Author Topic: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station  (Read 144448 times)

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Offline mikerj

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #200 on: December 23, 2015, 03:54:31 pm »
You probably want to get some thin stainless steel mesh ( around 150grit I would guess) and cut out a few disks to place before the filter to keep it clean. That will catch the solder and it will not stick to the stainless steel.

I was wondering if stainless wire wool could be useful as a filter/catcher? Cheap(relatively) and rather than having to clean a filter or spring you'd just repack with some fresh stuff.
 

Offline SeanB

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #201 on: December 23, 2015, 04:04:08 pm »
I used to use plain steel wire wool, it was cheap enough to throw away after use, though i did use the filter after it. The wire wool was easy to get, the filters from Weller's agents were not. Small piece rolled into a ball, then flattened and held by the spring.
 

Online Brumby

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #202 on: December 24, 2015, 12:13:36 am »
I'd always use the filter - but the steel wool idea is appealing.  :-+

... it's cheap, easy, doesn't require any mods or detailed fabrication and has the promise of being quite effective.  I like it.
« Last Edit: December 24, 2015, 12:15:35 am by Brumby »
 

Offline SeanB

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #203 on: December 25, 2015, 06:50:42 am »
When we ran out of the Weller filters, and had them on back order, a few sheets of white gold ( the one in the small room with a white seat) stacked on top of each other, with a circle cut out using the tube as former, worked well enough.
 

Offline krivx

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #204 on: March 02, 2016, 01:07:38 pm »
Anyone have a source for a better spring?

I'm going to try the Aoyue part
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AOYUE-201252-FILTER-SPRING-DESOLDER-GUN-701-701A-474-474A-/251958663243

I forgot to update, this part is a perfect fit for the ZD985 and works very well.
 

Offline mos6502

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #205 on: March 07, 2016, 05:20:50 pm »
Cotton pads cut to size work just fine as a filter :-+
for(;;);
 

Offline torch

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #206 on: January 29, 2017, 04:44:12 am »
Dave,

I considered the unit that you have purchased but reports of poor quality gun quality put me off.

I bought a Hakko clone desoldering gun from Circuit Specialists CSI 474A). It performs very well and the gun feels solidly made. The solder tube is held securely in place with no air leaks.

I realize I'm dredging up a 4 year old discussion, but I would like to know how the CSI 474A has held up over the years?
 

Offline EHT

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #207 on: January 18, 2018, 08:40:06 pm »
I just got an Aoyue 474A++ desoldering station. Quite happy with the build of it and seems quite effective. Purchased from the official distributor in the UK.
 

Offline innkeeper

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #208 on: January 18, 2018, 09:38:05 pm »
got mine shipped from a distributor out of italy to the usa.
worked good since day one. i've had experience using a pace unit professionally
id say this unit cloggs no more or less then the pace unit.
good gang for the buck.

Hobbyist and a retired engineer and possibly a test equipment addict, though, searching for the equipment to test for that.
 

Offline orion242

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #209 on: January 19, 2018, 02:38:42 am »
Have the same and use it regularly for home use.  The biggest hassle I have is the glass section and not breaking it when cleaning.  Gravity is a bitch with concrete floors.  Nice thing, its piss cheap to replace.

The other issue I had is the heating element breaking from the hand held piece, seal was hosed.  Putting alot of force on it to bend leads straight for removal will hose it up over time.  Even then, I replaced the whole hand held gun for something like $40.  Hard to complain after a year or two of hard use.  Had mine since shortly after Dave released this video.
« Last Edit: January 19, 2018, 02:42:27 am by orion242 »
 

Offline orion242

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #210 on: January 19, 2018, 02:44:46 am »
I should add I also replaced the internal tubing this year.  It dried out and cracked, lost all suction.  Bit of a PITA, but again replaced it all with locally source tubing and it was back in action.
 

Offline torch

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #211 on: January 19, 2018, 10:47:31 am »
I've had the CSI 474A version for almost a year now. With spare filter pads and shipping, it was US$132 from Circuit Specialists. I'm just a hobbiest, so I don't use it a lot, but when I do, it's great! Way easier and faster than braid, suction bulbs or spring-loaded devices, no damage to traces and pads, no damage to components that weren't already damaged. Nevermind scavenging components, the greatest single use for this is lifting a lead to test suspect components out-of-circuit!  :-+

I will note that it does take 4 or 5 minutes to get up to temperature, and it seems to be happiest at or near the highest temperature setting. Low is just way too low. Maybe the intent is to keep it idling at a warm state between uses through the day? I don't use it that much so for me it would have been far more useful to put the power switch on the front instead of the rear. Now that the warranty is long gone, I may open it up to correct that oversight...

Early in this thread there was some discussion about the heating capacity of these things: No problem at all going from component to component stripping a board. For desoldering something on a large heatsink, my Hakko 888 in one hand with this in the other is a great combination.

I have the tightly wound spring and nothing seems to get past to the filter -- haven't had to change that yet -- but it can be a bear to clean out the spring at the narrow end. A smear of MIG welder anti-spatter gel on the spring sure helps though. My tube is opaque black plastic. I clean it out pretty much after every day of use, so glass isn't necessary and the black is unbreakable.

The vacuum indicator thingy is pretty but too short to be of much use, IMHO. It's a 1/4" hole and the red marker only comes 1/2 way even when the tip is completely sealed against something. I suppose it will let you know if the gun is clogged right up, but you will probably figure that out just from the difference in sound anyway.

Also, I keep the trigger pulled for several seconds after removing the tip from the joint to make sure all solder makes it all the way to the spring before it solidifies. I haven't had a clogged passage yet.

 

Offline fudmuffin

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #212 on: October 10, 2018, 02:09:01 pm »
I have had a ZD-985 for a few years (since Dave's video). Only big complaint so far is that the heating element part (i.e. barrel of the desoldering gun) can break off waaaay too easily with any medium level of sideways force, as is fairly common when doing circular motions around a stubborn pin while in contact with a board. In pulling the gun apart I see there is only a tiny T-shaped piece of plastic on each side preventing the barrel from bending sideways, and that's the part that keeps failing/breaking on me (so far I have had to buy 2 replacement guns). I'm sure the designers could do something to strengthen this part of the design. Great product otherwise!

edit: I've tightened a 32mm hose clamp around the join between the barrel and the handle part to help prevent it breaking again.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2018, 09:30:11 am by fudmuffin »
 

Offline fudmuffin

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #213 on: October 14, 2018, 09:26:24 am »
Does anyone know if there is a method to calibrate the ZD-985? I've just realised mine seems to be showing about 50c higher temp on the display than reality (measured with a FG-100 thermometer). Unfortunately I haven't yet found any reference to calibration in the instructions or anywhere online. Thanks for sharing if anyone knows.
 

Offline EJP

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #214 on: August 14, 2019, 01:04:56 pm »
I agree, it does seem to read a little high, as does the matching 60W soldering station.

I've just discovered I have a cracked diaphragm in the vacuum pump. Does anybody know where/how to get a replacement? I've asked Rhino Tools and if they respond will advise here. The item seems like a pretty standard 1" part.
 

Offline EJP

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #215 on: July 15, 2020, 06:18:12 am »
To answer my own question, I got a large supply of ZD985 vacuum pump diaphragms from the manufacturer, more than I will ever need. Contact me off-list if interested. Very cheap.

EJP
 

Offline EJP

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #216 on: July 21, 2020, 12:43:30 am »
I now have these pump diaphragms in stock. $A2.00 per pair including the zip tie plus postage plus GST. Contact me off list.

EJP
 

Offline OZ1LQB

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #217 on: July 21, 2020, 02:22:51 pm »
Hi EJP..
that is a very good offer..
i had to pay around 25 A$ plus shipping for a pair on ebay here i europe :-(
 

Offline cyberhippy

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #218 on: May 18, 2021, 09:20:08 am »
Just received one of these in the guise of Duratool D00672 (ZD-915) from the UK.

Except for a couple of cold starts where I watched the reported temperature rise for a bit, it spends all its time flashing 'error' at me and not heating.  I've made sure the gun's plug is firmly seated in the base unit and had a quick look over the gun to see what it's complaining about.  The manual is hardly exhaustive there.

Will be a pain to return due to the round trip, though I will if I have to. 

Any suggestions on what I might have missed that could be the bother?

Cheers
 

Online Brumby

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #219 on: May 19, 2021, 12:51:35 am »
Not having had the experience of such a fault, my first suggestion is contact the seller, describe the fault in full, include a photo.  They may be aware of a known fault.  If so, they might offer you through a fix.

However, having said that, I'd open the unit up and look for any wires that aren't soldered down that look like they should be.  If you do see something that doesn't look right and aren't sure exactly what to do, take a photo or two of the suspect area and post them here.
 

Offline cyberhippy

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #220 on: May 19, 2021, 08:53:01 am »
Thanks Brumby.  Nothing looked obviously amiss inside.

The vendor won't have much of use to say, I think.  Might have to send the bloody thing back...not what I wanted with synths sitting here wanting service.

Cheers
 

Offline cyberhippy

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Re: EEVblog #542 - ZD985 Desoldering Station
« Reply #221 on: July 03, 2021, 06:42:10 am »
Vendor refunded, did not offer a replacement.

I found a second hand Hakko 474 for $200 instead.
 


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