Vacuum desoldering gun vs Hot air station

[bdunham7]

Of course, that’s the handpiece without a station to run it with, nor even the stand! (So really, that’s the part intended as a replacement.) If you don’t already have a station, it’s really $1000 to get started.

I spent about $600 total--there is a kit with the stand for $400 (I showed this one because it is a better picture of the actual tool) and then about $100 for supplies and a tip kit.  But before I even got started, I found an MBT250 3-channel power station on eBay for $99 that had been dropped, breaking the front plastic bezel.  I just eliminated it, attached the front with 10 screws like the older version rather than just 4 with the bezel and that was that.  Pace stuff seems to generally go for a lot of money on eBay, often even more than TEquipment's price.  But then I found a deal on some TT-65 tweezers and next will be a TJ-85 hot air pencil (can't leave those connectors empty) so yeah, $1K is pretty easy to spend.

[wraper]

And proper de soldering technique is to keep a continuous, uninterrupted vacuum going while you keep the component leg moving, so that it’s kept away from the walls of the plated hole while cool air rushes by and cools it, preventing it from sticking. Watch the video I posted, please.

I know the technique. And I say that in my experience vacuum was never an issue. Pump switches on immediately once pressure rises (button is pressed), I also use it for vacuum pick-up. In fact I can collect solder from dozens of PTH or SMD pads or in a row without releasing the button as long as they are low thermal thermal mass or board is preheated. The largest downside of old X-tool is that it becomes unbearably hot to hold as it pumps hot air through the handle if you're desoldering large amount terminals in a row. Also suspect that your problem can be something with filter. X-tool vario is made differently, but old X-tool has paper sleeve for collecting solder followed by small round paper particulate filter. If you use tacky flux, that filter get soaked wet almost instantly thus restricting gas flow and sucking action no longer sucking. So I use usually liquid flux and give it a bit of time to dry. In fact I cut pieces of paper towel instead as solder collecting sleeves last much longer and can be emptied a few times too. But they are sold in sets with 1:1 sleeve/filter ratio.

[tooki]

And proper de soldering technique is to keep a continuous, uninterrupted vacuum going while you keep the component leg moving, so that it’s kept away from the walls of the plated hole while cool air rushes by and cools it, preventing it from sticking. Watch the video I posted, please.

I know the technique. And I say that in my experience vacuum was never an issue. Pump switches on immediately once pressure rises (button is pressed), I also use it for vacuum pick-up. In fact I can collect solder from dozens of PTH or SMD pads or in a row without releasing the button as long as they are low thermal thermal mass or board is preheated. The largest downside of old X-tool is that it becomes unbearably hot to hold as it pumps hot air through the handle if you're desoldering large amount terminals in a row.

Well I can only say that my experience with the X-tool Vario has been disappointing. Maybe something was wrong with that particular unit, I don’t know, I didn’t have multiple examples to compare.

In any case, I found it inappropriate for you to immediately blame me for poor technique, rather than try to understand what I wrote and ask follow up questions if needed. After all, I didn’t even say that it didn’t clear holes…

[wraper]

Well I can only say that my experience with the X-tool Vario has been disappointing. Maybe something was wrong with that particular unit, I don’t know, I didn’t have multiple examples to compare.

In any case, I found it inappropriate for you to immediately blame me for poor technique, rather than try to understand what I wrote and ask follow up questions if needed. After all, I didn’t even say that it didn’t clear holes…

Sorry if it sounded like I blamed your skill. I just wrote what works for me. I edited the previous post while you posted, and added what could be causing the issue.

[tooki]

Well I can only say that my experience with the X-tool Vario has been disappointing. Maybe something was wrong with that particular unit, I don’t know, I didn’t have multiple examples to compare.

In any case, I found it inappropriate for you to immediately blame me for poor technique, rather than try to understand what I wrote and ask follow up questions if needed. After all, I didn’t even say that it didn’t clear holes…

Sorry if it sounded like I blamed your skill. I just wrote what works for me. I edited the previous post while you posted, and added what could be causing the issue.

Thank you.

I do suspect that if there is something wrong with the X-Tool Vario that I used, it is likely the filters. The Vario uses a series of filters, including a felt plug, a sintered metal ring, and an inline filter. All of them are quite small, so I can imagine they get dirty very fast.

This was at my old job, where I rarely had to desolder, so I honestly didn’t invest much time in the issue. I think when I first ran into the problem, we didn’t have any spare filters so I couldn’t swap them out to see, and after we got supplies, I didn’t have any desoldering to do…