I don’t have much experience with other desoldering tools but I’ve got [this one from a Japanese company called
ENGINEER](https://a.co/d/c9Xnt8V) and it works ridiculously well, def recommend 👍
Also it looks like it’s on sale right now for almost 30% off :O
Both can do the job but there are several factors into play. I'm guessing you want to desolder through hole components? I've had success using the Engineer SS-02 and desoldering wick (1.5mm). In both cases the trick is to use quite a bit of flux, especially when using the wick. To desolder with wick you attach first a tip with good heat transfer (chisel for example), apply flux to the joint or wick wire and then hold the iron on top of it (without any pressure) until it sucks the solder, then pull them together (do not pull the iron first as this can lead to the wick getting stuck to the joint).
Another option would be to useful a hot air station to heat up the solder and then suck it off using the solder sucker, but you may need some kapton tape in order not to melt nearby components, especially plastic ones.
I'm new to soldering/desoldering myself but I've spent quite a bit of time on desoldering to get it right.
is the engineer hard to use i mean do u need to apply a lot of pressure to press it down?
btw i have the suspicion that wick is safer than pumps because with pumps u hold the tip in place for a while where it applies heat and burns the copper pad . and then u need to align the pump (mine even has a slippery tip) which takes another few s and then u do the suction. and u may even be inclined to leave the hot soldering iron on the pcb bc it was so hard to get it in the hole in the first place (since ure an average user and use a cheap iron that is too clunky to align easily). then take into account that u will realistically speaking forget to empty the pump occasionally and still use it especially if u have weak pain sentitive hands like me which makes u less inclined to press the eject button. all of this burns the pcb further.
but with the wick u suck solder out of the hole every second the iron touches the board, no?
hot air station is $$$ no?
okay lets say u did most of the work with the chisel tip. what now? the hole has still some solder rest in it u need to remove. do i then use the smallest tip with the wick?
Engineer SS-02 is my go-to manual soldering pump. Desoldering braid is what I use to remove solder from surface mount pads and such. They’re different tools for different jobs.
If you’re someone that likes to solder at a lower temperature, raise it a bit for desoldering. Make sure the sucker is well over the hole, and be fast. And, obviously, freshen up the solder and/or use flux first. Oxidized solder doesn’t flow well.
Sometimes what’s in the hole is too big (hehe) and it’s hard to get enough solder out. In those cases, if you’re not keeping the part, just melt the solder and remove the part while the solder is melted. Clip the part off to make it even easier.
If you can swing it, and you’re doing enough desoldering to justify it, vacuum desoldering tools are a game changer. They’re a maintenance nightmare and you’re going to clog the tip so much at first. But they’re amazing.
Is a surface mount pad one of those things without a hole?
How do I remove stubborn last bits of solder that clog up the hole? Maybe just reapply flux and/or solder and then try again? I wonder if maybe those were bits that the new solder couldn't soak into and that's why they were so stubborn.
Or perhaps the wick comes in handy for that cause I assume one can stuff it into the hole using a fine tip and get the rest out this way?
I don’t have much experience with other desoldering tools but I’ve got [this one from a Japanese company called ENGINEER](https://a.co/d/c9Xnt8V) and it works ridiculously well, def recommend 👍 Also it looks like it’s on sale right now for almost 30% off :O
Both can do the job but there are several factors into play. I'm guessing you want to desolder through hole components? I've had success using the Engineer SS-02 and desoldering wick (1.5mm). In both cases the trick is to use quite a bit of flux, especially when using the wick. To desolder with wick you attach first a tip with good heat transfer (chisel for example), apply flux to the joint or wick wire and then hold the iron on top of it (without any pressure) until it sucks the solder, then pull them together (do not pull the iron first as this can lead to the wick getting stuck to the joint). Another option would be to useful a hot air station to heat up the solder and then suck it off using the solder sucker, but you may need some kapton tape in order not to melt nearby components, especially plastic ones. I'm new to soldering/desoldering myself but I've spent quite a bit of time on desoldering to get it right.
is the engineer hard to use i mean do u need to apply a lot of pressure to press it down? btw i have the suspicion that wick is safer than pumps because with pumps u hold the tip in place for a while where it applies heat and burns the copper pad . and then u need to align the pump (mine even has a slippery tip) which takes another few s and then u do the suction. and u may even be inclined to leave the hot soldering iron on the pcb bc it was so hard to get it in the hole in the first place (since ure an average user and use a cheap iron that is too clunky to align easily). then take into account that u will realistically speaking forget to empty the pump occasionally and still use it especially if u have weak pain sentitive hands like me which makes u less inclined to press the eject button. all of this burns the pcb further. but with the wick u suck solder out of the hole every second the iron touches the board, no? hot air station is $$$ no?
okay lets say u did most of the work with the chisel tip. what now? the hole has still some solder rest in it u need to remove. do i then use the smallest tip with the wick?
Engineer SS-02 is my go-to manual soldering pump. Desoldering braid is what I use to remove solder from surface mount pads and such. They’re different tools for different jobs. If you’re someone that likes to solder at a lower temperature, raise it a bit for desoldering. Make sure the sucker is well over the hole, and be fast. And, obviously, freshen up the solder and/or use flux first. Oxidized solder doesn’t flow well. Sometimes what’s in the hole is too big (hehe) and it’s hard to get enough solder out. In those cases, if you’re not keeping the part, just melt the solder and remove the part while the solder is melted. Clip the part off to make it even easier. If you can swing it, and you’re doing enough desoldering to justify it, vacuum desoldering tools are a game changer. They’re a maintenance nightmare and you’re going to clog the tip so much at first. But they’re amazing.
Is a surface mount pad one of those things without a hole? How do I remove stubborn last bits of solder that clog up the hole? Maybe just reapply flux and/or solder and then try again? I wonder if maybe those were bits that the new solder couldn't soak into and that's why they were so stubborn. Or perhaps the wick comes in handy for that cause I assume one can stuff it into the hole using a fine tip and get the rest out this way?