Any good desoldering air vacuum gun? Your opinion counts.

[Houseman]

Dear Forum.
I have been reworking for quite a lot especially classical THT.
I am using an AOYOUE quite familiar chinese machine and must be honest it does the work quite good and honestly.
Vacuum inside pump, nozzle replacements, all the stuff for a couple of 100 bucks is honest in my opinion. Now I would like to migrate to a pro set and have seen that Weller-Cooper tools has two types of DESOLDER STATIONs:
 - WDD81X - 80W, with DXV80 Pencil ,no vacuum AIR pump
 - WR3M / WR2 with DSX80 pencil but honestly is tot much for my wallet.
So what do you think about? does anyone have used one of them? Do you have any other model for also other brands that are worth the money spent?
Best regards and thank You, forum.
Steve

[glenenglish]

for thru-hole desoldering , SC7000Z Denon is my pick.

[Gixy]

Pace. A lot of opportunities on ebay.

[GreggD]

I had a expensive Pace unit that did not work well. For the past 30 years I use only a "Soldapullt model DS 017". It is the plastic spring loaded thing. Works GREAT. I lube the O-ring with lithium grease once in a while. I have used it many thousands of times and have no desire to have a electric device. For SMD stuff solder wick is your best choice as the Soldapullt is to violent for very small stuff.

[Heszu]

My vote goes also to PACE.
I have two of them, works just great.

WBR
Hz

[cdev]

An inexpensive vacuum cleaner with an HEPA filter and before that, a trap for solder where it gets dumped into a glass jar. The vacuum cleaner is turned on and off with a foot switch

[deepskyridge]

I picked up a Hakko 470B on ebay last year for $85 US.

It came with a gun that worked but needed a tip, works great.

I think there are good deals on quality gear.

Gary

[technotronix]

I think PACE would be better. Easily available and user-friendly.

[KD0CAC John]

1st off , you title says gun , so my vote is for the Metcal gun , for a bunch of reasons cost less , the KISS factor - uses shop air so not buying an expensive vaccum pump , very few parts / wear parts , etc.
http://www.newark.com/metcal/mx-ds1/desolder-hand-piece/dp/41B5513. - this is a little later model , I have the DS-1 and found for less than $100 on eBay .
I also fell into a great deal on a NIB JBC micro desoldering system , http://www.jbctools.com/cs-desoldering-station-with-electric-pump-product-7-category-2-menu-2.html , nobody put-up a real bid against me , I got it for $420 including shipping .
The tips on the Metcal are much longer lasting and made for larger jobs , the JBC can go through tips - but its made for smaller / micro , they do have a larger 5600 system with different tips .

[linux-works]

hakko 808 (older model)

pace mbt (I have one, used, from ebay; love it!)

[richardlawson1489]

I think PACE would be better.

[Mosaic]

I use hakkos....handle 4 layer, no problem.

[elecman14]

An inexpensive vacuum cleaner with an HEPA filter and before that, a trap for solder where it gets dumped into a glass jar. The vacuum cleaner is turned on and off with a foot switch

My home desoldering setup is something like this. It is a shop vac attached to a https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-45-watt-desoldering-iron. It works decent but makes me miss the Pace de-soldering stations I get to use a work. As others have mentioned they really have made a good product.

[bsudbrink]

Another vote for Pace.  MBT-250 with an SX-100.  An SX-80 or SX-90 is ok, but the subtle changes in the SX-100 tips really keeps them clear and ready to use after just a moment to heat up.  That way, the handpiece doesn't have to sit, roasting, on your bench all day for just occasional use.

[HHaase]

When I did a LOT of thru-hole rework,  doing pinball PCB rebuilds, I used a Hakko 808 for quite a while.   Fairly easy to maintain and you don't notice the bulk after a while.  Good selection of nozzles too, which were easy to change with the provided tool.  But I had some parts break, IIRC it was the vacuum pump motor, and the replacement part was almost as expensive as the entire unit!   Hakko makes good stuff but just not the best availability in the US for parts. 

I currently have a Xytronic LF-8800 and hate it, for desoldering anyway.  Regular soldering is fine.  The tip/nozzle is far too long and has constant issues with solder cooling inside the non-heated section of the tip.  Not easy to clean it out when this happens.   Eventually I started using a propane torch which clears it out fine,  just that I have to do it far too often.   Just a nightmare to keep the solder path clear.   Also not enough of a selection in nozzle sizes and I can't get one that fits Molex KK 396 connectors.   And in a marathon session,  when I had to do a 40pin socket and 7x 24 pin sockets,  it started getting uncomfortably warm to hold.   Have had to rebuild the vacuum pump twice as it still cakes up with flux internally. 

No matter who you choose though you need to be meticulous in keeping it clean.   Stock up on filters, tip cleaners, and consumables.  Don't be afraid to change them out.  It'll save you a lot of frustration in the long term.