Desoldering station

The Rebel

Active Member
I'm tired of solder suckers and braid, looking for a good used desolder station, or a good new one. I've read a pile of articles on a bunch of them. Hakko, Pace, CSI. I have no idea which one I need. I like the ideal of the station, but also like the CSI gun. Anyone with some good adwise for a novice desolderer? Thanks.
 
The unit I'm using is an older Hakko 472B and it's been flawless since the pump rebuild kit was done.
I put in and order for a 1mm tip, tip drill, tip cleaning rod, element cleaning tool, filters, solder catchers, pump kit. All of it arrived in two days and it could have been expedited from several places. This type of stuff hits home when looking at tools. I wouldn't hesitate to do a new Hakko after that experience.

The element cleaning tool and a package of the solder catchers are the two big things that get used. A long, narrow snout tip is on my wish list.
 
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I have been using a Aoyue de-soldering station for about 5 years. Works great and is priced less than $200.00.

No affiliation
 
In my research for desoldering tools, the Hakko FR-300 is by far the most recommended tool in every instance. This kit is near $400 with the extra tips and cleaning accessories. Not exactly what I'm looking to spend, as this is a hobby for now. If I was a tech in business, I wouldn't hesitate. I'm looking at the CSI 8900 for the price point and the amount of usage it will receive. Has anyone had any experience with this unit?
 
For all you 808 users. Here is a tip for saving your pre and ceramic filters. Put a dab of chore boy in the tube. Not much,just enough.20180531_105400_HDR.jpg
 
...looking for a good used desolder station...

I've got a spare PACE pump/power supply unit (MBT PPS80A) I'm never going to use since I discovered you simply can't kill these things. Of course, you'd have to supply your own wand, stand, tips, tubing, filters, etc. Let me know if you think this PACE unit could do you some good.
 
Bought an Aoyue 474A++ for about 200 Canadian. I was doing a bit more PCB-type work,and figured I'd give this a try after a lifetime of using a Soldapult.While the reviews were generally good,I really wasn't expecting much in terms of performance or reliability. Well,instead of just a bit more,I ended updoing a huge amount of PCB work,and this thing works really well and has been fault free.Boy,talk about a pleasant surprise:)
 
Thanks for the replies, I am not so much impatient as I am needing to get some of these projects done and out of the way so i can sit back and relax with my tunes. I went ahead and bought the CSI 8900 gun. It got good reviews and is on sale for $76.30. Much better than the $159 price tag it was last time I looked at one. I almost bought a station like the one you have, arts. That looks like a great set up. I'll let you know how this works out for me next week when it comes in. Laterrrr.
 
I almost bought a station like the one you have, arts. That looks like a great set up.

Actually,what you have coming looks like it has most of the gun components of my Aoyue; the heater,spring filter,tips,gasket,cleaning tools and spares,all the same.
All of this was supposedly copied from a Hakko unit,and these components ''allegedly'' interchange with Hakko,so sourcing spares should be easy.

The only reason I bought a station as opposed to the self-contained handheld was for the ''full-size'' vacuum pump and a smaller gun for tight spots.

That is a very good price compared to the Hakko FR-300,and I'm looking forward to your impressions of the new toy:)
 
I've got a Hakko 472D and love it.
I had to buy a repair kit from Hakko (includes filters and other consumables) but all in I'm at about $200 not including couple of tips.

I'll still use braid on oddly shaped stuff but for pulling leaded components there is no comparison. Less time on the board, less chance of damage.
 
I don't know who posted them but Paceusa has a bunch of great solder related videos posted up on YouTube.
They are older but still very relevant today. I watched them all and gained some good tips.
 
I still use wick and flux to get some components out. The thick point to point wiring can be a pain too.
 
I finally got to use my desoldering gun a couple days ago. WoW! I see what all the fuss is about now. This thing makes short work of desoldering PCBs. I think it was $89 shipped. Can't wait to use it again, and again. Thanks for all the replies. This site is the best!
 
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