{"id":32402,"date":"2018-10-22T10:47:07","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T17:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=32402"},"modified":"2018-10-22T10:47:07","modified_gmt":"2018-10-22T17:47:07","slug":"whats-the-best-solder-sucker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/whats-the-best-solder-sucker\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s the Best Solder Sucker?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_14806\"  width=\"480\" height=\"270\"  data-origwidth=\"480\" data-origheight=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TJkEAOkaL-4?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>In his video I\u2019m going to show you three different solder suckers that can help you undo soldered connections on your electronic projects. There\u2019s only one here I really recommend, and I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n<p>One of the oldest tools for this is the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2A7bmvz\">delsoldering bulb<\/a> ($10). It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>The main problem with this is that the suction just isn\u2019t 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\u2019s a decent option if you\u2019re a beginner and you just need something to tidy up big blobs of solder. <\/p>\n<p>The more common option these days are these <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2Eh0P57\">plunger style suckers<\/a> ($5). You can get these for as little as $5-10 and they\u2019re often included in any beginner electronics kit.<\/p>\n<p>These solve the suction problem by using a spring loaded plunger and a release button to deliver a quick, powerful shot. It\u2019s 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\u2019s very tricky juggle them around.<\/p>\n<p>So here\u2019s the superior option, and it\u2019s one that friends have recommended to me for years and I\u2019ve been slow to come around to. It\u2019s called the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2RKmGEK\">Engineer SS-02<\/a> ($28), it\u2019s made in Japan, and the reason I\u2019ve been so reluctant to get one is that it costs around $30. <\/p>\n<p>When I was starting out, my soldering iron wasn\u2019t even $30, so it didn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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. <\/p>\n<p>Also, and I know this is a silly thing, but the sound it makes is so satisfying. <\/p>\n<p>So that\u2019s a look at the mostly frustrating world of solder suckers. If you\u2019ve 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\u2019t walk away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The undo button you always wanted<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2337],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32402"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32402"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32406,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32402\/revisions\/32406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}