Author Topic: desoldering braid  (Read 13427 times)

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Offline nanofrog

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #25 on: April 25, 2016, 07:16:09 pm »
FWIW, I'm partial to Chemtronics as well (I prefer the Rosin variants), but Techspray is similar in performance, and those that have used the Loctite/Henkel wick state it also works very well. MG Chemicals is OK, but I'd rather have the Chemtronics.
 

Offline boffin

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #26 on: April 25, 2016, 07:37:01 pm »
Any of the solder wicks work well.  The trick is wet them with a flux pen 1st.
 

Offline Richard Head

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #27 on: April 26, 2016, 12:33:18 pm »
Chemtronics SODER-WICK is the best (by far) that I've ever used. If you work in SMD you basically have to use a de-soldering braid. I've tried others but they are utter crap.
Unfortunately Chemtronics is expensive.
 

Offline MrSlack

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #28 on: April 27, 2016, 03:41:44 pm »
So I happened across a repair job today that needed a parts order. Thandar TG-102 range selector switch replacement, but I digress. I threw a roll of Chemtronics braid in the RS basket as it was only £3. Let's see if it's any better than 20 year old junk by a direct comparison :)
 

Offline KL27x

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #29 on: April 27, 2016, 11:19:08 pm »
I bought Chemtronics because of the forum hype.
Meh.  :-//
It works fine, but it loads fast. It gets used up like the printing ribbon in a typewriter. I suppose it presents a small heat load, so there's that.

The w/e brand I used before is probably 4x the mass/thickness. It's coarser, but it sucks a lot more solder.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2016, 11:22:33 pm by KL27x »
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #30 on: April 28, 2016, 12:09:51 am »
I bought Chemtronics because of the forum hype.
Meh.  :-//
It works fine, but it loads fast. It gets used up like the printing ribbon in a typewriter. I suppose it presents a small heat load, so there's that.

The w/e brand I used before is probably 4x the mass/thickness. It's coarser, but it sucks a lot more solder.
If I understand you correctly, you're using the wrong size (too small for the job).
  • Size matters (like soldering iron tips, you size it to the hole/pad; or in the case of BGA for example, you use a wide wick and desolder multiple pads simultaneously).
  • Don't let the used end get too long before cutting it off (makes it easier to manipulate as needed).
Unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits-all, so you might want to take a quick look at the following Sizing Guide.
There's YouTube videos as well if you're so inclined (might see a technique you find useful).


 

Offline KL27x

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #31 on: April 28, 2016, 05:17:20 am »
It's not the width, but the thickness. The width on these two wicks is on the same order. Chemtronics Chem-Wick 0.100" is what it says on the reel. I don't see that size on the chart you linked, at all.

The other brand is a lot thicker (not wider) with larger gauge wires. It feels like it has 3-4x the mass of copper per foot.

I don't know that my needs are particularly demanding. I wouldn't know why one is crap compared to the other. The other stuff works fine and you don't need to move it around as much to a fresh spot while using it. I feel like I use 3-4x as much of the Chem-Wick to do the same thing. I'm sure it's better for certain things that I am not doing, yet. The width is just about right for general use, I think. The Chem Wik is a lot more floppy/flexible. It's like a copper cloth, the wire is so fine.

*Looking at them side-by-side, the Chem Wik is slightly wider, if anything. But side profile it looks half as thick. I can't find my calipers. And now I'm looking, the wires in the other brand are about as thin, afterall. Just not as bendy because maybe it's more material.
« Last Edit: April 28, 2016, 05:41:47 am by KL27x »
 

Offline MrSlack

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #32 on: April 29, 2016, 09:18:23 am »
Ok I did my first repair with some Chemtronics stuff. I'll concede, it's actually much better than the cheap crap!
 

Offline macboy

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #33 on: April 29, 2016, 01:15:09 pm »
I use Multicore (Loctite) NC-AA wick, and it works quite well for me. These folks would agree.
 

Offline MrSlack

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #34 on: April 29, 2016, 01:42:37 pm »
I use the Loctite branded solder - probably a good bet. One 500g of the old Multicore branded stuff did me from 1987 to 2005 :)
 

Offline QuantumLogic

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #35 on: April 29, 2016, 03:36:06 pm »
For comparison, here are the two desoldering braids I own at 3 levels of zoom.
The left one with the green label I purchased from a surplus store years ago and it does not work well for me at all.
The right one is Chemtronics 0.100 size. 
The width and thickness of the braids are about the same, however the Chemtronics wire is about half the thickness, thus many more strands make it a much tighter weave.



 

Offline macboy

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #36 on: May 08, 2016, 06:44:22 pm »
Here is a comparative shot of 3 different good quality wicks of the same size. Loctite (Multicore), Chemtronics, and MG Chemicals. As you can see, all have about the same number of strands.

Thickness is as follows:
MG Chemicals: 0.34 mm
Loctite: 0.32 mm
Chemtronics: 0.30 mm
All within +-0.02 mm of 0.32 mm, or less than 7% difference.

All are Rosin fluxed, and all work well, certainly better than any "Goot wick" or similar you will buy from China.
 

Offline wagon

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #37 on: May 08, 2016, 11:33:48 pm »
I burn through about 10 rolls a year, of the 7.5m spools.  Chemtronics is by far the best I've tried, and I won't touch anything else.  The cheap stuff will waste your time and probably damage components and pcb tracks.
Hiding from the missus, she doesn't understand.
 

Offline charlespax

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #38 on: May 10, 2016, 04:55:28 pm »
How long before someone crowdfunds smart solder wick?
 

Offline wagon

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #39 on: May 11, 2016, 06:32:14 am »
How long before someone crowdfunds smart solder wick?
Smart?  What?
Hiding from the missus, she doesn't understand.
 

Offline Psi

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #40 on: May 11, 2016, 07:04:13 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.

loctite is the only other brand ive found even comes close.
Greek letter 'Psi' (not Pounds per Square Inch)
 

Online Ian.M

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #41 on: May 11, 2016, 09:11:24 am »
Any crappy wick will work for bulk solder removal as long as it isn't tarnished and you use enough flux and an iron that can deliver enough power to the tip, but I think the difference that makes Chemtronics stand out for cleaning up smaller joints is the closeness of the weave.  It relies on capillary action to pull the solder into the wick, and to get the joint really clean, the distance between strands in the wick weave needs to be less than the gaps you are trying to clear solder from in the joint.

The other issue is technique - you actually need a little solder at the very end of the wick to get good rapid heat transfer to the joint, but once the wick has absorbed solder that length is 'dead'.  You really need to trim the end after *EVERY* use for best results, bending it to find the end of the solder saturated section, which is often much further up the wick than you would think from the surface appearance, then snipping it about half a bit's width towards the end from where it bent to retain a very short solder loaded section for better heat conduction and rapid wetting.
 

Offline Richard Head

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #42 on: May 11, 2016, 10:31:23 am »
I constantly snip off the saturated wick when it gets to about 15-20mm.
 

Offline charlespax

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #43 on: May 11, 2016, 06:51:48 pm »
How long before someone crowdfunds smart solder wick?
Smart?  What?

Some sort of Arduino-compatible IoT smart solder wick that supports cloud-based technology solutions. Wireless is a must.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2016, 11:54:08 pm by charlespax »
 
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Offline wagon

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Re: desoldering braid
« Reply #44 on: May 11, 2016, 11:19:57 pm »
How long before someone crowdfunds smart solder wick?
Smart?  What?

Some sort of Arduino-compatible IoT smart solder wick that support cloud-based technology solutions. Wireless is a must.
USB3.0 support too?
Hiding from the missus, she doesn't understand.
 


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