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I used to laugh at people buying desoldering stations until I tried one on a 12-layer board in Detroit | Electronics Repairers - Babble Community

riley43•3mo ago

I used to laugh at people buying desoldering stations until I tried one on a 12-layer board in Detroit

After fighting with braid and a solder sucker for three hours on that industrial control board I finally borrowed a Hakko FR-301 and finished the whole job in 20 minutes flat, has anyone else been converted after swearing by the cheap methods for years?

3 comments

3 Comments

vera5143mo ago

Twenty minutes is optimistic unless the board was preheated. I've used that same Hakko on a 12-layer board and it still took me about 45 minutes with a hot plate underneath to get the ground planes to let go. The braid can be slower, but if you put a fat tip on your iron and use the good name-brand stuff like Chemtronics or MG Chemicals, it's not always that bad. What kind of components were you pulling off that control board?

taylor.hayden3mo ago

Wait, did you have any trouble with the thermal relief pads on that board? Not to change the subject too much, but @vera514 you're totally right about the preheat making a huge difference. I had a buddy who tried to desolder a big power supply board without any preheat, and he ended up lifting a trace on the ground plane. He was using the same Hakko iron too, said it took forever and the board wouldn't stop soaking up heat. He finally gave up and used a hot air station with some flux, and that did the trick in like 15 minutes. I guess it really depends on what you're taking off, like you said.

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jamesf413mo ago

That Hakko is definitely a game changer compared to braid or a sucker, no argument there. But I gotta push back on the 45 minute thing with a hot plate. If you need a hot plate and it still takes 45 minutes, something else is going on with your technique or your tip selection. I've done plenty of 12 and 14 layer boards with the FR-301 and never needed any extra heat source underneath. The trick is to use a bigger tip than you think you need and let the gun sit on the joint for a good five to ten seconds before pulling the trigger. Rushing it is what makes it take forever. Also, dirty tips ruin everything. Clean your tip after every few joints with brass wool, it makes a huge difference. Maybe that board had a giant copper pour that was just soaking up all the heat, but I still think 45 minutes is way too long for that tool.