[sdiy] Vacuum Desoldering Station

[Pavel Kirkovsky]

The design of that desoldering station is weird. You have a pump and
heat so why not make it a hot air station? I don't recommend buying
it.

Look into an Aoyue 968 (hot air, soldering station, vacuum pickup
tool) or 850A (hot air only). There is also the 906 model, which has
air + vacuum but no digital temp readout or vacuum indicator
(dealbreakers for me). The irons on these things are of poor quality,
so have a reliable iron handy.

Aoyue stations have been reviewed on numerous forums and websites
(Sparkfun is a fan):
http://hackaday.com/2009/02/20/tools-aoyue-968-3-in-1-soldering-and-rework-station/
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=36&page=1

I also own a Hakko 808 and would recommend it for removing larger
through-hole components, but not for long-term use or tight spaces. My
808 is mostly used for pulling components for salvage or removing
heavy items such as  soldered heatsinks and transformers.

The 808 is LOUD! It's like a jackhammer, but it gets the job done. You
will get fatigue when doing big jobs due to the weight and center of
mass (top heavy).
One minor gripe: there is no power switch. You have to unplug the gun
to turn it off, and there's no easy way to set it down temporarily. I
modified mine with a power switch and a cheapo iron holder.

The 968 can be purchased here (lowest to highest price):
http://is.gd/bdspb (apparently the official US distributor)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HDG0AO
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=76

Pavel