for a 230v version of that radio shack one since at the moment I have to drive to a friends to use their massive expensive thing to desolder.

[Marche]

I realize this is rather old, but I've had my radioshack solder sucker for at most 3 months, and a rather nasty design flaw has become apparent.
The top of the plunger is made of a very brittle plastic, and in the process of retracting the plunger head strikes a plate of this this blue glass-like plastic, causing significant mechanical stress. My pump is probably at the end of the road due to this problem, and I'd expect the thing to last at least long enough for the tips to wear out for the $11 price tag. Here are some pictures of the problem.









I'd advise everyone to STAY AWAY from this thing. All of the negative reviews reference this problematic design, and for $11 you can get 3 equivalent ones, or a nice full metal bodied one. There is no reason to spend that kind of cash on such a cheap product.

I'm (obviously) in need of a new one, but don't want to shoot myself in the foot again. Can anyone vouch for a specific plunger type solder sucker?

[franklin97355]

http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=DesolderingTools

[StacyD]

I have actually used this iron to make a pretty nifty custom desoldering/vacuum/rework/heat gun combo for about $35 and it is almost silent (as many people who have had rework stations know they are LOUD!). I have broken SMD rework station and at $150 a pop for a cheapo one, it is just too much money.

It is also Super Easy to clean and you will not burn your tubing. No expensive tubing replacement costs.

I wanted to wait to do pictures because I really need to do some more work on it, but it does work and well.

Basically Parts are:

- $10 RadioShack
- $10 5-10gal Whisperquiet Aquarium Pump
- $2 Copper Desoldering Braid
- $5 Silicone Aquarium Tubeing
- $3 DPDT switch
- 2- $1 Power Switches
- 1 Linear Taper pot or light dimmer switch (optional for temp control)

The Braid goes in the tip which serves two purposes: Adding heat to the air and Wick for when you suck up solder, keeping your tubes clean!

The Silicone tubing is because of the heat you use and slips onto the motor and where the "pump" of the Desoldering iron was.

I rewired my motor and iron to use the same 120V plug and their own power switches in the housing of the motor control.

Modes Are:
- Vacuum (great for small parts like smd resistors) (iron-off, pump-on-reverse)
- Rework (iron-on, pump-on-forward)
- Hot Air gun (just like rework)
- Desolder(iron on, pump-on-reverse)
- Cleanup (great for bits of solder and such that get caught)(iron-off, pump-on-forward)

If anyone is more interested, I can elaborate however I am a bit busy ATM.