Maplin Desolder Iron/Pump cleaning

[David G4EBT]

I mentioned in another thread that for some time I've had one of these 30 Watt de-soldering irons, which has an integral pump, making desoldering a one-handed operation. There are no instructions as to how to empty the solder from the pump, and no obvious means of dismantling it, which I discovered by trial and error. The Maplin Q&A isn't very helpful, in that in response to the question 'can it be dismantled for cleaning?' the answer was 'Yes', which though strictly correct, doesn't say how.

It is in fact a simple task and no tools are needed. For anyone who has one of these useful gizmos and is puzzled as to how to dismanlte it, here's how it's done:

With the pump fully retracted, hold the iron in your right hand with your thumb just above the push button 'trigger', press down slightly with the thumb, and pull the pump barrel forwards, when the whole desolder pump can be removed intact from the iron.

Dismantle it as with any de-solder pump, clean it, and replace it the same way as you removed it. On the basis that a picture paints a thousand words, I've attached three pics. One shows the assembled unit, another shows the pump being removed by thumb pressure, and the last one, the dissassembled pump.

Hope that's helpful to someone out there who has encountered this problem.

David

[Geoff 555]

David many thanks for that, it is indeed very useful. Simple but not at all obvious.(Not to me anyway.)
Cheers.
Geoff.

[AlanBeckett]

David,
I've ordered one
Alan

[60 oldjohn]

And I have just bought one from Maplin, but I can not see how it can be emptied! John.

[David G4EBT]

Originally Posted by 60 oldjohn

And I have just bought one from Maplin, but I can not see how it can be emptied! John.

Just like I said above - put it in the palm of your hand, put your thumb on the tab just above the push botton and ease the solder sucker body towards you, away from the body of the iron. It will come away easily, or maybe I don't know my own strength!

(Make sure that the plunger isn't pushed down into the pump when you do this).

Go on - give it a go, or don't fill it up with solder before I can come over to Ottringham

David

Great little gizmo eh?

[Guitarist28]

Hi David,
I bought a desolder iron from Maplins today for £14.99.

Either I'm weak or you are incredibly strong - I am unable to remove the barrel. Is there some technique to this that doesn't come across in the photos?

Best Regards

Rob

[60 oldjohn]

Hi David, I would repeat Robs comments. I think I will leave it until it is full, then get it in the vice and attack it with a big hammer! Regards John

[newlite4]

Yes, it took me about an hour to work out how to do this. The barrel sort of clips in to the frame. In many ways, these are better than the "economy" vacuum pump types which tend to become blocked frequently, requiring a hazardous clearing proceedure.
Neil

[LXSTEIN45]

Are these pumps any better than traditional pumps? I can see that you might get better seal over the joint but does that make all the difference..?

[newlite4]

Yes, the heated suction nozzle can sit directly over the joint creating a seal rather than having to offset it to allow a separate iron tip to heat the joint.
Neil

[IJK2008]

David

Many thanks - very useful info.

Ian

[David G4EBT]

Sorry guys - I must be losing my powers of communication!

I've got the iron in my hand, pulling out and pushing back the barrel with very little effort.

I've attached a sketch to try to emphasise the technique and make it a little clearer, albeit it's not a very good drawing. (For clarity, I've just shown the solder sucker part without the housing which makes up the body of the iron).

I'd stress once more that you need to grip the iron in the palm of your hand, press your thumb on top of the black section which houses the yellow 'trigger' button of the solder sucker, and ease the body of the sucker away from the black housing.

I'm actually left-handed, and on the assumption that most forum members will be right-handed, to avoid confusion (or so I thought!) I'd photographed the operation with the iron in my right hand.

I hesitate to invoke the meercat's catchphrase, but it really is.

(simples, that is).

Have another go!

As to 'is it any better than an ordinary solder sucker?', yes, very much so in my view.

I'd cite the benefits as follows:

Desoldering becomes a one-handed operation, so your other hand is free. EG, to hold a PCB.

You don't have the tip of an iron and the tip of a solder sucker jostlng for space, say on an IC pin on a PCB.

It's much kinder on PCBs when desoldering transistors, ICs etc as the iron fits directly over the pin and sucks the molten solder out of the hole.

Unlike conventional solder suckers, the tip isn't teflon, so it doesn't melt.

As the iron is 30 Watts, it's poweful enough to use on say octal valveholder pins and other connections on valve radios.

(Not expensive either - less than many basic soldering irons).


Hope that helps.


David

[techiesteve]

I must get one of these, it looks useful.

Previously I'd been put off this type of desoldering tool by something similar, but using an orange rubber ball to suck the solder away. You'd squeeze the ball in and let go and nothing much would happen.

[Guitarist28]

David,
I have managed to do this but it was tough and I did cheat (please don't anyone else do this as I fear that someone will break the housing to their desolder unit!!) by pressing down a using a very thin screwdriver blade to prise the sucker away from the housing!

You must be incredibly strong if you can do this with your hand - I salute you sir!

Regards

Rob

[wd40addict]

Brilliant tip, just did it to mine by hand - no screwdriver necessary!

Thanks for posting David,

Regards,

Paul

[60 oldjohn]

Maybe easier to part once it has been used. At present I would have to resort to using tools which is not a good idea. John.

[David G4EBT]

John (60 old john') has just visited me with his desoldering iron, and I think he's correct in his assumption that it becomes easier to dismantle with use. I managed to remove the barrel, but with a lot of downward pressure with my thumb, and had I not been aware how it came apart, I think I'd have assumed that it wasn't meant to come apart.

I think the reason that mine came apart so easily was that I'd used it for a while before I removed the barrel for cleaning. On closer examination of the 'business end', the barrel is pressed against a heat resistant clear plastic disc which sits around the iron element. I can only assume that in use, the disc softens a little, making it easier to remove the barrel.

Maybe it's best to first switch the iron on for a couple of hours, let it cool down, then try.

Hope that helps anyone who is still struggling.

David