[vcf-midatlantic] Care and feeding of my desoldering station?

[Chris Fala]

> On Feb 1, 2017, at 3:18 PM, Systems Glitch via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:
> 

> SO I have this cheap Aoyue desoldering station. I've been keeping the
> spring and the nozzle clean but I'm puzzled as the why the large tube
> of silicone? It doesn't really explain in the manual how to maintain
> the station and the large tube seems a bit much for the vacuum attachment
> at the based. Any hints tips, or clues?

Probably for lubricating all of the rubber surfaces. Additionally, if the tips like to stick on your soldering/desoldering equipment, a dab of C5-A hi-temp copper antiseize lube will fix it (commonly available at auto parts stores in small tubes, ask for copper antiseize or "that stuff to keep exhaust bolts from sticking").

Cleaning is really the key to keeping your desoldering station going. I've got a Hakko 472D and frequent filter changes, tip clean-outs, and running a small drill through (especially when desoldering old stuff with a lot of flux!) makes life better. You can reuse the springs many times, but the ceramic paper filters shouldn't be reused. You *can* soak them in alcohol and peel off the top layer if you absolutely must reuse one.

Thanks,
Jonathan




Aside from the copper lube with which I am not familiar, I agree with everything Jonathan said. I used a Hakko at work for many years and it always worked extremely well. Other guys that I worked with would make fun of me because I was so meticulous, and yet they would come to my bench to use mine because theirs didn't work as well.

A tip about desoldering: add fresh solder to the joints that you want to desolder before using the sucker. It dilutes the alloy that likely won't melt as easily as new solder, plus it adds a little flux which also helps. Also, hold board up in the air with the gun pointed up to let gravity help. Might not seem like a big deal but it helps. Another tip: move in a circular motion to get solder from all around part leads. If you don't hear air sucking through the board, that is bad. Especially important when removing large ICs. A small amount of solder residue doesn't seem like much on a single pin, but multiplied by 20 can cause problems.

Chris