#9 in Welding & Soldering
Reddit mentions of Tenma 21-8240 Vacuum Desoldering Iron
Sentiment score: 21
Reddit mentions: 47
We found 47 Reddit mentions of Tenma 21-8240 Vacuum Desoldering Iron. Here are the top ones.
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I can't recommend one of these enough. I've had mine for a while and makes desolder work a DREAM. And at $10 with prime shipping you literally cannot beat it.
Yes works great with leds!
Tenma 21-8240 Vacuum Desoldering Iron https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DJRYIG/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apap_4HuPH8htp6ZEX
This is the Hakko.
If you don't mind manual, then the Tenma will also work
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DJRYIG/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apap_4HuPH8htp6ZEX
sauce
The Tenma 21-8240 is better and easier to use than that one.
https://www.amazon.com/Tenma-21-8240-Vacuum-Desoldering-Iron/dp/B008DJRYIG/
This one?
If you don't have a proper vacuum desoldering gun something like this or this is probably worth it just for this mod. It'll save you a decent amount of time and make things easier.
The sage switches & Toxic cap set onto the Ducky, then the Cherry Browns from the Ducky into the E-element sounds like a solid plan. Probably what I would do also TBH. Just be careful de-soldering the Ducky since it was originally wave soldered with lead free solder. This means the solder will have a pretty high melting temp & just be an all around pain in the ass to remove.
I strongly suggest getting at least a cheap de-soldering iron like this or this, plus some solder wick for doing it. Also remember that hitting a stubborn joint with a fresh coat of leaded solder will usually let it all come out on the next shot at de-soldering it. You don't want to have to try to de-solder the same joint more than twice, each time increases the chances of damaging the PCB or lifting the pad.
I've heard tons of good things about this, especially for the price!
Personally, I'd just assume all is well. Also, I'd highly recommend a good desolder tool (here's a cheap one I bought, haven't tested it yet: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DJRYIG). Also, get flux. Lots of flux.
Taking my advice on this is probably not the best advice ever, but man, I don't know how you'd test one component without soldering it to something else, which means you'd need to unsolder it twice, etc.
The best way to remove a switch when you don't have a desoldering iron like this (you can get cheap ones too, like this one or this one) is to basically use a mix of a solder sucker and wick to suck up as much as you can. Then stick a screwdriver under the switch, and alternate heating and pulling out the two contacts until the switch pops free
Hey! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008DJRYIG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521608293&sr=1-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=desolder&dpPl=1&dpID=41SYOSe4FRL&ref=plSrch such things exist!
Get yourself one of these. You'll be real glad you did. Saves a TON of time.
Highly recommend upgrading. I was like you, then I got this (link below), and my whole quality of life improved. Girls even like me now!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DJRYIG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Sweet. DOETT!
For desoldering the old switches (and diodes), I'd recommend this: http://amzn.to/2EWtuLJ it has worked well for me.
I'd recommend that when you install diodes on the new PCBs (if you do new PCBs) that you install them on the opposite side of the PCB as the switches.
That looks like a lot of solder from the picture. Maybe try ordering one of these, I found it to work better than a solder sucker...
Tenma 21-8240 Vacuum Desoldering Iron
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DJRYIG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_aegZzb1ZWPPJQ
Its never too late to learn how to solder, if its only a few switches that are like this you can buy some Gateron switches individually or in a 10 pack and replace the bad ones.
A decent soldering kit that comes with everything you need can be bought at amazon for less than 20 bucks, with a solder sucker included and if you want even easier solder removal you can get one of these desoldering iron pumps - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DJRYIG/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apap_4HuPH8htp6ZEX
There's plenty of switch desoldering tutorials over at /r/mechanicalkeyboards, and if you need help just make a post and I'm sure plenty of people will be glad to help you out.
If you don't have a desoldering iron already, this one has worked wonders for me. I got it when it was around $10 and it's desoldered like 3 boards w/o any problems.
Here's every desoldering tool I've used so far, from worst to best:
Those are fine but honestly you don't need all those extra bit and bobs.
Just get the same basic soldering iron off Amazon, a desoldering iron like this one or a desoldering pump.
Some will recommend the Engineer SS-02. I prefer the Soldapullt.
There's also this, but I haven't tried it myself. It's apparently good too.
I would buy some decent soldering wick just in case, for those stubborn pads. 99% of the time you won't need it in my experience though, given how big switch holes are.
It's just called a desoldering iron, I was sleepy when I wrote the previous comment haha. I use this one and it's great. It just combines the iron and solder sucker into one much more effective tool.
You could probably find a used or new, cheap PCB on /r/mechmarket to practice. I just built my own, new 60%. It was harder than I thought but also not terribly difficult. Learning how to desolder (because I'm an idiot and messed up a lot of things) was a more difficult process. Again, not terribly difficult. You could always buy a soldering practice kit on Amazon.
I would suggest you buy a good solder sucker to make your life easier. I recommend this one. I also tried this thing per suggestions on /r/mk but found it disappointing. It doesn't suck out all the solder cleanly when I tried it.
I don't know about the quality or differences between the new and old QFRs or LED process. Some LEDs are separate and are independent of the switches, so you don't have to worry about that. Some are in the PCB themselves, so you don't have to worry about that again. Then there are cherry MX RGB switches which I know absolutely nothing about.
This!
https://www.amazon.com/Tenma-21-8240-Vacuum-Desoldering-Iron/dp/B008DJRYIG/ref=sr_1_9/140-2662085-0132061?ie=UTF8&qid=1519399470&sr=8-9&keywords=desoldering
Also, when you are re-soldering... The key is to heat the part you are soldering, then add solder to the hot joint. You let the hot joint melt the solder, not the iron. If the parts being soldered don't get hot enough, they will not form a good bond. You've now learned the hard way.
It takes practice to learn how to solder, as it does to desolder. I would suggest practicing on an old printer or some other scrap device first.
For desoldering, I just ordered one of these. Typically I'll use solder wick and some flux but this seemed well reviewed, maybe it's worth it for you to order one and give it a shot?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008DJRYIG/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1502984637&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Desoldering+gun&dpPl=1&dpID=41SYOSe4FRL&ref=plSrch
Just a heads up, supposedly this is a really good desoldering iron for the price.
Are you doing it with an iron or an actual desoldering tool? I bought one of these off Amazon and it's not perfect but it works quite well. It just takes some time to heat up and eventually you have to eject a mass of molten solder since it's all stored in the suction tube.
If you really want different switches on a BW X TE, and still have some money left to spend then MAYBE you can buy a desoldering iron, switch holtites, and switches of your own choice. I said maybe because there's no guarantee that the switch holtites could fit just right into the BW X TE's PCB. Just to give a brief run down, holtites makes it so that you don't have to solder if you want to replace a switch. If you're willing to go through this route, I can help you, but I can't be held responsible if the holtites doesn't fit and you've already bought the holtites and desoldering iron, maybe even the switches.
>he hako is like $200 or something isnt it? I really dont desolder enough to justify that price tag.
Last week someone posted this as a good cheap option: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DJRYIG
I agree with you. One thing to also mention is that OP would most likely have to de-soldering LED's which is a pain.
One great easy de-soldering pump/iron here is a decent option. But it is atill quite time consuming.
Maybe look into a new PCB, plate and stabs?
Looks the same as the Tenma 21-8240 and a couple others who use the same design:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/d/Soldering-Irons/Tenma-21-8240-Vacuum-Desoldering-Iron/B008DJRYIG&ved=2ahUKEwjXtYrZ78DgAhWniVQKHbesCiwQFjAAegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw3rpTjysYOUgLzYnlY1eulr
I think 30w and 40w versions exist so something to keep in mind.
I use this for desoldering switches and it works really well and is cheap
You could try one of these, it worked good for me. I removed a promicro using it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DJRYIG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I used a crappy hand pump I got from Amazon for $8. I'd give this one a try though.
Nice is unnecessary for what we are doing. If you need to remove ICs or something tiny, get a good one. If you're doing through-hole stuff (most keyboard soldering), get the cheapo Tenma from Amazon for like $17 shipped and call it a day.
It has no temp control and occasionally barfs blobs of liquid hot solder when resetting the suction spring. If you are a bit careful, it will work very well.
If you are looking for a cheap solution you could get something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008DJRYIG/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3JMX1FFJ074SX&colid=ZKZN0HUJO21P
I use this. Works great.
I got one of these a while back and it makes desoldering really easy. I'd recommend you get one and do it yourself - it would likely be both quicker and cheaper :)
It's not exactly hard, but it's a pain in the ass. You need a solder sucker of some kind, then you heat the solder with your soldering iron and suck it away with the sucker.
But I'd really get at least a cheap soldering iron with integrated sucker.
Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Tenma-21-8240-Vacuum-Desoldering-Iron/dp/B008DJRYIG/
Makes it at least easier.
And always be careful and make sure to remove as much solder as possible, and make sure not to let things get too hot.
Okay, just making sure people know that cheap, manual pump desoldering irons already exist.
It wasn't one of the easiest things to desolder. I lifted a pad for the first time and had to hand wire one switch. I used one of these and soldering wick to do the whole thing.
I love the build quality and layout of the board, but I need MX clears, so it was worth desoldering the thing IMO even though there were a few headaches.
Hakko.
Cheapie iron that I bought.
As others have said, ADD solder. Also, big parts suck. You are going to have to get out your big iron, with a big tip. I am usually replacing parts on 30+ year old boards, not just salvaging. This means that pad damage is a No-Go. I will often clip the legs of ICs in order to remove them without damaging traces. Learning to test the ICs is something I'm getting better at so that I don't needlessly destroy or replace ICs.
I don't have a soldering pump, because I do fine for my purposes with a few other tools. My new favorite is this desoldering iron that resembles a solderpault. After that, I like this one with a good tip on it. For big stuff, I break out the big, 45W Fat tipped soldering iron and use a solder sucker to remove the solder.
That's an investment I'm not sure I'm ready to make.
Have you had any experience with the cheaper versions? ie: https://www.amazon.com/Tenma-21-8240-Vacuum-Desoldering-Iron/dp/B008DJRYIG
I have to desolder a bunch of switches, and it sucks. I was looking for a specific desoldering tool; would something like this fit the bill?