A better technique is to put the gun over the IC leg, as you have been doing but wait for 2-3 seconds while doing the wiggle before you activate the vacuum. You'll get much better results doing that I've found.
Good review. I bought mine about 6-7 years ago, and it's one of those things I don't use very often, but I couldn't do without. Bit of a tip though, is to leave it on the solder joint just a tad longer before pulling the trigger. For most stuff, I have the temp set nearer to 360-380C, especially on multi-layer boards. And almost always add fresh solder anyway, just makes it easier to try to unclog the vias with it. On the really stubborn boards, it helps to hold them upside-down, to assist the vacuum pump a bit more. I would also DEFINITELY recommend leaving one of the cleaning wire tools in the nozzle before powering off. I had to replace the nozzle / heater on mine twice over the years, because I misplaced the cleaning wires, and the nozzle got clogged solid. lol (and the wires to the thermocouple are the type which can't be soldered to, so they provide crimps with the new nozzle / heater, making it a bit of a pain to fit.) Luckily, the parts are quite cheap, and the new nozzle was only around £12. You used to see the entire handpiece on eBay for around £26. The older versions used to come with plastic containers for solder, which did eventually get a bit "melty" after a while, and deform. I bought a few of the newer glass kits direct from Zhongdi, and they only cost around 74p shipped. I did find that the PSU actually seems to output only around 18 Volts, which is a bit weird. I think the "24V" on the handpiece is a bit of a misnomer. Interestingly, I think that instead of doing the PWM thing for the heater control, it had a power transistor in the PSU which actually controlled the voltage to the heater in a more linear fashion. (it was probably doing a PWM on the MCU output pin, but not a direct pulsing on-and-off of the heater power, like you'd expect.) Anyway, for the £70 I paid for mine, it's still a bargain. I don't work for the manufacturer, btw, I just think it's a good unit. lol
I bought one many years ago and never use it, still in the box. I have a Hakko 808, ZD-915 it was supposed to be the replacement for the 808 but the 808 never fail. My Hakko clogged 2 or 3 times only in all this years, but my 808 comes with a tool for remove any piece of solid solder inside the pipe, looks similar to a small flat screew driver. Best Regards.
My desoldering gun works better at around 360 degrees, gets the solder flowing better, also don’t stop the vacuum too soon, otherwise you can get blockages.
The difficulty with the graphics card might be because it's a multi-layer board and those caps are in plated through holes so there's a lot more area for the solder to grab onto. I made it a bit easier by having the iron sit on the pad (still rotating) for a second or so before pulling the trigger, however, it's easy to go for too long and burn up the track.
Word of advice, don't ever leave it switched on if you leave the room. Mine went pop and belched smoke out of the gun while the element went open circuit, I've heard of others catching fire.
Make sure you use the cleaning rods. When I've finished a desoldering session, I always run the rod through to ensure the heating element doesn't get blocked on cool down. Also worth heating the pin first for couple of seconds then pulling the trigger as others have mentioned.
i just ordered one from cpc, but none in bargain corner so paid a shade over £80, still cheaper than anywhere else by far, its coming today. hola from Glasgow
where did you get the complete accessory kits you ordered for zd-915? Can you give me the part numbers? I got the Anesty zd-8915, apparently the accessory kit works for both models. I can not find the replacement accessory kits in the US. I bought the desoldering station from Amazon US, but a search on Amazon US does not find the accessory kit nor the glass chamber kit. Thank you RH
The ZD-8915 is much better quality then this ZD-915. The stand is heavy duty, the station and fan are much quiter, the looks are nicer and works really well.
the fan is very noisy. I bought a little quiet pc fan. Then I make a little circuit. 7805 with 1K ohm on the output, a 1k poti to GND and some µF elko. So I can trimm the Voltage for the fan between 5 and 10 Volt. I use 350 °C, so I can solder quick.
No it’s not, that’s a reasonable price when buying it from most western countries unless you want to wait potentially weeks for it, and some people don’t have that long to wait for a unit, also you could get express international shipment, but in most cases that would just put the price back to its western counterparts anyway lol
A better technique is to put the gun over the IC leg, as you have been doing but wait for 2-3 seconds while doing the wiggle before you activate the vacuum. You'll get much better results doing that I've found.
yep! only pull the cold air in once the solder is melted... and leave it running a second or two after pulling away..
Exactly what I was thinking. Also crank it up to 350 deg and you should be good.
Also flux!
I would recommend using some brass wool inside the collection chamber to prolong the life of the filter so they don’t get solder touching them.
Good review.
I bought mine about 6-7 years ago, and it's one of those things I don't use very often, but I couldn't do without.
Bit of a tip though, is to leave it on the solder joint just a tad longer before pulling the trigger.
For most stuff, I have the temp set nearer to 360-380C, especially on multi-layer boards. And almost always add fresh solder anyway, just makes it easier to try to unclog the vias with it.
On the really stubborn boards, it helps to hold them upside-down, to assist the vacuum pump a bit more.
I would also DEFINITELY recommend leaving one of the cleaning wire tools in the nozzle before powering off. I had to replace the nozzle / heater on mine twice over the years, because I misplaced the cleaning wires, and the nozzle got clogged solid. lol
(and the wires to the thermocouple are the type which can't be soldered to, so they provide crimps with the new nozzle / heater, making it a bit of a pain to fit.)
Luckily, the parts are quite cheap, and the new nozzle was only around £12. You used to see the entire handpiece on eBay for around £26.
The older versions used to come with plastic containers for solder, which did eventually get a bit "melty" after a while, and deform.
I bought a few of the newer glass kits direct from Zhongdi, and they only cost around 74p shipped.
I did find that the PSU actually seems to output only around 18 Volts, which is a bit weird. I think the "24V" on the handpiece is a bit of a misnomer.
Interestingly, I think that instead of doing the PWM thing for the heater control, it had a power transistor in the PSU which actually controlled the voltage to the heater in a more linear fashion.
(it was probably doing a PWM on the MCU output pin, but not a direct pulsing on-and-off of the heater power, like you'd expect.)
Anyway, for the £70 I paid for mine, it's still a bargain. I don't work for the manufacturer, btw, I just think it's a good unit. lol
I bought one many years ago and never use it, still in the box.
I have a Hakko 808, ZD-915 it was supposed to be the replacement for the 808 but the 808 never fail.
My Hakko clogged 2 or 3 times only in all this years, but my 808 comes with a tool for remove any piece of solid solder inside the pipe, looks similar to a small flat screew driver.
Best Regards.
The screws on top are so you can stack their soldering station on it securely. The screws are directly above the rubber feet.
My desoldering gun works better at around 360 degrees, gets the solder flowing better, also don’t stop the vacuum too soon, otherwise you can get blockages.
The difficulty with the graphics card might be because it's a multi-layer board and those caps are in plated through holes so there's a lot more area for the solder to grab onto. I made it a bit easier by having the iron sit on the pad (still rotating) for a second or so before pulling the trigger, however, it's easy to go for too long and burn up the track.
Word of advice, don't ever leave it switched on if you leave the room. Mine went pop and belched smoke out of the gun while the element went open circuit, I've heard of others catching fire.
Make sure you use the cleaning rods. When I've finished a desoldering session, I always run the rod through to ensure the heating element doesn't get blocked on cool down. Also worth heating the pin first for couple of seconds then pulling the trigger as others have mentioned.
Love your video. I was puzzled when mine arrived with the tips sealed too.
good video showing how to set up and use it.
i just ordered one from cpc, but none in bargain corner so paid a shade over £80, still cheaper than anywhere else by far, its coming today. hola from Glasgow
How are you getting on with it?
leave the gun melt the solder before pulling vacuum, im sure you worked that out in the 2 years since , but still
Also, I use plenty of flux with my heated pump. It does get sucked up and it smokes a bit but it makes it easy easier. Also adding fresh solder.
For the reference of others, using flux makes it ten times easier but you do need to be a bit careful about sucking up too much.
where did you get the complete accessory kits you ordered for zd-915? Can you give me the part numbers? I got the Anesty zd-8915, apparently the accessory kit works for both models. I can not find the replacement accessory kits in the US. I bought the desoldering station from Amazon US, but a search on Amazon US does not find the accessory kit nor the glass chamber kit. Thank you
RH
What tol does he use in the video at aroun 4" 20sec to see if case & screws are earthed.,etc ?
Looks like a good tool. Should save a bit of cursing and swearing.
that zd-915 in the "bargains" section is long gone.. now they have a "D03324" that must be far far worse
The ZD-8915 is much better quality then this ZD-915. The stand is heavy duty, the station and fan are much quiter, the looks are nicer and works really well.
the fan is very noisy. I bought a little quiet pc fan. Then I make a little circuit. 7805 with 1K ohm on the output, a 1k poti to GND and some µF elko. So I can trimm the Voltage for the fan between 5 and 10 Volt. I use 350 °C, so I can solder quick.
That seems like a great deal
How tight did you do the vacuum pipe connection?
Dose anyone know if this unit works on 110 Volts AC? Thanks
Does this station have a brushless DC or AC motor?
180c is enough for desoldering double sided pcb
That sucks 😆
Overpriced a lot. The real price is about a $50
Where can you get it for that price?
@@dalriada842 from Turkey ,from China , From Russia , from Taiwan, From Vietnam...
@@johnadams9041 I was thinking more in terms of a website I can order from in the UK. No matter though, I've ordered it from CPC.
No it’s not, that’s a reasonable price when buying it from most western countries unless you want to wait potentially weeks for it, and some people don’t have that long to wait for a unit, also you could get express international shipment, but in most cases that would just put the price back to its western counterparts anyway lol
If I could find one for 50 I'd probably get one