Desoldering tool

It is a tool for desoldering (multi leg) electronic components with 3 or more pins.
Theory behind this project is fairly simple. Dissolved solder in heated container heats all contacts of electronic component placed together with PCB on this tool. All you have to do is remove component from PCB with pliers or with tweezers. So with this device you can easily desolder 25 pin LPT conector from 2 sided PCB.

Original article on my site here

Step 1: Can selection

First find some tin can, like this one from the picture.

Comments

[faacuunndoo]

You should use a hot iron, works pretty well.

[tom311571]

I know lead is not a good thing to have in your system. Isn't that the most dangerous part? "fumes"

[tom311571]

I know lead is not a good thing to have in your system. Isn't that the most dangerous part? "fumes"

[ddrdan]

Just pick up a cheap $15 deep fat fryer at Walmart. Mod the top of the plastic case and file off the 400 degree thermostats limit stop. Takes a while to heat up, but it's "Safe" and effective. You can use pieces of lead to fill the pot and minimize the solder quantity needed.

PS: And you can use the basket strainer that comes with it in a stove top pot if you "want fries with that". LOL

[sconner1]

Industrial soldering methods at home. cool. I mean Hot!
I agree this is a severe burn and fire hazard.
One might set this apparatus into a shallow cake pan or deep cookie sheet to catch spills. Attach the legs to the pan with epoxy to avoid tipping it over.

[alexanderm]

Great idea! Thanks for the Ible!

While i'm not keen on the use of this for desoldering SMD components, as it isn't usable on just a single component (it would mess up the solder on other components), could easily overheat the components, and i don't care for the integral instability, it offers inspiration! i think i might use the idea to create a solder pot. For the uninitiated, a solder pot is useful for tinning, amongst other things.

Some suggestions for upgrading: Use a ceramic container, placing the coil with ceramic standoffs in the bottom, and the can on top of the coil. This would waste less heat/energy, and allow for tabletop placement. The supply wires could be run through the side of the ceramic container. The ceramic container could be cut down to size for your use.

For those asking about the volume used, the more solder used, the more constant the heat retention. If the container is insulated, the volume of solder used, could be significantly reduced. This would also reduce spill danger.

[pfred2]

Professional pots, one of which I happen to own, are made out of metal. I think you might run into problems with a ceramic container if the rates of expansion varied while heating up. The last thing you want to have happen is to have a large amount of molten solder running all over the place if the vessel you held it in broke!

[qualia]

I believe if he has enough sense to use a ceramic insulator around the steel can he would also have enough sense to allow some space as an expansion joint. i dont think there would be an infinitesimal enough range of sizes of preformed ceramic containers or dishes to actually acheive a press fit for a standard tin can anyway so i believe the average joe would opt to buy/scrounge the next size up.

Are you absolutely sure your solder bath is not sheet metal around some sort of solid ceramic or ceramic fibre insulation with the heating element/s (nichrome, resonant coil) only heating a specific area? If it fails to have a refractory material i think your professional pot may not be so professional, in the economy of energy/resources sense.

Not that i disrespect you and your fancy equipment or anything. It was wise of you to warn others of the dangers of molten metal if anyone else who misread that comment as you did would actually construct a solder bath based on that principle, with no steel liner/crucible and a heating element on the wrong side of the refractory, possibly with the intention of insulating it from the molten solder.. good intentions....

[pfred2]

I have an esico solder pot. I am absolutely sure it is made out of solid cast iron. The name plate on it is some kind of sheet metal. I should have called it a commercial industrial solder pot I suppose.

What gap is between the solder and the vessel that holds it?

When you have a mass of molten metal, even lead well, I guess you just have to be there I suppose to fully appreciate the kind of hazard it presents. When dealing with non metallic crucibles you're never supposed to heat them up with solidified material in them. It is a common safety procedure I was merely pointing out.

[qualia]

yeah apologies for that rude comment i left last night, i was pissed off at my probation officer and i was tired and i took it out on the haves. still i'm fairly sure that post wasnt mentioning a non metallic crucible, just a refractory container to maintain heat in the metallic crucible (steel can).

[pfred2]

I'll accept, just to be gracious, but no harm, so no foul. My solder pot doesn't have any insulation, it just has 800 Watts of heating goodness. It does take it some time to come up to temperature though. I never timed it but I usually think in terms of say 40 minutes? It probably heats up faster than that, but when I plan on using it I plug it in then go do something else for a while. You know what they say, a watched pot never boils!

As far as maintaining heat goes once it goes molten after I shut it down I just leave it where it is until the next day. It takes a lot longer to cool down than it does to heat up.

[jpoopdog]

Has anyone gotten this to work with 24v? or 75v?
I have discovered that old Christmas light transformers are an excellent source of power, many supply between 75-150VA, which can be considered a bit higher than the respective wattage. im currently experimenting though.

Making the bottom airtight, and using less solder in the pots, would make melting time shorter. and the whole thing more energy efficient. also , im not certain, but i do beleive sandwiching the nichrome between two mica sheets is a suitable way insulate electrically, and transfer maximum heat.

Also, ive heard that pushing low frequency audio sounds through the molten solder helps it melt, as well as become more runny.
Anyone heard of this?

[SharpyWarpy]

Hi damirvk and thank you very much for sharing your solder pot build.
I built this using your directions with a couple of differences. I don't have any of the light duty heating element, only some out of an old 220v clothes dryer. I couldn't get the math right -- the old grey head ain't what it used to be -- so I experimented with different voltages starting with 12v. I used an old microwave oven transformer for power. I cut off the secondary winding of said transformer and wound it for 12v, which as those experienced with these transformers know requires 12 windings, one per output volt. I kept adding windings until I had 16v, which got the element nice and red. I used fairly closely wound element inside the ceramic insulators. I didn't bother with converting to DC. I have lots of lead in my junk pile (I love my junk pile) and used some of that and half a spool of old acid core solder. The unit takes the same amount of time as yours to heat up the solder to a liquid state. The liquid is beautiful and fun to watch and play around with. I use an old spoon to skim off dross. I keep the pot well away from the edge of the table so spills are not a big problem.

[damirvk]

Hi
I am very glad that you like my build.
Also you made clever modifications that will help future builders.

BR
Damir

[SharpyWarpy]

Here are some pics of the solder pot I built using your instructions. Thanks again. I have wanted one of these for a couple of years but never knew quite where to start.

[jpoopdog]

wow, that is either very thick wire, or a tiny little pot.

[damirvk]

Nice work.
Quite bigger pot than my.
tnx for pics

[Rainh2o]

Why use this to remove a component? I remove and replace 3-100 pin components regularly with a scope, a fine pointed dental pick and a nice solder iron. The only thing I ever use a solder pot for is tinning large amounts of wire leads or larger legged components. I think you would risk created solder shorts with this. just my opinion. Nice project for making a solder pot or any other pot for heating things though!

[pfred2]

I use a solder pot to strip parts off scrap circuit boards. It isn't a technique designed for rework. A lot of folks seem to have difficulties realizing that scrapping and reworking are two different things. When I am scrapping a board I could care less about the board itself. It is garbage!

[techno guy]

Won't the heat kill I.C.'s if you use this to remove them and then plan to reuse them?

[pfred2]

You're going to kill a lot more components playing with one lead at a time than if you can pull it out quickly all at once.

[damirvk]

If you quickly remove component heat won't kill her
80% of components desoldered this way are reusable.

[pfred2]

My success rate is somewhat higher over 90% The few I do lose I'm probably better off not using anyways.

[qualia]

*flourishing bow*

[pfred2]

I saw a video recently of component scavenging going on in China and all the guy had was a dished piece of sheet metal over a heat source, with molten lead pooled on it. He was banging away! If I'd seen that before I got my solder pot well, maybe things would be different here today?

[zack247]

a ic that would burn up from soldering temps probably isnt worth reusing.

[pfred2]

Every semiconductor ever made can be destroyed by heat. The typical rating is 300C for 10 seconds. Notice that the time the heat is applied is a factor. The component would probably be much better off at 400C for 2 seconds too. That is how I work, hot and fast.

Generally I won't heat anything when I am soldering longer than 3 seconds. Once that time has elapsed I stop, wait for what I am doing to cool, and figure out what is going wrong.

[LaserDave]

My biggest fear with using salvaged parts comes from building them into a circuit and getting either random heat-induced malfunctioning, or death a few weeks after the circuit has been put into service. Most parts ARE degraded to some degree from non-controlled reheating which causes diminished performance or even premature failure.

A more reliable way of doing this is by preheating the board to 120C for 10 minutes or so prior to the solder dip to reduce the thermal shock. But that's not always practical or even possible.

The most reliable and simplest way of doing this is by using hot-air. It is almost instant heat, uses FAR less power, leaves no molten metal around to dump in your lap, and is as easy to handle as a soldering iron. Hot-air will also allow you to do repair work too by varying the temperature, it will let you do reflow soldering when using a solder paste on the pads (just put the part on the paste and the hot-air causes it to automatically solder the part with perfect joints). This also makes it a great heat-shrink tool because there is no flame to degrade the plastic tubing, so this one device can by used for so many things - and they are sold for around $75 online. (Check ebay)

They come in many configurations at a variety of prices. The full-featured one I bought has variable heat and variable airflow - but it also has a variable temp soldering-iron, and even a 1A variable-voltage DC power supply too. These are typically called a "rework station", but for the purpose of recovering parts you would not need such a "fancy" item. Incidentally, the price of it was only around $150 and included several types of soldering tips, several shapes of air nozzles, a solder reel and an soldering-iron holder. Also there is an airflow indicator (vertical tube with floating ball), and six digital LED readout displays for the various functions so you can monitor exactly what is going on.

Originally I bought one of the basic units to transfer SMD parts from my older-design boards into the new version boards, but the tool has been used for at least a dozen other things - I cannot believe I worked without one for so long.

[VidDroog]

Thank you, did not realize they were so capable and versatile...

[pfred2]

Thank you for letting me know about your experiences with your hot air station. I tend to avoid several things you mention, such as, ebay, reflow, and SMT. None of that is congruent with me. As for the rest, I'm managing with equipment I already possess.

[LaserDave]

Well, I'm afraid that I wasn't directing my comment at you, but rather attaching it to one of the more recent segments of the thread. As you can see, I was careful to add a lot of detail so that other readers could benefit from what I wrote.

Mentioning eBay was not a suggestion to *purchase* from eBay , but rather as a catalogue to see what sorts of items are available, what they're formally called and what brand names to look for. (hence the "check eBay" rather than "buy it off eBay") I rarely buy from eBay, I find that it makes a great catalogue for things you may not know exist, or simply not know the names of. Many people I know use it for that purpose, due in part to the great search engine capabilities.

So yeah, I'm not suggesting that *you* buy anything. I was explaining what worked for ME, and what techniques I found helpful. I'm sure someone out there reading it would have found something to be "congruent" to them, in one way or another.

[pfred2]

I'm sorry but you did reply to me. Next time check the top of the page for a comments link if you do not wish to address me.

[LaserDave]

Oh, don't worry about that...I've certainly learned the lesson of not trying to attach my comment to other relevant comments with similar dates.
Please accept my deepest apologies for such transgressions, I don't know where my lapse of judgment came from but it won't be repeated. GFS

[jgosselin]

would love to know where to get these insulators. they are as far as i can tell non-existent around where i live.

[jpoopdog]

one last thing, your calculation is way off. in the way it is formatted
it should be like this ↓

Rt = U² / P
= 30² / 100
= 900 / 100
= 9 Ohms

the way you have it, it looks like

Rt= U (²/P=30) 2/100 = 900/100 = 9 ohms
saying that it Rt is U to the power of 2 / P which for some reason = 30.
Anyway, it confused me, im sur eit might do so to others.

[jpoopdog]

whoops, sorry to double post, but i thought ide just say that i am going to make an alteration of this design. which uses a small tap (also heated) in order to drain the molten contents out, preferably for smelting/casting lead, and in my case, zinc.

Ill publish an instructable on it, but ill be sure to give full credits for everything ill be copying from here, or rather basing my design from anyway.

[jpoopdog]

The stand is meerly an improvisation, im sure any Regular person who doesnt know what their doing, unlike our friend damirvk here, would understand that they dont know how to do this safely, and would go ahead and build this either just sitting on the ground, or on a peice of sheet metal, or as logic would forgo, a sliced section of the can, and the can lid (or another bottom of the can), which could be linked with the bolt.

This guy obviousy knows the limitations of his creation, and the dangers.
besides, your heating element, if from a hair dryer , wouldnt last that long, since it is very hot, and is exposed to open air, actually litterally sucking in air and blowing it out if you had thermal imaging technologies you could see it better.
It would be best if the whole thing were incased in something, which would not only increase its heat, making it more efficient, but it would also last very long, as it would not oxidize, as much.

Great work though! im gonna build one jsut like this, hopefully able to reach in excess of 500 celcius! as i need to smelt zinc.

[jgosselin]

from the pictures it looks as though you've filled the entire can with solder? and is the pc board you use in the example touching that melted solder directly? sorry if i seem noobish but i'm just getting into the parts scavenging phase of reuse and if parts just come off like that i am in love with the process.

[Wo0kiE]

You wouldn't believe me if I told you how long I have been trying to come up with such a solution!

Very good thinking!

[Electorials]

It's a nice idea! Seems to work great also, but I would be afraid for pushing down the can. It would create such a terrible (and maybe painful) mess!

[damirvk]

I agree, if you spill hot solder you can hurt yourself badly, so measures against that must be taken. Consider my build just as a concept. Every solder pot must be fastened on something heavy to avoid spilling.

[orangetj]

like your ex? :P

[anonymouse197]

Hahahaha...




creepy :P

[Electorials]

huh?

[orangetj]

i was infering that the project can cause similar damage and or mess as ones ex girlfriend/boyfrieng just in a different sort of pain and mess

[static]

Me I use a propane torch to met the solder, and give the board a sharp rap while holding it component side down, and they fall out.

[PKM]

Ye gods, how much solder did you use for that? I'd be incredibly worried about having half a cupful of molten metal on a wire stand on my table- we've seen what McDonalds coffee can do to people, imagine spilling this O_O That said, this does look like a decent technique if you had to do a lot of parts- for the occasional desoldering job I'd prefer an iron and braid or a solder pump, but I can imagine doing a hundred like that would get tedious. I'd still worry about exactly what I was breathing, though, and how long that solder will last before accumulating too much oxide slag etc. on the surface.

[static]

You would n'tbe heating the metal to the point it would be giving off gas. Unless you use a bunch of flux core solder to to fill, in that gas let tr off gas in well ventilated place bore using it. I'm not so sure what exactly the author used, but there is something called body solder, which is bars of the solder alloy with no flux, often used in body world where craftsmen desire to avoid plastic filler. Stained glass artist us similar solder. Also the welding supply store may carry babbit, that's a lead alloy.

[zack247]

i once desoldered a printer, 2 power supplies and a pc motherboard in about 2 hours. my hands started to cramp up from holding the iron and to make it worse i dont have a solder pump or braid. as for fumes, use a case fan, hook it up to 12v, and t as a fume extractor.

i  noticed one of the goodies from power supplies are the ac to dc converters, then i can finally harness the power that is 18v AC!

[damirvk]

You must be very careful, spilling this can be very dangerous. When you are finished with desoldering take peace of wire and scrap off dirt from top. Good remark, maybe I should take video of that proces and put it here.

[ironsmiter]

I'd consider making that pot 1/4 the height. You should still have plenty of heat in all that mass, to do a bunch of de-chipping, before you have to wait for more heat. With less weight, it's even less likely to tip over. You get to use less solder(meaning cheaper). And it'll take less time to heat up in the first place, making for a faster time-to-use. Finally... I'd make TWO pots. One for old or unknown solder, and one for niosh lead free solder. That way, you can maintain your personal "lead free" sticker status :-) Just make sure to clearly label them.

[zack247]

i dont think they make solder with lead in it anymore, that stuff is from the 90's, and it heats up really fast, so this method is really only needed for the bigger components

[ironsmiter]

hehe, they most certainly DO still make lead based solders.
Just do a google or amazon search for 60/40 solder, and you'll see.

it's not USED much in new electronics, but you can bet it's still all over the place. Less so, if you're in europe.

[izidor7]

Listen  You don't need to use lead free solder... the industy does!!!!

Cuz you probably won't be producing  1 000 000 000 tons of electronic's so the posible fiew promils of lead in the solder is quite a bit... but concidering for home use.. you can use with the lead!!! 

for this project you can go to the shop and buy the solder 35%Sn and else lead... i bought like 0.1 kg and it's expencive!!!! 

The best thing will be to buy fiew kilos of lead... pure lead!!! cuz molten led is at higher temperature then you need to mult the Sn!!! 

Concidering this medod of desoldering can be used for deloldering slots.. with >50 joints.. and that are through the whole... this method can also be used for heating up boards... but you could easily use a cloethes iron or a stove plate!!!! they are safer for usage.... cuz you can't get fried with moltem netal.. that easilly!!!!!! 

Salvegiing SMD parts should be done wiht a heat blower.... I have the Macita.. heat blower.. and it has thempertaure regulation... and can give like 2000W... so that is quite nice for this! and shouldn't be done at too large temps cuz you DON'T WHANT TO FRUY THE ELECTRONICS!

As for the "bath tub" of lead... you should be alwas using flux!!!!! beacause with it all the joint's will be melted momenterelly and  the componen'ts won't suffer !!!! (slot)

[izidor7]

you can buy the lead at your local metal depo!!! 

the lead should be relly cheep.... 

While we talk about cheep .. the cheepest would be to buy separate Pb and Sn and mult them together and make you own solder... you wolud get it cheeper... maybe i'll make an insgurctable... about how to strec the thing into a whire!!! 

[jcoronel]

Very good work. Congratulations!!

[TheRealPeregrinus]

Very cool.

[pfred2]

Neat. I have one of these myself:

[damirvk]

Nice build.
tnx for sharing

[pfred2]

It would have been had I made it. My solder pot is an Esico model #37 though

[TekoMuto]

could always use a tuna can instead of cutting one

[nedim155]

zasto bas bug mogao si stavit gameplay ispod toga a ne bug :)

[damirvk]

lllooolll
bas steta, nazalost nasao se pri ruci

[nedim155]

pozdrav iz bosne damire

[damirvk]

Oooo ima tu i nasih ljudi. Pozdrav

[zack247]

2 questions:
1: would it work if i just used the lid of the can? or does the solder  take off the solder on the pcb?
2: if solder is required, where did you obtain so much?

[ironsmiter]

it's the solder. the mass of molten solder quickly heats up the solder joint, while surface tension wicks away excess solder after the part has been removed.

I dunno where he got his bits of solder, but I find massive amounts of lead based solder in old cast-iron pipe. My last batch came from a neighbors plumbing remodel. The lead found its way into cast ingots for future projects, the cast iron was donated to the local college's art school for their cast-iron sculpture class.

[juanoporras]

nice instructable, but the can could be a little bit shorter so you dont have to melt all that solder. also I believe that you can solder with this tool, am I right?
from what I know, in big factories and assembly lines the PCBs go throu something like this to solder all the components at once.

thanks for sharing.

[zack247]

they do, i saw it on how its made

[damirvk]

 Yes can could be a little shorter, but not too much to avoid quick cool down of solder.
I did not use it for soldering but i think it is posibile as you described.

BR
Damir

[izidor7]

The industry solders like this.. so it's perfect....  the board must be silk screened.. like these electronics...   the mass production solders like this

watch this 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmY3j6zEMLE
everithiing is clear.    at last the first two minutes : - )

I'm going to make one of these.. but for another project...  :-)

I need to desolder and solder ( replace ) the Pci-e slot on a motherboard..  and this method is the best.. for that kinda work.. certenly i'll truy this out.. but i won't be using the can.. I'll be using the shape I nedd. for this... 

Ps.. can the parts sink down??? i guess they should float on the top...   so that's great for desoldering smd's also.. you just need to fish out the pieces.. 
:-/

[juanoporras]

for desoldering SMDs (if you want tho use them later) I recommend you use a heat gun, cause if they fall into the melted tin, it is most likely that they are going to get fried. so at the end you will have a deep fried chip :P

Juan

[zack247]

lol you just reminded me about how my friend was nagging me to add a ram slot to one of his motherboards!

[izidor7]

But Why the poor BUG???

P.S.
Jel si bas moral BUG-a deti ispod????  Kaj je bilo tak lose izdanje??? 

[Scurge]

Dude, this is awesome! I was just complaining about the mistake I made soldering up the arduino wave shield (soldered the connector pins in the wrong holes.. have to de-solder 20 pins).

[Scurge]

well, just watched the vid. dunno if this would be a good choice for repairs, but it is a great idea for parts scroungin!

[lemonie]

!A cup of molten metal, spilling this isn't good (I know), but the whole thing is just great. L

[damirvk]

Pictures and video are taken in early stage of development and testing, and I have written these article more to show the principle of device. Later device is mounted on heavy metal plate (about 6 kg, diameter cca 40cm) that just can not be flipped over, so spilling hot solder is impossible. Even it is possible to fill the plate with water to cool down the solder instantly if it is spilled, but I never used these and there is no need. I will take some pictures of finished soldering pot and put them on my site when I catch some time.

[lemonie]

Super - thanks for the update. L

[mattthegamer463]

When you shut it off, can you just turn it back on and the solder will re-melt after it heats up, or what?

[damirvk]

Yes of course. It take some time to heat again, but you can use it forever.

[mattthegamer463]

Thanks. How long does it take for yours to re-melt all the solder?

[damirvk]

cca 10 min.

[Decepticon]

This is really cool and very useful! I would just clean up some wording/spelling errors. You may also want to explain how the connection block is attached. Otherwise great instructable!

[damirvk]

tnx, feel free to fix errors.

[Bongmaster]

thats pretty kool but u would need alot of solder for it :S i assume the can could be made shallower.. so not so much solder is needed (for those who dont have that much solder waste)

[damirvk]

Yes it could be made shallower if you want to save solder