[Boatanchors] HAKKO 808 Desoldering Gun

[Grant Youngman]

While I was actively doing boatanchor restoration I used my 808 constantly.  You have to keep it clean, and sometimes some wick was required to clear the last bits of solder from a terminal, etc.  It never even occurred to me to use it on a sensitive circuit board or component, for which an ESD-safe iron and solder sucker are the tools of choice.

The newer FR-301 supposedly has additional suction capability, faster temperature recovery,  and is less prone to clogging.  There is also a wider variety of tips available to serve various needs, including a larger oval tip that looks good for getting out those kit-built over exuberant solder blobs that always seem to be present.  It’s been on my to-buy list of replacement tools for a while.

Grant NQ5T

> On Jun 24, 2020, at 11:27 AM, Ken Kaplan <krkaplan at cox.net> wrote:
> 
> Yep I've had similar problems getting a pad hot enough. That's why I suggest preheating the board. I use a good old & cheap Harbor Freight hot air gun. Also use firm pressure when placing the Hakko tip on a pad. Even then it sometimes helps to wiggle the component while unsoldering so the part lead is less likely to stick to the sides of the plate thru hole. Even after all of that, I've had to stick my Weller tip in the hole on one side of the board and the Hakko on the other to totally clear solder from the hole.
> 
> I've also used Soldapult tools. They work well but I've often had problems with the solder cooling before I could the the tip in position for a pull.
> 
> Ken
> 
> On 6/24/2020 4:09 AM, Paul Christensen wrote:
>> The only problem I encounter with the Hakko 808 is that it often fails to
>> remove all solder when trying to de-solder a component from a PC board
>> ground pad - sometimes even with thermal pads that isolate from the ground
>> pour.