Swapped my cheap desoldering pump for a Hakko one and it's night and day
I used to fight with a $8 desoldering pump from Amazon for years. It would clog after every third joint and I'd spend more time cleaning it than actually working. Last month I finally bought a Hakko FR301 desoldering gun after a buddy swore by it. The suction on this thing is insane - I cleared a 24 pin connector in under 5 minutes compared to the 30 minute struggle I had before. Has anyone else made the switch and felt silly for waiting so long?
Yeah I was in the same boat for way too long. That cheap pump would just lose suction after a few uses and I spent more time fighting it than actually desoldering. Finally broke down and got a Hakko 808 and it's crazy how much easier everything is. The heated tip alone made a huge difference for me, no more cold solder joints sticking to everything.
Yeah but the thing nobody talks about is how those cheap pumps actually suck up flux fumes and everything else into the piston. After a while they just get gummed up inside and lose all their pull. Take one apart sometime its nasty in there.