[Elecraft] Hakko 808 Desoldering Gun - A couple more hints

[Don Brown]

Hi

Been using Hakko solder desoldering guns for 20 years and I have found WD-40
works quite well to clean the glass tube, denatured (wood) alcohol will work
also as you have found out.

BTY the Hakko is still the best way I have found to strip toroid leads. Just
stick it lead into the nozzle add a little solder wait about 20 seconds and
pull the trigger. Works every time.

Don Brown

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Hammond N�SS" <n0ss@earthlink.net>
To: <elecraft@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 3:44 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Hakko 808 Desoldering Gun - A couple more hints


> Hi folks...
>
> Tip #1
>
>    Having owned my Hakko 808 desoldering gun for about a year now,
>    I've found that it's just about impossible(!) to see into the
>    (once) clear plastic 'catch' tube, which becomes badly clouded
>    by rosin fumes and all sorts of other 'crud' from desoldering.
>
>    I'd originally tried to (gently) scrape away the solder bits
>    and darkened residue which covered the inside of the tube, but
>    I didn't have much luck at all and I didn't want to exert much
>    force because the LAST thing I wanted to do was to scratch the
>    inside of the tube, thus giving the crud an even better place
>    to attach to.
>
>    Today I SOLVED my problems completely!!! And it was a LOT
>    easier than I'd have ever thought it would be...
>
>    I was cleaning some heavy deposits of burnt rosin from the
>    bottom of a PC board I was servicing. I used denatured (wood)
>    alcohol to dissolve the rosin and then wash it (with more
>    alcohol) off the board. I decided to dampen a piece of paper
>    towel and see if there was any chance at all that I could do
>    the same trick with the 808's solder catch tube.
>
>    WOW! What results.
>
>    Almost instantly, I was able to clean off ALL of the residue on
>    the inside of the catch tube. It looks like new! I had a couple
>    more stubborn spots, so I left the alcohol-saturated paper
>    towel laying against these two spots for about 20 seconds and
>    then I wiped... off they came, and with no effort whatsoever.
>
>    I suspect that Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol would work as well,
>    though I have not tried it.
>
> Tip #2
>
>    The final (ceramic paper) filter at the back of the Hakko 808
>    catch tube becomes heavily covered with the residue of the
>    rosin which is vaporized as you suck each solder joint clean.
>    After cleaning a few hundred solder joints, this
>    (originally white) filter is not either very dark gray or even
>    black. You would normally throw it away and replace it with
>    another one.
>
>    However, you can gently rinse it out in denatured alcohol and
>    then in a small amount of CLEAN alcohol, allow it to dry, and
>    then replace it for further use.
>
>    I suspect there's a limit to the number of uses one can get
>    from this filter, but it should be good for at least another
>    5-6 rounds of use.
>
>    When you rinse the filter out, be careful to only squeeze it
>    between its flat sides, to ensure that it stays together and
>    does not fall apart.
>
>    BE SURE TO ALLOW THE FILTER TO DRY COMPLETELY before you
>    reinstall it...! You certainly do NOT want liquid alcohol
>    present in the vacuum pump!!!
>
> Tip #3
>
>    I may have mentioned this one before, but it's worth
>    repeating...
>
>    The Hakko 808 includes a cross-shaped pre-filter just ahead of
>    the ceramic paper final filter. This cross-shaped filter is
>    nothing more than a piece of aluminum designed to catch (and
>    hold) the majority of the actual solder which is sucked up.
>
>    After a period of time, and depending upon how heavily soldered
>    the joints you are cleaning are, you will have to eventually
>    remove the solder catch tube and clean the accumulated solder
>    from the pre-filter.
>
>    It's a snap to get the catch tube out of the gun, and to remove
>    and clean the pre-filter, but it can be a pain to reinstall the
>    pre-filter once it's been reinstalled in the rubber gasket at
>    the back of the catch tube. This is because the four 'fingers'
>    of the 'cross' part of the per-filter will not allow the rubber
>    gasket to compress much at all. This lack of available
>    compression of the rubber gasket can cause the thin sides of
>    the gasket to fold back and bind as you attempt to reinstall it
>    into the catch tube.
>
>    I tried a number of 'lubricants' on the outside edge of the
>    catch tube, to assist in allowing it to slide in more easily.
>    A very thin coating of silicone grease seemed to work best, but
>    it also tended to cause the gasket to attract dust and dust as
>    well.
>
>    I finally solder my problem by using a fine-grained metal file
>    to take about two (2) light passes over each of the four 'arms'
>    of the cross portion of the pre-filter. This allowed the
>    pre-filter to be easily (and securely) installed into the
>    gasket, but also allowed the gasket to be reinstalled with NO
>    significant effort whatsoever.
>
>    If you do file the arms of the pre-filter, start with only a
>    single pass of the file. You can always take more off, but you
>    can't out it back once you've gone too far.
>
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