Desoldering parts for recycling

A

awdark

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 22, 2003
Messages
1,630
How do I go about properly removing say a resistor off a pcb? I sometimes salvage components from a board for other uses.. just faster and easier.

I used to heat the bottom with a soldering iron or gun depending on how much solder there is while prying on the other side with a screwdriver... that tends to break the resistor or diode or rip those legs off a capacitor :rolleyes:. I have taken to getting wire cutters and chopping away at the board until it falls off..

How am I suppose to remove them?


Just a curosity, how would people say replace an ic off a board? I blew a BA drive controller chip in my ps2 before and I stared at the part wondering how someone would remove then restick a new one on. I decided to just replace the ps2 in the end..
 
http://www.radioshack.com/product.a..._name=CTLG_011_009_007_004&product_id=64-2098

Buy one of those.

Desoldering IC's can be a little tricky, but it just takes practice. If you're trying to preserve the IC you're desoldering, you must make sure all the legs are completely unattached from the board before pulling up on the chip. Usually after you clear most of the solder, you can use a precision screwdriver to move the leg to the center of the hole while heating it, to prevent it from sticking to the side. If you're not worried about preserving the IC, you may find it easier to cut all the legs off, and then desolder the legs.

Oh yeah, a lot of people prefer desoldering braid too.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.a..._name=CTLG_011_009_007_004&product_id=64-2090


EDIT: If it's a surface mount IC like those you mentioned in a PS2, all bets are off. You *CAN* do it with a traditional soldering iron, but its not a great idea. They have specialized tools to work on surface mount componants. A friend of mine replaced a chip on an LCD monitor board, using a traditional soldering iron + solder sucker. He actually did a pretty decent job, but he has a lot of experience soldering.
 
haha anything from radio shack is crap. desoldering braid is as close as your gonna get, unless you wana spend 600 on a desoldering station. basicly you have a tip that has hot air out the middle and sucks solder up one side, you can do all the legs of a SM chip in about 10 minutes. without paying weller big bucks theres nothing you can do.

for resistors, caps, etc. go for the braid. heat it up and press it agienst the joint. it will absorb the solder and alow you to remove the component.

btw SM soldering is a whole diffrent game. without a decent pencil temp controled iron, even the smallest thing is extreamly diffucult. anything on this scale is gonna cost you mega bucks (unelss your down with spendin 150 on a iron).
 
Desoldering pumps are good.. i use them all the time... desoldering wick is good to pick up leftovers from the pump.. or you can just go with the wick all the way..
 
theshadow27 said:
haha anything from radio shack is crap..
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The RadioShack solder sucker does it's job, and costs $8. It comes with an extra tip too.
 
Jicks said:
The RadioShack solder sucker does it's job, and costs $8. It comes with an extra tip too.
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maybe for big things like 1/4 watt TH resistors, but once you get past .1 SIN/DIN then theres just no way it works. in my experence, the plastic tips melt like crazy, the sucker gets cloged with solder (it doesnt have a filter) and your thumb gets sore after clickinging it down 100 times with one hand.

but if you just doing switches, big diodes, and watever, then im sure it would work fine
 
I've sucked out solder joints from ICs and stuff... but i think anything smaller wouldn't work well..
 
RancidWAnnaRIot said:
I've sucked out solder joints from ICs and stuff... but i think anything smaller wouldn't work well..
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Agreed. I use it to desolder IC's, transistors, small resistors, small capacitors, etc. all the time. Of course it would be terrible for surface mount IC's, but that's not what its made for.

My tip doesn't melt much. I (usually) keep my iron at around 400 degrees F, and i dont hold the tip against the iron until im ready to "suck" the solder. I've had this particular solder sucker for about 6 months and it's still on its original tip.
 
O... so the key is to remove the solder...

Seems that the braid is prefered, which one lasts longer though? I have not tried either of these desoldering tools.
 
Braid is something that is "used up" as you use it, just like solder. It's cheap enough though that it doesn't really matter. You can get a roll of braid and a solder sucker for about $10 combined. Try both and see which you prefer!
 
just make sure when you are messing around with desoldering wick and those suckers to not leave the tip of the iron on the component very long.. heat it up, take what you can and remove the iron... go back to it later after it cools down if there's some left. nothing like ruining the component becuase you cooked the leads to long trying to get it.
 
The blue solder sucker from Radio Shack is garbage; i've owned a few of these and they just don't last. If you want one of these, pay the extra few bucks and get a Soldapullt - it's worth it.

What *is* good is the Radio Shack desoldering iron... it works incredibly well, and it's cheap too.
 
gee said:
The blue solder sucker from Radio Shack is garbage; i've owned a few of these and they just don't last. If you want one of these, pay the extra few bucks and get a Soldapullt - it's worth it.

What *is* good is the Radio Shack desoldering iron... it works incredibly well, and it's cheap too.
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Yeah, the Soldapullt solder suckers are pretty good. I've only used the large one, and I felt that it was too big. I didn't like that I couldn't cock it with my thumb like the RS one. But i'm looking at Jensen and I see Soldapullt makes a smaller one, about the size of the radio shack blue. I might give it a try because the Radioshack ones do break a lot. We have one at work where the tube is superglued together because the threads stripped out.

However, I think for casual use the RadioShack solder sucker would be adequate.
 
Jicks said:
Yeah, the Soldapullt solder suckers are pretty good. I've only used the large one, and I felt that it was too big. I didn't like that I couldn't cock it with my thumb like the RS one. But i'm looking at Jensen and I see Soldapullt makes a smaller one, about the size of the radio shack blue. I might give it a try because the Radioshack ones do break a lot. We have one at work where the tube is superglued together because the threads stripped out.

However, I think for casual use the RadioShack solder sucker would be adequate.
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There's two kinds of soldapullts - one which is similar to the Radio Shack one, and a "stick" one. The first one you need to cock with your thumb and two hands (which sucks), but the good one has this long "stick" coming out the other end of it. To cock it, you just push down the stick by pushing against a desk or knee, and keep your other hand on your soldering iron.
 
gee said:
What *is* good is the Radio Shack desoldering iron... it works incredibly well, and it's cheap too.
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Do you still have the link for the diy hot air "station"built from these irons?
 
I HATE braid with a vengeance :mad:


That being said, I usually end up using a soldapult with a piece of rc silicon fuel tubing on the end (cause it's squishy and makes a better seal around stuff) and if it burns, then I can just cut up another tiny ass little piece of cheap tubing.
 
gee said:
What *is* good is the Radio Shack desoldering iron... it works incredibly well, and it's cheap too.
Click to expand...

there 15watt iron is good too for electronic components if you arn't doing a whole lot of work... i'd definatly recommend it for the hobbyist.
 
Mister X said:
Do you still have the link for the diy hot air "station"built from these irons?
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its actually used as a SMD iron but i suppose you could use it just as effectively the other way. basically you hook a fish tank air pump up to where the bulb is, and take the tip off and put some steel wool in there (i've heard different things like the more coarse steel wool or copper, ect.)
 
plot said:
there 15watt iron is good too for electronic components if you arn't doing a whole lot of work... i'd definatly recommend it for the hobbyist.
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it's good for small soldering tasks, but not for anything bigger... the selectable 15/30 watt iron is a lot better IMO.

my complaint about radio shack irons is that they're not thermally controlled - once you go there, you never go back :D
 
Jicks said:
EDIT: If it's a surface mount IC like those you mentioned in a PS2, all bets are off. You *CAN* do it with a traditional soldering iron, but its not a great idea. They have specialized tools to work on surface mount componants. A friend of mine replaced a chip on an LCD monitor board, using a traditional soldering iron + solder sucker. He actually did a pretty decent job, but he has a lot of experience soldering.
Click to expand...


At work they use heatguns to do it, but I don't have any idea where you would get your hands on one hot enough..
 
gee said:
it's good for small soldering tasks, but not for anything bigger... the selectable 15/30 watt iron is a lot better IMO.

my complaint about radio shack irons is that they're not thermally controlled - once you go there, you never go back :D
Click to expand...

RadioShack has a digital temperature controlled station for about $70. For the money, it's great. I like it almost as much as our digital Weller station at work. The only complaint I have is that the iron itself is a little big for smaller work. It's harder to control than I would like.
 
Jicks said:
RadioShack has a digital temperature controlled station for about $70. For the money, it's great. I like it almost as much as our digital Weller station at work. The only complaint I have is that the iron itself is a little big for smaller work. It's harder to control than I would like.
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for $70, i'd buy a Hakko 936 and a bunch of tips :D
 
gee said:
for $70, i'd buy a Hakko 936 and a bunch of tips :D
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w3rd. I picked up a Hakko 936 and it is the BEST soldering station I've ever used. Of course, I'm no pro... just a hobbiest, at best. But for any other hobbiests out there that are using normal irons, go grab a 936 -- you will NOT regret it!
 
potroast said:
w3rd. I picked up a Hakko 936 and it is the BEST soldering station I've ever used. Of course, I'm no pro... just a hobbiest, at best. But for any other hobbiests out there that are using normal irons, go grab a 936 -- you will NOT regret it!
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I use them (936 ESD) at home and at work... our assembly line at work has >10 year old Hakko stations that still work wonderfully. We've had zero failures! we've only had to replace tips and a few heaters over the years...
 
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