I've replaced more SMD caps than I can count. I'm a fan of the twist method, but the key is to just twist and never ever pull up. The legs are fragile and they'll snap, the cap will fall off. Clear the remaining lets off the pad and you're good to go. I've never pulled a pad.
I heard this being the best method as well. Using heat either through tweezers or a hot air is supposed to be more difficult if the capacitors are leaking as it seems to raise the melting point of the solder.
I think any form of the twist method is just lazy workmanship. Not worth the risk of even a single torn off pad. Not to mention that many applying the method are real butchers that shouldn't be near electronics, for every one that can do it safely there are ten idiots destroying boards.
I've been recapping boards for a good while now and I've always use the twist method and have never run into a problem. Always twist never pull. If I'm working on a super expensive high risk board then the tweezers would be a good option. Hot air seems unnecessary, time consuming, and has its own risks. At the end of the day, do what's comfortable for you. Enjoy your success and learn from your mistakes.
I have removed probably over a hundred caps with the twisting method and never had any problems with a pad getting damaged. I agree on the importance of twisting and not pulling or rocking the cap. I had much more problems when trying to use a soldering iron to melt the solder and the hot air station is too slow and can put a lot of stress on the pcb and the components close to the cap. Honestly speaking I find it safer or at least as safe as using a hot air station and I know some people will say I'm lying or things like that, but I really don't see a point on removing the caps any other way.
I have tried using the YIHUA tweezer iron pictured at 6:47. They do not work in a lot of places because the angle is wrong. They are too wide to fit between the other parts of a board in tight spots. The Hakko is a much more useful design.
Handskit has a T12 set with more slim tip design for about 50usd and double the wattage, mine hasn't arrived yet but they appear to be better built than the 938D
@@GenesHand You also have to watch out not many base units will heat both sides of the iron. The tweezers tips are heated on different circuits and separate pins.
My exact thought when he reached for the cap next to a plastic cable connector was that there would still be a lot of limitations because of the size of the arms and then tips.
I think it's been mentioned here but I'll say it again: Low melt solder is the way to go if you don't want to spend money on expensive specialized single-use tools. It mixes with the lead and makes a _super_ low-melt alloy. A very little heat from hot air and the parts come right off so fast and easy.
Here in Brazil it's called "solda salva chip" or IC saving solder. It's very useful although dificult to remove from the pins after you removed them from a board
Also on top of that the added low melting point wire add a lot of termal mass to the piece, meaning the soldering will be liquid for a lot of time even on massive ground plane. I use it a lot to remove soldered to the board heat sinks
I appreciate the nuanced look at this. Personally, I had used the twist and push (no upward force) method on about 20 surface mount boards (mostly Macs from the very early 90’s), and have only lifted a couple of pads. When I was trying to desolder with one iron, I was lifting pads left and right. I did end up getting a hot air station, but right as that happened, I stopped recapping boards due to a lifestyle/situation change and haven’t had a chance to use it very much.
It really depends on the board. Back in the 90s, I was rebuilding Mitsubishi TV format boards that had a hundred smd electrolytics that had to be replaced. I found these boards would survive the twist method, but I always pushed *down* while I rotated. Saved hours worth of work. Other boards had poor foil bonding and they had to be unsoldred.
I'm one of those who has no problem holding two irons. It's my goto solution for any 2 pad SMD. 🙂 We've got SMD tweezers at work, but I never got on with them. I guess they might be more useful if you do a lot of _larger_ SMDs. And with two irons you can have different tips in each, so less changing of bits.
I use the twist method too - he way the leads on this SMD capacitor type mount, the joints have the least strength if pulling straight up (will want to separate the pads from the board, but have the most strength if you pull horizontally along the length of the solder joint. If you twist the top of the can off above the plastic base, the majority of force is along the horizontal (guided by the plastic base) and either the pins break off in the metal can, or right at the edge of the pads - either case is easy to clean up with flux and braid. Haven't had a lifted pad failure with this method ever. That said,I haven't worked with boards in as bad a condition as was shown in the video. In those cases hot air would seem better, but I'm not sure if you'd be left with good pads/traces in any case.
Thats the way to go, I did this for a living for a while. I had to replace like dozen of those tiny bastards on dozen of boards daily. I tried every method in the book, soldering iron is by far the worst and hot air is too slow. Some pads will eventually break but they were already corroded or weakened.
Great video as always Colin. I would add that just a bit of flux on the pads before desoldering makes things much much easier and quicker in getting components off PCBs.
I mostly go with the twist method, But I usually twist back and forth not pulling on the cap, I found that this stress the pads less than twisting one way only until it breaks off, I actually removed two such caps today with great success :) And I still do have a hot air station
NEVER LIFT UP THE CAPACITORS!!!! The trick is to put DOWNWARD pressure as you twist them, and not lift up as you twist. If you lift up, that almost guarantees the pad also lifting up.
Before watching... gonna say that I usually twist them, and they generally snap right off, with no damage to the pads. I replaced THOUSANDS of these when modding recording interfaces at Black Lion Audio. You need to twist one direction, rotate in the other direction, and THEN lift after you hear a slight/light snapping sound.
the trick that always works is to push down while twisting, it will never break the pads unless its really corroded. I know this method works because ive recapped over 20+ mac boards in last few years.
I learned a technique that has worked well for me for over 20 years now from a Panasonic field technician: He did a lot of cap replacements on their DVCPRO line of video recorders and was called-in to our station to train us on how to do it properly. Essentially, he used a pair of needle-nose pliers to grab the top of the cap firmly in the jaws. Then, while pressing the cap towards the PCB, he'd twist the pliers until the leads broke off. It didn't matter what size of surface mount cap, or whether the caps had leaked or not - the traces were never harmed doing it this way. I believe the pressure against the PCB helps keep the traces stable while the caps are twisted.
The way Mr. Carlson (from Carlsons Lab) recommends it is to push down and twist it, fatiguing the cap so that the caps solder points are left on the Board...
Having worked within the 2way radio industry I have found that two fine tipped soldering irons placing one at each joint of the cap. Tweezer desoldering irons are good for the chip components but marginal for larger surface mount electrolytics. I use a professional Pace rework station that has soldering, desoldering ( for both through hole and surface mount ) and tweezers. Very expensive but as I was once told by a master gunsmith that even if you use the tool one time and it saved you time and money it is worth it’s weight in gold.
Everyone always seems to have an opinion on technique videos... but I really appreciate the time & effort that goes into experimenting and documenting for the rest of us! At the end of the day, people should do what works for them, but it's helpful to have a reference like this video! Thanks
The twist method is not bad if you wiggle them back and forth and fatigue the metal rather than one big twist. Hot air can also be a problem on multi layer boards and you can’t get enough heat in it if theres big ground planes.
I have made several videos in which I snip caps off amiga motherboards, each time people comment saying how it's a cardinal sin to do such but it's worked really well for me and others, good to see it works well for you too
I'd give the "Two Soldering Irons" method more consideration. It's by far the most popular method I've seen and used in a professional rework shop. As an added bonus, for projects requiring two different types of tips you no longer have to wait for the iron to cool to switch between tips.
You’re perfectly right. Last time I recapped a board, I was so bored with the hot air gun that I remembered having a second soldering station. I gave it a try and it’s really THE good method. Even better with sole flux applied before desoldering.
Chris Edwards has a really clean method for the snip method. Sharp flush cutters with a single cut, not hacking away at the cap. It comes off clean. He's been repairing boards for decades at this point and has some solid demos of the method on RUclips.
Thank you for making this video. I have often wondered what the best way to remove surface mount caps was. I've always just done it with the one soldering iron method. I've seen people twist them off in the past and thought to myself "that can't be safe" what if the pads were damaged by the electrolyte and you did that. You clarified all the options. I have tried the twist method. It does seem pretty easy. but the components I work on are far too expensive to risk. Though I would say I tend to agree with a lot of what people are saying in the threads. A;bout what one guy said in particular. And that is going so far as to say "pushing while twisting" rather than rocking or pulling. If there's any damage on the pad at all that would be when it would lift off the board. And we all know how frustrating that can be. I don't like having to run bodges*sp. They look like crap. And it makes me feel like a hack.
This old thru-hole guy appreciates a thoughtful overview of the subject. I've replaced a few small rectangular components (non-electrolytic caps and resistors) and I can't justify a hot-air station for the minimal rework that I do so this gives me some options. I've only got a hundred or so junk boards to practice on so I'm encouraged...
I'm old school and I have absolutely no issues with 2 irons and that works in so many other areas as well. I like to keep one with a relatively large tip to heat ground planes or large parts and the other with a small tip for most work. There are also other tricks that work. Like instead of using hot air for a DIP chip all you need to do is to glob a lot of solder bridging the pins into one mass of metal. Do that on both sides and use two irons to melt it all at once and it lifts right off. We become so accustomed to not bridging pads that the concept seems alien but it works great. Solder wick works as well. Wick the solder from the pads and with nothing holding the pins the part will just pop off. You do need to be certain that it's all wicked off though. A little bit too much solder left on a small pad can pull it right off. wick works best with large parts. Using wick is an art as well to get it right. But you can always add more and try again if you can't get it all on the first go.
when i swapped the SMDs from the optical unit board of my Gamecube, i added a considerable amount of flux and alternate between both sides with the iron in one hand and a tiny little plyers in the other. It turned out not that beautiful result, some capacitors were a bit out of center when soldering them back this way, but in the end of the day, it was a succesfully job.
For your situation (or anyone else reading), with only a soldering iron (I assume) I would advise to get desoldering braid, clean up completely both pads, do NOT tin one of them, let if flat, tin the other. Now you'll heat up the tinned pad only while you place the cap with tweezers, and press it down so it's aligned correctly. Soldering iron away, keep holding till it cools down, then the other pad. You'll probably not need to do anything else, but if you find the alignment not the best you can then press it with tweezers while heating the 2nd pad, you'll have a free hand after all by this time.
Personally I think I'm going to stick with the twist method. I twist them back and forth until the leads break at the base of the cap, then I remove the plastic spacer and desolder the remains of the leads. I have hot air but it's tricky to get the entire underside of the cap melted enough to take it off especially on high thermal mass boards. I'd be worried about heat degrading the PCB or nearby parts. But that's the beauty of hobby projects, the correct technique is whatever works best for you. If that's milling the capacitor off with a CNC machine, then so be it lol
It is nearby parts that concern me with crude hot air methods. I seems a lot of people like to crank up their hot air to the max or at lest over 400 °C. If you suddenly heat a ceramic cap with air that hot you may cause cracking of the dielectric that isn't visible. Electrolytic caps often have ceramic caps nearby and it is the ceramic caps that take a lot of the high-frequency ripple current. If you damage the ceramic cap the electrolytic cap, assuming the circuit even still works properly, takes more ripple current that intended and its life is considerably shortened as a result. Failed ceramic caps also allow high frequency energy to travel further in the circuit board which can compromise reliability.
Great video! I really appreciate your willingness to try new things and give an honest perspective. Never change! I have tried all the cap removal methods you covered, and my opinions match yours. I completely agree with your conclusions: it all depends on the situation as there are usually many variables at play: board thickness, existing corrosion, physical access, and proximity to heat sensitive parts. It is great to have all methods in your skills toolkit and choose the best one for the particular job. The only extra tip I would add (which is only sometimes applicable) is adding normal or low melt solder to the legs/pads of the stubborn component you are attempting to remove. It can drastically help increase heat penetration to the pads in cases of dried out or corrosion compromised factory solder. Just be sure to remove all "removal assistance" solder completely before soldering in the replacement component.
I was going to mention low-melt solder too! Old rework PCB's are likely leaded, so they should melt easier than the new lead-free solder. But, low-melt solder makes that job so easy that a baby could do it. I have a Turbo-Duo game console to repair tomorrow and low-melt is my go-to for keeping the motherboard pads shiny.
You can also lever up one side while adding some solder. Being gentle enough you can pull up that side off off enough to wick away the excess and just hit the other side really quick boom done. I only ever have to do like one of these at a time it's my go to for this.
What timing! I have one for my Aoyue solder station arriving today. I'd seen JDW use hot tweezers as well. I'm glad to see you like this method too-I feel I've made a good purchase. Thank you for another great video.
As an EE who prefers being practical, I can state the twist method works , nothing has ever been solved by throwing cash at it , but there's people who think spending money makes them better theres no substitute for technique 👍
Tried both hot-air and two soldering irons for removing SMD caps. Two soldering irons is what I've landed on as my preferred method. Much faster than hot air. I'll try the twist method on some gear I don't mind if gets damaged. I know many swear by it - but like you, it seems a bit risky. I've seen Adrian (of the basement) do it by pushing down and twist. Snaps those caps right off. If it saves time, I'm all for it.
Thanks for the video. My inexpensive hot air rework was one that was wire wrong, so deleted the fuse and power cable, and added a combo PC power cord / fuse / power switch to the back. The front power switch was rewired to be another switch for the hot end, now you can lift the handle and nothing will happen till you activate the old power switch. Now it works way better the thing does not heat up till I want it to. Well worth the mod.
I've honestly had good results with the twist method on multiple occasions. It requires good judgement and a bit of finesse, though. Don't ever yank or pull on the caps, always press into the board while twisting. Hot air or soldering irons aren't always effective, especially on those caps that leaked badly. The corrosion is usually bad enough that the pads are caked in an oxide that won't melt without considerable effort. Frankly, if a pad does lift, that usually means the electrolyte corroded it so badly it would have to be repaired anyway.
Thanks for a great class on this. I am preparing to rework an Tektronix scope and want to do a nice, safe job. I really enjoyed the class a lot and plan to read a lot of the comments also as this is new to me. Thanks again.
I'm personally tempted to try the twist method first because it's so quick. I think it's worth mentioning that it should take VERY little force. If the cap doesn't twist and pop off effortlessly, I stop and switch to hot air or tweezers.
To disolder, you have to solder. Got some gel flux, apply it to desired component pads, apply new fresh solder, apply a bit more flux, apply heat in a circular motion to warm up the PCB surrounding the component (in a pre-heating fassion) and have the tweezers holding the component and this one just comes off.
many ways to do things. you do what works best for you. I cut, but one snip, and you need to remove the two teets leftover before debraiding. not sawing through them as you showed. Hot air is ok. but depending on the damage level, the old solder wont melt. again, you do what works for you
Yeah solder chemically damaged by electrolyte affecting it for a long time turns into some sort of non melting crystalline substance, it's not even metal at that stage any longer i don't think, perhaps a type of salt or ceramic.
I had to replace 600 caps off 300 custom boards (my fault in design); it was super simple just to twist them off without lifting away from the board. There were no casualties, or even a slight inkling of damage to the PCB.
Use the *ladder* technique. This is like technique shown at 4:50, but with a few suggestions. Use a fine tip iron with a hot tip (the tip in the video is too large). Possibly *add* a small amount of solder to the pad to aid in the heat transfer. Use tweezers or needle-nose pliers gripping *across* the part (as if bridging the two leads). (In the video the tweezers come in from the right, instead bring the tweezers in from the front or rear from the camera's view). When the solder melts, twist up slightly, but *only* on the melted side only. Repeat the process on the other pad. Because the first lead has already been raised slightly, the second lead will easily raise a *lot* more. Alternate between the two sides, like climbing a ladder. Typically the part comes off after two passes. Quick clean up the pads with solder-wick. This method avoids the damaged part debris mess such as the twist off method. This method also avoid heat damage to nearby components when using hot air.
Came across your videos after watching My Life in Gaming a while back. Really appreciate these videos as it gives me some insight on repairing my stuff in the future!
Those exact type of capacitors have vertical contacts through plastic so when you twist the capacitor it causes a rotation, that is why it doesn't pull the pad off the board and it works nearly all of the time. Just pulling them upward will pull off a pad, and heating the pad in anyway makes them determined to come off. If they come off when you twist them then you have bigger problems the pad already de-laminated.
Another simple method I don't think you mentioned is to use a soldering iron and Low Melt solder. Low Melt is like magic and once you hit each leg with some it will stay melted for more than enough time to easy lift the cap off even after you have removed the iron. No prep for heat dissipation, no exploding caps from hot air or melting plastic, no torn pads, only downside is low melt is expensive but a little goes a Long way.
I was going to suggest low-melt too, but you have to be careful to clean it off thoroughly. I do not use it frequently. I would apply and fully wick off standard solder on the pads where low-melt was used, probably twice, before feeling comfortable that the low-melt alloy was completely removed.
@@OutThere458 you make a good point, low melt should at least wick up very nicely. I would observe how long the solder takes to solidify once you remove the iron and judge from that if it's chemistry is mostly standard solder level.
I used to be adamantly against ripping the cap off of damaged boards -- after all, the pad is already potentially compromised, why be so brutal? But then I tried it for a while. I can say that, IME, if the pad is damaged enough that it'll lift when you TWIST (not pull!) the cap off the board, the bond to the board was already damaged enough that heat from a normal soldering iron would've lifted it anyway. Either way, you're going to have to do some repair work -- probably with a jumper wire to whatever that pad was connected to. And if the pad was that damaged, you probably need to go at least a few cm away to get back to good copper. I.e., don't worry about it. It can either handle the abuse, or it can't, in which case you need to come up with a more secure joint anyway because _the damage was already done._
The hot tweezers is great but doesn’t solve the problem of getting the new cap on like the rework station does either. Great video though! I want one now
A simple iron puts them back on without heating the cap or melting the plastic. How do you stop the plastic from melting when using a rework to install them?
From day one I have always just applied fresh solder, heated one leg, lifted it, heated the other leg, and gently wiped it off the board. I've never once had to resort to that violent ripping method. Not even on heavily corroded solder from leaky caps. Also I would like to note... I own the hot tweezers. They go with my rework station. I don't bother using them because it's so much easier and quick (and safer) to just use the soldering iron.
@@Cristi4n_Ariel And it also negates the issue of old crusty (possibly lead free) solder with corrosion. Because the lead free stuff doesn't like to cooperate when removing components.
We're definitely kindred spirits, Colin. I concur absolutely. I lived a long time without a hot air station, but now I see I could have done better work more efficiently if I had been using one all those years. Hakko brand Hot Tweezers are also my goto SMD cap removal solution most of the time, with the only caveat that the round cylinder part of each arm is sometimes not high enough if you have tall connectors, relays or similar components surrounding an SMD cap. But that's where the hot air station comes in handy. Thanks for a great video.
I really have to protest with the technique being demonstrated for twisting the caps - DO NOT PULL the cap. Folks who complain about the twisting method show their bias (and perhaps ignorance) by calling it 'twist and pull' or 'ripping'. You must PUSH while twisting. The examples in this video clearly show pulling or levering the cap, which is obviously going to put force on the pad.
I grab SMD electrolytics with pliers and wiggle them back and forth like a loose tooth, while lightly pressing down into the board. This always fatigues the legs, almost always where they bend 90 degrees to form the foot. Once one leg is free, I change the angle to twist around the vertical part of the other leg. Once the cap comes off, all that's left are the pieces of leg embedded in the solder on the pad, and I always clean the pads up with flux, fresh solder, and wick anyway. I have yet to lift any pads this way, unlike when I was trying to use heat. The trick is to wiggle the cap with a ton of repetitions and very little force.
Yes, although I tend to use the snips method for caps myself. In my experience it's quite hard to lift traces/pads without heat, but with enough heat and just a tiny bit of mechanical force it becomes quite easy to make a big mess. I was rather surprised how easily I managed to lift traces when practicing with hot air on some scrap boards (even decent quality ones).
Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've twisted off hundreds of caps without any problems. Until something bad happens, it's worth the risk for me. Even then, a single torn pad isn't the end of the world. I did buy an affordable hot air station at one point and it interfered with my house wiring so I had to return it.
Hey Colin, how's it going. 😉: Soldering iron Kits have special attachments, the one I'm mainly referring to is the 'Nozzle Reducer'. Try making one for your Hot Air unit(s) which will not only reduce & localize it's flow but bent to direct it near 90 degrees thus the hot air being minutely directed where you need it and less where its not. GREAT VIDEOS, THANKS!!!+!
I'm amazed so few use soldering tweezers. One possible problem with your Hakko is that it might struggle to get in tight spots. I've used Weller WMRT with RTW1 tweezer tip for about 15 years. Not cheap, possibly a Rolls Royce solution. I've had to replace the tip once and that was recently. Great for getting in tight spots. Mostly I use it for reworking 0402s and 0603s as well as electrolytics.
I always use the snip or squeeze and twist method on these Capacitors. It works well on lead free soldered boards 👍 I've also seen people who made their own split tip iron with fat copper wire. Hot Air doesn't work well without adding more solder first.
I used to remove SMD caps with an iron, slowly and one side at a time. I was recently converted. I was recapping an N64 and it was in bad shape and figured I'd give the twist method a shot since I was short on time. Took me maybe 60 seconds to remove all caps by twisting and pulling off. Then I did another board, and another one. No damage to the pads and I could clear the whole board in the time it took to remove a single cap before. I won't be going back to the old method unless the board is particularly brittle.
I work in a machine shop at a company that specializes in capacitors but ones a'lot larger then these of course lol So it's funny seeing these little guys compared to the ones we make that go into heavy equipment and aerospace.
A great hot air station is the original analogue style Quick (857DW). Small looking station with two knobs and two displays. The one you will stumble across is probably the fake or cheap version with a yellowish oval sticker on the front. The good one has a yellowish rectangular sticker on the front. This one has a brushless variable speed fan and a better looking main board. The good one also has a small QR code on the rear. Having the two knobs is priceless. Fast adjustments, something you get a true feel for, no annoying buttons to keep pressing.
In my experience pushing down and twisting these electrolytic capacitors is the safest way of removing these. Heating the pads with a soldering iron increases the risk of lifting the pads considerably.
If you feel uncomfortable with the twist method. A good and cheap alternative is to use a thin stainless steel spatula together with a soldering iron. Just heat one pad and slide the spatula between the pads and component leg. Solder will not adhere to the spatula. This method works well for many smd components and even ICs.
Had to replace 7 caps on a board, non leaky, just gone off spec due to heat - first tried the soldering iron approach, tore a pad off, for the remaining 6 caps, I applied the push down and twist with pliers method, all 6 caps came away, absolutely no issues with the pads. Also, if you're worried about caps exploding due to heat during removal, stab a hole in the top of the can first, it'll stop any pressure building up :)
Boy am I glad that my electronics work still revolves around THT parts (and I intend to keep it that way, seeing as I work with own designs) but even then I agree that a hot air gun is a handy and versatile tool; I regularly use it alongside my desoldering iron (if "Ol' Slurpy" can't get the chip loose, a bit of hot air will usually do the trick)😁 And yeah, ripping parts loose can really do a number on your pads (for instance; when desoldering cables, they may feel loose enough and you may think all the solder has melted...But you don't want to pull too hard..... Ask me how I know)😅
I work electronics manufacturing. Tweezers or two regular irons are the way my rework people remove caps. None of our caps have electrolytic leak though. Low temp solder also makes it easier as well.
Super interesting that everyone has their preference. Adrian Black from Adrian's digital basement _just_ talked about it in his latest video. He mentioned he never had an issue with the twisting method provided you push down at the same time. Never seen the heated pliers before so that's a new one.
I've used numerous of these methods, but what I found most consistent was low melt solder, with either a soldering iron or hot air. Agitate the joint to ensure the low melt adequately mixes.
Twizzers often have replacable tips (handy for for different smd sizes). And as soon as most of components are smd (resistors, doides, transistors etcl it makes them not so single purpose, not only for these e-caps. About hot air gun, does not melt the plastic base of such parts?
I've just replaced 27 caps on Roland XP-50 using twist motion and had no problems. Legs pull out real easy this way, but then you have to snip them a little and remove the plastic base. Then desolder what's left and clean up with a wick and IPA. No extra equipment necessary than a basic small soldering iron.
As long as you´re not dealing with super small parts, electrolytic smd caps are actually easy to remove: Heat up the first solder pad, lift the cap up slightly only at this side, then do the same on the other side. The capacitor legs have bend pretty easy, so you can lift up the first leg far away enough so it wouldn´t stick back to the pcb. Then you only have to heat up the other side and easily remove the cap with a pair of tweezers. And boom you just removed a cap without damaging the solder pads.
Yeah I’m not sure why folks seem to think both sides need to be heated up at the same time. It’s fiddly getting the pivot right but not that difficult. I find hot air faster but this iron method works great too in most instances.
I think the main problem is when the solder has been heavily oxidized from corrosion. It can be very, very difficult to melt the solder in those cases. Combine that with legs that are mostly, or completely, obscured under the body of the cap, and other components packed in around the cap, and it's just not happening.
I was going to say this and you brought it up. Using two pencil irons, one in each hand. I've had some pretty good luck doing it that way and I guess for me it's fairly easy to do.
Great video! I've always been nervous using hot air for cap removal as I've seen videos of some exploding. I've never dared to just rip/twist them off either, but I'm guilty of using the cutting method, and have had success with it so far. But as you mentioned, the condition of the board and the joints matter. I think the angle the cut is made is important too - I always go parallel to the pads and use very sharp side cutters. A bit of electolyte gets on the tool and PCB doing this, but as you mentioned, no problem if cleaned up right away. I'd love to try to get a pair of Hakko tweezers like those. They seem great for situations where you don't want to break out the hot air station and sheild things with foil and kapton tape just to remove a single passive component. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great video , I learned a lot. I prefer to use two soldering irons and am fortunate to have a reasonable quality hot-air station , so I hope it is't overkill but I use all three tools , alternating between them as required.
Pad adhesion to the circuit board reduces drastically with temperature. I’ve found the twist method to be preferable to using heat. SMD cap legs are fragile, after a few gentle back and forth twists (without pulling) they snap leaving the feet easily removable from the pad with a “soddering” iron.
If you use a gigantic tip like that then yes: removing caps with a soldering iron is risky. Use a much smaller tip and flux. A chisel or hoof tip as well - not a conical behemoth.
Bent conicals are fantastic for micro soldering. If you need a larger surface for a joint or for quick braid work, just turn the tip to the bend. If you need something small, angle it so only the tip after the bend is used.
Thanks for sharing your findings! Regarding the twist method, I've heard that applying a compressive force, pushing the component into the board while twisting, is less likely to delaminate pads. In my experience, PCB pads are less susceptible to delamination from shearing forces (parallel to the board), than pulling forces, perpendicular to the board.
Thanks for this. I've always done the twist method, but I don't know if I have the skills/knowledge to fix a ripped pad, so I might give hot air a try next time. :)
When you buy the 858D, just test the ground pin on the pwoer cord with the metal chassis with a multimeter. I bought one off Amazon like 2 years ago and still going strong.
The rework station is definitely the safest way. I actually have that same model and it has been good for me so far. One more thing, sometimes they will glue capacitors down to help them hold to the board and the twisting method will pull up the pad with the glue. The rework station will melt the glue which is another reason why it is the safest way
Saw a video here from Mr SolderFix. Did desoldering with just one iron with a copper wire wraped around with solder to desolder many points at once. Was on connectors but should work i think
I've replaced more SMD caps than I can count. I'm a fan of the twist method, but the key is to just twist and never ever pull up. The legs are fragile and they'll snap, the cap will fall off. Clear the remaining lets off the pad and you're good to go. I've never pulled a pad.
I heard this being the best method as well. Using heat either through tweezers or a hot air is supposed to be more difficult if the capacitors are leaking as it seems to raise the melting point of the solder.
i can agree with this. i just rock the cap side to side
I think any form of the twist method is just lazy workmanship. Not worth the risk of even a single torn off pad.
Not to mention that many applying the method are real butchers that shouldn't be near electronics, for every one that can do it safely there are ten idiots destroying boards.
I've been recapping boards for a good while now and I've always use the twist method and have never run into a problem. Always twist never pull. If I'm working on a super expensive high risk board then the tweezers would be a good option. Hot air seems unnecessary, time consuming, and has its own risks. At the end of the day, do what's comfortable for you. Enjoy your success and learn from your mistakes.
I have removed probably over a hundred caps with the twisting method and never had any problems with a pad getting damaged. I agree on the importance of twisting and not pulling or rocking the cap. I had much more problems when trying to use a soldering iron to melt the solder and the hot air station is too slow and can put a lot of stress on the pcb and the components close to the cap. Honestly speaking I find it safer or at least as safe as using a hot air station and I know some people will say I'm lying or things like that, but I really don't see a point on removing the caps any other way.
Push down and twist (while pushing the whole time.) See Mr Carlson's video: "Electrolytic Capacitor Removal NO Desoldering Required"
You can twist the caps back, and fourth until you fatigue the legs enough to break without ripping the pads off.
What you did was full send.
I have tried using the YIHUA tweezer iron pictured at 6:47. They do not work in a lot of places because the angle is wrong. They are too wide to fit between the other parts of a board in tight spots. The Hakko is a much more useful design.
Thanks for the comment, I was about to look at reviews of the cheaper tweezer iron clones, but you saved me the time.
Handskit has a T12 set with more slim tip design for about 50usd and double the wattage, mine hasn't arrived yet but they appear to be better built than the 938D
That's a shame, Yihua products are great quality ofr the price in my experience and I was considering getting one.
@@GenesHand You also have to watch out not many base units will heat both sides of the iron. The tweezers tips are heated on different circuits and separate pins.
My exact thought when he reached for the cap next to a plastic cable connector was that there would still be a lot of limitations because of the size of the arms and then tips.
I think it's been mentioned here but I'll say it again: Low melt solder is the way to go if you don't want to spend money on expensive specialized single-use tools. It mixes with the lead and makes a _super_ low-melt alloy. A very little heat from hot air and the parts come right off so fast and easy.
Yes, I tried this too and it works great. It is also very handy for removing connectors without damaging the board.
Here in Brazil it's called "solda salva chip" or IC saving solder. It's very useful although dificult to remove from the pins after you removed them from a board
This.
EXACTLY!
Also on top of that the added low melting point wire add a lot of termal mass to the piece, meaning the soldering will be liquid for a lot of time even on massive ground plane. I use it a lot to remove soldered to the board heat sinks
I appreciate the nuanced look at this. Personally, I had used the twist and push (no upward force) method on about 20 surface mount boards (mostly Macs from the very early 90’s), and have only lifted a couple of pads. When I was trying to desolder with one iron, I was lifting pads left and right. I did end up getting a hot air station, but right as that happened, I stopped recapping boards due to a lifestyle/situation change and haven’t had a chance to use it very much.
I have exactly the same model of hot-air. Was suspiciously cheap, but it has never let me down. Great tool.
It really depends on the board. Back in the 90s, I was rebuilding Mitsubishi TV format boards that had a hundred smd electrolytics that had to be replaced. I found these boards would survive the twist method, but I always pushed *down* while I rotated. Saved hours worth of work. Other boards had poor foil bonding and they had to be unsoldred.
4:44 heat up one side first, pry up with a screwdriver, then heat up the other side
I'm one of those who has no problem holding two irons. It's my goto solution for any 2 pad SMD. 🙂
We've got SMD tweezers at work, but I never got on with them. I guess they might be more useful if you do a lot of _larger_ SMDs.
And with two irons you can have different tips in each, so less changing of bits.
In my experience, don’t just rip them up off the pads, but twist them back and forth to wear out the legs on the cap
I use the twist method too - he way the leads on this SMD capacitor type mount, the joints have the least strength if pulling straight up (will want to separate the pads from the board, but have the most strength if you pull horizontally along the length of the solder joint.
If you twist the top of the can off above the plastic base, the majority of force is along the horizontal (guided by the plastic base) and either the pins break off in the metal can, or right at the edge of the pads - either case is easy to clean up with flux and braid. Haven't had a lifted pad failure with this method ever.
That said,I haven't worked with boards in as bad a condition as was shown in the video. In those cases hot air would seem better, but I'm not sure if you'd be left with good pads/traces in any case.
Thats the way to go, I did this for a living for a while. I had to replace like dozen of those tiny bastards on dozen of boards daily. I tried every method in the book, soldering iron is by far the worst and hot air is too slow. Some pads will eventually break but they were already corroded or weakened.
Great video as always Colin. I would add that just a bit of flux on the pads before desoldering makes things much much easier and quicker in getting components off PCBs.
Can you explain why?
I mostly go with the twist method, But I usually twist back and forth not pulling on the cap, I found that this stress the pads less than twisting one way only until it breaks off, I actually removed two such caps today with great success :) And I still do have a hot air station
\*heavy panicked breathing\*
@@ceneblock lol
NEVER LIFT UP THE CAPACITORS!!!! The trick is to put DOWNWARD pressure as you twist them, and not lift up as you twist. If you lift up, that almost guarantees the pad also lifting up.
Before watching... gonna say that I usually twist them, and they generally snap right off, with no damage to the pads. I replaced THOUSANDS of these when modding recording interfaces at Black Lion Audio. You need to twist one direction, rotate in the other direction, and THEN lift after you hear a slight/light snapping sound.
Honestly, I just cut them as you show at the beginning. It has worked fine for me. I just try to not pull them up too hard.
the trick that always works is to push down while twisting, it will never break the pads unless its really corroded. I know this method works because ive recapped over 20+ mac boards in last few years.
exactly, a 100% lateral twist is what you need, downward force helps with equilibrium, and the pads won't come off in the downward angle, only upward
I learned a technique that has worked well for me for over 20 years now from a Panasonic field technician: He did a lot of cap replacements on their DVCPRO line of video recorders and was called-in to our station to train us on how to do it properly. Essentially, he used a pair of needle-nose pliers to grab the top of the cap firmly in the jaws. Then, while pressing the cap towards the PCB, he'd twist the pliers until the leads broke off. It didn't matter what size of surface mount cap, or whether the caps had leaked or not - the traces were never harmed doing it this way. I believe the pressure against the PCB helps keep the traces stable while the caps are twisted.
This is also the way I usually do it. Seeing him pull straight up on countless occasions in this video is just cringeworthy to the max
Hi! Try PUSH and twist. It's a better option !!!
The way Mr. Carlson (from Carlsons Lab) recommends it is to push down and twist it, fatiguing the cap so that the caps solder points are left on the Board...
Having worked within the 2way radio industry I have found that two fine tipped soldering irons placing one at each joint of the cap. Tweezer desoldering irons are good for the chip components but marginal for larger surface mount electrolytics. I use a professional Pace rework station that has soldering, desoldering ( for both through hole and surface mount ) and tweezers. Very expensive but as I was once told by a master gunsmith that even if you use the tool one time and it saved you time and money it is worth it’s weight in gold.
Everyone always seems to have an opinion on technique videos... but I really appreciate the time & effort that goes into experimenting and documenting for the rest of us! At the end of the day, people should do what works for them, but it's helpful to have a reference like this video! Thanks
The twist method is not bad if you wiggle them back and forth and fatigue the metal rather than one big twist. Hot air can also be a problem on multi layer boards and you can’t get enough heat in it if theres big ground planes.
I was just watching Adrian Black & he has done the twist method many times without any issue.
I have made several videos in which I snip caps off amiga motherboards, each time people comment saying how it's a cardinal sin to do such but it's worked really well for me and others, good to see it works well for you too
I'd give the "Two Soldering Irons" method more consideration. It's by far the most popular method I've seen and used in a professional rework shop. As an added bonus, for projects requiring two different types of tips you no longer have to wait for the iron to cool to switch between tips.
You’re perfectly right. Last time I recapped a board, I was so bored with the hot air gun that I remembered having a second soldering station. I gave it a try and it’s really THE good method. Even better with sole flux applied before desoldering.
Chris Edwards has a really clean method for the snip method. Sharp flush cutters with a single cut, not hacking away at the cap. It comes off clean.
He's been repairing boards for decades at this point and has some solid demos of the method on RUclips.
Thank you for making this video. I have often wondered what the best way to remove surface mount caps was. I've always just done it with the one soldering iron method. I've seen people twist them off in the past and thought to myself "that can't be safe" what if the pads were damaged by the electrolyte and you did that. You clarified all the options. I have tried the twist method. It does seem pretty easy. but the components I work on are far too expensive to risk. Though I would say I tend to agree with a lot of what people are saying in the threads. A;bout what one guy said in particular. And that is going so far as to say "pushing while twisting" rather than rocking or pulling. If there's any damage on the pad at all that would be when it would lift off the board. And we all know how frustrating that can be. I don't like having to run bodges*sp. They look like crap. And it makes me feel like a hack.
This old thru-hole guy appreciates a thoughtful overview of the subject. I've replaced a few small rectangular components (non-electrolytic caps and resistors) and I can't justify a hot-air station for the minimal rework that I do so this gives me some options. I've only got a hundred or so junk boards to practice on so I'm encouraged...
I'm old school and I have absolutely no issues with 2 irons and that works in so many other
areas as well. I like to keep one with a relatively large tip to heat ground planes or large parts and the other with a small tip for most work. There are also other tricks that work. Like instead of using hot air for a DIP chip all you need to do is to glob a lot of solder bridging the pins into one mass of metal. Do that on both sides and use two irons to melt it all at once and it lifts right off. We become so accustomed to not bridging pads that the concept seems alien but it works great. Solder wick works as well. Wick the solder from the pads and with nothing holding the pins the part will just pop off. You do need to be certain that it's all wicked off though. A little bit too much solder left on a small pad can pull it right off. wick works best with large parts. Using wick is an art as well to get it right. But you can always add more and try again if you can't get it all on the first go.
when i swapped the SMDs from the optical unit board of my Gamecube, i added a considerable amount of flux and alternate between both sides with the iron in one hand and a tiny little plyers in the other. It turned out not that beautiful result, some capacitors were a bit out of center when soldering them back this way, but in the end of the day, it was a succesfully job.
For your situation (or anyone else reading), with only a soldering iron (I assume) I would advise to get desoldering braid, clean up completely both pads, do NOT tin one of them, let if flat, tin the other. Now you'll heat up the tinned pad only while you place the cap with tweezers, and press it down so it's aligned correctly. Soldering iron away, keep holding till it cools down, then the other pad. You'll probably not need to do anything else, but if you find the alignment not the best you can then press it with tweezers while heating the 2nd pad, you'll have a free hand after all by this time.
Personally I think I'm going to stick with the twist method. I twist them back and forth until the leads break at the base of the cap, then I remove the plastic spacer and desolder the remains of the leads. I have hot air but it's tricky to get the entire underside of the cap melted enough to take it off especially on high thermal mass boards. I'd be worried about heat degrading the PCB or nearby parts.
But that's the beauty of hobby projects, the correct technique is whatever works best for you. If that's milling the capacitor off with a CNC machine, then so be it lol
It is nearby parts that concern me with crude hot air methods.
I seems a lot of people like to crank up their hot air to the max or at lest over 400 °C. If you suddenly heat a ceramic cap with air that hot you may cause cracking of the dielectric that isn't visible. Electrolytic caps often have ceramic caps nearby and it is the ceramic caps that take a lot of the high-frequency ripple current. If you damage the ceramic cap the electrolytic cap, assuming the circuit even still works properly, takes more ripple current that intended and its life is considerably shortened as a result. Failed ceramic caps also allow high frequency energy to travel further in the circuit board which can compromise reliability.
Great video! I really appreciate your willingness to try new things and give an honest perspective. Never change! I have tried all the cap removal methods you covered, and my opinions match yours. I completely agree with your conclusions: it all depends on the situation as there are usually many variables at play: board thickness, existing corrosion, physical access, and proximity to heat sensitive parts. It is great to have all methods in your skills toolkit and choose the best one for the particular job. The only extra tip I would add (which is only sometimes applicable) is adding normal or low melt solder to the legs/pads of the stubborn component you are attempting to remove. It can drastically help increase heat penetration to the pads in cases of dried out or corrosion compromised factory solder. Just be sure to remove all "removal assistance" solder completely before soldering in the replacement component.
I was going to mention low-melt solder too! Old rework PCB's are likely leaded, so they should melt easier than the new lead-free solder. But, low-melt solder makes that job so easy that a baby could do it. I have a Turbo-Duo game console to repair tomorrow and low-melt is my go-to for keeping the motherboard pads shiny.
You can also lever up one side while adding some solder. Being gentle enough you can pull up that side off off enough to wick away the excess and just hit the other side really quick boom done. I only ever have to do like one of these at a time it's my go to for this.
What timing! I have one for my Aoyue solder station arriving today. I'd seen JDW use hot tweezers as well. I'm glad to see you like this method too-I feel I've made a good purchase. Thank you for another great video.
Great video as always. I was thinking of getting a pair of the tweezers myself, but my go-to method for delicate SMDs will always be Chip Quik.
As an EE who prefers being practical, I can state the twist method works , nothing has ever been solved by throwing cash at it , but there's people who think spending money makes them better theres no substitute for technique 👍
Tried both hot-air and two soldering irons for removing SMD caps. Two soldering irons is what I've landed on as my preferred method. Much faster than hot air. I'll try the twist method on some gear I don't mind if gets damaged. I know many swear by it - but like you, it seems a bit risky. I've seen Adrian (of the basement) do it by pushing down and twist. Snaps those caps right off. If it saves time, I'm all for it.
what I found is that sometimes the glue that holds the copper on the pcb is damaged by the corrosion too.
Thanks for the video.
My inexpensive hot air rework was one that was wire wrong, so deleted the fuse and power cable, and added a combo PC power cord / fuse / power switch to the back. The front power switch was rewired to be another switch for the hot end, now you can lift the handle and nothing will happen till you activate the old power switch. Now it works way better the thing does not heat up till I want it to. Well worth the mod.
I like to use Chip Quik indium SMD removal solder. It really works well removing many types of SMD parts
I've honestly had good results with the twist method on multiple occasions. It requires good judgement and a bit of finesse, though. Don't ever yank or pull on the caps, always press into the board while twisting.
Hot air or soldering irons aren't always effective, especially on those caps that leaked badly. The corrosion is usually bad enough that the pads are caked in an oxide that won't melt without considerable effort. Frankly, if a pad does lift, that usually means the electrolyte corroded it so badly it would have to be repaired anyway.
Thanks for a great class on this. I am preparing to rework an Tektronix scope and want to do a nice, safe job. I really enjoyed the class a lot and plan to read a lot of the comments also as this is new to me. Thanks again.
I'm personally tempted to try the twist method first because it's so quick. I think it's worth mentioning that it should take VERY little force. If the cap doesn't twist and pop off effortlessly, I stop and switch to hot air or tweezers.
To disolder, you have to solder. Got some gel flux, apply it to desired component pads, apply new fresh solder, apply a bit more flux, apply heat in a circular motion to warm up the PCB surrounding the component (in a pre-heating fassion) and have the tweezers holding the component and this one just comes off.
Seriously. Good soldering technique like this will get you much further.
many ways to do things. you do what works best for you. I cut, but one snip, and you need to remove the two teets leftover before debraiding. not sawing through them as you showed. Hot air is ok. but depending on the damage level, the old solder wont melt.
again, you do what works for you
Yeah solder chemically damaged by electrolyte affecting it for a long time turns into some sort of non melting crystalline substance, it's not even metal at that stage any longer i don't think, perhaps a type of salt or ceramic.
That's a really nice and reasonable roundup of techniques, Colin. Well done.
low temp solder is also great for removing SMD components. As the name implies, it melts at lower temps than regular solder and stays liquid longer.
It might be cheaper to buy a chunk of Bismuth metal and cut or melt off bits of it to use for that purpose. It also makes a great paperweight.
I had to replace 600 caps off 300 custom boards (my fault in design); it was super simple just to twist them off without lifting away from the board. There were no casualties, or even a slight inkling of damage to the PCB.
Just used your video to guide me while replacing the capacitor on a vintage sound card for one of my synthesizers. Thanks!
Use the *ladder* technique.
This is like technique shown at 4:50, but with a few suggestions.
Use a fine tip iron with a hot tip (the tip in the video is too large). Possibly *add* a small amount of solder to the pad to aid in the heat transfer.
Use tweezers or needle-nose pliers gripping *across* the part (as if bridging the two leads).
(In the video the tweezers come in from the right, instead bring the tweezers in from the front or rear from the camera's view).
When the solder melts, twist up slightly, but *only* on the melted side only.
Repeat the process on the other pad. Because the first lead has already been raised slightly, the second lead will easily raise a *lot* more.
Alternate between the two sides, like climbing a ladder.
Typically the part comes off after two passes.
Quick clean up the pads with solder-wick.
This method avoids the damaged part debris mess such as the twist off method.
This method also avoid heat damage to nearby components when using hot air.
Came across your videos after watching My Life in Gaming a while back. Really appreciate these videos as it gives me some insight on repairing my stuff in the future!
Those exact type of capacitors have vertical contacts through plastic so when you twist the capacitor it causes a rotation, that is why it doesn't pull the pad off the board and it works nearly all of the time. Just pulling them upward will pull off a pad, and heating the pad in anyway makes them determined to come off. If they come off when you twist them then you have bigger problems the pad already de-laminated.
Another simple method I don't think you mentioned is to use a soldering iron and Low Melt solder. Low Melt is like magic and once you hit each leg with some it will stay melted for more than enough time to easy lift the cap off even after you have removed the iron. No prep for heat dissipation, no exploding caps from hot air or melting plastic, no torn pads, only downside is low melt is expensive but a little goes a Long way.
I was going to suggest low-melt too, but you have to be careful to clean it off thoroughly. I do not use it frequently. I would apply and fully wick off standard solder on the pads where low-melt was used, probably twice, before feeling comfortable that the low-melt alloy was completely removed.
@@OutThere458 you make a good point, low melt should at least wick up very nicely. I would observe how long the solder takes to solidify once you remove the iron and judge from that if it's chemistry is mostly standard solder level.
I've use this method and never had any problems.
I used to be adamantly against ripping the cap off of damaged boards -- after all, the pad is already potentially compromised, why be so brutal?
But then I tried it for a while. I can say that, IME, if the pad is damaged enough that it'll lift when you TWIST (not pull!) the cap off the board, the bond to the board was already damaged enough that heat from a normal soldering iron would've lifted it anyway. Either way, you're going to have to do some repair work -- probably with a jumper wire to whatever that pad was connected to. And if the pad was that damaged, you probably need to go at least a few cm away to get back to good copper.
I.e., don't worry about it. It can either handle the abuse, or it can't, in which case you need to come up with a more secure joint anyway because _the damage was already done._
At what temperature do you set the hot air and the airflow?
The hot tweezers is great but doesn’t solve the problem of getting the new cap on like the rework station does either. Great video though! I want one now
A simple iron puts them back on without heating the cap or melting the plastic. How do you stop the plastic from melting when using a rework to install them?
From day one I have always just applied fresh solder, heated one leg, lifted it, heated the other leg, and gently wiped it off the board. I've never once had to resort to that violent ripping method. Not even on heavily corroded solder from leaky caps.
Also I would like to note... I own the hot tweezers. They go with my rework station. I don't bother using them because it's so much easier and quick (and safer) to just use the soldering iron.
Yeah, I use the same method. The extra solder distributes the heat around the pad more efficiently.
@@Cristi4n_Ariel And it also negates the issue of old crusty (possibly lead free) solder with corrosion. Because the lead free stuff doesn't like to cooperate when removing components.
We're definitely kindred spirits, Colin. I concur absolutely. I lived a long time without a hot air station, but now I see I could have done better work more efficiently if I had been using one all those years. Hakko brand Hot Tweezers are also my goto SMD cap removal solution most of the time, with the only caveat that the round cylinder part of each arm is sometimes not high enough if you have tall connectors, relays or similar components surrounding an SMD cap. But that's where the hot air station comes in handy. Thanks for a great video.
I really have to protest with the technique being demonstrated for twisting the caps - DO NOT PULL the cap. Folks who complain about the twisting method show their bias (and perhaps ignorance) by calling it 'twist and pull' or 'ripping'. You must PUSH while twisting. The examples in this video clearly show pulling or levering the cap, which is obviously going to put force on the pad.
I have a soldering tweezer, so I use that when I can, but the cutting method is also pretty good. Just remember to clean up the juices.
I grab SMD electrolytics with pliers and wiggle them back and forth like a loose tooth, while lightly pressing down into the board. This always fatigues the legs, almost always where they bend 90 degrees to form the foot. Once one leg is free, I change the angle to twist around the vertical part of the other leg. Once the cap comes off, all that's left are the pieces of leg embedded in the solder on the pad, and I always clean the pads up with flux, fresh solder, and wick anyway. I have yet to lift any pads this way, unlike when I was trying to use heat.
The trick is to wiggle the cap with a ton of repetitions and very little force.
Yes, although I tend to use the snips method for caps myself. In my experience it's quite hard to lift traces/pads without heat, but with enough heat and just a tiny bit of mechanical force it becomes quite easy to make a big mess. I was rather surprised how easily I managed to lift traces when practicing with hot air on some scrap boards (even decent quality ones).
You make quite a compelling case for using the right tools for the job, here. It's something I wish to try, so thank you!
I have all the soldering tools except for tweezers and a Reflow oven. They are on my shopping list. Currently I use the double soldering iron trick.
Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've twisted off hundreds of caps without any problems. Until something bad happens, it's worth the risk for me. Even then, a single torn pad isn't the end of the world. I did buy an affordable hot air station at one point and it interfered with my house wiring so I had to return it.
Hey Colin, how's it going. 😉:
Soldering iron Kits have special attachments, the one I'm mainly referring to is the 'Nozzle Reducer'.
Try making one for your Hot Air unit(s) which will not only reduce & localize it's flow but bent to direct it near 90 degrees thus the hot air being minutely directed where you need it and less where its not. GREAT VIDEOS, THANKS!!!+!
I'm amazed so few use soldering tweezers.
One possible problem with your Hakko is that it might struggle to get in tight spots.
I've used Weller WMRT with RTW1 tweezer tip for about 15 years. Not cheap, possibly a Rolls Royce solution. I've had to replace the tip once and that was recently. Great for getting in tight spots.
Mostly I use it for reworking 0402s and 0603s as well as electrolytics.
I always use the snip or squeeze and twist method on these Capacitors. It works well on lead free soldered boards 👍
I've also seen people who made their own split tip iron with fat copper wire.
Hot Air doesn't work well without adding more solder first.
I used to remove SMD caps with an iron, slowly and one side at a time. I was recently converted. I was recapping an N64 and it was in bad shape and figured I'd give the twist method a shot since I was short on time. Took me maybe 60 seconds to remove all caps by twisting and pulling off. Then I did another board, and another one. No damage to the pads and I could clear the whole board in the time it took to remove a single cap before. I won't be going back to the old method unless the board is particularly brittle.
I work in a machine shop at a company that specializes in capacitors but ones a'lot larger then these of course lol So it's funny seeing these little guys compared to the ones we make that go into heavy equipment and aerospace.
Thks & question;
???Would it be wise to place electrolytic caps on a socket instead of soldering them back in???
Good overview of the techniques! No bias, pretty much all of the options. Thumbs up!
A great hot air station is the original analogue style Quick (857DW). Small looking station with two knobs and two displays. The one you will stumble across is probably the fake or cheap version with a yellowish oval sticker on the front. The good one has a yellowish rectangular sticker on the front. This one has a brushless variable speed fan and a better looking main board. The good one also has a small QR code on the rear. Having the two knobs is priceless. Fast adjustments, something you get a true feel for, no annoying buttons to keep pressing.
A video on repair tips and tricks is an instant click to me.
In my experience pushing down and twisting these electrolytic capacitors is the safest way of removing these. Heating the pads with a soldering iron increases the risk of lifting the pads considerably.
If you feel uncomfortable with the twist method. A good and cheap alternative is to use a thin stainless steel spatula together with a soldering iron. Just heat one pad and slide the spatula between the pads and component leg. Solder will not adhere to the spatula. This method works well for many smd components and even ICs.
Had to replace 7 caps on a board, non leaky, just gone off spec due to heat - first tried the soldering iron approach, tore a pad off, for the remaining 6 caps, I applied the push down and twist with pliers method, all 6 caps came away, absolutely no issues with the pads. Also, if you're worried about caps exploding due to heat during removal, stab a hole in the top of the can first, it'll stop any pressure building up :)
Boy am I glad that my electronics work still revolves around THT parts (and I intend to keep it that way, seeing as I work with own designs) but even then I agree that a hot air gun is a handy and versatile tool; I regularly use it alongside my desoldering iron (if "Ol' Slurpy" can't get the chip loose, a bit of hot air will usually do the trick)😁
And yeah, ripping parts loose can really do a number on your pads (for instance; when desoldering cables, they may feel loose enough and you may think all the solder has melted...But you don't want to pull too hard..... Ask me how I know)😅
I work electronics manufacturing. Tweezers or two regular irons are the way my rework people remove caps. None of our caps have electrolytic leak though. Low temp solder also makes it easier as well.
SMD electrolytic caps legs are very fragile. I had one removed itself when the board accidentally fell
Super interesting that everyone has their preference. Adrian Black from Adrian's digital basement _just_ talked about it in his latest video. He mentioned he never had an issue with the twisting method provided you push down at the same time. Never seen the heated pliers before so that's a new one.
I've used numerous of these methods, but what I found most consistent was low melt solder, with either a soldering iron or hot air. Agitate the joint to ensure the low melt adequately mixes.
Twizzers often have replacable tips (handy for for different smd sizes). And as soon as most of components are smd (resistors, doides, transistors etcl it makes them not so single purpose, not only for these e-caps. About hot air gun, does not melt the plastic base of such parts?
I've just replaced 27 caps on Roland XP-50 using twist motion and had no problems. Legs pull out real easy this way, but then you have to snip them a little and remove the plastic base. Then desolder what's left and clean up with a wick and IPA. No extra equipment necessary than a basic small soldering iron.
As long as you´re not dealing with super small parts, electrolytic smd caps are actually easy to remove:
Heat up the first solder pad, lift the cap up slightly only at this side, then do the same on the other side.
The capacitor legs have bend pretty easy, so you can lift up the first leg far away enough so it wouldn´t stick back to the pcb.
Then you only have to heat up the other side and easily remove the cap with a pair of tweezers.
And boom you just removed a cap without damaging the solder pads.
Yeah I’m not sure why folks seem to think both sides need to be heated up at the same time. It’s fiddly getting the pivot right but not that difficult. I find hot air faster but this iron method works great too in most instances.
I think the main problem is when the solder has been heavily oxidized from corrosion. It can be very, very difficult to melt the solder in those cases. Combine that with legs that are mostly, or completely, obscured under the body of the cap, and other components packed in around the cap, and it's just not happening.
I was going to say this and you brought it up. Using two pencil irons, one in each hand. I've had some pretty good luck doing it that way and I guess for me it's fairly easy to do.
Great video! I've always been nervous using hot air for cap removal as I've seen videos of some exploding. I've never dared to just rip/twist them off either, but I'm guilty of using the cutting method, and have had success with it so far. But as you mentioned, the condition of the board and the joints matter. I think the angle the cut is made is important too - I always go parallel to the pads and use very sharp side cutters. A bit of electolyte gets on the tool and PCB doing this, but as you mentioned, no problem if cleaned up right away. I'd love to try to get a pair of Hakko tweezers like those. They seem great for situations where you don't want to break out the hot air station and sheild things with foil and kapton tape just to remove a single passive component. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great video , I learned a lot. I prefer to use two soldering irons and am fortunate to have a reasonable quality hot-air station , so I hope it is't overkill but I use all three tools , alternating between them as required.
Been through the same journey as well. Bought them all. Hot air really is the best option. And get a good vacuum desoldering tool like a hakko FR-300
Pad adhesion to the circuit board reduces drastically with temperature.
I’ve found the twist method to be preferable to using heat. SMD cap legs are fragile, after a few gentle back and forth twists (without pulling) they snap leaving the feet easily removable from the pad with a “soddering” iron.
If you use a gigantic tip like that then yes: removing caps with a soldering iron is risky. Use a much smaller tip and flux. A chisel or hoof tip as well - not a conical behemoth.
Bent conicals are fantastic for micro soldering. If you need a larger surface for a joint or for quick braid work, just turn the tip to the bend. If you need something small, angle it so only the tip after the bend is used.
Thanks for sharing your findings! Regarding the twist method, I've heard that applying a compressive force, pushing the component into the board while twisting, is less likely to delaminate pads. In my experience, PCB pads are less susceptible to delamination from shearing forces (parallel to the board), than pulling forces, perpendicular to the board.
Thanks for this. I've always done the twist method, but I don't know if I have the skills/knowledge to fix a ripped pad, so I might give hot air a try next time. :)
Good and honest comparison video Colin.
thanks for the video.
I am learning a lot from your footage. Thank you Colleen. Keep up the good work.
What solvent are you using on the swab to clean up the escaped electrolyte?
When you buy the 858D, just test the ground pin on the pwoer cord with the metal chassis with a multimeter. I bought one off Amazon like 2 years ago and still going strong.
Someone has been watching Mr Carlsons Lab? Learned this method from his channel what feels like almost a decade ago. Nice to see its catching on.
The rework station is definitely the safest way. I actually have that same model and it has been good for me so far. One more thing, sometimes they will glue capacitors down to help them hold to the board and the twisting method will pull up the pad with the glue. The rework station will melt the glue which is another reason why it is the safest way
Saw a video here from Mr SolderFix. Did desoldering with just one iron with a copper wire wraped around with solder to desolder many points at once. Was on connectors but should work i think
Twist is the way to go. When I ever see one fail I'll try hot air, but until then, I'm at a 100% success rate.