How to Use a Desoldering Pump

Written By: Arthur Shi
  • Comments: 3
How to Use a Desoldering Pump

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

4

Time Required

30 seconds - 2 minutes

Introduction

A desoldering pump (or solder sucker) is a handy tool that sucks molten solder. You can use it to desolder through-hole components on a circuit board or to rework bad solder joints.

This guide shows how to use and clean iFixit’s desoldering pump. You may need to use some soldering wick to clean up any solder remnants—follow this guide on how to use soldering wick.

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    • If this is your first time using a desoldering pump, try priming and activating the pump a few times before you use it for desoldering purposes.

    • Firmly grasp the desoldering pump with your hand.

    • Depress the plunger until it locks in place.

    • This primes the spring-loaded piston for suction.

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    • To activate the pump, press the black side button.

    • This releases the spring-loaded piston, which creates a burst of suction at the nozzle.

    • The piston release creates a substantial kickback. Brace your hand when you use the pump to keep the nozzle steady.

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    • Do not use the desoldering pump to desolder joints near small surface-mounted (SMT) components. The heat spillover and suction may dislodge the SMT components.

    • Prime the desoldering pump by depressing the plunger.

    • Heat the solder joint until the solder is liquified. To help with heat transfer, add some solder onto the soldering iron's tip.

    • Position the pump's nozzle as close to the molten solder as possible.

    • The nozzle is made of heat-resistant plastic, so don't worry if you occasionally brush the tip with it.

    • Press the side button to activate the pump.

    • Repeat the process until the joint is clean. You can also use solder wick to help soak up any remnant solder.

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    • To clean the pump, prime and activate the pump a few times. This pushes a rod through the nozzle and ensures that solder doesn't block it.

    • On the rare occasion when the pump needs a more thorough cleaning, you can disassemble the pump to clean it out:

    • Grasp the nozzle by its knurled edge.

    • Twist the nozzle counter-clockwise to unscrew it. This may be difficult due to a tight-fitting O-ring.

    • Remove the nozzle and clean out the pump interior.

    I hadn’t used my pump for a while so it wasn’t zooming up the tube like it used to (despite numerous tries). So, I simply unscrewed the nozzle and dripped a bit of fine oil into the tube. I replaced it and operated it a couple of times…BINGO….best it ever worked. I was totally surprised and glad I didn’t have to buy a replacement. BTW - I happened to have some Starrett tool oil on hand and that’s what I used. Any thin oil should be fine and you don’t need very much.

    Keith Piercey -

    That’s a great tip Keith!

    Arthur Shi -

Conclusion

For soldering instructions and tips, follow this guide.

Author

Arthur Shi

Member since: 03/01/18

263396 Reputation

One comment

Good review, but I’ve found that these small solder suckers don’t do a very good job. The much larger “Soldapult” (https://www.edsyn.com/product/DS017.html) provides much more suction and can often completely clear a joint in one use.

shamino -