I had to go into a project and desolder about 10 resistors, it was a huge pain, and I managed to mangle a few pieces and it was all-in-all a bad time.
I have solder wick and a solder sucker, but for some of the solders, it was a bear to get the iron and the solder sucker in there. I have seen some desoldering irons with a vacuum pump or bulb on them and wondered if that would make my job easier....And make salvaging parts from other electronics a breeze...
Anyone have a recommendation for a decent, inexpensive (I figure around 100 would be worth it) solution for a vacuum desolderer?
I had the same problems. Ended up getting a Hakko FR-300. Once you get the unit, and all the right sizes of tips and a nice stand, it ends up being around $300. It was well worth it for me.
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I don't know of any cheap ones that are good. I have a Hakko 808 (the older version of the FR300), and it was about $300. Not at all cheap, and about twice as much as my soldering station, but it's soooooooo worth it when you need to remove parts. I've had electrolytic caps literally fall off the board after I suctioned the second pad.
On the other hand, I did a lot of desoldered of 2-sided through hole boards with nothing more than my soldering iron and a $5 squeeze bulb. It can be done, it just takes more time and you really have to practice the technique.
I haven't had a bad enough rework yet. I mainly rely on patience and technique to get me by. De-solder/Rework station is on the wishlist behind some atlas testing equipment and a modern o-scope.
I have one of these and would recommend it. Aoyue have some interesting rework + soldering stations also
https://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-Digital-Desoldering-Station-Built/dp/B00ABJ4AEC
I have one of these cheap ones:
http://www.how-to-repair.com/desoldering-iron-sucker-40w.html
While it is definitely not the best you can get, it did work pretty fine the few times I have used it.
Takes ages to warm up but once it's hot, it's good to go.