Author Topic: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps  (Read 24624 times)

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Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #25 on: December 23, 2015, 09:19:51 pm »
I have experience with two very great solder suckers.

Soldapult III

Jonard/OK Industries DP-100

These guys are great because of several things
1. Suction is an order of magnitude better than the sub $10.00 suckers I have used and broken. Removing thru hole parts out of a double layer board is usually not a problem. Sometimes an IC will fall out under gravity when you're done.
2. Longevity. These guys last forever
3. Maintenance : They unscrew with half a turn. The spring pulls instead of pushes. So the spring is on the other side of the seal, not in the chamber collecting solder dust.

I retired my ZD desoldering gun. It didn't hold a candle to these solder suckers when factoring in maintenance. It wasn't worth the space the hose/gun takes up on the bench, not even including the station. And I have had the need to desolder MANY thru hole parts, on occasion. One such occasion coming up next week. My solder suckers will do the job, just fine.
I have an original Soldapullit from 1977 still works fine, I just change the tips when they get all chewed up.
Sue AF6LJ
 

Offline TuxKey

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #26 on: March 18, 2018, 04:12:42 pm »
thanks for adding the TME i'm new so looking around for stores in the EU and this one seems to be a good one..
don't know if i'm going for a solder sucker of desolder gun..will see ..still the link is useful wanted to thank you as it's very helpful.
 

Offline shteii01

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #27 on: March 18, 2018, 04:49:18 pm »
Edsyn Static-Safe SOLDAPULLT III for 5.90 USD
http://www.edsyn.com/product/DHT/PT409.html

It says it has LS197 tip.  Are there any other tips for it?

A small update.  The shipping that Edsyn is charging is horrible.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2018, 05:06:48 pm by shteii01 »
 

Offline oldway

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #28 on: March 18, 2018, 06:08:41 pm »
I'am using an Edsyn Soldapullt III PT109 sinds 1975......simply the best......can't live without....!!!!
 

Offline helius

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #29 on: March 18, 2018, 06:43:18 pm »
Edsyn Static-Safe SOLDAPULLT III for 5.90 USD
http://www.edsyn.com/product/DHT/PT409.html

It says it has LS197 tip.  Are there any other tips for it?
The main reason that desoldering guns have different tip sizes available is because they need to make contact with the annular pad. A solder sucker does not need this and the tip size doesn't make much difference as long as it is sufficient to fit the component lead.
 
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Offline KL27x

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #30 on: March 18, 2018, 09:11:34 pm »
Quote
I'am using an Edsyn Soldapullt III PT109 sinds 1975......simply the best......can't live without....!!!!
Wow, I had no idea it was that old.

The original Soldapult is cloned by OK industries and called the DP-100. It is carried by Mouser, which is how I first got a hold of an Edsyn - by design if not by name. 

I would caution that these clones are not necessarily that good. I recommended this model to a colleague, and when I noticed they later had purchased a vacuum desoldering station, I asked about the old DP-100. I took a look at it, and the o-ring didn't form a seal, making it completely useless. No wonder.

My DP-100 works great. But I think the Edsyn III is an improvement, for sure. Smaller, quieter, and smoother-cocking, but still as much suction as you would ever need. There's also a small detail in the way it only goes back together one way after cleaning. (Original can be put back together in 2 orientations, 180 degrees apart; the way I use a solder sucker, I cut/melt/form the tip in a specific way so there is only one way I want it to go back together). Another small but important detail is if you want to finely adjust the rotation of the tip, you can spin the tip in the III, and it stays put. The original is fixed.

I don't know what shipping is, but I probably paid around $20.00 for my Soldapult III, several years ago, and I'm pretty stoked with it. I don't see how the tip shouldn't last the rest of my life. Mine is blue with yellow button/endcap. I wonder if the black is an antistatic version.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2018, 09:20:56 pm by KL27x »
 

Offline janoc

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #31 on: March 18, 2018, 10:36:30 pm »
I have the SS-02 solder sucker, but I have got mine from Amazon, not Adafruit. It works really well, especially compared to the cheapies. The flexible silicone tip is great because it actually seals around the hole and the soldering iron tip - that allows much cleaner result than the suckers with the rigid tip.

Now, not all is rosy, though. The SS-02 was obviously designed for a Japanese hand - with my bear paws it is a bit awkward to hold. The silicone tip also wears out but the tubing is easy to replace. The sucker comes with a piece and it is not a problem to buy it neither.

All in all - I like it, the old sucker stays in the drawer. And my electric desoldering gun gets out only for major jobs, this little thing can handle everything else no problem.
 

Offline KL27x

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #32 on: March 19, 2018, 10:34:42 am »
Quote
The flexible silicone tip is great because it actually seals around the hole and the soldering iron tip - that allows much cleaner result than the suckers with the rigid tip.
The tip of the solder sucker should fit around the tip of the soldering iron. This will eventually occur by high temp deformation, if you are careful how you orient the thing, but it helps to just cut a slight notch with a knife.

The silicone tubing would be useful for odd jobs, for sure. But I don't see why you couldn't slip a piece of it over the tip of a regular solder sucker.
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #33 on: March 19, 2018, 11:21:33 pm »
Quote
The flexible silicone tip is great because it actually seals around the hole and the soldering iron tip - that allows much cleaner result than the suckers with the rigid tip.
The tip of the solder sucker should fit around the tip of the soldering iron. This will eventually occur by high temp deformation, if you are careful how you orient the thing, but it helps to just cut a slight notch with a knife.

The silicone tubing would be useful for odd jobs, for sure. But I don't see why you couldn't slip a piece of it over the tip of a regular solder sucker.
You can, and I think it works better than just the nylon tips IME (melted, notched, or otherwise to fit the iron's tip).  ;)

But despite the fact I've large hands (long, thin fingers*, not a ham + sticks of butter for fingers**), I like the size of the SS-02 better than the larger counterparts I've used (Edsyn, and a bevy of unknown brands, such as those sold by Tandy/RadioShack). I just find it easier to maneuver & control to clear the hole.  :-+ YMMV of course, as we're not all the same size, build, ....  :-//

* For perspective, I'm 6'-4".
** Paraphrased from a comment by Jeremy Clarkson during his tenure on Top Gear.
 

Offline janoc

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #34 on: March 20, 2018, 09:50:48 pm »
Quote
The flexible silicone tip is great because it actually seals around the hole and the soldering iron tip - that allows much cleaner result than the suckers with the rigid tip.
The tip of the solder sucker should fit around the tip of the soldering iron. This will eventually occur by high temp deformation, if you are careful how you orient the thing, but it helps to just cut a slight notch with a knife.

The silicone tubing would be useful for odd jobs, for sure. But I don't see why you couldn't slip a piece of it over the tip of a regular solder sucker.

Sure you can do that. But that's a hack and the tube will likely keep slipping off from the teflon (= slippery) and slightly conical tip of a normal sucker. Unlike the SS-02 which is designed to have that tube there.

I didn't need to cut a notch or wait for it deform - the silicone tubing is soft enough to deform around the iron tip from the start. It works actually better when it isn't too much abused because then it doesn't seal that well.
 

Offline KL27x

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #35 on: March 21, 2018, 07:50:02 pm »
Quote
I didn't need to cut a notch or wait for it deform
I have to cut a notch... once.
Quote
The silicone tip also wears out but the tubing is easy to replace.
The tip doesn't wear out or need to be replaced/trimmed.

The Edsyn isn't just a name in a sea of same. The Soldapults are big enough in air volume to do the job. They utilize a custom-made coiled tension spring for the power, rather than a coiled compression spring that lives in the dirt chamber. This keeps the solder particles separated from the spring by the O-ring. This is a nice improvement which makes emptying/cleaning easier. Rather than machined threading, it has locking lugs molded in so that you only need to twist the body a little bit to open/close it (about 60 degree twist on the I; only about 25-30 degrees on the III), and you can plug and lock it back together with uncoordinated ballistic movements (like without any fuss or attention). And they also have spring loaded pluinger that will auto-extend after cocking it. This performs two functions. It removes the "stun gun" aspect, making it impossible to accidentally shoot out the bulb in your magnifying lamp, and it reduces the mass that the spring needs to accelerate. Whoever(s) designed these paid attention to a lot of little details and this is a seriously awesome tool. They even lock in the closed position for travel.


Quote
Sure you can do that. But that's a hack and the tube will likely keep slipping off from the teflon (= slippery) and slightly conical tip of a normal sucker.
If I really wanted the silicone tubing to stay on there, I imagine I could mill (or just shave with a knife) a recess around the middle of the tip, leaving a sharp lip to catch and retain the tubing.

I like the all metal construction of the Engineer, though, for heat and solvent resistance. Hopefully, it will stand up to the test of time, for the $$.
« Last Edit: March 21, 2018, 08:33:33 pm by KL27x »
 

Offline tooki

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #36 on: March 22, 2018, 12:46:40 pm »
After returning my ZD-985, I'm back to using wick and hand pump for desoldering jobs. I saw this pump on Adafruit and am wondering if anyone has had any experience with its sucking:



Is it worth an extra $10 to get this one?

Also available from TME.
I have this and an ordinary one, and I grab this every time. The silicone tip lets you place the tip over the joint and part of the hot soldering iron, so that the solder is truly well and molten.

I have medium-to-large hands and I love the size.

The only thing I’d improve, and honestly I could do this with some Sugru, is to add some kind of shape to it to feel its rotational position by touch, to make it easy to grab and not have to search for the trigger button. 
 

Offline nidlaXTopic starter

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #37 on: March 22, 2018, 01:00:32 pm »
After returning my ZD-985, I'm back to using wick and hand pump for desoldering jobs. I saw this pump on Adafruit and am wondering if anyone has had any experience with its sucking:



Is it worth an extra $10 to get this one?

Also available from TME.
I have this and an ordinary one, and I grab this every time. The silicone tip lets you place the tip over the joint and part of the hot soldering iron, so that the solder is truly well and molten.

I have medium-to-large hands and I love the size.

The only thing I’d improve, and honestly I could do this with some Sugru, is to add some kind of shape to it to feel its rotational position by touch, to make it easy to grab and not have to search for the trigger button.
So after using this for over two years, I've concluded that while it's nicely built, it isn't very ergonomic.
 

Online Fraser

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #38 on: March 22, 2018, 03:47:55 pm »
I have Pace desoldering stations but still bought an Engineer SS-02. In my working life we used to modify Radio Spares high quality solder suckers by fitting a rubber Hellerman sleeve to the cut down tip. This became a standard mod in the service. After using the SS-02 I decided that it was well worth getting a spare so I bought another ! For a manual soldear sucker I find it excellent. My three Radio Spares manual solder suckers now sit on the shelf unused.

Some useful info I picked up on this forum.... the SS-02 uses a common car brake cylinder seal on the piston. If it wears out, go to your local motor factors with it and buy another of the same size and profile :)

Fraser
« Last Edit: March 22, 2018, 03:50:32 pm by Fraser »
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Offline technogeeky

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #39 on: March 23, 2018, 03:18:16 pm »
FYI, any one of many silicone lubricant sprays works very well to keep the motion of the plunger smooth. Every time you clean it, you will remove some of the original lubricant.

Also, for people who are replacing used silicone tips with your own silicone tubing: there is an ideal length/sweet spot. If you make the tubing too short, then the solder will stay molten slightly too long and harden inside the metal shaft of the tip. If you make the tubing too long then you won't quite get enough suction, and the bendiness of the silicone tubing will make it more difficult to position and hold the silicone tip in place.
 
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Offline Addicted2AnalogTek

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #40 on: March 23, 2018, 03:33:31 pm »
^^ Good info on replacement parts/lubricants! Thanks!   I just picked up a fresh can of PB silicone spray lube, so I'll be giving that a shot once I re-lube.


I have the SS-02 and I think it works great.  If you buy one, make sure it comes with some extra silicone tubing, or buy some extra. It wasn't long before I managed to split the first piece in half.  The charging handle is a bit tough to push if you need to do it repeatedly, but the suction is quite strong.  I don't have much for reference to compare since the one I used before this was a cheap, worthless unit that I had to modify the seal on to get to function at all.  I think I paid around $25 for one that came with a length of replacement tubing. They're on Amazon for $25 - $30, so make sure you don't over pay for it if you order one.
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #41 on: March 23, 2018, 04:00:29 pm »
FWIW, Adafruit sells them for $17.50 and shipping was reasonable (here). Comes with 2x pieces of silicone tubing + what's already installed at the factory.

Might also want to note they seem to run out quickly as of late (hmm... wonder why   :-//  >:D :-DD).
 

Offline Specmaster

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #42 on: March 23, 2018, 04:12:04 pm »
Personally, I've used these before and never had much success with them so I purchased a powered one, like Dave did a review on and I have to rate it very highly indeed. As the tip is heated, there is no loss of heat ever and the pumping action is extremely strong.
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Offline technogeeky

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #43 on: March 23, 2018, 04:13:47 pm »
With regard to replacement tips, I bought some high temperature silicone tubing (10 feet of it) and I will have enough it until I die.

The only requirements are:

* the ID of the tubing needs to be 5/64"
* it needs to be some high temperature material (high temperature silicone in this case)

The tubing I show has a slightly thicker wall than the original tubing (in other words, same ID but larger OD), but it works just fine.
 

Offline technogeeky

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #44 on: March 23, 2018, 04:15:56 pm »
Personally, I've used these before and never had much success with them so I purchased a powered one, like Dave did a review on and I have to rate it very highly indeed. As the tip is heated, there is no loss of heat ever and the pumping action is extremely strong.

Yes, but I suspect the pricing is an order of magnitude higher. Which is fine. The point of the SS-02 is that it's probably the best of the manual solder suckers.
 

Offline Specmaster

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #45 on: March 23, 2018, 04:21:24 pm »
Personally, I've used these before and never had much success with them so I purchased a powered one, like Dave did a review on and I have to rate it very highly indeed. As the tip is heated, there is no loss of heat ever and the pumping action is extremely strong.

Yes, but I suspect the pricing is an order of magnitude higher. Which is fine. The point of the SS-02 is that it's probably the best of the manual solder suckers.
While that might be true, the price of the powered ones is not that expensive, maybe 4 to 5 times the price but when you consider the advantages against is cost, it seems to be a good deal. It is so so simple to harvest loads of use parts from duff boards that can soon cover the purchase price and you do this in the minimum of time and effort.
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Offline janoc

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #46 on: March 24, 2018, 05:14:07 pm »
While that might be true, the price of the powered ones is not that expensive, maybe 4 to 5 times the price but when you consider the advantages against is cost, it seems to be a good deal. It is so so simple to harvest loads of use parts from duff boards that can soon cover the purchase price and you do this in the minimum of time and effort.

I think both tools have their place and one doesn't really replace the other.

I have an electric desoldering gun as well, but as I wrote earlier in the thread, it stays mostly in the drawer. If I need to change only one or two parts, the SS-02 is a much quicker solution than getting the electric gun out and warmed up.

The electric gun comes out for bigger jobs - like desoldering a power supply worth of bad caps. Doing that with any manual sucker is a major PITA.
 

Offline seanspotatobusiness

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #47 on: September 28, 2018, 08:00:09 am »
With regard to replacement tips, I bought some high temperature silicone tubing (10 feet of it) and I will have enough it until I die.

The only requirements are:

* the ID of the tubing needs to be 5/64"
* it needs to be some high temperature material (high temperature silicone in this case)

The tubing I show has a slightly thicker wall than the original tubing (in other words, same ID but larger OD), but it works just fine.

That tubing is only rated for 177 °C and a typical soldering iron temperature is 350 °C. This website claims the originals are good to 350 °C: https://thepihut.com/products/adafruit-replacement-tubes-for-professional-silicone-tip-solder-sucker-ss-02?variant=27739965393&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_7HdBRDPARIsAN_ltcJyqZWS1IlXmgfatIEXgAgTgFtzNjcexyGzVNMAVLiQE-DJiS8S5CQaAjaFEALw_wcB#fo_c=1889&fo_k=bd1198913337626c66caff08db3dacd6&fo_s=gplauk
 
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Offline technogeeky

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #48 on: October 05, 2018, 03:40:21 pm »
With regard to replacement tips, I bought some high temperature silicone tubing (10 feet of it) and I will have enough it until I die.

The only requirements are:

* the ID of the tubing needs to be 5/64"
* it needs to be some high temperature material (high temperature silicone in this case)

The tubing I show has a slightly thicker wall than the original tubing (in other words, same ID but larger OD), but it works just fine.

That tubing is only rated for 177 °C and a typical soldering iron temperature is 350 °C. This website claims the originals are good to 350 °C: https://thepihut.com/products/adafruit-replacement-tubes-for-professional-silicone-tip-solder-sucker-ss-02?variant=27739965393&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_7HdBRDPARIsAN_ltcJyqZWS1IlXmgfatIEXgAgTgFtzNjcexyGzVNMAVLiQE-DJiS8S5CQaAjaFEALw_wcB#fo_c=1889&fo_k=bd1198913337626c66caff08db3dacd6&fo_s=gplauk

FWIW, that must be underspecified or I pasted the wrong link. I can directly heat the tubing with 350C (and I do all the time when I'm desoldering, I push the tube right up against the joint and the soldering iron). It never melts or burns.

 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, or other nice desoldering pumps
« Reply #49 on: October 07, 2018, 10:01:04 am »
SS-16 is the their P/N for the silicone tubing, and it's rated for 350C.

Source (scroll down to the bottom of the page).
 


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