Author Topic: desoldering braid  (Read 13429 times)

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Offline akisTopic starter

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desoldering braid
« on: April 22, 2016, 08:37:44 am »
Why is it so expensive? it's just plain copper, weaved, no insulation jacket, nothing. It weighs nothing, yet, for example a 30m/100ft reel is 3 times as expensive as say a 100m/300ft of 22 AWG 16 * 0.2mm insulated cable... http://uk.farnell.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=15001&langId=44&urlRequestType=Base&partNumber=2343916&storeId=10151

Are they taking the piss on ebay or is it something I am missing? Maybe its the weaving process that makes it expensive? Because it is not definitely the quality or the quantity of the copper...
 

Offline KL27x

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2016, 09:33:51 am »
Probably no more reason than it's a relatively small market. And most people don't use much of it. I think I use less than a foot per year. This makes me more likely to purchase my favorite brand when I run out. Or the first roll I see. Rather than try to save a few bucks by bargain shopping.

I mean, it's really not a useful tool for anything of scale. If you're using it, you are replacing a chip or connector by hand and spending a heck of a lot of time doing it. Yeah, I know some people use it for sucking out bridges after soldering chips/connectors, and such. But if you scale up, this method is simply not particularly efficient. So for the most part, it can be expensive because it's really not necessary for anything except apps where the manual labor will eclipse the cost of the tool.

If you are concerned about the cost of solderwick, you might be doing it wrong.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2016, 09:43:53 am by KL27x »
 

Offline Richard Head

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2016, 12:25:40 pm »
I agree. It is F%&* rip-off.
Another way to look at it is that's it's a good business opportunity!
 

Offline Shock

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2016, 12:52:27 pm »
The last I brought was $3 AUD for 1.5m, that works out to be about $0.10 to remove perhaps a dozen components.
Soldering/Rework: Pace ADS200, Pace MBT350
Multimeters: Fluke 189, 87V, 117, 112   >>> WANTED STUFF <<<
Oszilloskopen: Lecroy 9314, Phillips PM3065, Tektronix 2215a, 314
 

Offline MrSlack

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2016, 12:54:42 pm »
It's not just copper wire, it's soaked in flux and put on a little reel that you can hold so you don't burn your fingers :)

Plus I pay bugger all for it.
 

Offline akisTopic starter

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2016, 01:02:56 pm »
It's not just copper wire, it's soaked in flux and put on a little reel that you can hold so you don't burn your fingers :)

Plus I pay bugger all for it.


£9 for 100m of AWD22 insulated 20x0.2 cable...

£20 for 30m desoldering braid. Weight less than 50g.

This is not "bugger all"...

 

Offline CJay

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2016, 01:11:58 pm »
I've used, when desperate, the woven shield from multicore wire before now, you need to add a little flux to make it work but I could find no real difference. Plus you end up with lengths of 'spare' hook up wire.

But, I still have a reel of solder wick that I bought 20 years ago, when I finish that one I'll probably buy another and will it to my kids.
 

Offline Kilrah

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2016, 01:18:03 pm »
£20 for 30m desoldering braid. Weight less than 50g.

This is not "bugger all"...
I don't think I'll use 30m of desoldering braid in my entire life. Negligible.
 

Offline MrSlack

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2016, 01:20:37 pm »
30m! In 20 years I've used about 5m of the stuff off my 10m reel.
 

Offline Whales

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2016, 01:28:51 pm »
I've recently run out and I can't find the nice Chemtronics (fake or otherwise) wick that I bought cheaply from an Israeli seller over eBay.  Where do you guys buy yours from?  Ebay seems to be full of braid sans flux.

Offline MrSlack

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2016, 01:47:44 pm »
Rapid Electronics or CPC in the UK. Depending on who is cheapest.
 

Offline DenzilPenberthy

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2016, 02:46:45 pm »
£9 for 100m of AWD22 insulated 20x0.2 cable...

£20 for 30m desoldering braid. Weight less than 50g.

This is not "bugger all"...

I agree. It is F%&* rip-off.
Another way to look at it is that's it's a good business opportunity!


Come on, seriously. Aside from the fact it has good quality flux added to it, surely it doesn't have to be explained why something which you buy maybe 1ft of per year and is not used in mass-production is more expensive pound-for-pound than something which is used in *vast* quantity and sold by the 100m reel.  I look forward to buying solder braid from your business which is sold at the same per-metre price as skinny stranded hook-up wire :)
 

Offline KL27x

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #12 on: April 22, 2016, 06:38:09 pm »
The cost of the solderwick is not from the manufacturer/ing. It's from the distributor. If you have a store, and I am selling you an item that doesn't not move much, you have to make a higher margin for it to be worth your time. You have to make a new SKU. It increases your inventory management. It increases your physical space to store and organize your inventory. It is additional web site labor. It's only in the store to increase the selection of tools, there as an occasional add-on.

If I reduce the price of my store's solderwick, this item, alone, is not enough to entice many buyers to come to my store and buy other things. Because they are buying this item very rarely, this is only going to attract very few shoppers. Maybe some excited hobbyists will stock up. Then a month later, it's over. Your target market for this product has for some reason bought 3 lifetime supplies and is never going to come back to your store for solderwick. Ever. If you open a "solderwick store," with the best price in the world, good luck staying in business. The large scale buyers are retail stores and distributors, and they are already buying this stuff for a fraction of the price we buy it. You can make a living making/selling solderwick for cheap, but it will be to other retailers or distributors who are going to then jack the price right back up for the end consumer.

Personally, I have bought 3x as many soldering stations as rolls of solderwick. And the last roll I bought I didn't even need. I just built a soldering accessory caddy, and I wanted to fill it, lol.

When braided cable can sell in 1.5M to 10M rolls per user per decade, nearly exclusively, show me how much it costs. I would wager it's sold in 5 foot rolls because half of these things are lost or misplaced before they ever run out.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2016, 07:22:06 pm by KL27x »
 

Offline Shock

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #13 on: April 22, 2016, 07:16:39 pm »
30m! In 20 years I've used about 5m of the stuff off my 10m reel.

Measure it every day before going to bed it lasts longer.
Soldering/Rework: Pace ADS200, Pace MBT350
Multimeters: Fluke 189, 87V, 117, 112   >>> WANTED STUFF <<<
Oszilloskopen: Lecroy 9314, Phillips PM3065, Tektronix 2215a, 314
 

Offline free_electron

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #14 on: April 22, 2016, 07:26:51 pm »
There is only one desoldering braid that works properly : Chemtronics.  EVERYTHING ELSE IS CRAP.

Trust me on this one... or prove me wrong by sending me the one you think is better. I have tried at least 30 different brands in my life.
Chemtronics beats all of em.

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Any comments, or points of view expressed, are my own and not endorsed , induced or compensated by my employer(s).
 

Offline akisTopic starter

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #15 on: April 22, 2016, 07:30:44 pm »
I've recently run out and I can't find the nice Chemtronics (fake or otherwise) wick that I bought cheaply from an Israeli seller over eBay.  Where do you guys buy yours from?  Ebay seems to be full of braid sans flux.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281058812481?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 

Offline nctnico

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #16 on: April 22, 2016, 09:28:59 pm »
I've recently run out and I can't find the nice Chemtronics (fake or otherwise) wick that I bought cheaply from an Israeli seller over eBay.  Where do you guys buy yours from?  Ebay seems to be full of braid sans flux.
If you buy the cheap stuff once you quickly jump back the Chemtronics. I'm using quite a lot per year but I just fork over the cash for buying Chemtronics. I do safe the spend solder wick though in case I need a bit of thick copper wire.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline apelly

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #17 on: April 22, 2016, 09:44:34 pm »
There is only one desoldering braid that works properly : Chemtronics.
I've heard that before. Someone here (Psi?) recommended it to me ages ago and I have to strongly agree.
 

Offline Whales

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #18 on: April 23, 2016, 12:13:40 am »
I've recently run out and I can't find the nice Chemtronics (fake or otherwise) wick that I bought cheaply from an Israeli seller over eBay.  Where do you guys buy yours from?  Ebay seems to be full of braid sans flux.
If you buy the cheap stuff once you quickly jump back the Chemtronics. I'm using quite a lot per year but I just fork over the cash for buying Chemtronics. I do safe the spend solder wick though in case I need a bit of thick copper wire.

I'm really suspicious of un-branded and air-exposed stock.  Have you bought a roll of this?

Offline Muttley Snickers

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #19 on: April 23, 2016, 12:54:53 am »
I recently bought a spool from Radio Parts and they were a hell of a lot cheaper than Element 14, I paid $23.10 inc for the 2.54 mm x 7.5 meter roll, it is labeled as Chemtools and made in the US, Altronics also carry the stuff.

Radio Parts
http://www.radioparts.com.au/product/38616065/50-4-25-2.8mm-x-7.5m-soder-wick-blue-desoldering-braid-4#.VxrBxtR94dU

Altronics
http://www.altronics.com.au/p/t1217-chemtools-2.54mm-blue-7.6m-solder-wick-desoldering-braid/

Chemtools
http://www.chemtools.com.au/product/electrical-and-electronics/production-and-rework/solder-wick/
 

Offline GreyWoolfe

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #20 on: April 25, 2016, 01:27:29 am »
I have both Chemtronics and TechSpray and both work equally well.
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Offline Someone

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #21 on: April 25, 2016, 02:14:56 am »
There is only one desoldering braid that works properly : Chemtronics.  EVERYTHING ELSE IS CRAP.
Chemtronics "SODER-WiCK" [sic!] is certainly the reference by which others are measured, but I've got rolls of Techspray "PRO WICK" here which are just as good.

I've used, when desperate, the woven shield from multicore wire before now, you need to add a little flux to make it work but I could find no real difference. Plus you end up with lengths of 'spare' hook up wire.
For the cheapskates who want to use a lot of braid you can buy very narrow screening/grounding/shielding braid and add the flux of your choice, works ok too.
 

Offline BMack

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #22 on: April 25, 2016, 03:35:04 am »
There is only one desoldering braid that works properly : Chemtronics.  EVERYTHING ELSE IS CRAP.

Trust me on this one... or prove me wrong by sending me the one you think is better. I have tried at least 30 different brands in my life.
Chemtronics beats all of em.

I agree completely with this post.
 

Offline QuantumLogic

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #23 on: April 25, 2016, 01:32:55 pm »
There is only one desoldering braid that works properly : Chemtronics.  EVERYTHING ELSE IS CRAP.

Trust me on this one... or prove me wrong by sending me the one you think is better. I have tried at least 30 different brands in my life.
Chemtronics beats all of em.

My story:  I unknowingly suffered with some cheap solder braid that I bought from a surplus store many years ago.  At the time, I figured solder braid is solder braid, so how bad could the cheap stuff be compared to the more expensive brands?  It came in a round white plastic package with beveled sides on the bottom and a green label (I forget the brand name), not a cylinder shape with flat bottom like Chemtronics braid.   When I tried to use it years ago, it did a terrible job of sucking up the solder.  It sucked up some solder, but always left some behind which made it difficult to remove the component I was working on.  Not knowing any better (I'm just a hobbyist electronics guy) , I figured that was just how solder braid worked - terribly.  Since there were other methods of removing solder, such as more expensive vacuum systems, I figured solder braid was just not a great way to remove solder.
 
Fast forward to a couple months ago.  I tried it again thinking that maybe the new (more heat mass) tip on my Weller iron would make it work better.  Nope, it was just as crappy.  Then I read some Amazon reviews about solder braid and some people were saying Chemtronics was much better compared to the cheap stuff.  I was curious, and since I was getting back into playing with electronics again after many years, I decided to buy a roll of Chemtronics braid.  Immediately upon opening the package and comparing the braid between the off-brand and Chemtronics I could tell that the Chemtronics braid was much finer with many more strands of thinner copper wire and a very tight weave.  I tried the Chemtronics braid on an old circuit board that had some capacitors I wanted to try to remove.  Wow, what a difference! The Chemtronics braid just sucked up the solder like it was starving for food.  The solder on the board was gone except for a coating on the trace and leads!  The capacitor practically fell out by itself after the second lead was done.

I will never buy anything else again.  Chemtronics all the way.
 

Offline jitter

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #24 on: April 25, 2016, 04:23:24 pm »
There is only one desoldering braid that works properly : Chemtronics.  EVERYTHING ELSE IS CRAP.

Trust me on this one... or prove me wrong by sending me the one you think is better. I have tried at least 30 different brands in my life.
Chemtronics beats all of em.

I agree completely with this post.

I don't agree, if you stick to A-brands.
At home I use the same stuff we use at work... obviously  ;).
The last time I took some 3 m rolls home was probably six years ago, and in that time I may have used 0.5 m or so.

I know that over the years we switched a few times between brands. I seem to remember the Swiss 3S-Wick and after that mostly USA made stuff like Techspray and Loctite.
Apart from one batch that seemed to have been in storage for forever and which had oxidized, they all seemed to work fine for me.

What I use right now is Techspray and it works a treat, sucking up solder just like your description of Chemtronics in action.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2016, 04:34:46 pm by jitter »
 


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