I just use my Weller Iron and one of the cheap vacuum pumps with the plunger and spring.

Good enough for working on older boards, not all the fancy new surface mount stuff. At least not with my skill, anyway.

Depends a lot on what you're desoldering.

Inexpensive desoldering stuff would be the ole syringe style soldapult. $10-20 price range, works OK if you're careful with it, or desoldering braid.

I don't know of any decent quality desoldering guns in your price range. I have had very bad luck with Circuit Specialties desoldering guns, which are/were clones of the Hakko 808.

I've heard OK things about Ayoyue, but never used them myself. Here's one of their stations, under $100:

http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-474A-Desoldering-Station/dp/B001UDBGSQ/ref=sr_1_5

Hakko 808...may be able to find a used one in your price range. It will make your desoldering life much easier.

Hakko 808!!! There is a group buy on the forum, do a search. I have a iron with a rubber bulb for sucking and the solder sucker with the spring....I'm sick of those, the hakko is well worth the money

I have a Hakko 808 and am very happy with its performance. When ordering the 808, get the 1.6mm nozzle. You will need it for .0156 header pins.

This is definitely worth bumping up your range a bit. Some of the other ones work ok, but they take forever to clean. This one is far easier to clean than the Aoyou that I used to have.

Hakko 808.

The 808 is solid, but was out of your price range.,if you can afford to spend a little more, it's a great tool and I'd recommend it.

Once you go hakko, you don't go bakko!

If you have expensive pinball machines, and are doing any board work, don't scrimp on two of the most important tools you will need - a good temp controlled soldering station and a good desoldering iron.

I also have that common almost foot long blue solder hand pump as well. I use the pump for all PF stuff, and that 808 for all board stuff. I would use the 808 for everything, but it's such a pain hauling that and my soldering station out to every machine for just a broken wire or diode swap, and the pump works reasonably well for this.

I have a smaller pump, about 6 inches long as well, which is nice as you can reload it with one hand, but it doesn’t have the suck of the larger one, which is needed for lugs.

Some people have noted pinball people don't need desoldering irons. I can't imagine for the life of me why I or anyone else would ever want to go back to wicks/pumps/whatever for pulling ICs after using one. I can removed a 40 pin IC in 3 minutes, clean so that it falls out, and very little heat as a result to all pads. Pricey at first, but consider the cost of the boards you work on, or the repairs you will need if you really screw up some pads/traces.

EXACTLY. For board work, there is NO way you can do as good of a job and fast, without wrecking the board/chips/etc, than the desolder station. The desolder iron w/ bulb is such a pita and you get it to work but it needs a few tries as the tip is so big you can't see or it doesn't have enough suck power...ugh. I need to order the 808, just haven't done so yet.

BlackJack SolderWerks:
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/bk4000.html

Basically a clone of the bigger names.

Picked one up when they were on sale for $99 about 4 years ago. Well worth the money. Also got a free RS-232 connectable multimeter with thermal probe/RS-232 cables/software, back when their free gifts actually had > $5 real value.

This unit is both good and bad. It's bad because it's a lot less portable. It's good because the vacuum is not attached to the gun so it's lighter and some people find it easier to use. At $130 and $20 cheaper than the hakko, they are both the some price as far as I'm concered.

I went with the Hakko myself, great reputation, great product. Also, I didn't need another "soldering station" taking up space.

Does this just have a reloadable pump style suction system, is does it vacuum the solder away constantly when the trigger is pulled, like the Hakko 808?

Vac runs as long as the trigger is pulled. What do you mean by reloadable? The cartridge comes out which includes the metal shell, a silicone end piece, a tapered funnel spring, a wettable sponge, that sits between the nozzle end and the vacuum hose end.

There was a thread over at KLOV about 4 years ago on this and why I purchased it. Check there for more details too.

Here's the start point of someone who bought one in a thread about the Aoyue 474A+ (another clone), so more info about the BlackJack is there. http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=121330&page=2

I use the Aoyue 474A+, and I love it.

It's done thousands upon thousands of repairs for me, and I've never had any issue other than me being lazy about cleaning it some times. I second the multiple funnel springs and the filter replacements. I am in the habit now of spreading silicone lubricant on the funnel spring when I clean it and insert it. I found that it does drip for a few seconds when the iron first heats up, but makes removing cold solder from the spring so much easier in the end.

I see, I thought maybe it worked like a solder pump and iron as opposed to a vacuum method, as you described and the 808 works.

Homemade desoldering tool:

http://www.eham.net/articles/28930

How much does a Hakko 808 cost ?

I use solder/desolder stations with handpieces. Professional type equipment, but outlasts and outperforms the guns all day long. The Aoyue 474A I saw referenced in a prior post looked interesting and a nice hybrid at a good price. I use Xytronic (not x-tronic) and Pace with good results. I do this for a living, and the more difficult reworks are almost impossible with a one piece gun. YMMV.
Tim

Thought it might be worth mentioning that the Aoyue 474A+ is a clone of the Hakko 474, and can use the same replacement filters/springs/etc... It makes it easier to find replacements sometimes. I got lucky and found the spring and filters in bulk and got 50 of each. Sometimes I just toss the spring instead of cleaning it if I open it and it looks like a bitch.

Hakko 808, combined with Weller adjustable temperature station and some copper wick here and there.

I use the new Hakko FR-300. I like the on off switch, easy adjusting temp, and cord long enough to reach.

"I've heard OK things about Ayoyue, but never used them myself. Here's one of their stations, under $100"
amazon.com link

Problem is with shipping it's about $200.

I bought my Hakko 808 a year ago and was eager to use it. Turns out I didn't have to and since then I haven't needed it. It's been an expensive good luck charm for me....

It wasn't always that expensive. I've had my 474 A+ for about 4 years now and it works great for the price. I paid $132 shipped back then.

If mine fails I will probably invest in a Pace. I got to use one a few years ago and it is the nicest desoldering tool I have ever used.

I have a Pace Soldering/Desoldering station. Used them when I was in the Navy. Got this one a couple of years ago NIB on eBay. Person selling it didn't know what they had. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Please search for the Hakko 808 group buy before purchasing. You'll thank me, then go on a shopping spree with the savings.

No, I don't have any connections with the people doing the group buy, just a lot cheaper than all of sources I found and great service.

I have both a Pace MBT 250 and a Hakko 808.

The Pace is set up on the workbench while the Hakko is available for service calls.

Got one of these used and gets very hot but does a poor job of pulling the solder out of PCB's. I wonder if I have a poor gun? I've cleaned it but the inside and everything there's to clean.

Any opinions/thoughts/comments and experience on the Hakko 472 desolder station?

old thread I know...but FINALLY, finally, I think I need to get a desolder gun. I'm soooo sick of doing desolder work and it being a pita. I don't do it often but when I do need to do it, it usually is a bigger job and what a pain in the buttski's.

Thinking of a hakko fr-301 or a Aoyue 8800. Both are self contained units, which would be nice for storage and travel to friends houses etc. Aoyue is ~$150 and the hakko is ~$250.

reading reviews it sounds like these all can get clogged/plugged etc. any tips to run them? I see wolf said to spay silicon lube on the funnel.

Use a cleaning pin every so often to help keep the nozzle clear. They are sized for each specific nozzle. Example:

https://hakkousa.com/catalog/product/view/id/6933/category/39/

Make sure you at least clear the nozzle before turning off of desoldering gun, otherwise you might have a problem later once the old solder cools off.

If there is really an impossible clog, there are small drill bits to break apart the clog--again, sized for each nozzle:

https://hakkousa.com/catalog/product/view/id/7005/category/39/

Although I only have the bit for the smallest nozzle. I haven't had trouble with the larger ones getting impossibly clogged.

If you don't want to jump into the 200$ range, get this. Works great.
ebay.com link: Pro Digital Desoldering Rework Station ZD 915 480 Iron Gun Built in Vacuum Pump

I bought the Hakko 301 based on input on this thread.
Just used it on System 80 board.
Worth every penny.
I used the 5% discount and saved on the sales tax. Free shipping.
I have been doing hobby pinball board work since 2007. Wish i bought this then.
Onto WPC89.....

I was just working on a wpc and I can’t handle the solder sucker anymore. It just isn’t worth it.

Where did you order yours? Amazon is ~$245

Yes. TE equipment. $245 free shipping.
There is a code in this thread for5% off.

I use this Denon desoldering gun.

It's a Denon Instruments Company of Japan branded desoldering gun. I can't imagine how old it must be, but the damn thing works like an absolute champ. I used it recently to pull a U25 chip for NVRAM replacement, and it made the work pretty painless.

1a2194a3381eac56d3d498b6b68673f768d3b3f6 (resized).jpg

I scrolled through but didn’t see the code for 5% at TE, do you by chance remember it?

I went looking for it and could not find it.
Try: hakko5