Chinese GaoJie 993/995/996/998 desoldering guns?

[KX36]

Hi all,

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but I couldn't find much recently on searching the forum. I'm looking for a desoldering gun on ebay. I've wanted one since the ZD-985 was featured on the blog but didn't have justification for spending the money until now because I'm doing quite a bit more plated through holes at the moment. However now there are several similar looking models to choose from I wondered if I could get some opinions.

Firstly I should say I've already got solder wick and a spring loaded solder sucker, so please don't suggest those. I've seen desoldering irons on ebay that combine a $0.99 soldersucker and a $0.99 soldering iron into a single unit
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-1PC-Solder-Sucker-Desoldering-Pump-Tool-Removal-Vacuum-Soldering-Iron-/181925246653
and something very similar but a lot more bulky, still sprung loaded not an electric vacuum pump
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30W-220V-50Hz-Electric-Vacuum-Solder-Sucker-Desoldering-Pump-Tool-Iron-Gun-/121783724650
I expect the first one at least will clog up very easily and really I want something with continuous suction to clear out plated through holes nicely. I don't think these would be any better than a hand held solder sucker, so these are ruled out for now.

Now there are the following options as far as I can tell in a few minutes of looking:

Options with a base station, but other than the look of it I can't see much difference.
ZD-915 / Duratool d00672 £83
ZD-985 £90

Options that plug straight into the wall with a single pump in the gun. I can't see any difference between the 2 other than one has 2 extra tips in the listing. If anyone knows the difference please tell me.
S-993A £74
S-995A £86. It also looks like the temperature dial has moved and got a knob on it rather than needing a screwdriver to set. I don't know if this means one is a more regulated temperature than the other though or just the pot has been moved.

As above but with 2 pumps in the back. I've pretty much ruled that out, but I wanted to ask out of curiosity, why would you need 2 pumps?
S-996A £122
S-998A £131

Hakko 808. Nice but over budget and genuine Hakko is very difficult to get here (other than fake 888s on ebay).

So can anyone help me out by telling me any differences between the models I should be aware of, any experiece on quality and whether it'd be worthwhile to buy, any opinions on getting one with a base station vs one that plugs right into the wall etc. Do the base station ones have beefier pumps than the others?

Cheers,
Matt

[ober]

So did you get one of these?  Any experiences to report?

[laseractive]

Dear forum,

I am also interested in the 993A desoldering gun that KX36 was refererring to - in a previous posting from 2016.

Here is a link to the desoldering gun on Aliexpress:

https://nl.aliexpress.com/store/product/S-993A-Elektrische-Vacuum-Desolderen-Pomp-Solder-Sucker-Gun-220V100W-UpgradeFfrom-MT-993/4040080_32904823969.html?spm=a2g0z.12010615%2Fitm2home-3.8148356.21.7bfc1f24Hujnpw


Below is a link to a Youtube video that highly recommends this desoldering gun:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgT9LO8lqyQ


The gun seems quite amazing, definitely when you see it in action here:

https://youtu.be/fgT9LO8lqyQ?t=338


Here are my questions:

1. Are there any forum members out here that have this same desoldering gun?
2. Can you please comment on your experience with this gun?
3. Would you recommend it?
4. Does it perform as good as is shown in the Video?
5. What is the pros/cons balance?
6. Does the tip and tin reservoir last long enough?

Regards from Belgium,

Christian

[LeonR]

I have bought one of the pump/iron integrated ones. I had to dismantle it and reposition the cable sheat since it was in direct contact with the heated metal, causing it to smoke on use. It is quite handy, but don't expect a lot from it since the quality is subpar (chinesium everywhere - I also had to change the resistence, good thing I bought one with a spare). I got one with the orange tube.

[lordium]

I have a 993.

2. Can you please comment on your experience with this gun?
   So much easier/faster/better for through hole components than any wick/manual pump I've used (maybe technique, who knows). Nothing better than components just falling out when you are done.

3. Would you recommend it?
   yes, if you are amateur/occasional use. Otherwise fork over money for a more expensive brand and put it down as business expense.

5. What is the pros/cons balance?
   For me, heavily in the pro

6. Does the tip and tin reservoir last long enough?
   Mine is not very old, so can't say about durability, but the replacement parts for these are very cheap (at least here).

Works best for me when I use it horizontally. If I desolder vertically (tip downwards, like pcb on bench) then solder clogs very easily, otherwise no problem with clogging. Also more comfortable to use horizontally (for me). Usually no problem removing components from planes, but had an instance with a heat sink mounted on heavy duty planes which didn't work (had to preheat the whole thing with air first to make it come off).

To sum it up. For me as occasional desoldering, it is worth all the money I payed for it. Very happy with it.