why is my desoldering braid not desoldering?

[mistercris]

Trying to use desolder braid for the first time and... nope. Not working. From the youtube vids I've seen, you put the braid on the solder, apply heat and the braid sucks it up.
For me, I put the braid on the solder, apply heat and... the copper gets super hot (heat travels up to where I'm holding it), it seems to burn but almost no solder gets wicked up  (copper changes color to a darker auburn - not silver from the solder like the videos I've seen) .
Am I missing out on technique or did I just get really crappy braid? Bought this stuff from amazon. Mainly cause it included the solder sucker.

[Audioguru]

I think you bought cheeeep Chinese junk. Why not buy high quality items locally?

[cdev]

Oxidation!


Rosin flux is an antioxidant.

Am I missing out on technique or did I just get really crappy braid? Bought this stuff from amazon. Mainly cause it included the solder sucker.

Yes, you did get crappy braid. Try using it with added flux.

[Dago]

Like any kind of soldering you need to add flux. Better soldering braids have more/better flux already impregnated on them but in my experience even the cheapest chinese wick works fine when you just add flux.

Other thing is that the wick is pretty effective in cooling your soldering iron, being a big piece of copper and all so desoldering some ground planes or such might be very difficult with a crappy soldering iron. Having the right size tip (the bigger the better) will make the heat transfer better.

[Brumby]

I saw the thread title - I had a suggestion.
I saw your post - and I felt it was right.
I read the other posts - and I knew I wasn't coming up with anything new or amazing.

The answer is (in all probability) FLUX.

[BMack]

Two things need to be done:

1) Buy Chemtronics braid and nothing else.
2) Add solder first, then desolder.

[kalel]

I had the same problem with the first one I bought, then I purchased the "goot wick". The "goot" one seems to be working well (well enough - I have not tried an expensive one to compare), and is not much more expensive than the first one I tried. You can find it on eBay if you can't find something at a similar price locally.

As others have suggested, in any case you can add some flux to make it easier. The difference between a good and bad one is (as far as I know) that a good one has more flux already.

It seems that adding flux is helpful everywhere with soldering/desoldering.

[Ian.M]

From an old topic:

Any crappy wick will work for bulk solder removal as long as it isn't tarnished and you use enough flux and an iron that can deliver enough power to the tip, but I think the difference that makes Chemtronics stand out for cleaning up smaller joints is the closeness of the weave.  It relies on capillary action to pull the solder into the wick, and to get the joint really clean, the distance between strands in the wick weave needs to be less than the gaps you are trying to clear solder from in the joint.

The other issue is technique - you actually need a little solder at the very end of the wick to get good rapid heat transfer to the joint, but once the wick has absorbed solder that length is 'dead'.  You really need to trim the end after *EVERY* use for best results, bending it to find the end of the solder saturated section, which is often much further up the wick than you would think from the surface appearance, then snipping it about half a bit's width towards the end from where it bent to retain a very short solder loaded section for better heat conduction and rapid wetting.

If there isn't a little solder at the end of the wick, it will conduct heat up it far far better than it does through it.  This is aggravated by insufficient contact area between the bit and the braid:

Then there's the choice of bit.  The braid is flat so the working face of the bit should be flat also for best thermal contact. Hoof is probably the best choice unless you've got the access angle to get a chisel or knife bit straight along the row of pins. Conical is bad - as the contact surface is very small and curved.  The only worse choice is long conical.

As others have already pointed out, flux is also very important. Without it the solder wont flow up the braid well, and you may even have problems getting the joint to melt quickly enough without excessive pressure and avoid pad damage.  Good quality desolder braid is loaded with a lot of solid flux.  Cheap braid usually isn't.  Dip the end in liquid flux if you have to.   

Also, proper storage and handling of your braid is important:

Consider buying your solder wick in 50 or 100 foot rolls, it is a fraction of the cost per foot as those little 3 foot spools. You can always refill the small spools from a large one, I do that at home.

Yeah, the little 5 ft bobbin has got to be the best dispenser there is. I refilled mine a while back, and figured out it holds at least 12 feet of 100mil Chemwick. That's a lot of wick.

If you're going to buy a 50 foot roll of braid, be sure to use a ton of it every day.... Or seal the roll in an air tight container. Wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap. This will keep it good, longer. The flux will dry out, making it less active. And/or the copper will oxidize over time and the flux will get partially used up, leaving copper salts in place of the flux.

^*THIS*^ - and when you are transferring braid to the small hand spool, use gloves and DO NOT TOUCH IT WITH YOUR BARE HANDS as sweat and skin oils will corrode the clean copper surface so it doesn't wick effectively.  You don't have to use gloves when desoldering (and plastic or latex ones could melt so would be dangerous) as the length of braid you have touched will be used very soon, before it has time to corrode.  However try to minimise the extra length you unwind to use - only unwind enough to be long enough that the lip of the hand spool doesn't melt.

[mrpackethead]

I use Goot Brand, and it works really well,  have also tryed the chemtronics, and its very similar.     Theres crap and good stuff. and it makes so much difference.

[capt bullshot]

1) Buy Chemtronics braid and nothing else.

Why? The Techspray stuff I've got here also works well.

[ebclr]

What is the power of your solder iron?

[mrpackethead]

1) Buy Chemtronics braid and nothing else.

Why? The Techspray stuff I've got here also works well.

I think you can suffice with Buy good Braid.. There is some crap stuff, but also many good brands.

[tooki]

Two things need to be done:

1) Buy Chemtronics braid and nothing else.
2) Add solder first, then desolder.

Actually, you should try the MG Chemicals braid. It's way finer than Chemtronics, and works better in my opinion, despite being cheaper. I posted pix of both of these (and a few others) in this thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/desoldering-advice-please-removing-dip-ic's-without-damage/msg833426/#msg833426

[ebclr]

Just add flux and use a powerfull solder

[mistercris]

Soooo, if I'm understinding, I should use flux then? 

Figured it'd be something like that. I hoped the positive reviews for it were legit, guess not. I'll buy better braid.
As far as flux, since I need to buy some of that too, any brand recommendations? I know not to use plumbing flux.

Regarding the soldering iron, I tried 2 tips (the parts I was desoldering were fairly small) a point and a small spade (I think that's what they're called) basically a standard conical tip (goes down to about 1mm) and the smallest flat tip I had (about 1.5mm 2mm maybe?).
Iron started at 340 C, took it up to 360C. Solder was melting well so didn't want to take it too high.

Pretty sure I cooked several components while practicing, but that's why I'm practicing on junk.

[ebclr]

You need to use a tip with high thermal mass, fine tips will not work

https://www.hakko.com/english/tip_selection/work_bridging.html

[andyturk]

I ended up with several rolls of cheap braid, which didn't work very well on its own. But running a flux pen over the braid just before trying to use it worked perfectly (and helps use up those old flux pens that are lying around).

[ebclr]

The secret is on the solder and tip, with the right solder and tip any brand will work some will need flux other don't

Power / thermo mass is the point here

[tecman]

One thing that is important, the soldering iron tip must be wetted.  Sometimes you need to add a small dab of solder to the iron to "couple" the heat to the surface (wick).  If the tip is oxidized it may not effectively heat the ajoining surface

paul

[gnavigator1007]

Something that occasionally helps if the braid has been sitting too long is to pull it's width with pliers and loosen it up. I then run a flux pen over it and tighten it up again by pulling the end (just a little bit).

[james_s]

Even the good braid goes stale after a while as the flux evaporates. I usually dip mine in liquid flux just before use, it works much better.

[jmelson]

First, you need a LOT of heat.  The braid is a good heat conductor, and sucks the heat out of the spot you are trying to desolder.  So, a good soldering iron with a clean, tinned tip is pretty important.

I generally have to add liquid flux to any braid I buy.  The standard brands I get don't have enough.

Jon

[gnif]

First, you need a LOT of heat.  The braid is a good heat conductor, and sucks the heat out of the spot you are trying to desolder.  So, a good soldering iron with a clean, tinned tip is pretty important.

I generally have to add liquid flux to any braid I buy.  The standard brands I get don't have enough.

Jon

I have found when a join has a lot of mass (ie, ground plane) that cutting some of the braid off the roll to prevent the heat wicking up the length helps enormously. If you can't heat it fast enough all you end up doing is burning off the flux before it's at reflow temperature.