Desoldering Station - Cleaning the barrel

Cleaning the barrel desoldering gun
RhinoTools.com.au

Category:

Education

Tags:

• desoldering
• station
• gun
• vacuum
• braid
• rhino
• tools
• rhinotools
• rhinotools.com.au
• australia

[Mentorcase]

After a good session of use I will remove the spring from the barrel and stand it up on the bench with the pointy end up, then poke the tip of the soldering iron in the hole at the top and hold it there for about a minute till the spring gets hot enough and all the collected solder just falls out onto the bench. Works a treat at getting all the solder out but is not hot enough to damage the spring temper and chrome finish.

[cimbian]

I use this same gun on a similar station (D00672) and generally it is okay, but suction get lost very easily.

Ditto the comments about the spring getting clogged. Because I have a good cleaning routine I have confidence in the filter in the gun so have removed the filter in the station to improve air-flow.

Aside from this it has been a good buy and has saved me transatlantic shipping costs to be able to effect repairs locally in the UK (and so shortened turn-around time for my customers).

[studiochap]

Apply it to the O ring in the butt of the iron ( against which the removable tube sits, and on the rubber seal at the front end of the black tube, I found 350 degrees was a good temperature for general work involving leaded solder. Putting a weight ( metal etc) inside the removable iron stand will improve the stability and hence safety if you want to use the stand away from the station. Tips need replacing when the tip hole enlarges and suction is lost. I would buy one of these tools again.

[studiochap]

 At the rear end of the tube is a white filter - this also can get clogged in the middle with solder which has got through the end of the spring. You must also keep the barrel clean with the supplied tools. If the barrel chokes solidly with solder , you might need to drill it out ( overseas suppliers of this tool sometimes include a drill bit with their versions. Using silicone grease will maximise the seal and hence the suction.

[studiochap]

I've used this exact tool heavily while re-capping a mixing console. It's a great buy for the price, considering the cost of Weller etc. But cleaning involves more than is shown here. The solder is collected inside the black cylinder around a spring that is in there. The hole at the end of the spring gets clogged with solder, at whioch point suction will be lost. This solder often needs to be melted with a soldering iron tip before it can be removed.