Hot air rework station and through hole components

[SoundBound]

Just watched Dave's review of the Atten hot air station and was wondering if a hot air rework station is useable for the removal of through hole components as well?

If anyone has any experience with this, and it's feasible, I might spring for a hot air station rather than a vacuum desoldering station as the hot air unit would handle more tasks.

Thanks much.

[johnnyfp]

You can, but it's a lot quicker with a soldering Iron.

It won't suck any of the solder, you realize, but if you for example, have a 10pin header, you can heat up the area enough to yank out the device. However I find that through pin devices have plastic that melts at a lower temperature than smd type devices.

Jfp.

[PeterG]

I use all three on a regular basis. A soldering iron can desolder through hole devises, but some components just wont cooperate. If your going to do a lot of through hole removal you cant go past something like this.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Electric-Desoldering-Gun-MT995-w-Gun-Adapter-Iron-stand-/280823651920?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item416264de50#ht_4519wt_1139

Hot Air is a tool that comes into its own when removing surface mount devises, again, these can be removed with an iron but hot air makes life a lot easier and limits the chance of board or component damage.

These three devises each have there own uses. Starting out wth Hot Air and Soldering Station would be a good start if your on a budget, but if you find you are removing for than a few through hole devices, i would recommend looking at getting a desoldering station/gun.

Just my 2 cents.

Regards

[Mint.]

I use the hot air rework station to melt through hole stuff and then drag it out for reusing parts

[Dawn]

That doesn't work well on plated-through, double sided boards. Even solderwick isn't enough. To do the job and do it right, you need a desoldering vacuum station or self contained desoldering gun as above. With a little ingenuitity, you can buy a Hakko clone desoldering gun and use a soldering station for the 24V supply and rework an aquarium pump or use the vacuum inlet on some of the hot air stations that's used for the pick up pen for the suction with an in-line filter. Decent stand alone Chinese made stations are available for around USD $100.

[saturation]

Hot air is more versatile, but its not as fast as a vacuum desoldering tool, and it may not do large PCB tracings.  But for most consumer boards, I've been able to use the 858D even with large ground planes and plated through double sided boards by using the highest heat setting, the smallest nozzle, and a PCB stand to do heat-and-pull type of desoldering, for parts that are likely to be discarded, sometimes the heat can be longer than 5-6 seconds.  With a desoldering vacuum, you can minimize joint heating and thus, is a better choice for salvaging parts.

Just watched Dave's review of the Atten hot air station and was wondering if a hot air rework station is useable for the removal of through hole components as well?

If anyone has any experience with this, and it's feasible, I might spring for a hot air station rather than a vacuum desoldering station as the hot air unit would handle more tasks.

Thanks much.

[StubbornGreek]

Just watched Dave's review of the Atten hot air station and was wondering if a hot air rework station is useable for the removal of through hole components as well?

If anyone has any experience with this, and it's feasible, I might spring for a hot air station rather than a vacuum desoldering station as the hot air unit would handle more tasks.

Thanks much.

I believe that someone would be better served owning a hot air station more so than owning a desoldering vacuum (especially if there's a question in their mind). However, if you do a lot of desoldering then you won't be able to live without a solder vacuum of some type. I've found the Hakko 808 to be the sweet spot for cost/performance but there are a lot of less expensive solutions out there.

[T4P]

Just watched Dave's review of the Atten hot air station and was wondering if a hot air rework station is useable for the removal of through hole components as well?

If anyone has any experience with this, and it's feasible, I might spring for a hot air station rather than a vacuum desoldering station as the hot air unit would handle more tasks.

Thanks much.

I believe that someone would be better served owning a hot air station more so than owning a desoldering vacuum (especially if there's a question in their mind). However, if you do a lot of desoldering then you won't be able to live without a solder vacuum of some type. I've found the Hakko 808 to be the sweet spot for cost/performance but there are a lot of less expensive solutions out there.

The MT993/994/995 is a clone of that and i'm not too terribly sure if a built in vacuum pump is a good idea or not
Especially when the 474(Clones of Hakko's desoldering station) doesn't cost much more

[StubbornGreek]

Just watched Dave's review of the Atten hot air station and was wondering if a hot air rework station is useable for the removal of through hole components as well?

If anyone has any experience with this, and it's feasible, I might spring for a hot air station rather than a vacuum desoldering station as the hot air unit would handle more tasks.

Thanks much.

I believe that someone would be better served owning a hot air station more so than owning a desoldering vacuum (especially if there's a question in their mind). However, if you do a lot of desoldering then you won't be able to live without a solder vacuum of some type. I've found the Hakko 808 to be the sweet spot for cost/performance but there are a lot of less expensive solutions out there.

The MT993/994/995 is a clone of that and i'm not too terribly sure if a built in vacuum pump is a good idea or not
Especially when the 474(Clones of Hakko's desoldering station) doesn't cost much more

Its unfortunate but I can't find a single vacuum-type de-soldering tool with a clean history - these things just fail after prolonged use. I was only stating that I personally like the Hakko.

[saturation]

There are some interesting reviews of the Hakko 808, including folks who have used competing designs.  It reads like few can match the durability history of the 808, its built like a rock and has a vacuum that is often the strongest most have experienced,  particularly against workstations.  Some of the reviews put it through very heavy use if these reviews are truthful:

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-Desoldering-Kit-With-808/product-reviews/B000ARPULW/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Reviews from other sites are just as positive,here spanning nearly 10 years.  For e.g.

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/2978

I believe that someone would be better served owning a hot air station more so than owning a desoldering vacuum (especially if there's a question in their mind). However, if you do a lot of desoldering then you won't be able to live without a solder vacuum of some type. I've found the Hakko 808 to be the sweet spot for cost/performance but there are a lot of less expensive solutions out there.

The MT993/994/995 is a clone of that and i'm not too terribly sure if a built in vacuum pump is a good idea or not
Especially when the 474(Clones of Hakko's desoldering station) doesn't cost much more

Its unfortunate but I can't find a single vacuum-type de-soldering tool with a clean history - these things just fail after prolonged use. I was only stating that I personally like the Hakko.

[Dawn]

For about 30 years I owned two Pace units. One multipurpose workstation using a GAST air pump and the other a bladder pump. Both very high maintenance units primarily because the heater element was 110V with no regulation and they used an off-the-shelf light dimmer inside for heat control. With the high price of their repair parts, long waits, and frequent heater failures, they were a pain, but worked quite well when they worked and paid for themselves many times over and over. Newer sensatemp models probably don't have this problem. One nice thing about them was the large glass solder reservoir tube. That's something the Weller's and the Hakko's don't have.
I've had one of the Aoyue 701 Hakko clones which is like a 474 with a 35W iron port that I use for hot tweezers for 3 years now. It doesn't have the powerful suction of the old pump Pace or the heat. It requires frequent cleaning like the old Wellers. It wouldn't be a production or high volume shop instrument, but certainly good enough for hobbyist use. I weighed purchasing one of the Zohngdi type units,but stuck with the Aoyue. The standard interface and multiple sources of interchangeable and inexpensive consumable parts made it the attractive choice over the negatives. 

[Psi]

I found my hot air station does work for removing through hole components.
However, you need the temperature so high it can burn the pcb.

So it's good for recycling old components from boards that you don't care about, but not so good for pcbs you want to reuse.

[Kozmyk]

I've yet to come across a through hole solder joint that I couldn't undo with an iron and a good old fashioned hand held solder sucker.
That said, if I had a lot to do then a desoldering gun would be the way I'd go.
Also you have to be careful that the impact of the sucker doesn't damage fragile PCB tracks and pads

[Mint.]

I bought, and had this unit for a couple of weeks now..



http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/blackjack-solderwerks-deluxe-rework-system-bk-6000-p-173.html

So far i`m happy..
small things is some mechanical noise when turning on the unit, probably the transformer. I`m gone open it and check it out. A little to short cable to the irons, but small things compared to what i paid.

On some cards it can be tricky to get all the solider out of the thrugh holes, but its due to narrow holes, to little heat, if the temp is right it works like a charm.


Excellent service and comunications with the company.

I also bought a SMD Tweezer Adapter For the BK 6000. Its a little to big to use in all places on some printboards, but where it fits doing a OK job. Thinking about straitning out the tips to fit tighter places.


http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/smd-tweezer-adapter-for-bk-6000-p-197.html

Far too expensive for my budget just to desolder things!

[Dawn]

Interesting Erik. I just took a look at the manual for this unit. The operating firmware appears to be the same as the Aoyue 2702a+ but without the ball manometer and in a black Hakko type case. Same 6 pin universal accessories.

[saturation]

If you don't do too much desoldering, as I do too, you can do the same as the Hakko with an $8 desoldering pump, or suction bulb and a soldering iron.  You can also develop a 'touch' using the hot air rework for working on most through hole, including plated holes.  After using heat-and-pull to extract a part, I use a rigid straw on reheating and blowing the molten solder out of the hole, to clean out the plated hole without leaving sweat joints.

Far too expensive for my budget just to desolder things!

[Dawn]

Erik, those type used to be very popular as ham/cb microphone connectors. I can find several suppliers in the states for a few dollars, but here's one from a Chinese manufacturer that ships internationally if you can't find it or get it from a CS dealer:

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Pin-Chassis-Mount-MIC-Connector-Male-/150470555721?pt=US_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item2308be7849

 

[nukie]

The best tool I ever bought is a Bosch temperature and air flow adjustable hot air gun. It has huge nozzle so air flows gently doesn't blow away small 0402, the best part is it is 2000w it takes no time at all. I usually preheat small boards to 150c with the Bosch then switch to hot air iron with concentrated nozzle for precise heating.

It takes too much time for the tiny hot air iron to solder big bga chip like CPU chipset on armoured copper layers, the bigger brother will do, but always remember preheating is important to avoid warping.

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[T4P]

I did rework a BGA with my 858d before,
the key thing with a 858d is the paramount performance ... 700W

But yeah most importantly is to get a preheater/preheat the board