What’s the Best Solder Sucker?
The undo button you always wanted
In his video I’m going to show you three different solder suckers that can help you undo soldered connections on your electronic projects. There’s only one here I really recommend, and I’m going to show you why. But you can find Amazon links to all of these options down in the show notes. By using any of those links, you help support my videos and the Cool Tools blog.
Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, working on electronic projects means making mistakes along the way. Soldering mistakes are particularly tricky to undo because you have to re-heat the solder to liquify it, then quickly pull it up before it turns solid.
One of the oldest tools for this is the delsoldering bulb ($10). It’s like a mini turkey baster with a plastic tip and a rubber bulb. You squeeze it, introduce it to the hot solder, release it, and then usually swear a little bit.
The main problem with this is that the suction just isn’t powerful enough to do much good. The other problem is that the big plastic tip can only get you so close to the problem. That said, it’s a decent option if you’re a beginner and you just need something to tidy up big blobs of solder.
The more common option these days are these plunger style suckers ($5). You can get these for as little as $5-10 and they’re often included in any beginner electronics kit.
These solve the suction problem by using a spring loaded plunger and a release button to deliver a quick, powerful shot. It’s definitely better than the bulb, but the plastic tip is essentially the same. When you have this and a soldering iron tip in the same space, it’s very tricky juggle them around.
So here’s the superior option, and it’s one that friends have recommended to me for years and I’ve been slow to come around to. It’s called the Engineer SS-02 ($28), it’s made in Japan, and the reason I’ve been so reluctant to get one is that it costs around $30.
When I was starting out, my soldering iron wasn’t even $30, so it didn’t make sense to invest in a tool like this. But after slowly updating my setup, and having suffered through enough delsoldering nightmares, I finally made the jump.
Here’s why this thing is so good. You get the spring-loaded plunger of the last option, but the tip uses a section of silicone tubing that can mold around your soldering iron tip and works like the undo button you always wanted. A long section of spare tubing comes included if you ever need to freshen it up.
In addition to that, this design is more compact, which makes the release button easier to reach and the plunger easier to push with one hand. The fit and finish is a lot more high-touch. And the tolerances of how everything fits together are much tighter.
Also, and I know this is a silly thing, but the sound it makes is so satisfying.
So that’s a look at the mostly frustrating world of solder suckers. If you’ve been suffering with some version of the plastic tip options, put a price on that pain and see if $30 is over your budget. If not, pick this thing up, and put your name on it so it doesn’t walk away.
10/22/18
